Thomas of Hereford

Thomas de Cantilupe
Bishop of Hereford
"Modern" arms of Thomas de Cantilupe: Gules, three leopard's faces reversed jessant-de-lys or. These arms were subsequently assumed by the See of Hereford
Installed	1275
Term ended	1282
Predecessor	John de Breton
Successor	Richard Swinefield
Personal details
Born	c. 1218 Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England
Died	25 August 1282 (aged 63–64) Ferento, Montefiascone, Papal States (now Italy)
Denomination	Catholic
Sainthood
Feast day	25 August, 2 October
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion
Title as Saint	Thomas of Hereford
Canonized	17 April 1320 by Pope John XXII
Attributes	dressed as a bishop
Shrines	Hereford Cathedral
Lord Chancellor
In office 1264–1265
Monarch	Henry III of England
Preceded by	John Chishull
Succeeded by	Ralph Sandwich

Thomas de Cantilupe (c. 1218 – 25 August 1282) (alias Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe, etc., Latinised to de Cantilupo) was Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford and was canonised in 1320 by Pope John XXII.

Cantilupe was born at Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, a son of William de Cantilupe (d. 1251), an Anglo-Norman magnate and a minister of King John, and nephew of Walter de Cantilupe (d. 1266), Bishop of Worcester.

Cantilupe was educated at Oxford, Paris and Orléans, and was a teacher of canon law at the University of Oxford, where he became Chancellor in 1261.

During the Second Barons' War, Cantilupe favoured Simon de Montfort and the baronial party. He represented the barons before King Louis IX of France at Amiens in 1264.

On 25 February 1264, when he was Archdeacon of Stafford, Cantilupe was made Lord Chancellor of England, but was deprived of the office after de Montfort's death at the Battle of Evesham, and lived abroad for a while. Following his return to England, he was again appointed Chancellor of Oxford University, where he lectured on theology and held several ecclesiastical appointments.