David Arnot
Encyclopedia
David Arnot O. S. A. was a 16th century Scottish
Augustinian abbot
and bishop
. He was from the Arnot family of Arnot, Fife
.
of Kirkforthar, Fife, receiving crown presentation to that parish church
on 19 September 1497. He received crown presentation to become Archdeacon of Lothian
on 26 October 1498.
of the collegiate church
of Bothwell
in a document dating to 20 September 1499, a document recording a grant made to Arnot by the king of a tenement in Linlithgow
; it is not known when he attained this position. The last known provost is found as provost no later than 26 January 1468; and although this man, Patrick Leich, did not die until either 1493 or 1494, it is not known if Leich still held this position at his death. Arnot was provost there no later than 30 November 1502, when James Beaton
is attested as provost.
, on 29 March 1503, Arnot was provided to succeed Abercrombie to this abbacy. He is found as abbot-elect on 30 May and then as full abbot on 28 November. Arnot held the Abbey of Cambuskenneth
for over five years.
to Archbishop of Glasgow
, Arnot received crown nomination to the papacy to fill the vacant see of Galloway. He was provided to the bishopric on 29 January 1509, and granted the temporalities
of the see
on 27 May as "Bishop of Candida Casa [Whithorn] and of the Chapel Royal". Since 1504, the position of Bishop of Galloway and that of Dean
of the Chapel Royal
at Stirling
went together.
His position was supplemented in 1509, when he received crown nomination to receive Tongland Abbey
in commendam
, after the resignation of the previous Abbot of Tongland
Peter Damian de Falcutiis
. Bishop Arnot was provided as Commendator of Tongland on 18 April 1510, for which on 7 May he paid the papacy 50 florin
s.
He was sent on an embassy on behalf of King James V of Scotland
in April 1516 to Henry VIII of England
, for which he received a royal letter of protection on 3 April 1516; he was accompanied by, among others, the Bishop of Dunblane
, the Bishop of Caithness
, the Earl of Cassillis, the Earl of Morton
and the Earl of Eglinton
.
He witnessed as royal charter in 18 February 1517, and another on 28 March 1522.
David Arnot resigned his bishopric on 23/4 January 1526, to Henry Wemyss
, with right of return and for a pension. Although Arnot also resigned Tongland for lifelong pension with right of return on vacancy, Arnot may have effectively held on to Tongland for a few more years; repeated crown nominations of Wemyss to Tongland failed, apparently because of Arnot, while William Stewart, a canon
of Glasgow Cathedral
, also got crown nomination until the Pope finally agreed to give Wemyss the commend in 1530, with Stewart resigning his rights.
Arnot is found consenting to a deed of Bishop Henry on 7 June 1535, and to another on 10 July 1536. This was the last time Arnot can be found in the sources; he was dead by 25 August 1537, though he could have died at any time before this and after 10 July 1536.
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...
Augustinian 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...
and bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. He was from the Arnot family of Arnot, 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...
.
Archdeacon of Lothian
He was rectorRector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Kirkforthar, Fife, receiving crown presentation to that parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
on 19 September 1497. He received crown presentation to become Archdeacon of Lothian
Archdeacon of Lothian
The Archdeacon of Lothian was the head of the Archdeaconry of Lothian, a sub-division of the Diocese of St Andrews. The position was one of the most important positions within the medieval Scottish church; because of his area's large population and high number of parish churches, the Archdeacon of...
on 26 October 1498.
Provost of Bothwell
He is found to be provostProvost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
of the 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...
of Bothwell
Bothwell
Bothwell is a small town in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, nine miles east-south-east of Glasgow city centre....
in a document dating to 20 September 1499, a document recording a grant made to Arnot by the king of a tenement in Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
; it is not known when he attained this position. The last known provost is found as provost no later than 26 January 1468; and although this man, Patrick Leich, did not die until either 1493 or 1494, it is not known if Leich still held this position at his death. Arnot was provost there no later than 30 November 1502, when James Beaton
James Beaton
Dr. James Beaton was a Scottish church leader, the uncle of Dr. David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland....
is attested as provost.
Abbot of Cambuskenneth
After the death of Henry Abercrombie, Abbot of CambuskennethAbbot of Cambuskenneth
The Abbot of Cambuskenneth or Abbot of Stirling was the head of the Arrouaisian monastic community of Cambuskenneth Abbey, near Stirling...
