Oswald O. Cist. was a Cistercian monk and bishop in the late 14th century and early 15th century. There is an Oswald Botelere (Butler) granted a safe-conduct, along with 12 others, to enter England and study at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

, in 1365, but this Oswald Butler cannot be shown to be the same as the later Oswald of Glenluce.

The outbreak of the Western Schism

Western Schism

The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...

 meant that when Adam de Lanark

Adam de Lanark

Adam de Lanark, O.P. was a 14th century Scottish Dominican friar and prelate. Possibly from a Lanark burghess family, he was a Dominican and a priest by 1356, and by 1364 was styled Magister, indicating the completion of a long university education. He first appears in the sources, c...

, Bishop of Galloway

Bishop of Galloway

The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and the first known...

, died in 1378, the two popes, Urban VI

Pope Urban VI

Pope Urban VI , born Bartolomeo Prignano, was Pope from 1378 to 1389.-Biography:Born in Itri, he was a devout monk and learned casuist, trained at Avignon. On March 21, 1364, he was consecrated Archbishop of Acerenza in the Kingdom of Naples...

 and Clement VII, supported alternative successors to the see. Oswald, whose earlier details are badly documented, at this point was claustral prior (deputy-abbot) of Glenluce Abbey

Glenluce Abbey

Glenluce Abbey, near to Glenluce, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery called also Abbey of Luce or Vallis Lucis and founded around 1190 by Rolland or Lochlann, Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland...

 and was elected locally to fill the vacant diocese.

Sometime after 18 April 1378, he was provided to the bishopric by Urban, and consecrated before 26 March 1379, when he received a safe-conduct from King Richard II of England

Richard II of England

Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...

 to pass through England on business with Urban. He was supported by Urban, but with the Kingdom of Scotland

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

 allied to Clement, Oswald had difficulties retaining possession of his see. After Ingram de Ketenis

Ingram de Ketenis

Ingram de Ketenis [de Kethenys] was a medieval cleric from Angus in Scotland.A graduate of the University of Paris, he was Archdeacon of Dunkeld for over half a century. During his time, he received papal provision to be Bishop of Galloway, but refused to accept the position.De Ketenis famously...

 rejected his own provision to the diocese by Clement, the Franciscan friar and staunch Clementine Thomas de Rossy

Thomas de Rossy

Thomas de Rossy O. F. M. was a late 14th century Scottish Franciscan friar, papal penitentiary, bishop and theologian. Of unknown, or at least unclear origin, he embarked on a religious career in his early years, entering the Franciscan Order, studying in England and at the University of Paris.He...

 became Oswald's rival.

It is likely that Oswald had possession for a brief period, and while Oswald did appeal to Clement to uphold his election, he had lost the litigation with de Rossy by 21 October 1381. The next years are unclear, but on 5 May 1388, Richard II issued Oswald "bishop of Galway" a safe-conduct into England because Oswald had to flee Galloway to preserve his life.

Oswald spent the remainder of his days in England, acting as a suffragan of the Archbishop of York

Archbishop of York

The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...

, carrying out various duties on his behalf; he is found as a suffragan of Cardinal Thomas Langley

Thomas Langley

Thomas Langley was an English prelate who held high ecclesiastical and political offices in the early to mid 1400s. He was Dean of York, Bishop of Durham, twice Lord Chancellor of England to three kings, and a Pseudocardinal. In turn Keeper of the King's signet and Keeper of the Privy Seal before...

, Bishop of Durham, in 1406 and in 1416. While his death is unrecorded, he died sometime in 1417 or after, as the last notice of his existence occurs between September and December 1417.