LANGTON, STEPHEN. — Theologian and cardinal, born in England c. 1150, died at Slindon on 9 July 1228. In Paris he attended the lectures of Giovanni Belethe and Pietro Comestor, and, having obtained the master’s degree in theology around 1180, taught at the University for some twenty years.
Created cardinal by Innocent III (22 June 1206) and archbishop of Canterbury (hence the name Stephens Cantuariensis) on 17 June 1207, his election was contested by the king of England, and he was unable to take possession of his see until 1213. As archbishop of Canterbury he engaged in an activity that left its mark on the national history of England: he contributed to the drafting of the Magna Charta and presided over the Council of Oxford in 1228. In accordance with medieval usage, he bore the title of Doctor nominatissimus. An exceptionally learned man, he wrote postils and glosses on almost all the books of Holy Scripture, a commentary on the Historia scholastica of Pietro Comestor, numerous quaestiones and sermones, and, above all, two theological summae of particular importance. With the exception of the Sermo in transl. s. Thomae Cantuariensis (PL 190, 407–24), everything has remained unpublished. P. Glorieux (Répertoire des maîtres en théologie de Paris au XIIIe siècle, I, Paris 1933, pp. 238–60) provides an exact list of all L.’s works, indicating their incipits and the manuscripts in which they are contained.