Walter de Coutances - Acting Justiciar

Acting Justiciar

After Longchamp's exile Coutances was named head of a council of regency, which is sometimes equated to the post of Chief Justiciar, although he never referred to himself as such nor is he titled that in any official document. Most modern historians, however, name him as justiciar. He held that power until about 25 December 1193, when Hubert Walter was appointed Justiciar.

Coutances had long experience in the chancery, but little experience with judicial matters. Most of his efforts while in the justiciarship were centred on raising Richard's ransom. As evidence of this emphasis on raising money, Coutances sent out few itinerant justices during his time in power. Six groups of justices were sent out in 1192, but in 1193 none were sent out, and even the justices based in Westminster held few sessions. Of those justices appointed, like his predecessor in the justiciarship, Coutances used justices from a wide range of backgrounds, and many of those sent out on itinerent rounds were local to the area, rather than the increasingly professional justices used under Coutances' successor Hubert Walter. The justiciarship during this period was less connected to justice and was more closely tied to the Exchequer, or treasury of England, and most of the power in the office derived from its control of the Exchequer.

A new note in Coutances' administration was his custom of issuing writs not in his own name, as had previously been the practice, but in the king's name. The archbishop also stressed that his decisions were made with the advice and consent of many of the leading nobles of the realm, as well as the barons of the Exchequer. This was a reaction against Longchamp's authoritarian method of government.

The archbishop supervised the election of a new Archbishop of Canterbury, as Baldwin of Forde had died while on Crusade in 1190. Although both Longchamp and Coutances were considered as possible candidates and rivals for the see, the cathedral chapter of Canterbury elected the Bishop of Bath, Reginald fitz Jocelin in November 1191. Reginald died a month later and the see remained vacant until March 1193, when the king's candidate, Hubert Walter, was elected.

During 1191 the citizens of the city of London managed to acquire from Coutances and Prince John the recognition that the city was self-governing, something they had been attempting to secure for a number of years. This however, was not the grant of a complete charter of liberties, which did not occur until 1199. In February 1193 Coutances summoned a council to Oxford, to address problems of administration and defence after the recently received news of Richard's captivity in Germany. The council also took oaths of fealty to Richard. Prince John, however, hearing that Richard was in captivity, immediately went to France and swore homage to King Philip for Richard's lands, and then returned to England and raised a rebellion. Coutances proceeded to besiege Windsor Castle, which was held by Prince John's men. When John heard that Richard was going to be freed, he left England and went to France.

In February 1194 Coutances was in Germany, at the court of the German emperor, along with Longchamp, who brought letters to Richard, still in captivity. On 4 February, Coutances became a hostage to the German emperor for the payment of the outstanding portion of Richard's ransom, and the king was released. The king never paid the final installment of his ransom, and the archbishop had to pay 10,000 marks for his own release. From that point onwards Coutances was no longer involved with English politics or government, and spent the rest of his career on Norman affairs. His record of charter witnessing bears this out; between 1189 and 1194 Coutances was among the most prolific of the witnesses to the king's English charters, but not after 1194.