The New Murrey and Blue blog

The reason for this post is not that on 14 June 1381 Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, was executed by the mob in the Peasants’ Revolt . The rebels had actually cornered him—and the others mentioned above—in the Tower of London itself. No mean feat, and there has long been a suspicion that the rebels were admitted by the Tower guards..

I have concerned myself with Simon because I wondered whether or not, in the 14th century, a godfather who was also a cleric could officiate at the wedding of his godson. Simon was one of the godfathers of Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford and close friend of Richard II. The mysteries of the medieval Church have always confounded me, and although I couldn’t see any real reason why this particular wedding couldn’t take place, there was always the chance that some rule or other forbade it. I simply thought that if it could, I could use it as an extra shade of colour for my wip.

My enquiries produced a general consensus that yes, Simon could indeed have officiated at Robert’s wedding. Whether he did or not is another matter. Details of Robert de Vere’s wedding to the unfortunate Philippa de Coucy, granddaughter of Edward III, are thin on the ground, and there’s even disagreement about in which year it took place. Philippa, of course, was to be scandalously ignored and ditched (by Robert himself if not legally or in the eyes of the Church). He’d fallen hook, line and sinker for the mysterious Agnes Launcekrona (various spellings), one of the Bohemian ladies of Richard II’s queen, Anne of Bohemia. But Philippa remained the Countess of Oxford, whether he liked it or not. What Agnes thought is unknown. It isn’t even known if she welcomed Robert’s frantic attentions or not.

But that’s all by the by, because poor old Simon is famous these days due to his head. This grisly relic still exists and is displayed at St. Gregory’s, Sudbury (the illustration above is from here).

I haven’t seen the head in the flesh so to speak (yes, it still has some tissue attached), but I have seen it on television. It’s pretty revolting and is kept in a small glass-fronted cubby hole in a wall. The illustration below is from this site.)

I’m told that the poor man now only boasts one ear, the other having been detached during his execution in 1381. St Gregory’s in Sudbury, Suffolk goes one further and also boasts the unfortunate Simon’s ghost. See here. I imagine the head and body have reunited in the hereafter!

Well, I’m certain that should he have officiated at Robert de Vere’s wedding, Simon would have been hale and hearty….and possessed of his head and both ears!