Richard Scrope
Archbishop, Rebel, Martyr
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9738998 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rob Lutton (University of Nottingham, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 125 |
| Issue | 514 |
| Pages | 688-690 |
| Publication date | 2010-05-27 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The English Historical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-8266 • E-ISSN: 1477-4534 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ehr/ceq119 |
| OpenAlex | W2067229727 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
This volume adds considerably to previous work on Richard Scrope, which concentrated on his part in the Northern Rising of 1405. It considers Scrope not just as rebel but also as churchman, archbishop, and saint. Its contributors sensibly resist making once-and-for-all judgements on the motivations of ‘York's own Becket’, and offer instead a richly nuanced analysis of the reverberations of Scrope's execution within local and national politics, civic and ecclesiastical institutions, and public and private religion. An introduction by Jeremy Goldberg sets the tone. Scrope was not a naïve idealist duped into supporting Northumberland, but was politically aware and had a strong sense of his own identity as archbishop and of his duty to protect the interests of his flock. Scrope's attachment to new devotional fashions, including the cult of the Five Wounds, accord with a trajectory of self-sacrifice. Robert Swanson charts Scrope's ecclesiastical career. Scrope was the third son of a modestly wealthy peer and, despite what appears as a smart move to the papal curia in the 1380s, was not especially ambitious. A conscientious bishop and royal diplomat at Rome, he probably owed his elevation to York to a relatively good relationship with Richard II and papal support. Swanson finds nothing in the records that hints at what was to come. Mark Ormrod seeks Scrope's shaping hand in the York articles translated into Latin by Thomas Walsingham, and builds on recent scholarship which positions Scrope within a tradition of ‘loyal rebellion’. The articles echo long-term themes, as well as Scrope's more recent experiences, with regard to taxation, the protection of ecclesiastical rights and liberties, and the idea of parliament as a reforming body. The publication of a written manifesto in English represented an innovation in baronial rebellions, and this may have arisen out of Scrope's familiarity with a clerical milieu in Yorkshire that privileged vernacular writing for the laity. Also focusing on the politics of 1405, Melanie Devine asks why the Richmondshire nobility and gentry failed to support Scrope. A key factor was Henry IV's cultivation of ties of feudal obligation and affinity, in particular his shrewd employment of the lordship of Richmondshire under the lieutenancy of Westmorland. Percy discontent with the new regime was the common element in 1405, rather than resentment at Neville's advancement from 1399. Christian Liddy narrows the focus to the city of York, and its environs and seeks to give agency back to its citizens who are allowed only a passive role by the chroniclers. Only a small number of rebels came from York and many of them were clergy. Liddy convincingly argues that York's involvement in the rebellion was part of an internal power-struggle exacerbated by Henry IV's attempts to exercise control over the city, as well as tensions between the civic élite and local clergy
Ancient history · Archbishop · Art history · Cult · Martyr · Political science · Politics · SAINT · Scholarship · Sociology · Theology · Classics · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 0.42 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2014 - 2023 (10) |
| Highly cited | No |