Walter Langton († 9 November 1321) began his stellar career around 1281 as a royal finance officer. Edward I held him in high esteem and secured his election as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in 1296. Langton was more of a diplomat and politician than a churchman. He was not very squeamish in raising financial resources for himself and the Crown. Most of the lords had little sympathy for him. In 1305, a dispute arose between the Prince of Wales and Langton. The reason for this is unknown. Edward I took sides with his confidant. One of Edward II’s first acts in 1307 was to arrest Langton, who was on his way to Westminster to prepare for the funeral of Edward I, who had appointed him executor of his will. An extensive investigation into his embezzlement followed. Langton partially confessed, but the king postponed the trial until after his coronation. In the meantime, however, the Pope has been pressing for the bishop’s release. Since Edward II needed the Holy Father’s support to revoke the exile against Gaveston, Langton was able to leave prison in the autumn of 1308. Four years later, the king reinstated him in the post he had already held under his father.
Edward II
He only appears in [Scene 1], where he is thrown into prison by Edward II, who believes the bishop to be to blame for Gaveston’s previous banishment. In Marlowe, Langton is more bishop than treasurer. The humiliations he faces at the hands of the king and Gaveston could thus be seen as a point against Catholicism.1
- Berdan (1924)↩︎
