Stephen Bersted

Infobox bishopbiog
name =Stephen Bersted


religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Chichester
Title = Bishop of Chichester
Period = 1262–1287
Predecessor = John Climping
Successor =Gilbert of St Leonard
ordination =
bishops =
post =Canon of Chichester
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =21 October 1287
place of death =

Stephen Bersted or Stephen of Pagham [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=34293 British History Online Bishops of Chichester] accessed on 21 October 2007] or Stephen de BerkstedMoorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. 159] was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.

Life

He was from a humble background, and came from Bersted, Sussex which at the time was part of the archbishop of Canterbury's estate at Pagham. He studied at Oxford University, and was a regent of theology there for a time.Knowles ‘"Bersted, Stephen (b. before 1220, d. 1287)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2228 Online Edition] accessed 27 November 2007] He was a Canon of Chichester and a chaplain to Saint Richard of Chichester when Richard was bishop of Chichester. He was elected to the see of Chichester between 26 May and 20 June of 1262. He was consecrated on 24 September 1262Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 239] at Canterbury. He was a supporter of Simon de Montfort which earned him a suspension from office on 1 December 1265 by the papal legate Ottobuono, but after traveling to Rome, he was absolved by Pope Gregory X on 26 November 1272. King Edward I of England however, confiscated his lands on his return from Rome, only restoring them to the bishop on 20 April 1273. Stephen served as one of the three electors of the nine members of the council that Montfort set up after the Battle of Lewes in 1264. He served with Montfort himself and Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester.Prestwich "Plantagenet England" p. 114-115] By June of 1276 he was back in royal favor, for King Edward I of England attended the ceremony held that month where Stephen oversaw the translation of the relics of Saint Richard of Chichester to a new shrine.

Stephen became blind a few years before he died on 21 October 1287. He was probably related to Thomas Bersted who was Dean of Chichester, and another Stephen of Bersted who was a canon of Chichester.

Notes

References

* [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=34293 British History Online Bishops of Chichester] accessed on 21 October 2007
*
* Knowles, Clive H. ‘"Bersted, Stephen (b. before 1220, d. 1287)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2228 Online Edition] accessed 27 November 2007
* Moorman, John R. H. "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" Revised Edition Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1955
* Prestwich, Michael "Plantagenet England 1225-1360" Oxford: Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-922687-0

Persondata
NAME= Bersted, Stephen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Stephen of Pagham; Berksted, Stephen de
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Chichester
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=21 October 1287
PLACE OF DEATH=