Between episcopal power and violence: war and primacy inversion of the English Church to the Archbishopric of York (1318-1322)

Abstract

The primacy of the Church of England, established at the See of Canterbury in the 6th century, has been a protagonist in many discussions and disputes between the two archbishoprics for many centuries Through jurisdictional documents such as the Calendar of Close Rolls and Calendar of Patent Rolls, it can be observed an apparent inversion of this primacy to the archbishop of York in the 14th century. In the year 1322, William Melton, archbishop of York from 1317 to 1340, was recognized as the primate. In England, in the midst of the Scottish War and under the reign of Edward II, we wondered what was the importance of war for this inversion of the primacy of the Church to the archbishop of York. The hypothesis that we defend is that the historical of wars in the north of England, the internal conditions of the kingdom and the current war were fundamental in the legitimation and institutionalization of this inversion.