Gilbert Cavan
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Cavan was a cleric based primarily in Galloway
in the early 15th century, a servant of the earls of Douglas
and briefly Bishop of Galloway
-elect. His name is also written Caven, Cawan, Caben, with other variants, perhaps representing Gaelic or Irish Cabhan, although the name is not locational, it is a dictus rather than a de name.
provision on 1 June 1381, to a vicarage under Holyrood Abbey
and then another vicarage under Kelso Abbey
on 21 December. If this was Gilbert Cavan seeking benefices as early as 1381, then he would have been 24 years old or over at that date, and thus born before 1357. Likewise his student days may have begun as early as 1381, but he is not known to have had any academic award until 1 May 1406, and is not given any academic title even as late as 1402. It is doubtful that this was Gilbert Cavan, especially as he disappears from records for more than two decades. A letter from Avignon Pope Benedict XIII in late summer 1400 provided one Gilbert Oliverei, "perpetual vicar of Caerlaverock
, to the parish church
of Kyrkynner, alias Carnismole. According to the view of Professor Donald Watt
, this Gilbert Oliverei ("[son] of Oliver") is probably not Gilbert Cavan either, but a namesake rival, though this is admitted to be rather tentative. It is known for certain though that by 1406, he held a bachelorate in Decrees (i.e. Canon Law
); in English safe-conducts dating to 1412/3, he is styled Magister (i.e. Master), but this title is doubtful as he is never styled so in papal letters. He studied at the University of Paris
.
of the parish church of Carnemol (Carnesmole, now Kirkinner
in Farines, Wigtownshire
), and confirmed him as rector of that church after the death of the previous rector Domhnall MacDomhnaill. The letter mentioned that, upon the death of Domhnall, Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, who had the right of presentation, presented Gilbert to Stephen [de Malcavston], Prior of St Mary's Isle
, the prelate acting as vicar general of spiritualities in the diocese of Galloway
while Bishop Thomas de Rossy
was abroad. Gilbert is said to have doubted the validity of this process, and thus the papal letter was issued in order to confirm Gilbert in his position as rector of Carnesmole. A repetition of this letter was issued on 1 May 1406, addressed to the abbot of Sainte Geneviève (University of Paris), the abbot of Glenluce
, and the chancellor of Noyon
, now styling Gilbert a Bachelor of Decrees.
as Bishop of Galloway
; but, despite travelling to the papal court in Spain, Gilbert failed to obtain papal confirmation, and the papal chaplain and auditor, Thomas de Buittle
, Archdeacon of Galloway
, was provided to the bishopric instead by Pope Benedict XIII on 14 June 1415. This probably occurred against the will of the Douglas family, to whom Cavan was a senior clerk. Perhaps in compensation, six days later (20 June) Gilbert received provision to the now vacant archdeaconry of Galloway, a position Cavan held only very shortly, for he resigned it on exchange with John Gray sometime before 20 May 1417. On 3 July 1415, he was given a canonry in the diocese of Moray
with the prebend of Invecheclyn (i.e. Inverkeithny
, Strathbogie
), being permitted to retain Carnesmole. The Pope had earlier allowed him to retain the parish church of Carnesmole even after becoming archdeacon. He received the church of Kirkandrews (Purton), near Borgue
in Kirkcudbrightshire
.
. He made several trips to England in 1412 and 1413 in connection with the earl's ransom, and was one of several clerks that the earl used as ambassadors and messengers. He remained a clerk of the earl of Douglas until 1420, the year of his death. He died a some point between 19 August and 22 November 1420.
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
in the early 15th century, a servant of the earls of Douglas
Earl of Douglas
This page is concerned with the holders of the extinct title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland...
and briefly 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...
-elect. His name is also written Caven, Cawan, Caben, with other variants, perhaps representing Gaelic or Irish Cabhan, although the name is not locational, it is a dictus rather than a de name.
Background
Much about his early background rests on whether or not Gilbert Cavan was the clerk who was granted expectativeExpectative
In the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, an expectative, or an expectative grace , is the anticipatory grant of an ecclesiastical benefice, not vacant at the moment but which will become so, regularly, on the death of its present incumbent.-History:In 1179 the Third Lateran Council, renewing...
provision on 1 June 1381, to a vicarage under 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 then another vicarage under Kelso Abbey
Kelso Abbey
Kelso Abbey is what remains of a Scottish abbey founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I. It occupies ground overlooking the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot waters, the site of what was once the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
on 21 December. If this was Gilbert Cavan seeking benefices as early as 1381, then he would have been 24 years old or over at that date, and thus born before 1357. Likewise his student days may have begun as early as 1381, but he is not known to have had any academic award until 1 May 1406, and is not given any academic title even as late as 1402. It is doubtful that this was Gilbert Cavan, especially as he disappears from records for more than two decades. A letter from Avignon Pope Benedict XIII in late summer 1400 provided one Gilbert Oliverei, "perpetual vicar of Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock is an area to the south of Dumfries and to the west of Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.Caerlaverock NNR is a National Nature Reserve in the care of Scottish Natural Heritage....
, to the 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....
of Kyrkynner, alias Carnismole. According to the view of Professor Donald Watt
D. E. R. Watt
Donald Elmslie Robertson Watt FRSE was a Scottish historian and Professor Emeritus at St Andrews University....
