Archbishop Morton
|
His Eminence John Morton J.C.D. D.C.L. |
|
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of All England |
|
| Appointed | 6 October 1486 |
| Term ended | 15 September 1500 |
| Predecessor | Thomas Bourchier |
| Successor | Thomas Langton |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 31 January 1479 |
| Created Cardinal | 20 September 1493 |
| Rank | Cardinal priest of Santa Anastasia |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
c. 1420 Dorset, England |
| Died | 15 September 1500 Knole House, near Sevenoaks, Kent, England |
| Buried | Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral |
| Nationality | English |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post | Bishop of Ely, 1479–1486 |
| Education | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Coat of arms |  |
John Morton (c.1420 – 15 September 1500) was an English prelate who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1486 until his death and also Lord Chancellor of England from 1487. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1493.
Born in Dorset, he was probably educated at Balliol College, Oxford. After graduating with a BCL in 1448, he practised law in ecclesiastical courts, including the Court of Archesbeing appointed rector of Shellingford (Berkshire) in 1453. He was made prebendary of Sarum in 1458, rector of St. Dunstan's (in the West), archdeacon of Norwich circa 1460. He became a government lawyer with the Lancastrian party and drafted the Bill of Attainder against Richard, Duke of York in 1459. He was captured after the Battle of Towton and attainted, but escaped into exile, joining Queen Margaret in France, where he was Keeper of the Privy Seal to Henry VI in the Lancastrian government in exile and graduated in theology from the University of Louvain in 1469.
He returned to England in 1470, but following the failure of the Readeption and the murder of Henry VI, he made his peace with Edward IV. He received a royal pardon in July 1471, and became a Master of Chancery that Michaelmas, and Master of the Rolls in the following March. Further church appointments followed, as Archdeacon of Winchester and Dean of the Court of Arches in 1474, canon of Wells from 1475 to 1478, archdeacon of Berkshire in 1476 and archdeacon of Norfolk in 1477. He was appointed Master of the Rolls from 1472 to 1479.
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