Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lucy, Godfrey de
LUCY, GODFREY de (d. 1204), bishop of Winchester, son of Richard de Lucy [q. v.], ‘the Loyal,’ chief justiciar of England, was attached to the court from early youth and became a favoured member of the royal household (‘familiaris regis’). He devoted himself to judicial studies, and having taken holy orders became a royal clerk, and received a long series of ecclesiastical preferments. He became dean of St. Martin's-le-Grand in 1171 (Dugdale, vi. 1323), canon of Lincoln (Benedict, i. 346), and was archdeacon of Derby in 1182, in which year he was present when Henry II, prior to leaving the kingdom for France, made his will at Waltham (Gervase, i. 293; Rymer, Fœdera, i. 57). He was also canon of York and archdeacon of Richmond (Benedict, i. 324; Brompton, Dec. Script. p. 1156). On the resignation of the justiciarship by his father and the subsequent division of England into four circuits at the council of Windsor in 1179, he was appointed justice itinerant for the district beyond the Trent and the Mersey (Hoveden, ii. 191; Benedict, i. 239). In 1184, as archdeacon of Richmond, he was despatched by Henry to Normandy, together with the bishops of Lincoln (Walter of Coutances) and Norwich (John of Oxford), to arrange terms between Philip Augustus and the Count of Flanders (ib. i. 334). In 1186 he was elected by the chapter of Lincoln to fill the vacant see, but was rejected by Henry, who was resolved on the appointment of Hugh of Avalon [see Hugh, 1135?–1200].
He was also in the same year elected to the see of Exeter, which he declined on the ground of the insufficiency of the income to meet the expenses of the office (ib.) On the accession of Richard I in 1189 he took a prominent part in the coronation ceremony, and bore the linen cap, ‘pileum regale’ (Hoveden, iii. 10; Benedict, ii. 81). When Geoffrey Plantagenet was elected to the archbishopric of York in August 1189, Godfrey was absent, but as canon and archdeacon he signified his consent by letter. The same year he reached the episcopate, being one of the five bishops ‘all, with one exception, faithful servants of his father, as lawyers or ministers,’ nominated by Richard I at the great council of Pipewell on the morrow of the Exaltation of the Cross, 15 Sept. (Gervase, i. 458; Diceto, ii. 69; Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. ii. 351; Hist. Angl. ii. 10). His see was Winchester, to which he was consecrated by Archbishop Baldwin in St. Catherine's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, 22 Oct. 1189 (Benedict, ii. 96; Diceto, ii. 71; Richard of Devizes p. 9). One of the earliest acts of his episcopate was to reclaim the manors of Meon and Wargrave, of which the see had been deprived (Benedict, ii. 91; Hoveden, iii. 18). He proceeded ‘ordine judiciario,’ but according to Richard of Devizes (p. 10) took care to secure a favourable verdict by a secret gift to Richard of 3,000l. in silver, obtaining at the same time the sheriffdom of Hampshire, the confirmation of his own paternal inheritance, together with indemnity for the treasure of his church, and the constableship of the castles of Porchester and Winchester, for which he had to pay another 300l. (Hoveden, vol. iii. Introduction, p. xxviii, note iv.) Not having means to pay so large a sum, he was unwillingly compelled to borrow it from the exchequer of his cathedral, binding himself and his successors to its repayment; the larger part was restored by himself on 28 Jan. 1192 (Richard of Devizes, pp. 10, 54; Hoveden, iii. 18; Benedict, ii. 91). In November 1189 he was one of the arbitrators appointed by the king to compromise the long-standing dispute between Archbishop Baldwin and the monks of Canterbury relative to the proposed collegiate church at Hackington (Hoveden, iii. 24; Gervase, i. 469, 508; Epp. Cant. p. 317). When Richard left England early in 1190 to complete his preparations for the crusade, Lucy was one of those summoned to the final meeting in Normandy to take measures for the safety of the realm, of which Longchamp had been appointed supreme guardian during the king's absence (Hoveden, iii. 32; Benedict, ii. 105); and probably at the same time was made warden of Southampton (Woodward, Hist. of Hants, ii. 172). On 20 March, at Rouen, he witnessed Richard's ratification of the foundation of the proposed collegiate church at Lambeth (Epp. Cant. p. 324). One of the earliest of Longchamp's high-handed acts was to deprive Lucy, who was detained by sickness in Normandy, of the sheriffdom of Hampshire, the custody of his castles, and his paternal inheritance. On his return to England Lucy lost no time in confronting Longchamp, whom he found at Gloucester besieging the castle. Longchamp received him with effusive warmth, followed his advice in giving up the siege, and restored his patrimony, retaining, however, the sheriffdom and the castles (Richard of Devizes, p. 13). At the council held by Longchamp as legate at Westminster in the October of the same year he sat on his left hand, the Bishop of London sitting to his right (Diceto, ii. 851). The management of the arbitration between Longchamp and John at Winchester, 25 April 1191, was entrusted to him, in conjunction with his brother bishops of London and Bath (Hoveden, iii. 135; Richard of Devizes, p. 33). He was one of