Prior of St Andrews
Encyclopedia
The Prior of St Andrews was the head of the property and community of Augustinian
canons
of St Andrews Cathedral Priory
, St Andrews
, Fife
, Scotland
. It was established by King David I
in 1140 with canons from Nostell Priory
, West Yorkshire
. It is possible that, initially at least, the prior of St Andrews was subordinate to the bishop as abbot
, but by the 13th century the canons of St Andrews were given freedom by the bishop to elect their prior. By the end of the 13th century, the abbacy of the native canons (i.e. the Céli Dé) was no longer there to challenge the position of the priory, and the native canons themselves had been formed into a collegiate church
.
The position of prior became secularized and the priory itself carved up into lordships in the 16th century, although the core and title remained into the 17th century. The following is a list of known priors and commendators:
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
canons
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of St Andrews Cathedral Priory
St Andrews Cathedral Priory
St Andrews Cathedral Priory was a priory of Augustinian canons in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Plans were made for its foundation in the reign of Alaxandair mac Maíl Choluim , who set aside some land for that purpose. It was finally established by King David I and his son in 1140 with canons from...
, St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was established by King David I
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
in 1140 with canons from Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. It is possible that, initially at least, the prior of St Andrews was subordinate to the bishop as abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
, but by the 13th century the canons of St Andrews were given freedom by the bishop to elect their prior. By the end of the 13th century, the abbacy of the native canons (i.e. the Céli Dé) was no longer there to challenge the position of the priory, and the native canons themselves had been formed into a collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
.
The position of prior became secularized and the priory itself carved up into lordships in the 16th century, although the core and title remained into the 17th century. The following is a list of known priors and commendators:
List of priors
- Robert I, 1140x1144-1160
- Walter IWalter I, Prior of St AndrewsWalter I was a 12th-century Augustinian Anglo-Norman prelate active in the kingdom of Scotland.A canon of St Andrews Cathedral Priory , he was precentor of the cathedral when he became prior of St Andrews in 1160. Walter Bower, our principal source for Walter, says that he served as prior for 24...
, 1160-1195 - Gilbert IGilbert I, Prior of St AndrewsGilbert was a 12th-century Augustinian canon. Active in Scotland, he may have been of Anglo-Norman origin.Gilbert was a canon of St Andrews Cathedral Priory when he became prior of St Andrews in either 1196 or 1197, succeeding Prior Walter who had resigned because of ill-health...
, 1198 - Walter I (again), 1198x1199
- Thomas IThomas I, Prior of St AndrewsThomas was an Augustinian canon and Cistercian monk in 13th-century Scotland. According to Walter Bower Thomas was sub-prior of St Andrews Cathedral Priory when he became prior of St Andrews, sometime in 1199...
, 1199-1211 - SimonSimon, Prior of St AndrewsSimon was a 13th-century Augustinian canon based in the Kingdom of Scotland.As a canon of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, he was elected prior of St Andrews in either 1211 or 1212. Simon, like his predecessor Thomas, was said by Inchcolm historian Walter Bower to have fallen out with the brothers of...
, 1212-1225 - Henry de Norham, x 1228-1236
- John White, 1236-1258
- Gilbert, 1258-1264
- John de Haddington, 1264-1304
- Adam Mauchan, 1304-1313
- John de Forfar, 1313-1321
- John de Cowrie, 1321-1340
- William de Lothian, 1340-1354
- Thomas Biset, 1354-1363
- Stephen de PaStephen de PaStephen de Pa was Prior and, briefly, Bishop-elect of St. Andrews. He was elected to succeed William de Landallis after the latter's death on September 23, 1385...
, 1363-1386 - Robert de Montrose, 1386x1387-1394
- James Biset, 1394-1416
- William de Camera, 1416-1417
- John BullockJohn BullockJohn Bullock O.S.A. was an Augustinian canon and prelate active in the 15th century Kingdom of Scotland. While earning a university degree between 1409 and 1417, Bullock gained several benefices in Scotland, and claimed the headship of St Andrews Cathedral Priory before becoming Bishop of Ross in...
, (claimed) 1417-1418
- John Bullock
- James de Haldeston, 1417-1443
- John Litstar (unfruitful provision), 1417-1418
- William Bonar, 1443-1462
- David Ramsay, 1466-1469
- Walter Monypenny, 1467-1468
- William Cameron, 1469-1482
- Walter Monypenny, 1469
- John Wallace, 1469-1471
- Thomas Ruch, 1475
- Walter Monypenny, 1483-1486
- John Hepburn, 1483-1526
- Patrick Hepburn, 1524-1538
List of commendators
- James StewartJames Stewart, 1st Earl of MorayJames Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...
, 1538-1570 - Robert Stewart, 1570-1586
- Ludovic, Duke of LennoxLudovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of LennoxLudovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was the son of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox and his wife Catherine de Balsac. Stewart was involved in the Plantation of Ulster in Ireland and the colonization of Maine in New England...
, 1586-1624