Servant of the Crown and Steward of the Church: The Career of Philippe of Cahors (Medieval Academy Books)

This is a short and engaging study of an important and successful figure in thirteenth-century France, the radical reformer and bishop of Évreux, Philippe of Cahors.

In the thirteenth century, radical reformers – churchmen, devout laywomen and laymen, and secular rulers – undertook Herculean efforts aimed at the moral reform of society. No principality was more affected by these impulses than France under its king, Louis IX or "Saint Louis." The monarch surrounded himself with gifted, energetic moralists to carry out his efforts. Servant of the Crown and Steward of the Church explores the career of one of the most influential of King Louis’s reformers, Philippe of Cahors.

Born into a bourgeois family dwelling on the periphery of the medieval kingdom of France, Philippe rose through the ecclesiastical hierarchy to the office of judge. There he came to the attention of royal administrators, who recommended him for the king’s service. He ascended rapidly, and was eventually entrusted with the royal seal, effectively making constituting him the chancellor of the kingdom, the highest member of the royal administration. Louis IX secured his election as bishop of Évreux in 1269. Using the records of Philippe’s work in Reims, Paris, and Évreux, William Chester Jordan reconstructs Philippe’s career, providing a fascinating portrait of the successes and failures of reform in the thirteenth century.

In the thirteenth century, radical reformers - churchmen, devout laywomen and laymen, and secular rulers - undertook Hherculean efforts aimed at the moral reform of society. No principality was more affected by these impulses than France under its king, Louis IX or "Saint Louis." The monarch surrounded himself with gifted, energetic moralists to carry out his efforts. Servant of the Crown and Steward of the Church explores the career of one of the most influential of King Louis's reformers, Philippe of Cahors. Born into a bourgeois family dwelling on the periphery of the medieval kingdom of France, Philippe rose through the ecclesiastical hierarchy to the office of judge. There he came to the attention of royal administrators, who recommended him for the king's service. He ascended rapidly, and was eventually entrusted with the royal seal, effectively making constituting him the chancellor of the kingdom, the highest member of the royal administration. Louis IX secured his election as bishop of Évreux in 1269. Using the records of Philippe's work in Reims, Paris, and Évreux, William Chester Jordan reconstructs Philippe's his career, providing a fascinating portrait of the successes and failures of reform in the thirteenth century In the thirteenth century, radical reformers - churchmen, devout laywomen and laymen, and secular rulers - undertook Hherculean efforts aimed at the moral reform of society. No principality was more affected by these impulses than France under its king, Louis IX or "Saint Louis." The monarch surrounded himself with gifted, energetic moralists to carry out his efforts. Servant of the Crown and Steward of the Church explores the career of one of the most influential of King Louis's reformers, Philippe of Cahors. 0Born into a bourgeois family dwelling on the periphery of the medieval kingdom of France, Philippe rose through the ecclesiastical hierarchy to the office of judge. There he came to the attention of royal administrators, who recommended him for the king's service. He ascended rapidly, and was eventually entrusted with the royal seal, effectively making constituting him the chancellor of the kingdom, the highest member of the royal administration. Louis IX secured his election as bishop of vreux in 1269. Using the records of Philippe's work in Reims, Paris, and vreux, William Chester Jordan reconstructs Philippe's his career, providing a fascinating portrait of the successes and failures of reform in the thirteenth century "A short and engaging study of an important and successful figure in 13th Century France, the bishop of Evreux, Philippe of Cahors. Jordan describes the education and youth of the budding 13th century churchman, and what it took to rise to the heights of royal favor under the future St. Louis. He goes on to reveal what sort of tasks a member of parliament and keeper of the seal had to address, and the day to day and sometimes mundane duties of a bishop."-- Provided by publisher