Alan de St Edmund

Last updated

Alan de St Edmund
Bishop of Caithness
Church Roman Catholic Church
See Diocese of Caithness
In office12821291
PredecessorHervey de Dundee
SuccessorJohn (unconsecrated)
Adam de Darlington
Orders
Consecration13 April 1282
Personal details
Bornearly or mid-1200s
DiedNovember/December 1291

Alan de St Edmund was a 13th-century English cleric and administrator of the Roman Catholic Church. His name suggests a connection with Bury St. Edmunds Abbey in Suffolk, but there is no direct evidence. [1] He was the chaplain of Hugh of Evesham, another Englishman, from the diocese of Worcester, who in 1282 was made Presbyter-Cardinal of St Laurence in Lucina by Pope Martin IV. [2] After Hervey de Dundee, bishop-elect of Caithness, died while seeking confirmation at the Roman curia, the pope chose Alan - still in Rome - for the bishopric. [2] Alan was provided by Pope Martin on 13 April 1282. [3]

For the remainder of the 1280s his activities are largely obscure. After the death of King Alexander III of Scotland, Alan was one of the figures who pushed for a marriage between Alexander's granddaughter and heiress Margaret, Maid of Norway and Edward of Caernarfon, heir to King Edward I of England. [4] He was one of the three men appointed to negotiate the marriage, the other two being Robert Wishart, Bishop of Glasgow, and John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch. [5]

Although the deal was made, Margaret's death in 1290 put an end to this plan, and the ensuing succession debate was mediated by King Edward, now temporary ruler of Scotland. King Edward showed his fellow Englishman Alan favour, and on 12 June 1291, appointed him Chancellor of Scotland and handed over to him the Seal of Regency. [2] Edward provided one of his own clerks, Walter de Agsmundesham, as an assistant, and ordered the Chamberlain Alexander de Balliol to pay every month to Bishop Alan 20 merks and to Agsmundesham 10 merks. [1] On 26 October Edward ordered that 40 pieces of oak be provided to Alan from the forest of Ternaway in Moray to be used in Dornoch Cathedral. [6]

Bishop Alan, however, was dead by 12 December, and is last attested on 5 November. [7] King Edward, in honour of Alan's services, ordered that all Alan's bona et catalla, goods and chattels, which Edward was entitled to by Scottish custom, be delivered to the Prior of Coldingham; Henry de Horncastre—and to Alan's brother Adam de St Edmund, who was parson of the church of Restalrig. [8]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Keith, Historical Catalogue, p. 212.
  2. 1 2 3 Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 238.
  3. Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 59.
  4. Ross-Harper, Notable Bishops, p. 10.
  5. Keith, Historical Catalogue, p. 211.
  6. Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 239.
  7. Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 239; Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 59.
  8. Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 239; Keith, Historical Catalogue, p. 212.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hepburn (bishop)</span> Scottish prelate and administrator

James Hepburn was a Scottish prelate and administrator. He was the son of Alexander Hepburn of Whitsome. His name occurs as the rector of Dalry and king's clerk on 1 August 1511. Hepburn was Treasurer of Scotland between from at least June 1515, until October the following year. He also held the position of rector of Parton in the diocese of Galloway.

Hugh de Benin was bishop of Aberdeen. He succeeded Richard Pottock in the see in 1272.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry le Chen</span> Scoto-Norman bishop

Henry le Chen [le Cheyn, le Chein, Cheyne, de Chene] was a late 13th-century and early 14th-century Scoto-Norman bishop. Hector Boece claims that he was the nephew of John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, but no contemporary evidence supports this. Cheyne belonged to a family with Norman roots which was well established in the northeast of Scotland, holding significant amounts of territory on the boundaries of the Earldom of Buchan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander de Kininmund (died 1380)</span> Scottish cleric

Alexander de Kininmund was a 14th-century Scottish cleric. Although it is not known which one, it is known that in his youth he went to university and achieved a Licentiate in the Arts.

William Gordon was a 16th-century Scottish noble and prelate, the last of the pre-Reformation bishops of Aberdeen owing allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.

Adam de Tyninghame was a 14th-century cleric and, as his name suggests, a probable native of Tyninghame in East Lothian.

Ingram Lindsay [Ingeram de Lindesay], Doctor in Canon Law, was a 15th-century Scottish cleric. Despite being of illegitimate birth - one of several sons of an unmarried nobleman and an unmarried woman - he nevertheless managed in the end to pursue a successful ecclesiastical career.

