Sir Patrick Hamilton was a Scottish

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...

 nobleman. He was an illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton

James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton

James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton, 6th Lord of Cadzow was a Scottish nobleman, scholar and politician.-Early life:...

, and a younger brother of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran and 2nd Lord Hamilton was a Scottish nobleman and first cousin of James IV of Scotland.-Biography:...

. He was also nephew of King James IV of Scotland

James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

.

In March 1516, the infant 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...

 and the Governor, Regent Albany leased Patrick to rights to mine for gold, silver, tin and other metals on Crawford Moor

Crawfordjohn

Crawfordjohn is a small village and civil parish located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.It is west of Abington and north east of Leadhills, near junction 13 of the M74. It lies to the north of the Duneaton Water, a tributary of the River Clyde. It is known for the manufacture of curling stones....

 and other places.
In 1520, as a result of rivalry between the Hamiltons and the 'Black' Douglases, he helped instigate the street brawl in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 known as 'Cleanse the Causeway

Cleanse the Causeway

The skirmish known as Cleanse the Causeway, or Clear the Causeway, took place in the High Street of Edinburgh, Scotland, on April 30, 1520, between rivals James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, chief of Clan Hamilton, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, chief of Clan Douglas.The skirmish was the...

'. The fight turned out badly for the Hamiltons, and Sir Patrick and about 70 others were killed. His heir was his oldest son, Sir James Hamilton of Kincavil

Kingscavil

Kingscavil is a small settlement in West Lothian lying between Linlithgow and Bridgend on the old A9 .Essentially a single row of houses, Kingscavil once had a school serving the many local agricultural settlements, but this is now privately owned. The church remains in use.In 1895 there were 112...

.

A younger son, Master Patrick Hamilton

Patrick Hamilton (martyr)

Patrick 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...

 went on to become one of the first preachers and Lutherans in Scotland, and in 1528 a martyr of the Scottish Reformation

Scottish Reformation

The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...

.

Further reading