Hubert Walter - Bishop and Archbishop

Bishop and Archbishop

After the death of King Henry in 1189, the new King Richard I appointed Walter Bishop of Salisbury; the election took place on 15 September 1189 at Pipewell, with the consecration on 22 October 1189 at Westminster. Also elected to bishoprics at this council were Godfrey de Lucy to the see of Winchester, Richard FitzNeal to the see of London, and William Longchamp to the see of Ely. The elevation of so many new bishops was probably meant to signal the new king's break with his father's habit of keeping bishoprics empty in order to retain the revenues of the sees. At about the same time Glanvill was either forced out of his justiciarship or resigned, but the sources are unclear. Walter was probably elevated to a bishopric even though his uncle had lost some of his power because of political manoeuvring over the elevation of King Richard's illegitimate half-brother Geoffrey to the see of York, which Walter had at first opposed. The bishopric was either a reward or a bribe for Walter's withdrawal of his objections to Geoffrey's election.

Soon after his appointment, Walter accompanied the king on the Third Crusade, going ahead of the king directly from Marseille to the Holy Land in a group that included Baldwin of Forde, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ranulf de Glanvill. The group left Marseille in August 1190, and arrived at Acre two months later. While on crusade, he was praised by his fellow crusaders, and acted as Richard’s principal negotiator with Saladin for a peace treaty. After the conclusion of the treaty with Saladin, Walter was in the first band of pilgrims that entered Jerusalem. Saladin entertained Walter during his stay in Jerusalem, and the Englishman succeeded in extracting a promise from Saladin that a small group of Western clergy would be allowed to remain in the city to perform divine services. Walter subsequently led the English army back to England after Richard's departure from Palestine, but in Sicily he heard of the king's capture, and diverted to Germany. He, along with William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, was among the first of Richard's subjects to find the king at Ochsenfurt where he was being held. In April 1193 he returned to England to raise the king's ransom. Richard wrote to his mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, that Walter should be chosen for the see of Canterbury, as well as to the monks of the cathedral chapter, and soon after Walter's return to England, he was duly elected archbishop of Canterbury, having been transferred to the see on 29 May 1193. He was chosen as archbishop without consultation from the bishops, who normally claimed the right to help decide the new archbishop. He received his pallium, the symbol of his archiepiscopal authority, from Pope Celestine III and was ceremonially enthroned at Canterbury on 7 November 1193.