Alexander de Kininmund was a 14th-century Scottish churchman. The first mention of Alexander occurs when, as a canon of Dunkeld he is one of three ambassadors sent by King Robert I of Scotland to Avignon in 1320. The purpose of this embassy was to present a letter to Pope John XXII known as the Declaration of Arbroath. As a papal chaplain and lawyer, he was well qualified to argue the Scottish cause, and Barrow makes a strong case that he was, in fact the author of the document.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald (bishop of Moray)</span> Scottish prelate

Archibald was a Scottish prelate best known for involvement in a dispute with the Pope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David de Moravia</span>

David de Moravia was Bishop of Moray during most of the First War of Scottish Independence. He was elected Bishop of Moray, probably in early 1299. Extended details exist regarding the election because of an extant letter of Pope Boniface VIII. The result of the election was that David had 13 votes, the Dean had 4 votes, the Chancellor had 3 votes and the Archdeacon 1 vote. The Dean declared that David was elected, and sent a request for confirmation to the Papacy. The latter found an irregularity, though what exactly this was not revealed. The election result was nominally declared void, but the Pope himself provided David directly to the bishopric. He was consecrated as bishop at Anagni in Italy on 28 June 1299, by Matthew of Aquasparta, Cardinal-Bishop of Porto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Stewart (bishop of Moray)</span> Scottish prelate and administrator

Andrew Stewart was a 15th-century Scottish prelate and administrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Bur</span> Scottish cleric

Alexander Bur was a 14th-century Scottish cleric. It is highly possible that Bur came from somewhere in or around Aberdeenshire, although that is not certain and is only based on the knowledge that Aberdeenshire is where other people bearing his surname come from in this period. He entered the service of King David II of Scotland sometime after 1343, perhaps as a member of David's exiled court at Château Gaillard. Although Alexander by this point in time already held prebends in both the bishopric of Aberdeen and the bishopric of Dunkeld, on that date King David petitioned Pope Clement VI for another canonry in the bishopric of Moray. Alexander had become a royal clerk and had obtained a Licentiate in Canon Law by 1350. By the latter date, upon the death of Adam Penny, Archdeacon of Moray, Alexander himself became Archdeacon.

Simon de Wedale was a 14th-century Augustinian canon who rose to become Abbot of Holyrood and then Bishop of Galloway. Little is known of Simon until he appears on 27 February 1321 as Abbot of Holyrood Abbey near Edinburgh. His accession to this abbacy had only been recent, since either in January of this year or in January 1320, his predecessor Elias, ruling the abbey since at least 1309 and probably earlier, was still abbot. Abbot Simon occurs again in the records on 10 June 1326.

Walter was Chamberlain of Alan, Lord of Galloway and later Bishop of Galloway. As Alan's chamberlain, he succeeded Bishop John after the latter's death, in 1209. His election coincided with the northern expedition of King John of England to secure the submission of King William of Scotland; Alan enjoyed friendly relations with the English king, the latter wishing to make use of Alan's manpower and naval resources, and so the election of Walter may have had something to do with King John.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert of Glenluce</span>

Gilbert was a 13th-century Cistercian monk, abbot and bishop. His first appearance in the sources occurs under the year 1233, for which year the Chronicle of Melrose reported that "Sir Gilbert, the abbot of Glenluce, resigned his office, in the chapter of Melrose; and there he made his profession". It is not clear why Gilbert really did resign the position of Abbot of Glenluce, head of Glenluce Abbey in Galloway, in order to become a mere brother at Melrose Abbey; nor is it clear for how long Gilbert had been abbot, though his latest known predecessor is attested last on 27 May 1222. After going to there, Gilbert became the Master of the Novices at Melrose.

Alexander Vaus [Vause, de Vaus] was a late 14th century and 15th century Scottish prelate. Said to have been the younger son of one Patrick Vaus, he apparently held "church livings" in Galloway as early as 1421.

Odo Ydonc was a 13th-century Premonstratensian prelate. The first recorded appearance of Odo was when he witnessed a charter by Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick, on 21 July 1225. In this document he is already Abbot of Dercongal, incidentally the first Abbot of Dercongal to appear on record.

John Fraser [also, more commonly then, Frisel or Frisell] was a late medieval Scottish prelate. Born about 1429, or 1430 if later tradition can be believed, with strong connections to the burgh of Linlithgow, Fraser held a variety of high-level ecclesiastical positions in Scotland, including being the first Dean of Restalrig collegiate church before becoming Bishop of Ross in 1497, a position he held until his death in 1507.

Thomas Tulloch [de Tulloch] was a prelate active in the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century. A letter of Pope Martin V in 1429 claimed that he was "of a great noble race by both parents". Robert Keith believed that he had the surname "Urquhart", but that is not supported by the contemporary evidence and is probably spurious.

Robert de Fyvie [also de Fyvin] was a prelate based in the Kingdom of Scotland in the last quarter of the 13th century. Perhaps coming from Fyvie in Formartine, from a family of Teesdale origin, Robert was Archdeacon of Ross and a student at the University of Bologna by 1269. In 1275, he was not only a graduate but the new Bishop of Ross, a post he held until his death in the first half of the 1290s.

References

Religious titles
Preceded by
Hervey de Dundee
Bishop of Caithness
12821291
Succeeded by
John (unconsecrated)
Adam de Darlington