 Remains of the friary | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Established | 15th century (uncertain) |
| Disestablished | June 1559 |
| Dedicated to | Virgin Mary |
| Diocese | St Andrews |
| Site | |
| Coordinates | NO 50764 16565 |
| Visible remains | Side apse (pictured) |
Blackfriars is the modern name for the Dominican friary of St Mary which existed in St Andrews, Scotland, in the later Middle Ages. The name is also used for the modern ruins.
Some later sources claim that the friary was founded in the late 13th century, but these are spurious, and its actual foundation probably did not occur until the mid-15th century. [1] The first known prior of the house is attested on 22 November 1464. [2]
The foundation of a full Dominican house was preceded by a small oratory or hospice. [2] As James Beaton, archbishop of St Andrews, claimed that he and his predecessors were founders of the house, it is likely the foundation was episcopal. [2] The foundation of the house was probably prompted by the needs of the University of St Andrews. [2]
In the 1510s at least, the friary was expanded, the number of brothers rising from two to five. [2] In 1519 the Hospital of St Nicholas and the Dominican friary at Cupar were taken over by St Andrews friary, with the friary at St Monans partially united. [3] While the friars at Cupar moved to St Andrews, friars were left at St Monans to live out their years. [4]
The house was severely damaged by the forces of Norman Leslie [of Rothes] in 1547. [2] Sometime after 14 June 1559 but before 22 June 1559 the friars were "expelled from their destroyed place" by Protestant reformers. [5] This was part of a general movement, associated with the Scottish Reformation, hostile to friaries and other aspects of the old Catholic order. The property of the house was given to the burgh of St Andrews by Queen Mary on 17 April 1567. [2] The remains of a vaulted apse lie where Bell Street meets South Street, outside Madras College.
The Diocese of Aberdeen was originally believed to be the direct continuation of an 11th-century bishopric at Mortlach in present-day Moray. However, this early date and also the first bishops were based on a misinterpretation and reliance on early charters found in the cartulary of Aberdeen Cathedral that are now known to be false. The first recorded bishop of the diocese was Nectan, who was mentioned in the Book of Deer around 1132. The first direct written evidence of a bishop in Aberdeen is found in a papal bull addressed to Bishop Edward in 1157. This bull acknowledges the existence of his cathedral, discusses the formation of a chapter, and marks the start of the expansion of the diocesan structure.
The Abbot and then Commendator of Melrose was the head of the monastic community of Melrose Abbey, in Melrose in the Borders region of Scotland. The abbots of the earlier Northumbrian foundation from Lindisfarne are not included here. The second abbey was founded in 1136 on the patronage of David I, King of Scots, by Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire. Control of the abbey was secularized in the 16th century and after the accession of James Stewart, the abbey was held by commendators. The last commendator, James Douglas of Lochleven, resigned the abbacy to William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton in December 1606, and the abbey itself to the king in 1608. The abbey was then erected into a secular lordship for viscount Haddington, John Ramsay, who in 1609 was created "Lord Melrose". Lochleven however resumed the title of commendator in 1613 until his death in 1620.
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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.
Maurice was a 14th-century Scottish cleric who became Prior of Inchmahome, Abbot of Inchaffray and then Bishop of Dunblane. He was Prior of Inchmahome Priory in Menteith after 1297. He became abbot of Inchaffray Abbey in Strathearn between March 1304 and October 1305. As Abbot of Inchaffray, he held a canonry in the diocese of Dunblane, that is, the precentorship of Dunblane Cathedral. After the death of Nicholas de Balmyle, he was elected to the bishopric of Dunblane. He was consecrated to the see before 23 March 1322, after litigation at the Papal court. King Edward II of England had nominated one Richard de Pontefract to the see, while Roger de Ballinbreich had also been elected by the chapter; both of these men were overlooked by the Pope in Maurice's favour.
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Thomas de Buittle [Butil, Butill, Butyll, Butyl, Bucyl] was a Scottish prelate, clerk and papal auditor active in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Probably originating in Galloway, Scotland, Thomas took a university career in canon law in England and France, before taking up service at the court of Avignon Pope Benedict XIII. He obtained a number of benefices in the meantime, including the position of Archdeacon of Galloway, and is the earliest known and probably first provost of the collegiate church of Maybole. The height of his career came however when the Pope provided him to the bishopric of Galloway, a position he held from 1415 until his death sometime between 1420 and 1422.
The Church of the Friars Preachers of Blessed Virgin and Saint Dominic at Perth, commonly called "Blackfriars", was a mendicant friary of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church founded in the 13th century at Perth, Scotland. The Dominicans were said by Walter Bower to have been brought to Scotland in 1230 by King Alexander II of Scotland, while John Spottiswood held that they were brought to Scotland by William de Malveisin, Bishop of St Andrews. Later tradition held that the Perth Dominican friary was founded by King Alexander II.
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