, this Gilbert Oliverei ("[son] of Oliver") is probably not Gilbert Cavan either, but a namesake rival, though this is admitted to be rather tentative. It is known for certain though that by 1406, he held a bachelorate in Decrees (i.e. Canon Law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
); in English safe-conducts dating to 1412/3, he is styled Magister (i.e. Master), but this title is doubtful as he is never styled so in papal letters. He studied at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
Early career in the church
A letter from Pope Benedict XIII, dated 15 September 1402, addressed Gilbert as rectorRector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the parish church of Carnemol (Carnesmole, now Kirkinner
Kirkinner
Kirkinner is a small village located in the Machars, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland....
in Farines, Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway...
), and confirmed him as rector of that church after the death of the previous rector Domhnall MacDomhnaill. The letter mentioned that, upon the death of Domhnall, Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, who had the right of presentation, presented Gilbert to Stephen [de Malcavston], Prior of St Mary's Isle
Prior of St Mary's Isle
The Prior of St Mary's Isle was the head of the Augustinian monastic community of St Mary's Isle Priory, in Kirkcudbrightshire, Galloway...
, the prelate acting as vicar general of spiritualities in the diocese of Galloway
Diocese of Galloway
The Diocese of Galloway was one of the thirteen dioceses of the pre-1689 Scottish Church. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Galloway and was centred on Whithorn Cathedral....
while Bishop 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...
was abroad. Gilbert is said to have doubted the validity of this process, and thus the papal letter was issued in order to confirm Gilbert in his position as rector of Carnesmole. A repetition of this letter was issued on 1 May 1406, addressed to the abbot of Sainte Geneviève (University of Paris), the abbot of Glenluce
Abbot of Glenluce
The Abbot of Glenluce was the head of the monastic community of Glenluce Abbey, Galloway. The monastery was founded in 1192 by monks from Dundrennan Abbey with the patronage of Lochlann , Lord of Galloway. In the 16th century the monastery increasingly came under the control of secular warlords...
, and the chancellor of Noyon
Noyon
Noyon is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.It lies on the Oise Canal, 100 km north of Paris.-History:...
, now styling Gilbert a Bachelor of Decrees.
Bishop and Archdeacon of Galloway
Sometime between 1412 and 1415, probably in the latter year, the chapter of Whithorn elected Gilbert to succeed the late Elisaeus AdouganElisaeus Adougan
Elisaeus Adougan was a late 14th century and early 15th century Scottish cleric. His name has been said to have occurred for the first time in a papal letter datable to November 25, 1390, but this letter is simply a repetition of another addressed to him, dated August 2 of that year; both letters...
as 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...
; but, despite travelling to the papal court in Spain, Gilbert failed to obtain papal confirmation, and the papal chaplain and auditor, Thomas de Buittle
Thomas de Buittle
Thomas de Buittle [Butil, Butill, Butyll, Butyl, Bucyl] was a Scottish prelate, clerk and papal auditor active in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Probably originating in Galloway, Scotland, Thomas took a university career in canon law in England and France, before taking up service at the...
, Archdeacon of Galloway
Archdeacon of Galloway
The Archdeacon of Galloway was the only archdeacon in the medieval Diocese of Galloway , acting as a deputy of the Bishop of Galloway. The following is a list of archdeacons:-List of archdeacons of Galloway:* Robert, fl. 1154 x 1186...
, was provided to the bishopric instead by Pope Benedict XIII on 14 June 1415. This probably occurred against the will of the Douglas family, to whom Cavan was a senior clerk. Perhaps in compensation, six days later (20 June) Gilbert received provision to the now vacant archdeaconry of Galloway, a position Cavan held only very shortly, for he resigned it on exchange with John Gray sometime before 20 May 1417. On 3 July 1415, he was given a canonry in the diocese of Moray
Diocese of Moray
The Diocese of Moray was one of the most important of the medieval dioceses in Scotland. It was founded in the early years of the 12th century by David I of Scotland under its first bishop, Gregoir...
with the prebend of Invecheclyn (i.e. Inverkeithny
Inverkeithny
Inverkeithny is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village lies where the Burn of Forgue crosses the River Deveron, 7 miles west of Turriff and 3 miles south-east of Aberchirder....
, Strathbogie
Strathbogie
Strathbogie may refer to:* Strathbogie, the old name of Huntly in Scotland, and the strath to the south of it.* Strathbogie, Victoria, Australia* Shire of Strathbogie, Victoria, Australia* Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria, Australia...
), being permitted to retain Carnesmole. The Pope had earlier allowed him to retain the parish church of Carnesmole even after becoming archdeacon. He received the church of Kirkandrews (Purton), near Borgue
Borgue, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
Borgue is a village in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It lies 5 miles south-west of Kirkcudbright and 6 miles south of Gatehouse of Fleet.-Notable people from Borgue:...
in Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire was a county of south-western Scotland. It was also known as East Galloway, forming the larger Galloway region with Wigtownshire....
.
Service to the Douglases
Gilbert was a clerk and associate of the earls of Douglas. A papal letter of 1406 mentioned that he was "chaplain and familiar" of Princess Margaret, Duchess of Touraine, and tutor to her first born son, ArchibaldArchibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas
Archibald Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and General, son of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas and Margaret Stewart, eldest daughter of Robert III...
. He made several trips to England in 1412 and 1413 in connection with the earl's ransom, and was one of several clerks that the earl used as ambassadors and messengers. He remained a clerk of the earl of Douglas until 1420, the year of his death. He died a some point between 19 August and 22 November 1420.