The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Cormac. However, the first known abbot dates to the 10th century, and it is often assumed that in Scotland in the period before the 12th century, the roles of both bishop and abbot were one and the same. The Bishopric of Dunkeld ceased to exist as a Catholic institution after the Scottish Reformation but continued as a royal institution into the 17th century. The diocese was restored by Pope Leo XIII on 4 March 1878; it is now based in the city of Dundee.
Christianity in medieval Scotland includes all aspects of Christianity in the modern borders of Scotland in the Middle Ages. Christianity was probably introduced to what is now Lowland Scotland by Roman soldiers stationed in the north of the province of Britannia. After the collapse of Roman authority in the fifth century, Christianity is presumed to have survived among the British enclaves in the south of what is now Scotland, but retreated as the pagan Anglo-Saxons advanced. Scotland was largely converted by Irish missions associated with figures such as St Columba, from the fifth to the seventh centuries. These missions founded monastic institutions and collegiate churches that served large areas. Scholars have identified a distinctive form of Celtic Christianity, in which abbots were more significant than bishops, attitudes to clerical celibacy were more relaxed and there were significant differences in practice with Roman Christianity, particularly the form of tonsure and the method of calculating Easter, although most of these issues had been resolved by the mid-seventh century. After the reconversion of Scandinavian Scotland in the tenth century, Christianity under papal authority was the dominant religion of the kingdom.
The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews, the Archdiocese of St Andrews.
The Diocese of Dunkeld was one of the 13 historical dioceses of Scotland preceding the abolition of Episcopacy in 1689.
Fothad II was the bishop of St Andrews (1059–1093) for most of the reign of King Máel Coluim III mac Donnchada. Alternative spellings include Fodhoch, Fothach and Foderoch, and Fothawch. A "Modach filius Malmykel" is mentioned in a grant, dated 1093, as the bishop of S. Andrews. As this bishop is certainly Fothad II, his father was a man named Máel Míchéil.
The Bishop of Ross was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Ross, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first recorded bishop appears in the late 7th century as a witness to Adomnán of Iona's Cáin Adomnáin. The bishopric was based at the settlement of Rosemarkie until the mid-13th century, afterwards being moved to nearby Fortrose and Fortrose Cathedral. As far as the evidence goes, this bishopric was the oldest of all bishoprics north of the Forth, and was perhaps the only Pictish bishopric until the 9th century. Indeed, the Cáin Adomnáin indicates that in the reign of Bruide mac Der Ilei, king of the Picts, the bishop of Rosemarkie was the only significant figure in Pictland other than the king. The bishopric is located conveniently close to the heartland of Fortriu, being just across the water from Moray.
The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland. The bishopric itself certainly derives from an older Gaelic Christian community. According to legend, the Christian community of Dunblane was derived from the mission of St. Bláán, a saint originally associated with the monastery of Cenn Garath (Kingarth) on the Isle of Bute. Although the bishopric had its origins in the 1150s or before, the cathedral was not built nor was the seat (cathedra) of the diocese fixed at Dunblane until the episcopate of Clement.
Cellach I is traditionally said to have been the first Bishop of the Scots, the bishopric later based at St. Andrews. He is mentioned in the historical writings of Walter Bower and Andrew of Wyntoun as a bishop of St. Andrews, but no pre-15th century sources say anything more than merely "Bishop". Wyntoun and Bower make him bishop as early as the reign of King Giric of Scotland (877x878-885x889). He was still bishop in the reign of King Causantín II of Scotland in 906 when, "in his sixth year King Causantín and Bishop Cellach met at the hill of belief near the royal city of Scone and pledged themselves that the laws and disciplines of the faith, and the laws of churches and gospels, should be kept in conformity with the customs of the Gaels". One interpretation of this passage is the demise of the "Pictish church" to the reforming Gaels, however it is certain that by the 15th century the bishop-list of the principal Scottish see was looking back at Cellach as its first bishop. His death date is unknown, but unsurprisingly he was certainly dead by the 960s when his successor Fothad I died as bishop.
The Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican Communion. It is centred on St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth, and covers Fife, Perthshire, Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire, and eastern and central Stirlingshire. The current Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane is Ian Paton.
Robert Blackadder was a medieval Scottish prelate, diplomat and politician, who was Abbot of Melrose, Bishop-elect of Aberdeen and Bishop of Glasgow; when the latter was elevated to an archbishopric in 1492, he became the first ever Archbishop of Glasgow. Blackadder died while en route to Jerusalem on pilgrimage.
Clement was a 13th-century Dominican friar who was the first member of the Dominican Order in Britain and Ireland to become a bishop. In 1233, he was selected to lead the ailing diocese of Dunblane in Scotland, and faced a struggle to bring the bishopric of Dunblane to financial viability. This involved many negotiations with the powerful religious institutions and secular authorities which had acquired control of the revenue that would normally have been the entitlement of Clement's bishopric. The negotiations proved difficult, forcing Clement to visit the papal court in Rome. While not achieving all of his aims, Clement succeeded in saving the bishopric from relocation to Inchaffray Abbey. He also regained enough revenue to begin work on the new Dunblane Cathedral.
The Archdeacon of St Andrews was the head of the Archdeaconry of St Andrews, a sub-division of the Diocese of St Andrews, from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. The position was one of the most important positions within the medieval Scottish church; because of his area's large population and high number of parish churches, the Archdeacon of St Andrews may have exercised more power than many Scottish bishops. The following is a list of known archdeacons:
Historical treatment of David I and the Scottish church usually emphasises King David I of Scotland's pioneering role as the instrument of diocesan reorganisation and Norman penetration, beginning with the bishopric of Glasgow while David was Prince of the Cumbrians, and continuing further north after David acceded to the throne of Scotland. As well as this and his monastic patronage, focus too is usually given to his role as the defender of the Scottish church's independence from claims of overlordship by the Archbishop of York and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Peter de Ramsay [Ramsey] was a 13th-century cleric based in Scotland. His background and origins are obscure. He was the son of a "cleric in minor orders" and an unmarried girl and, according to John of Fordun, he was of "noble birth". He was probably the son of Ness de Ramsey, a baron of Fife.
Michael Ochiltree [Ouchtre] was a 15th-century Scottish prelate and administrator. A close associate of King James I of Scotland, from the late 1410s he rose in rank from canon to Dean of Dunblane and then Bishop of Dunblane. He was responsible for the coronation of King James II of Scotland, and he obtained a grant from the crown which allowed the comparatively small diocese of Dunblane to attain historically unprecedented viability.
Fionnlagh MacCailein or Finlay Colini was a medieval Scottish bishop. Both his early life and the details of his career as Bishop of Dunblane are not well known, however it is known that he held the latter bishopric between 1403 and his death in 1419. He was part of the circle of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, and was one of the many clerics from west and central Gaelic-speaking Scotland who benefited from the latter's patronage. He is said to have authorised the construction of the first bridge over the river Allan at Dunblane.
Dúghall of Lorne [or de Ergadia] was a late 14th century and early 15th century prelate in the Kingdom of Scotland. Probably a MacDúghaill (MacDougall) from the province of Lorne in Argyll, he appears to have studied at the University of Oxford before returning to Scotland for an ecclesiastical and administrative career. He obtained benefices in the diocese of Argyll, Dunkeld, Dunblane and St Andrews, and acted as the secretary and chaplain of Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife, before becoming Bishop of Dunblane. He held the bishopric of Dunblane until his death in 1403.
Nicholas de Balmyle, also called Nicholas of St Andrews, was a Scottish administrator and prelate in the late 13th century and early 14th century. A graduate of an unknown university, he served his earliest years as a clergyman at St Andrews, moving on to hold churches in Lothian as well as deputising to two archdeacons of Lothian.
Kingarth is a historic village and parish on the Isle of Bute, off the coast of south-western Scotland. The village is within the parish of its own name, and is situated at the junction of the A844 and B881. In the Early Middle Ages it was the site of a monastery and bishopric and the cult centre of Saints Cathan and Bláán.
