Robert of Scone
Encyclopedia
Robert of Scone was a 12th century bishop of Cell Rígmonaid (or Kilrymont, now St Andrews
). 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.
(Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim). He was appointed as the first Prior
of Scone, the flagship Augustinian
monastic establishment of Alexander's reign. This may have happened as early as 1114, and Walter Bower
tells us that the new priory was dedicated by Thurgot
, then bishop of Cell Rígmonaid. As Turgot left Scotland
in 1115, no later date would be possible if Bower is to be believed. Many historians have rejected this date, because the Augustinian Rule was not instituted at Nostell
until 1119, but as Kenneth Veitch points out, the date of the formal institution of the Rule is little guide to the actual activities of the monastic establishment. Moreover, the year 1114 just happened to be the year in which Alexander was present in England in the service of his overlord, King Henry I of England
.
tells us that "in the same year, four months before his death, he [Alexander] had caused Robert, prior of Scone, to be elected bishop of St Andrews, but his ordination (i.e. consecration) was delayed for some time". The delay was certainly caused by the issue of submission to the archbishops of York
, which the archbishops pressed for, but the kings of Alba
refused to allow. Robert however was able to attain consecration at the hands of Thurstan
, Archbishop of York
in 1127, with no profession of obedience being made; it is possible the consecration took place after a meeting organized in the summer of 1127 at the church of St John
at Roxburgh
, where it was probably agreed that the lack of submission would not constitute a precedent.
, a fellow Nostell monk who was head of Robert's religious community in the days before the latter moved to Scotland. Robert also established two great Augustinian abbeys, Holyrood Abbey
and the Arrouaisian
abbey of St Mary at Stirling
(Cambuskenneth
).
Robert's role was not simply that of a promoter of the Augustinian Order. His post was that of Summi (Archi)Episcopi Scotorum, called in the contemporary Scottish vernacular "Ardepscop Alban", that is, "High Bishop of Scotland". He was hence the structural leader of the Scottish church. Along with Bishop John of Glasgow, Robert became the chief reforming cleric in the reforming reign of King David I of Scotland
. He is one of the most frequent witnesses to the charters of King David. Unlike most other incumbents Scottish bishoprics, most of them very new, Robert was a foreigner drawn from the non-Gaelic world, in the words of Oram, "part of 'colonial' establishment which was emerging in the early twelfth century". In this context, the difference between "reform" and religious and cultural "colonialism" is merely one of perspective. However, Robert's episcopate in no way led to the destruction of the native clerical order at Cell Rígmonaid. In fact, many of the native Gaelic clergy were absorbed into the incoming orders, and those who were not, continued to received the patronage of the bishop. In one case, the clergy of the Céli Dé
abbey of St. Serfs at Loch Leven
were given a large collection of books by the bishop.
for the bishopric, elevating the see to archiepiscopal status and creating an archdiocese embracing all Scottish sees, including the bishoprics of Orkney
and the Isles
. This would have made Robert the first Scottish archbishop
to have his status recognized by Rome. The request was prompted by the arrival in Scotland of the Papal Legate
John Paparo, on his way to Ireland
to create four new archbishoprics there. When the legate arrived back madein Scotland in 1152, David submitted a request. However, the proposal appears never to have been made to the Pope by the Cardinal, and the ambitions of Bishop Robert and King David were further subverted in the same year when the Papacy created the Archbishopric of Trondheim (Niðaros), embracing both Orkney and the Isles.
By the later 1150s, bishop Robert is described as "oppressed by age and infirmity" in a bull
of Pope Adrian IV
. He may have died in 1158, but more probably died the following year.
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....
). Robert's exact origins are unclear. He was an Augustinian canon
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 ....
at the Priory of St. Oswalds, at Nostell
Nostell
Nostell is a village in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, near Hemsworth. It is in the civil parish of Huntwick with Foulby and Nostell, which has a population of 90, and is the site of an Augustinian priory which received its charter in 1121.Nostell Priory is an 18th century...
