legatus (Latin)] A papal representative. There were two distinct categories: (I) legatus natus (literally "born legate"), a status accorded to the archbishops of Canterbury and York ex officio to reinforce their supremacy within their provinces; (II) legatus a latere ("legate from the side"), directly commissioned by the pope, always a cardinal, and with powers which gave him quasi-papal status within the area of his legation. (Swanson. , 367) A representative or ambassador, usually a cardinal, sent by the pope to represent him in a particular territory or for a particular purpose. (Lynch, Joseph H. The Medieval Church: A Brief History, 363) Normally refers to the legate a latere, who was a papal plenipotentiary sent to reform the local church and overriding archiepiscopal authority. The English archbishops had a courtesy title of legate natus. (Heath, Peter. Church and Realm, 1272-1461, 364)
