In the 7th century, probably around 639, Saint Audomar (Saint Omer) established the bishopric of TerwaanorTerenburginThérouanne. Thanks to that ecclesiastical control of some of the most prosperous cities north of the Alps, like Arras and Ypres, the bishopric was able to build a cathedral which was at the time the largest in France.
In 1099 the diocese of Thérouanne underwent a particularly wrenching experience. Their bishop, Gerard was denounced to Pope Urban II as a simoniac by the clergy of the diocese. He was unable to explain away the evidence and purge himself of the charge, and therefore he was compelled to resign and retire to the monastery of Saint-Eloi. The Canons of the Cathedral met and elected Erkembodus (Archambaud), Provost of the Cathedral of Saint-Omer as the new bishop. He declined the election. They then elected Aubert de Helcin, one of their own fellow canons, who was also Canon of Amiens. But then Lambert, the Abbot of Saint-Bertin held an election carried out by the clergy and laity of the diocese, which produced Jean de Warneton, who was a Canon of Lille and a religious of the monastery of Saint-Eloi. Abbot Lambert immediately set off for Rome, to have his choice ratified. On 25 April 1299, the third week after Easter, in a Council held in Rome, Pope Urban II quashed the election of Aubert de Helcin and upheld that of Jean de Warneton. Urban II wrote to the Metropolitan, Manasses of Reims, ordering him to have the clergy and people present Bishop-elect Jean to the Bishop of Arras for ordination to the priesthood. Then on 17 July 1099 Manasses himself consecrated Jean a bishop. Manasses was holding a council in Reims at the time, on instructions from Robert, Count of Flanders, to promote the Truce of God.[1]
In 1303, there had been a fire in Thérouanne, as a result of the marauding and pillaging of some nobles and clerks during war in Flanders, which had led to murder and desecration of churches and cemeteries. On 8 March 1304 Pope Benedict IX authorized the Chapter of Thérouanne to use the money left by Bishop Henri de Murs for the establishment for a prebend in the Cathedral for the purpose of repairing the church of Nôtre-Dame which had been damaged in the fire. On the same day he authorized the Bishop to use the first year of income from vacant benefices and prebends for the repair of the Cathedral.[2]
On 20 September 1346 the city of Thérouanne was besieged by the English and burned. Bishop Raimond Saquet was forced to flee and seek safety in Saint-Omer.[3]
In 1553 Charles V besieged Thérouanne, then a French enclave in the Holy Roman Empire, in revenge for a defeat by the French at Metz. After he captured the city he ordered it to be razed to the ground and the roads to be broken up.[4][5][6] In 1557, as a result of the war damage to its see, the diocese was abolished. About two decades later the diocese of Boulogne was created, bearing the name Thérouanne for a few years.[7]
^Arnade, Peter (2010). "The City defeated and defended". In Robert Stein; Judith Pollmann (eds.). Networks, Regions and Nations: Shaping Identities in the Low Countries, 1300-1650. Boston-Leiden: Brill. pp. 204–205. ISBN978-90-04-18024-6.
^Draucius or Drantius is said to have been the 'coadjutor' of Audomar after he went blind, along with two others. Whether he was a bishop, even Audomar's successor, depends, in the first instance, on the meaning of 'coadjutor' ('assistant bishop' or just 'helper'). Audomar recovered his eyesight. See:Gallia christiana X, pp. 1530-1531. Joannes Stilting, in Acta Sanctorum: September III (Antwerp 1750), p. 390E § 35. Bled (1904), pp. 42-43.
^Bled (1904), pp. 45-46. He died on 12 April 742, according to a manuscript in the Library of St. Omer, quoted by Bled.
^Humfrid was Abbot of Prume in the diocese of Trier. He was elected by the clergy and people and appointed by King Charles the Bald. In 862, he was driven from his diocese by the Northmen, and submitted his resignation to Pope Nicholas I, who refused it. In 1864 Humfrid was elected Abbot of Saint-Bertin. Laplane, pp. 73-76. Bled (1904), pp. 54-57.
^In July 1096, Bishop Gérard was accused of simony in the Council of Nimes and condemned. It appears that he was suspended from his functions from 1096-1099, when he resigned. Bled (1904), p. 94, no. 328. Gallia christiana X, p. 1562.
^He was named after the village of Warneton, where he was born. He was the son of Guillaume sieur de Comines, and is therefore sometimes called Jean de Comines: Bled (1904) p. 97 note 1. He had been Archdeacon of Arras.