. 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
Acculturation
Acculturation explains the process of cultural and psychological change that results following meeting between cultures. The effects of acculturation can be seen at multiple levels in both interacting cultures. At the group level, acculturation often results in changes to culture, customs, and...
of his parents.
Prior of Scone
Robert was one of the most important clerics in the reign of King Alexander I of ScotlandAlexander I of Scotland
Alexander I , also called Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim and nicknamed "The Fierce", was King of the Scots from 1107 to his death.-Life:...
(Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim). He was appointed as the first Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of Scone, the flagship Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
monastic establishment of Alexander's reign. This may have happened as early as 1114, and Walter Bower
Walter Bower
Walter Bower , Scottish chronicler, was born about 1385 at Haddington, East Lothian.He was abbot of Inchcolm Abbey from 1418, was one of the commissioners for the collection of the ransom of James I, King of Scots, in 1423 and 1424, and in 1433 one of the embassy to Paris on the business of the...
tells us that the new priory was dedicated by Thurgot
Thurgot
Thorgaut or Turgot was Archdeacon and Prior of Durham, and the first English or Anglo-Norman Bishop of Saint Andrews ....
, then bishop of Cell Rígmonaid. As Turgot left 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...
in 1115, no later date would be possible if Bower is to be believed. Many historians have rejected this date, because the Augustinian Rule was not instituted at Nostell
Nostell
Nostell is a village in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, near Hemsworth. It is in the civil parish of Huntwick with Foulby and Nostell, which has a population of 90, and is the site of an Augustinian priory which received its charter in 1121.Nostell Priory is an 18th century...
until 1119, but as Kenneth Veitch points out, the date of the formal institution of the Rule is little guide to the actual activities of the monastic establishment. Moreover, the year 1114 just happened to be the year in which Alexander was present in England in the service of his overlord, King Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
.
Bishop of St Andrews
It was this context that made Robert a natural candidate for the chief Scottish bishopric. He was probably elected to the bishopric in 1124. The Chronicle of MelroseChronicle of Melrose
The Chronicle of Melrose is a medieval chronicle from the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. ix within the British Museum. It was written by unknown authors, though evidence in the writing shows that it most likely was written by the monks at Melrose Abbey. The chronicle begins on the year 735 and...
tells us that "in the same year, four months before his death, he [Alexander] had caused Robert, prior of Scone, to be elected bishop of St Andrews, but his ordination (i.e. consecration) was delayed for some time". The delay was certainly caused by the issue of submission to the archbishops 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...
, which the archbishops pressed for, but the kings of Alba
Kingdom of Alba
The name Kingdom of Alba pertains to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900, and of Alexander III in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence...
refused to allow. Robert however was able to attain consecration at the hands of Thurstan
Thurstan
Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux was a medieval Archbishop of York, the son of a priest. He served kings William II and Henry I of England before his election to the see of York in 1114. Once elected, his consecration was delayed for five years while he fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, 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...
in 1127, with no profession of obedience being made; it is possible the consecration took place after a meeting organized in the summer of 1127 at the church of St John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
at Roxburgh
Roxburgh
Roxburgh , also known as Rosbroch, is a village, civil parish and now-destroyed royal burgh. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland...
, where it was probably agreed that the lack of submission would not constitute a precedent.
Robert and monastic patronage
Robert's three decade episcopate would prove to be one of the most important in the history of the bishopric. Robert was not perhaps as successful as he might have been in promoting the Augustinian Order in Scotland, but he nevertheless managed to bring Augustinians to St Andrews to found a Cathedral Priory in 1144. It is relatively clear that he did this with the co-operation of Athelwold, the first prior of St. Oswald's, and Bishop of CarlisleBishop of Carlisle
The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York.The diocese covers the County of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District...
