Simon of Southwell | |
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Treasurer of Lichfield Cathedral | |
Diocese | Diocese of Lichfield |
Installed | 1203 |
Personal details | |
Profession |
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Simon of Southwell was a medieval English canon lawyer and canon who became treasurer of the cathedral chapter of Lichfield Cathedral. He served in the household of Hubert Walter, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1193 to 1205. Pope Celestine III appointed Simon as a papal judge-delegate, and Simon also served Walter in Rome on two legal cases. A number of the glosses on a late-twelfth-century copy of Gratian's Decretum are ascribed to Simon.
Simon was treasurer of the cathedral chapter in 1203. He also held a prebend at Lichfield until 1209. Previously he had been a lecturer in canon law at Bologna, Paris and at Oxford. In Paris, Simon argued a case before Peter the Chanter that dealt with papal mandates, and his arguments won over Peter to his side of the discussion.
While at Oxford, Simon, along with John of Tynemouth, Honorius of Kent, and possibly Nicholas de Aquila are the first securely attested lecturers on law known for Oxford. Simon may also have studied canon law at Bologna.
Simon served in the household of Hubert Walter, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1193 to 1205. Simon served along with other canon lawyers including John of Tynemouth and Honorius of Kent. He had previously been with the household of Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, transferring to Walter's household about 1195.