William Warham (1450-22 August 1532) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 29 November 1503 to 22 August 1532, succeeding Henry Deane and preceding Thomas Cranmer.
Biography[]
William Warham was born in Malshanger, Hampshire, England in 1450, and he was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford. He practiced and taught law in both London and Oxford after graduating, and he became Master of the Rolls in 1494. King Henry VII of England saw him as a great diplomat, and he helped to arrange the marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon. In 1502, he was consecrated Bishop of London and became Keeper of the Great Seal, but, in 1504, he was promoted to Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1506, he became Chancellor of Oxford University, a role he held until his death. As archbishop, he was arbitrary, and his unpopularity led to his resignation as Lord Chancellor in 1515. He was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in France in 1520 and assisted Cardinal Thomas Wolsey as assessor during the secret inquiry into the validity of King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1527. In 1532, he protested against Parliament's persecution of the Catholic Church, and he died of natural causes that same year.