Foxhals (Foxhalls, Foxholes), John

Foxhals (Foxhalls, Foxholes), John (c.1415–1474), archbishop of Armagh, was an English Franciscan provided to Armagh after the death of Archbishop John Bole (qv), and before his provision had no connection with Ireland. He was in the convent in Lichfield c.1436–1441 and in the Oxford convent by 1451, received a B.Th. from Oxford (1454) and went on to teach theology in Bologna, and is credited with writing two books on Johannes Duns Scottus, although neither has survived. Foxhals was provided to Armagh by a Franciscan pope on the understanding that he paid at least some of the debts owed by his predecessor Archbishop Bole, before receiving the papal bulls that would allow him to administer the see. Although Foxhals was consecrated archbishop p. December 1471 and secured a loan of 1,100 florins from Italian merchants, he failed to pay enough of his debts to gain the bulls. He remained in London for some three years, appointing proctors to run his diocese, and died in the city some time before 23 November 1474. Foxhals's period as archbishop was effectively an extended vacancy, and did little more than worsen the financial position of the diocese as his debts were simply added to those of Archbishop Bole and passed on to his successor, Edmund Connesburgh (qv), who was equally unable to meet the financial demands of the office.