Peter Quinel


Peter Quinel was a medieval Bishop of Exeter. He became a canon of Exeter Cathedral in 1276 and his episcopate began in 1280 and continued until he died in 1291. He issued a set of rules governing the clergy in his diocese and the required furnishing of churches and continued the rebuilding efforts at Exeter Cathedral.

Life

Quinel was born about 1230, to Peter Quinel and his wife Helewis. He may have been educated at a university, because in 1262 he was given the title of master, which implies a university education.
Quinel had the office of archdeacon of St David's in 1263, and later became a canon of Exeter Cathedral in 1276.
Quinel was elected between 7 August and 7 October 1280 and consecrated on 10 November 1280. His consecration took place at Canterbury Cathedral and was performed by Richard of Gravesend who was Bishop of London.
While bishop, Quinel legislated that clerics' clothes should be all one colour, gave detailed lists of the required furnishings of a church, and ordered that any uneducated clergy should be deprived of office. These were part of a set of statutes that Quinel issued in 1287 for his diocese. He also continued the rebuilding efforts at Exeter Cathedral, and was generally credited with deciding to rework the cathedral along Gothic lines.
Quinel died in October 1291, probably on the 1st. He was buried in the lady chapel in his cathedral, where his tomb slab is still extant.

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