William of Ely
William | |
|---|---|
| Archdeacon of Cleveland | |
| Church | Catholic |
| In office | 1201 |
| Previous post(s) | Canon of St. Paul's Prebend of Leighton Buzzard |
| Treasurer | |
| In office 1196 – August 1215 | |
| Monarchs | Richard I John |
| Preceded by | Richard FitzNeal |
| Succeeded by | Eustace of Fauconberg, Bishop of London |
William of Ely was an English churchman and the fifth Lord High Treasurer of England. He was a relative of Richard FitzNeal and supposed descendant of Nigel, Bishop of Ely, both previous Lord High Treasurers. He is possibly the son of Richard FotzNeal, grandson of Nigel, Bishop of Ely. He was appointed a Canon of St. Paul's just before being made Lord High Treasurer in 1196. He added the position of Archdeacon of Cleveland in 1201 and Prebendary of Leighton Buzzard in 1207.[1]
A story about William of Ely tells of his attempted escape from England during a time when he had fallen from favour with the King; he was disguised as a commoner but was stopped when he proved unable to respond to a simple question posed to him in English (illustrating the dominance of the French language among nobles and clergymen at the time).[2]
See also
References
- ^ Painter, Sydney (1979). The Reign of King John. Ayer Publishing. pp. 66–67.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Walter, Henriette (1994). Aventure des langues en Occident : leur origine, leur histoire, leur géographie. Paris: Laffont. p. 379.
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