Simon Langham (1310 – 22 July 1376) was an English clergyman who wasArchbishop of Canterbury and acardinal.

Langham was born atLangham inRutland. The manor of Langham was a property ofWestminster Abbey, and he had become amonk in theBenedictine Abbey of St Peter at Westminster by 1346, and later prior and then abbot of this house.^[1] He was the son of Thomas Langham who was buried in the abbey.^[2]

In November 1360, Langham was madeTreasurer of England^[3] and on 10 January 1362 he becameBishop of Ely and was consecrated on 20 March 1362.^[4] During his time as Bishop of Ely he was a major benefactor ofPeterhouse, Cambridge, giving them the rectory ofCherry Hinton.^[5] He resigned the treasurership before 20 February 1363,^[3] and was appointedChancellor of England on 21 February 1363.^[6]

He was chosen Archbishop of Canterbury on 24 July 1366.^[7]

Perhaps the most interesting incident in Langham's primacy was when he drove thesecular clergy fromCanterbury College, Oxford and filled their places with monks or friars in 1366. The expelled head of the seculars was a certain John de Wiclif, who has been identified with the reformerJohn Wycliffe. In 1371 Wycliffe's appeal to Rome was decided and was unfavourable to him. The incident was typical of the ongoing rivalry between monks and secular clergy at Oxford University at this time.^[8]

Notwithstanding the part Langham as Chancellor had taken in the anti-papal measures of 1365 and 1366, he was made cardinal ofSan Sisto Vecchio byPope Urban V in 1368. This lost him the favour ofEdward III; two months later, he resigned his archbishopric and went toAvignon.^[7] He had already resigned the chancellorship on 18 July 1367.^[6] He was soon allowed to hold other although less exalted positions in England.

In 1374, he was elected Archbishop of Canterbury for the second time, but he withdrew his claim and died at Avignon on 22 July 1376. He was buried in Avignon but his body was moved to Westminster Abbey in 1379.^[2] Langham's tomb, in the chapel of St Benedict, is the work ofHenry Yevele and Stephen Lote, and dates from 1389-1395.^[2] It is the oldest monument to an ecclesiastic in the Abbey.

Langham left the residue of his large estate and his library toWestminster Abbey, and has been called its second founder. His bequest paid for the building of the western section of the nave. The books he gave are listed inThe Manuscripts of Westminster Abbey (1909) by J. A. Robinson andM. R. James.^[2]

Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900Dictionary of National Biography's article aboutLangham, Simon.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Langham, Simon".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 174.
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996).Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-56350-X.

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