, on 29 March 1503, Arnot was provided to succeed Abercrombie to this abbacy. He is found as abbot-elect on 30 May and then as full abbot on 28 November. Arnot held the Abbey of 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...
for over five years.
Bishop of Galloway
In November 1508, after the translation of James Beaton from Bishop of GallowayBishop 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...
to Archbishop of Glasgow
Archbishop of Glasgow
The Bishop of Glasgow, from 1492 Archbishop of Glasgow, was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Glasgow and then, as Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archdiocese of Glasgow...
, Arnot received crown nomination to the papacy to fill the vacant see of Galloway. He was provided to the bishopric on 29 January 1509, and granted the temporalities
Temporality
Temporality is a term often used in philosophy in talking about the way time is. The traditional mode of temporality is a linear procession of past, present, and future....
of the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
on 27 May as "Bishop of Candida Casa [Whithorn] and of the Chapel Royal". Since 1504, the position of Bishop of Galloway and that of Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal
A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
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...
went together.
His position was supplemented in 1509, when he received crown nomination to receive Tongland Abbey
Tongland Abbey
Tungland or Tongland Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastic community located in Galloway. It was probably founded in 1218 by Alan, Lord of Galloway, although the church of Tongland had previously been granted to Dercongal Abbey by his grandfather Uchtred in the early 1160s. Few of its early abbots...
in commendam
In Commendam
In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...
, after the resignation of the previous Abbot of Tongland
Abbot of Tongland
The Abbot of Tongland was the head of the Premonstratensian monastic community of Tongland Abbey in Dumfries and Galloway...
Peter Damian de Falcutiis
John Damian
John Damian was an Italian clergyman at the court of James IV of Scotland. His attempts at medicine, alchemy, flying, and his advancement by the King encouraged a satirical attack by the poet William Dunbar....
. Bishop Arnot was provided as Commendator of Tongland on 18 April 1510, for which on 7 May he paid the papacy 50 florin
Italian coin florin
The Italian florin was a coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard. It had 54 grains of nominally pure gold worth approximately 200 modern US Dollars...
s.
He was sent on an embassy on behalf of King James V of Scotland
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
in April 1516 to Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, for which he received a royal letter of protection on 3 April 1516; he was accompanied by, among others, the Bishop of Dunblane
Bishop of Dunblane
The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane/Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland. The bishopric itself certainly derives from an older...
, the Bishop of Caithness
Bishop of Caithness
The Bishop of Caithness was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Caithness, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first referenced bishop of Caithness was Aindréas, a Gael who appears in sources between 1146 and 1151 as bishop. Aindréas spent much if not all of his career outside his...
, the Earl of Cassillis, the Earl of Morton
Earl of Morton
The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton....
and the Earl of Eglinton
Earl of Eglinton
Earl of Eglinton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.Some authorities spell the title: Earl of Eglintoun In 1859 the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie, was also created Earl of Winton in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords,...
.
He witnessed as royal charter in 18 February 1517, and another on 28 March 1522.
David Arnot resigned his bishopric on 23/4 January 1526, to Henry Wemyss
Henry Wemyss
Henry Wemyss was a prelate from the 16th century Kingdom of Scotland. He appears in the sources in the bishopric of Galloway for the first time in 1517, and rose to become Bishop of Galloway in 1526, a position he held until his death in 1541....
, with right of return and for a pension. Although Arnot also resigned Tongland for lifelong pension with right of return on vacancy, Arnot may have effectively held on to Tongland for a few more years; repeated crown nominations of Wemyss to Tongland failed, apparently because of Arnot, while William Stewart, a 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 ....
of Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral
The church commonly known as Glasgow Cathedral is the Church of Scotland High Kirk of Glasgow otherwise known as St. Mungo's Cathedral.The other cathedrals in Glasgow are:* The Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew...
, also got crown nomination until the Pope finally agreed to give Wemyss the commend in 1530, with Stewart resigning his rights.
Arnot is found consenting to a deed of Bishop Henry on 7 June 1535, and to another on 10 July 1536. This was the last time Arnot can be found in the sources; he was dead by 25 August 1537, though he could have died at any time before this and after 10 July 1536.