The case of the incorrigible canon: Dublin's first heresy conviction, 1310, and the rivalry between its cathedral chapters

Abstract

Abstract:Dublin's atypical arrangement of two neighbouring cathedral chapters, St Patrick's and Holy Trinity, was a source of ongoing conflict. The conflict became more sinister in the early fourteenth century after Thomas de Chaddesworth, the dean of St Patrick's and the vicar of the archbishop-elect of Dublin, served as the primary inquisitor in the trial of the Templars and in 1310 initiated heresy proceedings against Philip de Braybrook, a canon of Holy Trinity. This article explores the conflict between the two chapters and how it shaped Philip's trial; it also examines the exceptionally irregular circumstances in which he became Dublin's first convicted heretic.