Philip of Poitou

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Philip of Poitou (d. 22 April 1208) was Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1197 to 1208, and prior to this Archdeacon of Canterbury.

His origins and early life are unknown, though it is believed he may have had a university education. The first records of him are in 1191, when he was accompanying Richard I on the Third Crusade, in documents relating to Richard's marriage on Cyprus.

In 1193 he was involved in complex politics over the Deanery of York Minster; the Archbishop and King fought repeatedly over who was to be nominated for the position, with Philip at one point being the nominee of the Archbishop. This was unsuccessful, following the intervention of the Pope.

He was appointed Archdeacon at Canterbury prior to March 1194 by Richard I, having previously been his clerk, and left on his appointment as Bishop of Durham in November 1195 (He was formally elected by the chapter in January 1196). Whilst Archdeacon he continued to serve the King, travelling to Germany with part of his ransom.

On 20 April 1197 he was consecrated as the Prince-Bishop. Prior to his consecration, he obtained a license to operate a mint in Durham, and installed his nephew Aimeric (or Aimery) as the Archdeacon of both Durham and Carlisle.

During his time as Prince-Bishop, he went on many diplomatic missions for the King, to Scotland, France and Germany, and spent large amounts of time at court. He appears to have been a trusted servant of both Richard I and John.

However, he is remembered as a divisive and unpopular figure through his time at Durham; shortly after his consecration, he quarreled with the monks of the Priory of St. Cuthbert (part of the Cathedral), encouraged by the Archdeacon. Aimeric claimed that certain rights belonging to the bishopric (as abbot of the monastery) was being usurped by the covent, whilst the prior of the monks, one Bertram, argued that it belonged to them via a royal grant. The dispute flared into violence; the monks were besieged in St. Oswald's Church, and on their refusal to back down the doors were set on fire in order to force them out. Despite all this, Philip eventually backed down.

Later, Philip attempted to gain access to the chapter-house during a council and was refused; in anger, he excommunicated the prior and the entire chapter of monks, sending men to break into the church during a ceremony (on St. Cuthbert's day) and arrest the prior at the altar. Again, this failed to gain him any lasting advantage.

It should be noted that excommunication was a surprisingly common thing by modern standards in this period. In 1153, in a dispute with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the monks had been excommunicated - later absolved by the Pope - and in 1255 they came close to receiving Papal excommunication over a demand for money, but backed down. In 1283, a public excommunication of the monks by the Archbishop of York was in progress, but disrupted by a gang of local roughs, who chased him out of St. Nicholas' Church before the ceremony could be completed.

When he died (himself excommunicate) in 1208 it is said the monks refused him a Christian burial, his body ending up in an obscure grave with no religious ceremony. However, his gravestone is recorded in the chapter-house

Many of these disputes were continued by his successor, and eventually resolved in 1231 by the following incumbent, Richard le Poor.