Life

Romeyn was the illegitimate son of John le Romeyn the elder, treasurer of York. The younger John was born while his father was still a subdeacon

Subdeacon

-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...

, and nothing is known about his mother, except for a 14th century chronicler's mention that she was a waiting woman. His birth was probably around 1230. He was a master at Oxford University and a Doctor of Theology at the University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

 by 1276.

Romeyn was rector of Nether Wallop

Nether Wallop

Nether Wallop is a village in central Hampshire, England.It is part of The Wallops: Nether, Middle and Over Wallop. The name derives from 'waella' and 'hop' or 'the valley of springing water'...

, Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 and precentor

Precentor

A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is "præcentor", from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" ....

 and chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 of Lincoln

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

 as well as holding the prebend of Warthill

Warthill

Warthill is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about six miles east of York. The village is part of Ryedale District Council....

 in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 before being elected Archbishop of York on 29 October 1285. Romeyn went to Rome to receive his pallium

Pallium

The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...

, but while there questions arose about the canonical validity of his election, so John resigned, and a new election was held under Pope Honorius IV

Pope Honorius IV

Pope Honorius IV , born Giacomo Savelli, was Pope for two years from 1285 to 1287. During his unremarkable pontificate he largely continued to pursue the pro-French policy of his predecessor, Pope Martin IV...

's supervision, where Romeyn was once more elected. He was consecrated 10 February 1286 by Latino Malabranca Orsini

Latino Malabranca Orsini

Latino Malabranca Orsini was an Italian Cardinal-nephew of Pope Nicholas III.He was son of Roman senator Angelo Malabranca and Mabilia Orsini, sister of Pope Nicholas III. He entered the Order of Preachers in his youth and studied law at University of Paris. He obtained the titles of doctor in law...

, the Bishop of Ostia

Bishop of Ostia

The Bishop of Ostia is the head of the Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia, one of the seven suburbicarian sees of Rome. The position is now attached to the post of Dean of the College of Cardinals, as it has been since 1150, with the actual governance of the diocese entrusted to the Vicar General of...

 in Rome. He was enthroned on 9 June 1286 at York Minster

York Minster

York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

.

During Romeyn's first seven months that he was archbishop, he held two group ordinations of priests and attended Convocation

Convocation

A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....

 as well as visiting eighteen priories, twelve of the rural deaneries, the towns Otley, Ripon and Beverley, and an abbey. Romeyn often used the Bishop of Whithorn as his deputy for confirmations and other ecclesiastical matters. In 1286 he issued an order to all the clergy in his diocese that held benefices but that were not yet ordained a priest to come to Tadcaster to be ordained.

From the late 13th century onwards archbishops at York monitored Kirklees Priory

Kirklees Priory

Kirklees Priory was a Cistercian nunnery whose site is in the present-day Kirklees Park, Clifton near Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England. It was originally in the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Dewsbury...

 as there was considerable concern for its spiritual health. In 1287 Romeyn asked the prior of St Oswald's to visit the convent. He was instructed to hear the nuns' confessions and to ensure that they were living worthy lives, keeping a secure house and adhering to the church's and their order's doctrines and laws. Also in August 1287, the parish church of Saint Oswald, Oswaldkirk

Oswaldkirk

Oswaldkirk is a small village and civil parish near Helmsley in the district of Ryedale in North Yorkshire, England. It is named after the village church of St Oswald, King and Martyr, the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria who was slain by the pagan, Penda in 642...

 was re-consecrated by Henry, Bishop of Whithorn, acting under a mandate from the Archbishop of York.

On 25 January 1288, Romeyn issued a decree concerning the financing of a chapter house

Chapter house

A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....

 at Southwell Minster

Southwell Minster

Southwell Minster is a minster and cathedral, in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is six miles away from Newark-on-Trent and thirteen miles from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.It is considered an outstanding...

.

On 27 April 1289, Romeyn requested the Provincial, Henry of Hanna, to receive Richard Manlovel, a canon of Thurgarton

Thurgarton

Thurgarton is a small village in rural Nottinghamshire. The village is close to Southwell, and Newark on Trent, with a medium length commuting distance to Nottingham. It is served by Thurgarton railway station...

, of the Order of St. Augustine

Augustinians

The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...

, into the Carmelite Order.

In 1293, Romeyn was brought before Parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

 on a charge of usurping the royal prerogatives for having excommunicated Anthony Bek, the Bishop of Durham, because Bek allowed the arrest of two priests of Durham. Parliament held that Bek had been acting as earl palatine and not as a bishop, and ordered that the archbishop be imprisoned. However, Romeyn avoided arrest by paying a fine of 4000 marks to King Edward I of England

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

. Romeyn was a member of a few embassies for Edward I, but otherwise does not seem to have been involved in the government of the kingdom.

The archbishop died 11 March 1296 at Bishop Burton

Bishop Burton

Bishop Burton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies on the A1079 road approximately to the west of the market town of Beverley.According to the 2001 UK census, Bishop Burton parish had a population of 628....

 near Beverley

Beverley

Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...

in Yorkshire and was buried at York Minster.