, a fellow Nostell monk who was head of Robert's religious community in the days before the latter moved to Scotland. Robert also established two great Augustinian abbeys, Holyrood Abbey
Holyrood Abbey
Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded...
and the Arrouaisian
Arrouaise (Abbey and Order)
The Abbey of Arrouaise was the centre of a form of the Augustinian monastic rule, the Arrouaisian Order, which was popular among the founders of abbeys during the decade of the 1130s. The community began to develop when Heldemar joined the hermit Ruggerius in 1090 but its first abbot, elected in...
abbey of St Mary at Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
(Cambuskenneth
Cambuskenneth Abbey
Cambuskenneth Abbey is a ruined Augustinian monastery located on an area of land enclosed by a meander of the River Forth near Stirling in Scotland. The abbey is largely reduced to its foundations. The neighbouring modern village of Cambuskenneth is named after it.Cambuskenneth Abbey was founded...
).
Robert's role was not simply that of a promoter of the Augustinian Order. His post was that of Summi (Archi)Episcopi Scotorum, called in the contemporary Scottish vernacular "Ardepscop Alban", that is, "High Bishop of Scotland". He was hence the structural leader of the Scottish church. Along with Bishop John of Glasgow, Robert became the chief reforming cleric in the reforming reign of King David I of Scotland
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...
. He is one of the most frequent witnesses to the charters of King David. Unlike most other incumbents Scottish bishoprics, most of them very new, Robert was a foreigner drawn from the non-Gaelic world, in the words of Oram, "part of 'colonial' establishment which was emerging in the early twelfth century". In this context, the difference between "reform" and religious and cultural "colonialism" is merely one of perspective. However, Robert's episcopate in no way led to the destruction of the native clerical order at Cell Rígmonaid. In fact, many of the native Gaelic clergy were absorbed into the incoming orders, and those who were not, continued to received the patronage of the bishop. In one case, the clergy of the Céli Dé
Culdee
Céli Dé or Culdees were originally members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland and England in the Middle Ages. The term is used of St. John the Apostle, of a missioner from abroad recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters at the year 806, and of Óengus...
abbey of St. Serfs at Loch Leven
Loch Leven
Loch Leven is a fresh water loch in Perth and Kinross council area, central Scotland.Roughly triangular, the loch is about 6 km at its longest. The burgh of Kinross lies at its western end. Loch Leven Castle lies on an island a short way offshore...
were given a large collection of books by the bishop.
Quest for archiepisicopal status
By 1151, King David had decided to request a palliumPallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
for the bishopric, elevating the see to archiepiscopal status and creating an archdiocese embracing all Scottish sees, including the bishoprics of Orkney
Bishop of Orkney
The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics within the territory of modern Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St...
and the Isles
Bishop of the Isles
The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Sodor, one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompasing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as an ecclesiastical unity to the careers of Olaf, King of the Isles,...
. This would have made Robert the first Scottish archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
to have his status recognized by Rome. The request was prompted by the arrival in Scotland of the Papal Legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
John Paparo, on his way to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to create four new archbishoprics there. When the legate arrived back madein Scotland in 1152, David submitted a request. However, the proposal appears never to have been made to the Pope by the Cardinal, and the ambitions of Bishop Robert and King David were further subverted in the same year when the Papacy created the Archbishopric of Trondheim (Niðaros), embracing both Orkney and the Isles.
By the later 1150s, bishop Robert is described as "oppressed by age and infirmity" in a bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
of Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
. He may have died in 1158, but more probably died the following year.
See also
- Robert I, Prior of St AndrewsRobert I, Prior of St AndrewsRobert I or Robert of Nostell was a 12th-century Anglo-Norman Augustinian churchman, the first prior of St Andrews.Robert came to the Kingdom of Scotland from Nostell Priory as head of a group of Nostell canons establishing St Andrews Cathedral Priory...
, canon of NostellNostell PrioryNostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
and first Prior of St AndrewsPrior of St AndrewsThe 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...