William Lyndwood

William Lyndwood (c. 1375 – 21/22 October 1446) was an English bishop of St. David's, diplomat and canonist, most notable for the publication of the Provinciale.

Early life Lyndwood was born in Linwood, Lincolnshire, one of seven children. His parents were John Lyndwood (died 1419), a prosperous wool merchant, and his wife Alice. There is a monumental brass to John Lyndwood in the local parish church in which an infant William is portrayed decked in the robes of a doctor of laws.

Lyndwood was educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge though few details are known. He is thought to have become a fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge though later he moved to Oxford where he became DCL "probably rather by incorporation than constant education". He took Holy Orders and was ordained deacon in 1404 and priest in 1407.

He was also Keeper of the Privy Seal from 1432 to 1443. Despite the fact that so much of Lyndwood's energies were spent upon purely secular concerns nothing seems ever to have been said against his moral or religious character. The Catholic Encyclopaedia also contends that Maitland's arguments had found broader acceptance in English law:

However, Maitland's view of Lyndwood's authority was attacked by Ogle.