Episcopal Conflict
With the appointment of Hugh Nonant to the bishopric in 1188, serious disputes arose between the bishop and the priory. Nonant claimed authority over the priory, asserting that the domain and barony had been granted to him alongside the bishopric. In 1189 he secured from Richard I the right to institute and appoint the priors,[i] and by 1190–91 the priory was under his control.[ii]
Prior Moyses was compelled to surrender the house to the bishop, an act carried out at Reading in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of London and Rochester. Nonant subsequently convened a synod at the priory church, where he accused the monks of misconduct. The dispute turned violent when the monks assaulted him, one striking him with a processional cross. Nonant appealed to William, bishop of Ely - then papal legate and de facto regent during Richard’s crusade - lodging a formal complaint.[iii]
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Expulsion of the Monks
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The bishop obtained a decree to expel the monks and replace them with secular canons. Papal approval was eventually secured, and the measure was carried out with force.[iv] Nonant retained control until his death on 27 March 1198 at the abbey of Bec, where he died in a Benedictine habit, reportedly repenting of his harsh treatment of the Coventry monks.[v]
That same year Innocent III ascended to the papacy. In June 1198, he reversed the earlier decision and mandated the restoration of Prior Moyses and the Benedictine convent to Coventry, declaring that the bishop’s actions had relied on papal letters obtained under false pretences. The secular canons were ordered to make satisfaction, and all alienations were cancelled.[vi] Moyses, however, died in Rome on 16 July before regaining his post.​
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Disputes under Geoffrey Muschamp
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Geoffrey Muschamp was consecrated bishop on 21 June 1198. Tensions continued between the restored convent and the bishop, prompting the pope in February 1199 to appoint commissioners to resolve the conflict.[vii] Moyses’ successor, Joybert, proved an effective leader, obtaining confirmations and privileges from King John.
When Muschamp died in 1208, the monks elected their prior to succeed him, while the Lichfield canons advanced Walter de Gray.[viii] King John blocked settlement, and after papal mediation both candidates withdrew. William de Cornhill was chosen instead, though his consecration was delayed until January 1215.[ix]
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Papal Intervention and Royal Resistance
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In January 1219, Innocent III commanded the Coventry monks to proceed with an episcopal election despite royal obstruction, threatening papal appointment if they failed.[x] The monks elected Joybert, but King John seized the priory during the vacancy. When Joybert’s election collapsed, he was fined 300 marks before resuming the office of prior.
After Cornhill’s death in 1223, the monks elected their prior Geoffrey, but Lichfield opposed, and the election was annulled. Pope Honorius III appointed Alexander Stavenby, consecrated at Rome in April 1224.[xi]
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Struggles Between Coventry and Lichfield
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From 1224 to 1227, conflict persisted between the Coventry and Lichfield chapters regarding election rights, leading to multiple papal commissions.[xii] In 1228 a compromise granted alternate rights of election, with the prior of Coventry holding the first voice.[xiii] A further agreement in 1255 required equal numbers of electors from each chapter. The prolonged litigation imposed heavy financial strain on the priory.
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Visitation Disputes
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Following the death of Prior Geoffrey in 1245, the monks resisted episcopal visitation. In January 1236 Pope Gregory IX upheld their suspension and interdict until they admitted the bishop as visitor, condemning them in costs of 80 silver marks.[xiv] A subsequent mandate required them to yield the same obedience as the cathedral priories of Worcester, Winchester, and Ely, unless valid objections were produced.[xv] The monks eventually petitioned for absolution, and in April 1236 their penalties were relaxed.[xvi]
Upon Stavenby’s death, disputes resumed over his successor, though a compromise in 1240 produced the election of Hugh Pateshull.[xvii] Later, under Bishop Weseham, quarrels led to papal dispensation for the monks, who had celebrated despite excommunication.[xviii] Reconciliation followed in 1249, when the bishop visited the house and received the profession of sixteen novices.[xix]
[i] Magnum Registrum Album of Lichfield, 1899, p. 125b
[ii] Hall, H. (Ed.). (1896). The Red Book of the Exchequer (Vol. 1, p. 74). Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. (Rolls Series, 99)
[iii] 'Houses of Benedictine monks: Priory of Coventry', in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1908), British History Online
[iv] Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 380; Flor. Hist. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 106; Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), i, 23, 54, 56, 189; ii, 64, 67, 194, 247, 251; iii, 27; iv, 44, 49, 387, 389.
[v] Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 443-4; Walter of Coventry, Mem. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 120-1.
[vi] Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland: Papal Letters, Volume I (1198–1304), p. 2.
[vii] Ibid. i, 5.
[viii] Ibid. ii, 531.
[ix] Walter of Coventry, Memoriale Fratris Walteri de Coventria, ed. William Stubbs, 2 vols, Rolls Series 58 (London: Longman, 1872–1873), II, p. 218.
[x] Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland: Papal Letters, Volume I (1198–1304), 32.
[xi] William Stubbs, Registrum Sacrum Anglicanum: An Attempt to Exhibit the Course of Episcopal Succession in England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1858), p. 38.
[xii] Magnum Registrum Album Lichfieldense, ed. W. de Gray Birch, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Staffordshire Record Society (Salt Society), vol. VI, part II (London, 1885), fols. 193b–195b.
[xiii] Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, ed. Henry Richards Luard, 7 vols, Rolls Series 57 (London: Longman, 1872–1883), III, p. 145.
[xiv] Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland: Papal Letters, Volume I (1198–1304), 150.
[xv] Ibid. i, 151.
[xvi] Magnum Registrum Album Lichfieldense, ed. W. de Gray Birch, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Staffordshire Record Society (Salt Society), vol. VI, pt. II (London, 1885), p. 164.
[xvii] Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. ed. Henry Richards Luard, 7 vols, Rolls Series 57 (London: Longman, 1872–1883), III, p. 541.
[xviii] Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland: Papal Letters, Volume I (1198–1304), 218.
[xix] Magnum Registrum Album Lichfieldense, ed. W. de Gray Birch, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Staffordshire Record Society (Salt Society), vol. VI, pt. II (London, 1885), fol. 196.