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Cormac is a masculine given name in the Irish and English languages. The name is ancient in the Irish language and is also seen in the rendered Old Norse as Kormákr.
In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a Toísech (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continental counts, and the term is often translated into English as 'earl'.
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.
The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews, the Archdiocese of St Andrews.
Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld ruled as Bishop of Dunkeld in the middle of the 12th century. He appears in a great number of charters dating to the reigns of David I of Scotland and Máel Coluim IV of Scotland, the earliest of which may date to 1135, although 1146 is the first firm date, when he appears alongside Bishop Andreas of Caithness in the Gaelic notitiae on the Book of Deer. He is not the last Gaelic bishop of the diocese, but his death marks the end of dominance of the bishopric by principally Gaelic-speaking bishops.
The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray was in existence as early as the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland (1107–1124), but was certainly in existence by 1127, when one Gregoir ("Gregorius") is mentioned as "Bishop of Moray" in a charter of king David I of Scotland. The bishopric had its seat at Elgin and Elgin Cathedral, but was severally at Birnie, Kinneddar and as late as Bishop Andreas de Moravia at Spynie, where the bishops continued to maintain a palace. The Bishopric's links with Rome ceased to exist after the Scottish Reformation, but continued, saving temporary abolition between 1638 and 1661, under the episcopal Church of Scotland until the Revolution of 1688. Episcopacy in the established church in Scotland was permanently abolished in 1689. The Bishops fortified seat for over 500 years was at Spynie Palace.
Mac Bethad is the first recorded High Medieval Bishop of Ross, a See then located at Rosemarkie.
Cormac of Mortlach is the third Bishop of Mortlach, Scotland, according to the list of the Aberdeen Registrum. He is known only by name. Skene tried to identify him with Bishop Cormac of Dunkeld, but this argument rests purely on the similarity of an extremely common name. Cormac's successor Nechtan was bishop by at least 1131, when he appears in a charter recorded in the Gaelic notitiae on the margins of the Book of Deer.
Samson of Brechin is the first known Bishop of Brechin. He appears as a witness in a charter granted by King David I of Scotland to the community of Deer, recorded in the notitiae in the margins of the Book of Deer. The charter dates to some point between the years 1140 and 1153, although it can probably be pinned down to the year 1150. There certainly was a bishopric of Brechin in 1150, as there exists another charter of King David's, this time granted to the bishop (unnamed) and Céli Dé of Brechin. It is known that Samson was still bishop in the reign of King Máel Coluim IV (1153–1165), appearing as a witness as late as 1165 in a charter of Richard, Bishop of St. Andrews.
Gregoir of Moray [Giric, Gregory] is the first attested Bishop of Moray. His name occur in witness lists in two charters. The first is the witness list appended to a charter of King Alexander I of Scotland defining the legal powers held by Priory of Scone. This charter cannot date to before the year 1123/1124 - because another of the witnesses is "Robert, Bishop Elect of St. Andrews". - but may in fact date to the year 1114. The second dates to 1128, and is a confirmation by King David I of Scotland of the rights held by the church of Dunfermline.
Léot of Brechin is the first known Abbot of Brechin. He appears in three charters. The first of these is a Scoto-Latin charter recorded in the notitiae on the Book of Deer, a charter which explicitly dates to "the eighth year of the reign of David" (1131) which styles him "Léot ab Brecini". The second of these is a charter of King David I of Scotland, dated by Archibald Lawrie to 1150, granting the lands of "Nithbren" and "Balcristin" to Dunfermline Abbey, where he is called "Leod abbate de Breichin". The third of these is a charter granted by King David to the church of St. Mary of Haddington dating to 1141 mentions a "Leod de Brechin".
Robert of Scone was a 12th-century bishop of Cell Rígmonaid. Robert's exact origins are unclear. He was an Augustinian canon at the Priory of St. Oswalds, at Nostell. His French name indicates a Norman rather than an Anglo-Saxon origin, but as he was likely born in the later 11th century, this may be due merely to the acculturation of his parents.
John Scotus was a 12th-century Bishop of St. Andrews and Dunkeld.
Andreas or Aindréas of Caithness is the first known bishop of Caithness and a source for the author of de Situ Albanie. Aindréas was a native Scot, and very likely came from a prominent family in Gowrie, or somewhere in this part of Scotland. He was a prominent landowner in Gowrie, Angus and Fife, and it is likely that he was a brother of one Eòghan "of Monorgan", another Gowrie landlord. At some stage in his career, he was a monk of Dunfermline Abbey, though it is not known if this was before or during his period as bishop of Caithness.
Walter de Bidun was a clerk of King William of Scotland, Chancellor of Scotland and Bishop-elect of Dunkeld. Walter was a witness to a charter that granted the mainland properties of Iona Abbey, then under the rule of the Lord of the Isles, to the Monks of Holyrood Abbey. He was elected to the bishopric of Dunkeld in 1178 after the death of the previous bishop, Richard. However, Walter did not live long enough to receive consecration, and in fact he too met his death in the year 1178.
Donnchadh de Strathearn was a 14th-century bishop of Dunkeld. He was probably from the family of the Gaelic Earls of Strathearn, perhaps even the son of Maol Íosa IV, Earl of Strathearn. He was in the company of, as his brother Maol Íosa V was, Edward Balliol when the latter invaded Scotland and contested the crown of the young king David Bruce. Following the death of William Sinclair, bishop of Dunkeld, Pope Clement VI, who had previously reserved the see for his own nominee, appointed Donnchadh as bishop. This was in the year 1347. The canons of Dunkeld had actually elected another man, Robert de Den, as bishop, but this election was quashed. Donnchadh does not seem to have experienced many problems with King David after the latter's restoration. He attended David's parliaments and frequently attested his charters.
Thomas Lauder was a 15th-century Scottish churchman. A graduate of the University of Paris, he served the Scottish king at the Council of Basel in the 1430s. Before he rose to the position of Bishop of Dunkeld, he had been Master of the famous hospital at Soutra Aisle, and the tutor to King James II of Scotland.
Edward [Ēadweard, Eadward, Édouard, Étbard] was a 12th-century prelate based in Scotland. He occurs in the records for the first time as Bishop of Aberdeen in a document datable to some point between 1147 and 1151. His immediate predecessor, as far as the records are concerned, was Bishop Nechtán. The latter can be shown to have been active at least between 1131 and 1132, and possibly as late as 1137. Edward's accession must have occurred, then, sometime between 1131 and 1151, with a date after the 1130s more likely than not.
Symeon is the second known Bishop of Ross in the 12th century. His predecessor Mac Bethad occurred as bishop in a document datable between 1127 and 1131.
Nechtan of Aberdeen is the first Bishop of Aberdeen after the seat of the bishopric had been moved to Aberdeen from Mortlach. The only contemporary sources for Bishop Nechtan are charters; he appears as "Nectan escob Abberdeon" in a Gaelic charter recorded in the notitiae on the Book of Deer, a charter which explicitly dates to "the eighth year of the reign of David", that is, 1131. He also appears in a charter granted to him by King David I of Scotland, a charter which the modern editor dates to 1137.
References
- Dowden, John, The Bishops of Scotland, ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912), p. 47-8
- Jackson, Kenneth H. (ed), The Gaelic Notes in the Book of Deer (The Osborn Bergin Memorial Lecture 1970), (Cambridge, 1972), p. 59
- Lawrie, Sir Archibald, Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153, (Glasgow, 1905), p. 283