the bishops who met at Canterbury, 4 May 1191, for the consecration of Robert FitzRalph to the see of Worcester (Gervase, i. 491). In the following September Geoffrey Plantagenet, the new archbishop of York, on his landing at Dover, was dragged from the church in which he had taken refuge and thrown into prison by the orders of Longchamp. The chancellor's attempt to explain and justify his conduct called forth from Lucy a letter addressed to the prior and convent of Canterbury expressing his grief and indignation, but declining to give them any advice until he had taken counsel with his brother prelates (ib. i. 506; Epp. Cant. p. 345). In the struggle which ensued between Longchamp and John, Lucy took a leading part on the king's side, attending the meetings of the barons and ecclesiastics summoned at Marlborough, Loddon Bridge, and finally, 8 Oct., at St. Paul's. He was one of the four bishops, St. Hugh of Lincoln being another, deputed by the assembly to communicate to Longchamp, who had thrown himself into the Tower, their resolution that he must resign; and on Longchamp's deposition, Lucy was reinstated in the custody of the castles of which Longchamp had deprived him (Richard of Devizes, p. 39; Girald. Cambr. p. 395; Hoveden, iii. 145; Benedict, ii. 218). In the ‘cross-fire’ of anathemas which followed he was excommunicated by the pope, in company with John and the chief enemies of Longchamp (Hoveden, iii. 153). Detention in London on the king's business prevented his taking any part in the election of Reginald, bishop of Bath and Wells, 27 Nov. 1191, to the see of Canterbury, which he only held twenty-nine days (Richard of Devizes, p. 45). In February 1194 he joined with Archbishop Hubert, St. Hugh of Lincoln, and other leading prelates in pronouncing excommunication on John (Hoveden, iii. 237).
Immediately after Richard's arrival at Winchester on his return from captivity, 15 April 1194, he once more deprived Lucy of the custody of the castles, the sheriffdom, and the two manors which he had bought of him five years before; and when two days afterwards he solemnly wore his crown in the cathedral, Lucy's name is absent from the long list of prelates, including his old enemy Longchamp, who took part in the ceremony (ib. pp. 246–7). When, in the vain hope of effecting a reconciliation between Archbishop Geoffrey and his chapter, Richard in 1198 commanded the attendance of both parties at his court in Normandy, Lucy, together with Bishop William of Worcester, was deputed to propose terms of compromise. After more than three months spent in futile negotiations, Lucy landed at Pevensey on his return, 17 July (ib. iv. 66; Annal. de Winton. p. 67).
Lucy took part in John's coronation, 27 May 1199. Sickness prevented his presence at the great council held by Archbishop Hubert at Westminster, 19 Sept. 1200 (Diceto, ii. 169; Hoveden, iv. 90). He was one of the witnesses to the homage of William the Lion, king of Scots, to John, at Lincoln, 21 Nov. 1200 (ib. p. 141), and took part in the obsequies of St. Hugh in Lincoln Minster on the 23rd (ib. p. 143). The close of his episcopate was signalised by large additions to the fabric of his cathedral, to which he may have been stimulated by the sight of St. Hugh's choir and transepts at Lincoln, erected in the new Early-English style. In 1200 a tower, which is not identifiable, had been begun and finished (Annal. de Winton. p. 304; Willis, Arch. Hist. of Winchester Cathedral, p. 37). In 1202 he instituted ‘a confraternity for the reparation of the church,’ to last for five complete years, by which the low eastern aisles and lady-chapel were erected, ‘the styles being early English of an excellent character’ (ib.; Annal. de Winton. p. 304; John of Exeter, p. 5). Lucy died 11 Sept. 1204, and was buried outside the lady-chapel he had caused to be built (Rudborne, Angl. Sacra, i. 286).
That his character for practical wisdom and honesty stood high with his sovereigns is shown by the various delicate pacificatory missions with which he was entrusted. Henry II, a good judge of character, formed a high opinion of him. Under John and Richard he had to face endless corruption, and his quarrel with Longchamp imperilled his influence. Bishop Stubbs calls him ‘a good average bishop’ (Epp. Cant. Introd. p. lxxxi). He conferred a great benefit on his episcopal city by restoring the navigation of the Itchen from Southampton by means of an artificial channel, ‘trancheam quam fecit fieri,’ extending up to Alresford, where he constructed a large lake or headwater for its supply, reserving for the see the royalty of the river and the customs on goods entering the city by the canal, for which he obtained a charter from John (Cassan, Lives of Bishops of Winchester, i. 460; Woodward, Hist. of Hants, i. 2, 3, 293; Kitchin, Historic Towns, Winchester, p. 105). In 1199 he also established a market at Alresford (Annal. de Winton. p. 252). The revenues of the priory of Lesnes (or Westwood), which had been founded by his father the justiciar on his retirement from public life, and where he died a canon in 1179, were augmented by him.
[Besides authorities quoted, Stubbs's Introd. to Hoveden, iii. xxviii, xxxi, xlix, l, lviii, lxi, lxxiii, lxxiv, lxxx, lxxxvi, c, iv. lxxi; Norgate's England under the Angevin Kings, ii. 176, 277, 238; Cassan's Bishops of Winchester, i. 160.]