Hugh of Lincoln, Saint (1135?-1200), a French-born English clergyman, was bishop of Lincoln from 1186 until his death. He won the admiration of the English kings Henry II and Richard I by fearlessly arguing against them. He defended the Jews against rioting mobs and championed the common people against unjust laws in the royal forests.
Hugh was born at Avalon, in Burgundy, France, into a noble family and became a Carthusian monk. Henry II summoned him to England in 1178. There Hugh founded a Carthusian monastery at Witham, in Somerset. Hugh rebuilt Lincoln Cathedral and established an important religious school in the city. Hugh was canonized as a saint in 1220. His feast day is November 17.