^Adam de Montreuil was Archdeacon of Paris and Canon of Lillers before his election. He was confirmed by King Philip Augustus. Bishop Adam resigned on 16 April 1229 because of advanced age, and retired to the Abbey of Cluny. Bled (1904), pp. 212-245.
^Pierre had been Archdeacon of Flanders and Canon of the Cathedral of Terouanne before his election. He had been recommended by Bishop Adam. Pierre died on 21 March 1250 (Old calendar), 1251 (New calendar). Bled (1904), pp. 245-280.
^Bled (1904), pp. 291-299. In 1262 two competing bishops were elected, John d'Ici, Dean of Meaux and Michael de Fiennes Canon of Thérouanne, but the situation was not sorted out until about 1270, when both had died. In 1271 Henri de Murs was elected, but the Metropolitan Jean of Reims refused to sanction him. Then Raymond Archdeacon of Artois made his own objection. At least during the period from 29 November 1268 to February 1272, when there was a vacancy on the papal throne as well, no transfers or bulls of consecration could be issued. It was John XXI who, after a proper inquiry by a commission of cardinals, finally confirmed Henri de Murs. Bled (1904), p. 300, note 1. E. Cadier, Le Registre de Jean XXI (Paris 1892), p. 4 no. 5.
^He was Cantor of the Church of St. Omer when elected. Bled (1904), pp. 299-309.
^Jean de Vienne, Councilor of King Philip VI of France, was transferred from the diocese of Avranches on 14 December 1330. On 20 March 1332, he was sent as ambassador of the Pope to King Philip, about the Crusade. On 22 October 1334 he was transferred to the See of Reims. Bled (1904), pp.340-343. Eubel, I, p. 351.
^Raymond Sacheti had been Dean of Beauvais and Councilor in the Parliament of Lyon. In 1334 he was sent by King Philip VI as ambassador to conclude a peace with King Edward II of England. On 18 March 1345 Pope Clement VI appointed Bishop Raymond Saquet his Legate to Asia, but the execution of the appointment was blocked by King Philip VI. On 20 September 1347 Bishop Raymond fled the burning of Thérouanne by the English. In the summer of 1347 he was sent by King Philip VI on an embassy to the King of Aragon, and in December 1349 he was sent to the war in Gascony. On 23 August 1350 Pope Clement VI sent him as Papal Legate to Sicily; he was still there in March 1351. On 1 June 1354 the Bishop was again in remotis, though the nature of the assignment is unknown; he was home by October. But in 1354 he was sent as ambassador to Castile by King John II. On 10 February 1356 Bishop Raymond was named Archbishop of Lyon. Bled, pp. 344-361, nos. 2125, 2193, 2209, 2214, 2216, 2223, 2225, 2229.
^Gallia christiana X, p. 1562. He died as Bishop of Paris on 16 July 1409: Eubel, I, p. 391.
^Matthieu de Bapaume had been a Doctor of Theology, Confessor of King Charles VI, a Canon of Paris, and Archdeacon of Arras. Gallia christiana X, p. 1564. He was confirmed by Pope Benedict XIII on 19 July 1404: Eubel, I, p. 351.
^In 1415 another bishop, Guillaume of Lausanne, was transferred to Terouanne by Pope John XXIII, but Louis de Luxembourg refused to recognize the appointment or to give way. The situation was regularized by Pope Martin V on 24 November 1418, who simply reappointed Louis, absolving him from whatever ecclesiastical censures he might have incurred. In 1436 he was transferred to the Archbishopric of Rouen. Eubel, I, p. 351 n. 10. Gallia christiana X, pp. 1564-1566.
^François Du Chesne (1680). Histoire des chancelliers de France et des gardes de sceaux de France (in French). Paris. pp. 443–447. Louis de Luxembourg was also Administrator of the Diocese of Ely, 1437-1443: Eubel, II, 150. B. Jones (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300-1541: Volume 4, Monastic Cathedrals (Southern Province) "Bishops of Ely." London: Institute of Historical Research, 1963. pp. 13-16. British History Online. List of Bishops of Ely, retrieved: 2016-09-06.
^David of Burgundy was the natural son of Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. He was elected on 13 September. He swore his oath to King Charles VII for the temporalities on 8 April 1452. He was transferred to Utrecht on 12 September 1457. He died on 16 April 1494. Gallia christiana X, p. 1566-1567.
