Early Life
Greenfield was born in the eponymous Lincolnshire hamlet of Greenfield – but the date of his birth is now lost but we do know that he was related to a predecessor in the See, Archbishop Giffard – and it was Giffard that paid for the young Greenfield's Oxford education. in the year 1269 Giffard instructed that his bailiff at Churchdown (near Gloucester), "...to pay to Roger the miller of Oxford twenty shillings, for our kinsman William of Greenfield while he is studying there, because it would be difficult for us to send the money to him on account of the perils of the ways". After Oxford Greenfield studied in Paris, where he became a doctor of both civil and canon law. Giffard's brother was Bishop Godfrey Gifford – the Bishop of Worcester.
Greenfield was the first of a number of Archbishops who ruled the northern English Archiepiscopal diocese as well as being significant statesmen during the fourteenth century.
Before being made Archbishop he was variously:
- Dean of Chichester,
- Rector of Stratford-upon-Avon
- Prebend of Ripon – where his stall was for a time sequestrated, on account of his non-residence – as at this time he was mainly occupied on affairs of state as a clerk and counsellor to Edward I
- Temporal Chancellor of Durham
- Chancellor of England (1302–1305). On 30 September 1302 Greenfield received the custody of the great seal as chancellor at St. Radegund's (near Dover). During his absence in France, one Adam of Osgodby, then the Master of the Rolls, acted as his substitute.
- Employed in the service of the State by King Edward I from 1290 onwards.
Read more about this topic: William Greenfield
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“Although good early childhood programs can benefit all children, they are not a quick fix for all of society’s ills—from crime in the streets to adolescent pregnancy, from school failure to unemployment. We must emphasize that good quality early childhood programs can help change the social and educational outcomes for many children, but they are not a panacea; they cannot ameliorate the effects of all harmful social and psychological environments.”
—Barbara Bowman (20th century)
“O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous.
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life is cheap as beast’s. Thou art a lady;
If only to go warm were gorgeous,
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,
Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But, for true need—
You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)