Richard Barre
| Richard Barre | |
|---|---|
| Archdeacon of Ely | |
|
|
| Church | Catholic |
| Other posts | Archdeacon of Lisieux |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1130 |
| Died | c. 1202 |
Richard Barre (c. 1130 – c. 1202) was a medieval English justice, clergyman and scholar. He was educated at the law school of Bologna and entered royal service under King Henry II of England, later working for Henry's son and successor Richard I. He was also briefly in the household of Henry's son Henry the Young King. Barre served the elder Henry as a diplomat and was involved in a minor way with the king's quarrel with Thomas Becket, which earned Barre a condemnation from Becket. After King Henry's death, Barre became a royal justice during Richard's reign and was one of the main judges in the period from 1194 to 1199. After disagreeing with him earlier in his career, Barre was discharged from his judgeship during John's reign as king. Barre was also archdeacon of Ely and the author of a work of biblical extracts dedicated to one of his patrons, William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England.
Whether Barre was a native of England or of Normandy is unknown, but his surname appears to derive from the Norman village of La Barre, near Bernay, in the present-day department of Eure. He was likely born around 1130 and was related to Normandy's Sifrewast family, knights in Berkshire. Barre had a relative, Hugh Barre, who was Archdeacon of Leicester in the 1150s. Barre studied law at Bologna in Italy before 1150 and was a student there with Stephen of Tournai, who became Bishop of Tournai in 1192. Another fellow student wrote a short verse addressed to Barre: "Pontificum causas regumque negocia tractes, Qui tibi divicias deliciasque parant", which translates to "May you manage the causes of bishops and the affairs of kings, Who provide riches and delights for you." After finishing his schooling, Barre seems to have worked for either Robert de Chesney, the Bishop of Lincoln, or Nicholas, Archdeacon of Huntingdon; the main evidence for this is that Barre witnessed charters for both men from 1160 to 1164. By 1165, Barre had joined the household of King Henry II of England.
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