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Onsite visit

He obtained the benefice of Yetminster Secunda, a prebend in
Salisbury; and the rectorate of Heigham, near Norwich; he went
back to England on matters between the pope and King Richard II;
the cardinal represented English interests in the Roman curia. Car-
dinal protoprete in June 1396. While he was at Oxford, he authored
several works in Greek, Latin and Hebrew, which are no longer in
existence. His works also included a treatise on the election of the
pope, De electione Pontiffici; De Potestate Ecclesiae (on the disputes
between the king and the pope), Defensorium Ecclesie; and a work on
the form of procedure against heretics in which we may see an echo
of his part against Wyclif. He is said to have written Perfectio Vitae
Spiritualis, a work for the use of contemplatives. 14 Cardinal Easton
is also said to have composed the Office for the Feast of the Visitation,
extended by the pope to the entire church, in the hope that, by the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the schism might be ended;
this Office was replaced by another one in the liturgical reform of
Pope Pius V. He also worked for the canonization of Bridget of
Sweden, which was accomplished on October 7, 1391. He was
named perpetual administrator of the see of London. 15
14 Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II,
col. 648-649, gives the list of his works: De Communicatione Idiomatum; De sua
Calamitate; De Potestae Ecclesiæ; De Electione Pontificis; Defensorium Ecclesiæ;
De Perfectione vitæ Spiritualis; Modum conferendi Beneficia; Formam procedendi
contra Hæreticos; Opus vitæ contra Hæreticos; Dialogum Regis, & Episcopi; De
Diversitate Translationum; De Veritate Catholica Græcè; Meteororum Aristotelis
libros latinitate donavit; Hebraicè etiam edidit; Alphabetum Iudæorum; Textum
Hebraicum Bibliorum; Postillam Hebraicam; Psalterium Hebriacum; Exposi-
tionem Levitici; Hebraica Saraceni; and Hebraica Iarchi Salomonis.
15 This is according to his epitaph, transcribed in note 6. See “Essai de liste
générale des cardinaux. VI. Les cardinaux du Grand Schisme (1378-1417)” in
Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1931, p. 132, says that this is mistaken. Hesel-
tine, The English cardinals: With some account of those of other English-
speaking countries, p. 52, Heseltine states that although he was been re-
ferred to as bishop of London in works dating back to the 17 th century, there
is no evidence of it. Neither Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, I, 311; nor
Pius Bonifatius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae 3 v. in 1. (Graz :
Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957), p. 194, mention him in the
catalog of occupants of the see of London. Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontif-

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