Life

Wickwane's background is unknown, as is his place of education, but he was referred to as magister so he probably attended a university. He was prebendary of North Newald in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 by 1265 and also held the prebend of Ripon. He was elected Archbishop of York on 22 June 1279, and consecrated on 17 September 1279 by Pope Nicholas III

Pope Nicholas III

Pope Nicholas III , born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, Pope from November 25, 1277 to his death in 1280, was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight Popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St...

 at Viterbo

Viterbo

See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...

. On his return to England, he had his primatial cross carried in front of him through the see of Canterbury, thus reviving a centuries old controversy between York and Canterbury. He was enthroned at York Minster

York Minster

York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

 on Christmas Day 1279. The matter of the cross involved Wickwane in a dispute with Archbishop John Peckham

John Peckham

John Peckham was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Franciscan friar about 1250. He studied at Paris under Bonaventure, where he later taught theology. From his teaching, he came into conflict with Thomas...

 of Canterbury.

While archbishop, in 1281 Wickwane tried make an archiepiscopal visitation of the cathedral chapter

Cathedral chapter

In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...

 of Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

, but was forcibly prevented by the cathedral chapter, after which Wickwane excommunicated the chapter and Robert of Holy Island

Robert of Holy Island

Robert of Holy Island was a medieval Bishop of Durham.Robert was the son of crofters and was a native of the island of Lindisfarne. He had a brother, Henry, who became Robert's executor. He became a Benedictine monk at Durham, where he served as sacrist from 1265 to 1269. He was prior of Durham's...

, the Bishop of Durham, and placed the entire diocese of Durham under interdict

Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)

In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...

. The chapter and bishop appealed to Rome, and the case dragged on for six years before eventually being settled by a compromise. He also wrote to Bogo de Clare

Bogo de Clare

Bogo de Clare was the third son of Richard de Clare , 5th Earl of Hertford, 6th Earl of Gloucester. He held multiple clerical livings, without apparently, having been ordained priest.-References:...

 while the later was still a canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of York Minster, taking Bogo to task for the state of the vestments and other liturgical items in the cathedral. Wickwane also attempted to keep clergy who kept concubines from performing clerical functions in the diocese of York

Diocese of York

The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire....

.

Wickwane died on 26 August or 27 August 1285 at Pontigny Abbey

Pontigny Abbey

Pontigny Abbey, founded in 1114 as the second of the four great daughter houses of Cîteaux Abbey, was a Cistercian monastery situated in the commune of Pontigny, on the River Serein, in the present diocese of Sens and department of Yonne, in Burgundy, France.-History:Hildebert , a canon of...

 in Burgundy while on his way to the papal curia to plead his case against the monks of Durham. He was buried at the Cistercian abbey there in Pontigny

Pontigny

Pontigny is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France....

.

Further reading