STEPHEN LANGTON

English theologian, archbishop of Canterbury; b. Langton-by-Wragby, Lincolnshire, c. 1155; d. Slindon, Sussex, July 9, 1228. As a young man he went to Paris to study arts and theology, attending the lectures of John Beleth (fl. 1165) and peter comestor. Becoming a master in theology around 1180, he taught for more than 20 years at the University of Paris. Among his disciples were Guérin of Corbeil, Richard Poore (d. 1237 as bishop of Durham), Thomas Marlborough (d. 1236 as abbot of Evesham), and most probably Godfrey of Poitiers, whose Summa, written between 1213 and 1215, shows heavy dependence on Stephen. During his teaching years, Stephen was canon of York and of Notre Dame and became a close friend of Lothar of Segni, later Pope innocent iii. Called to Rome, he was made cardinal by Innocent on June 22, 1206. On the death of hubert walter, the monks of Canterbury elected rival candidates for the position of archbishop. Innocent, displeased with both King John's candidate, john de grey, and the younger monks' candidate, reginald of canterbury, declared the election void and ordered a new election in Rome. At the pope's suggestion, the delegation of Canterbury monks elected Stephen Langton in December 1206. On June 17, 1207, Innocent consecrated Stephen at Viterbo and conferred the pallium. The King's displeasure kept him in exile at the Cistercian abbey of Pontigny, France, for the next seven years. When King John surrendered his kingdom to Innocent, becoming his vassal on May 15, 1213, Stephen returned to England to absolve the King from excommunication on July 20. On August 25, according to Roger of Wendover, he preached an important sermon to the clergy and barons at St. Paul's, London, and afterward engaged the barons in a conversation concerning the possibility of regaining their lost liberties from the King. This culminated in the signing of the magna carta at Runnymede, June 15, 1215. Pope Innocent III, misunderstanding this settlement between the king and

barons, suspended Langton for more than two years, during which time he lived in Rome. The suspension was eventually revoked, on condition that he would not return to his see. After the death of Innocent and John, honorius iii permitted Langton to return to Canterbury in the spring of 1218. During the next ten years he became an increasingly dynamic and powerful ruler of the Church in England. He enforced the decrees of the Fourth Lateran Council and convoked a provincial council at Oxford in April 1222 that heralded a new era in the history of Church law in England (J. D. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, 31 v. (Florence-Venice 1757–98); reprinted and continued by L. Petit and J. B. Martin 53 v. in 60 (Paris 1889–1927; repr. Graz 1960–) 22:1147–68). Stephen died in his manor at Slindon, and was buried in his cathedral church at Canterbury.

As a teacher and writer, Langton was not only prolific, but popular and influential. His most permanent contribution was the division of the Bible into chapters, which, although not the first or only division, is the one followed today. His stature as a schoolman has led some historians to rank him as the greatest teacher between peter lombard and alexander of hales, a period of nearly a century.

By far the greatest and most important part of his writings is his commentaries on the whole of the Bible, which, for the most part, have not yet been published [see P. Glorieux, Répertoire des maîtres en théologie de Paris au XIII ^e siècle (Paris 1933–34)]; v.17–18 of Bibliothèque Thomiste 1:238–260). Besides commenting directly on the Bible, he wrote at least two commentaries on the Historia scholastica (one before 1187, the other in 1193) and a gloss on the Magna glossatura of the Pauline Epistles by Peter Lombard (between 1200 and 1203). He wrote also a substantial Summa theologiae (c. 1180–85) and published his Quaestiones disputatae, held in the schools (c. 1203–06). The importance of these questions is evident from their influence on Langton's successors in the schools, notably alexander neckham, Godfrey of Poitiers, robert of courÇon, william of auxerre, hugh of saint-cher, and roland of cremona. Known to his contemporaries and successors as Doctor nominatissimus, Stephen was one of the most widely quoted masters of his day. More than 500 sermons are extant in numerous MSS, besides his series on the Ave maris stella. He wrote also the hymn Veni Sancte Spiritus for the Mass of Pentecost and a Psalterium Mariae in 150 strophes [Psalteria Rythmica, ed. G. M. Dreves (Leipzig 1900) 35:153–171].

Bibliography: f. m. powicke, Stephen Langton (Oxford 1928). g. lacombe et al., "Studies on the Commentaries of Cardinal Stephen Langton," Archives d'histoire doctrinale et littéraire du moyen-âge 5 (1930) 52–66. p. glorieux, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al., 15 v. (Paris 1903–50; Tables Générales 1951–), Tables générales 1299. k. norgate, The Dictionary of National Biography from the Earliest Times to 1900, 63 v. (London 1885–1900; repr. with corrections, 21 v., 1908–09, 1921–22, 1938; suppl. 1901–) 11 563–569.

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