Gavin Dunbar (c. 1490 – 1547) was a 16th century
archbishop of GlasgowThe Bishop of Glasgow, after 1492 Archbishop of Glasgow, was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Glasgow and then, as Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archdiocese of Glasgow...
. He was the third son of John Dunbar of Mochrum and Janet Stewart.
Gavin DunbarGavin Dunbar was a 16th century bishop of Aberdeen. He was the son of Sir Alexander Dunbar of Westfield, near Elgin and Elizabeth Sutherland, apparently a daughter of Alexander Sutherland, Laird of Duffus...
, his uncle, resigned as
Dean of MorayThe Dean of Moray was the head of the cathedral chapter of the diocese of Moray, north-central Scotland, based at Elgin Cathedral. The diocese of Moray is first known to have had a dean from a document dating between 1207 and 1208, and its first dean known by name from a document dating between...
on 5 November 1518 to take up the post of
bishop of AberdeenThe Bishop of Aberdeen was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th century cleric named Nechtan...
but managed to secure his former position for his nephew. By 1518 he was
preceptorA preceptor is a teacher responsible to uphold a certain law or tradition, a precept.-Christian military orders:A preceptor was historically in charge of a preceptory, the headquarters of certain orders of monastic Knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar, within a given...
to king
James VJames V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his premature death at the age of 30, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
and that same year was recommended to
Pope Leo XPope Leo X was Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known primarily for the sale of indulgences to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 theses. He was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the most famous...
by the Duke of Albany for provision to the
Priory of WhithornWhithorn Priory is located in Wigtownshire, Galloway. It was founded about the middle of the twelfth century, in the reign of David I, by Fergus, Lord of Galloway, with Gille Aldan, Bishop of Galloway, for Premonstratensian Canons, referred colloquially in Britain as the White Canons.The canons of...
. This appointment was sought by others and it wasn't until August 1520 that it was confirmed. Dunbar was to hold the positions of Prior of Whithorn and Dean of Moray
in commendam.
On 8 July 1524 he was provided to the archbishopric of Glasgow by
Pope Clement VIIPope Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
, granting at the same time exemption from the primatial and legatine jurisdiction of the
Archbishopric of St AndrewsThe Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of Cathedral of St. Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...
, Primate of All Scotland. Nevertheless, Dunbar's rule would see a good deal of conflict with his fellow archbishop, including in 1543 physical attacks by Dunbar on the person of Cardinal and Archbishop
David BeatonDavid Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.He was a younger son of John Beaton of Balfour in the county of Fife, and is said to have been born in 1494. He was educated at the universities of St Andrews and Glasgow, and in his sixteenth year...
. Dunbar was made Chancellor of Scotland on 8 July 1528, a position he held until 1543.
Dunbar's archiepiscopate coincided with one of the first tides of
ProtestantismProtestantism is one of the four major divisions within Christianity together with the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Roman Catholic Church...
to enter Scotland. Dunbar played a proactive role persecuting the perceived heretics. In 1539 alone he ordered the burning of seven people, including a youth named Kennedy and a
FranciscanThe term Franciscan is most commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. As well as Roman Catholic there are also small Old Catholic and Anglican Franciscan communities...
friarA friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:Friars differ from monks in that they are called to live the evangelical counsels in service to a community, rather than through cloistered asceticism and devotion...
named Jerome Russell. On 29 February 1528, Dunbar attended the trial and signed the sentence of
Patrick HamiltonPatrick Hamilton was a Scottish churchman and an early Protestant Reformer in Scotland. He travelled to Europe, where he met several of the leading reforming thinkers, before returning to Scotland to preach...
, who was
burned aliveDeath by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft...
for six hours before dying (the faggots were wet), a death which made him one of the Scottish
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was the European Christian reform movement that established Protestantism as a constituent branch of contemporary Christianity...
's most famous
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for the people, a country or an organization, or refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious, political or rights.-Meaning:...
s.
Dunbar also is known for his "Monition of Cursing" against the
Border ReiversBorder Reivers were raiders along the Anglo–Scottish border from the late 13th century to the end of the 16th century. Their ranks consisted of both Scottish and English families, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality...
of the Anglo-Scottish Border region.
George MacDonald FraserGeorge MacDonald Fraser, OBE was a Scottish author of both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
, in his history of the Reivers,
The Steel Bonnets, admiringly calls it a "remarkable burst of invective," and says that it places Dunbar "among the great cursers of all time." Priests in all of the parishes of the border lands were required to read out the curse (written in Scots) to their congregations; one small piece stated:
... I curse thair heid and all the haris of thair heid; I curse thair face, thair ene, thair mouth, thair neise thair toung, thair teith, thair crag, thair schulderis, thair breist, thair hert, thair stomok, thair bak, thair wame, thair armes, thair leggis, thair handis, thair feit, and everilk part of thair body, frae the top of thair heid to the soill of thair feit, befoir and behind, within and without...
The Monition not only curses the Reivers themselves, but their horses, their clothing, their crops, and all who aid them in any way.
He died on 30 April 1547.