ABSTRACT
This chapter argues the transition to papal provision now complete, English episcopal appointment ceases to solely English affairs; it had become inevitable that each appointment would have a European element. Of course, even in the days when almost all vacant bishoprics filles without foreign influence or intervention, episcopal appointments had not been a solely English concern; instead, the topic was one that exercises both church and state across the entire breadth of Latin Christendom. A full-scale examination of the episcopal appointments of medieval Europe is clearly beyond the scope of this study. The chapter considers episcopal appointments in France, Scotland and Italy during the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, highlighting the key features of their electoral history and comparing and contrasting their experiences with the English experience. This trio of countries has been selected according to practical considerations, but also for historical reasons: they provide a range of political and ecclesiastical contexts, thus offering reasonable scope for comparison.
