Colton, John

Colton, John an English divine of the 14th century, was born at Terrington, Norfolk, and became chaplain to William Bateman, bishop of Norwich, and the first master (by appointment of the founder) of Gonville Hall, Cambridge. Leland says he was a man "plus quam mediocriter doctius et bonus," for which, qualities it is presumed Henry IV promoted him to be bishop of Ar- magh and primate of Ireland (or, as Fuller says, correcting Lits, this was done by Richard II). He was employed at the court of Rome in the schism between popea Urban VI and Clement VII, which occasioned the writing of his learned treatise, De causa Schismatis, and another book as a sequel, De Remedius Ejusden. He is supposed to have resigned his archbishopric before his death, which occurred in 1404. See Warens, De Scriptoribus Hibernicis, page 129; Fuller, Worthies of England (ed. Nuttall), 2:459.