Bogo de Clare
Bogo[a] de Clare (21 July 1248 – October 1294) was a member of the Anglo-Norman de Clare family, as third son of Richard de Clare (1222–1262), 5th Earl of Hertford and 6th Earl of Gloucester. He was the brother of Gilbert and Thomas.
Early life
As the earl's third son, he was destined for the Church.[b] At the age of eleven, Bogo was appointed Dean of Stafford.[2]
Career and reputation
Through his father's influence, and that of his brother and their friends, and even King Henry III ("who should have known better") he became Chancellor of Llandaff,[c] Treasurer of York Minster (see also Treasurer's House, York) and the rector of at least 20 clerical livings.[2][d] Despite a 1283 order from William de Wickwane, Archbishop of York (died 1285), there is no evidence that he was ever ordained priest.[4]
In June 1282 in a highly critical letter, Archbishop Peckham had accused Bogo of being a (raptor) or plunderer of churches rather than a rector.[5][6] "At that time lord Bogo de Clare had powerfully interfered with the proceeds of the York treasury; to whom the lord archbishop opposed himself with all his strength; at last, I do not know how, the storm completely calmed down."[7]
Some years before his death he became the owner of Tregrug Castle, near the village of Llangybi, in Monmouthshire.[8]
He died suddenly in October 1294 ("before the Feast of All Saints"), his passing noticed by several chroniclers. The Worcester annalist commented that "God only knows if his life was worthy of praise, but no-one thought it worthy of imitation".[4][9]
Explanatory notes
- ^ Perhaps a Latin equivalent to Bevis.[1]
- ^ In medieval times the first son inherited via primogeniture, the second son became a soldier, and the third son went into the priesthood.
- ^ Whether of Landaff Cathedral or Diocese of Llandaff is not stated.
- ^ Described in the Flores Historiarum of Matthew Paris as "multarum rector ecclesiarum vel potius incubator",[3] which is cited by King & Perks and interpreted as "incumbent, or rather incumbrance, of an altogether remarkable number of benefices".[2]
References
- ^ Giuseppi 1920, p. 1n1.
- ^ a b c King & Perks 1957, p. 102.
- ^ Luard 1890, p. 93.
- ^ a b Summerson 2020.
- ^ Giuseppi 1920, p. 2n6.
- ^ Peckham 1882: Now, weighing these things a little, we lament more bitterly that, passing through some of your churches, or rather possessed in your name, we found you there (according to the report of several persons not at all suspicious) acting in them, for the most part, not in the office of a rector, but as a ravisher (raptor); because reaping the fleshly goods of the poor, you do not minister to them even a small amount of aid.
- ^ Wykes 1869, p. 305: Eo tempore dominus Bogo de Clara proventibus thesaurariæ Eboracensis potenter se immiscuit; cui dominus archiepiscopus pro totis viribus se opposuit; tandem, nescio qualiter, tempestas tota quievit.
- ^ King & Perks 1957, pp. 102–3.
- ^ Luard 1869, p. 517: ... si ejus vita laudabilis fuerat, Deus novit, quia nulli imitabilis videbatur.
Works cited
- Giuseppi, M. S. (1920). "I.—The Wardrobe and Household Accounts of Bogo de Clare, A. D., 1284–6" (PDF). Archaeologia. 70: 1–56. doi:10.1017/S0261340900011024 – via the Internet Archive.
- King, D. J. Cathcart; Perks, J. Clifford (1957). "Llangibby Castle". Archaeologia Cambrensis. 105 (1956): 96–132. Retrieved 26 February 2025 – via the National Library of Wales.
- Luard, Henry Richards, ed. (1869) [entry dated 1294]. "Annales prioratus de Wigornia". Annales monastici. Rolls Series (in Latin). Vol. IV. London: Longmans, Green, Reader and Dyer. pp. 353–564. Retrieved 26 February 2025 – via the Internet Archive.
- Luard, Henry Richards, ed. (1890) [entry dated 1294]. "Anno gratiæ MCCXCIV". Flores historiarum. Rolls Series (in Latin). Vol. III. London: Printed for H.M.S.O. by Eyre & Spottiswoode. pp. 88–93. Retrieved 26 February 2025 – via the Internet Archive.
- Peckham, John (1882) [letter dated 8 June 1282]. "To Bogo de Clare". In Martin, Charles Trice (ed.). Registrum epistolarum fratris Johannis Peckham, archiepiscopi Cantuariensis. Rolls Series (in Latin). Vol. I. London: Longman & Co., Trübner & Co., et. al. pp. 371–2. Retrieved 26 February 2025 – via the Internet Archive.
- Summerson, Henry (11 June 2020) [2004]. "Clare, Bogo de (1248–1294)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.) - Wykes, Thomas (1869) [entry dated 1285]. "Annales monasterii de Oseneia et Chronicon vulgo dictum Thomæ Wykes". In Luard, Henry Richards (ed.). Annales monastici. Rolls Series (in Latin). Vol. IV. London: Longmans, Green, Reader and Dyer. pp. 1–352. Retrieved 26 February 2025 – via the Internet Archive.