Robert Spottiswood
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Spottiswood, Lord Newabbey (1596–1646), was a Scottish lawyer.
He was the second son of John Spottiswoode
(1565–1637), archbishop of St. Andrews, and Rachel, daughter of David Lindsay
, bishop of Ross
. Educated at Glasgow Grammar School, he matriculated at Glasgow University in 1609, graduating M.A. 15 March 1613. Thence he proceeded to Exeter College, Oxford
, where he studied under John Prideaux
, afterwards bishop of Worcester
. He pursued his studies on the continent, chiefly in France, where ‘he applied himself to the study of the laws civil and canon, and of theology, especially the oriental languages, the holy scriptures, the fathers, and church history.’ His father had projected his ‘History of the Church’ before Spottiswood set out on his travels, and he was commissioned to make researches for documents, many of which had been carried to France at the Reformation. In this search Sir Robert was very successful, recovering many important papers utilised by the archbishop, and discovering at Rome the ‘Black Book of Paisley,’ a manuscript of great value. After spending nine years abroad Spottiswood returned home, and was received with favour by James VI, who appointed him privy councillor on 25 June 1622.
Sir Robert was promoted to the bench
on 12 July 1622, taking the title of Lord Newabbey from the lands which his father had purchased and presented to him. Four years afterwards (14 Feb. 1626) he was appointed an ordinary lord of session, in succession to Sir Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Melrose
(afterwards Earl of Haddington
). In 1633 he was nominated as one of the commissioners for the valuation of teind
s, and at the same time was appointed one of the members of the commission to survey the laws. He continued in favour under Charles I, and on the death of Sir James Skene of Curriehill, in October 1633, Spottiswood was, on Charles's recommendation, elected president of the court of session
. His speech on that occasion, in which he described the relations then existing between the bench and the bar, is printed in the memoir by his grandson, John Spottiswood (1666–1728), in his edition of Sir Robert's ‘Practicks,’ and in the first volume of the ‘Spottiswoode Miscellany.’
Sir Robert was one of the crown assessors for the trial of Lord Balmerino
in 1634, and it was afterwards alleged—without much foundation—that he gave a partial and unfair aspect to the case. His attitude was so distinctly against the covenanters that in 1638, when episcopacy was abolished by the general assembly, he was forced to flee to England, where he remained until Charles I made his second visit to Scotland. The dominant presbyterian party accused him of fomenting the discord between the king and the people; and when he appeared before the Scottish parliament on 17 Aug. 1641, he was forthwith committed to the castle of Edinburgh. He was specially exempted from the act of oblivion proposed to parliament; but on 10 Nov. he obtained his liberty on condition that he should appear for trial when called upon. The intention of bringing him and the other ‘incendiaries’ to trial was at length abandoned, in deference to the king's wish, and Spottiswood returned with Charles I to England. When the Earl of Lanark
, secretary of state
, was apprehended in December 1643, the king gave the seals of office to Spottiswood at Oxford, and directed him to act as secretary. In this capacity Spottiswood sealed several commissions, one being a warrant appointing Montrose to be his majesty's lieutenant in Scotland. Sir Robert set out from Oxford with this warrant, travelled through Wales to the Isle of Man, shipped thence to Lochaber, and, meeting Montrose in Athol, gave him the commission.
Remaining with Montrose, Spottiswood was present at the battle of Philiphaugh
on 13 Sept. 1645, and was taken prisoner. He was carried to Glasgow, and removed thence to St. Andrews, where he was tried by parliament on the charge of having purchased the office of secretary without the consent of the estates, and also with having joined with Montrose against the state. Sir Robert pleaded that he had taken the office of secretary at the king's command, temporarily and under pressure of necessity, and he urged that, though he had been with Montrose, he had not borne arms, and also that he had received quarter when he submitted himself. On 10 Jan. 1646 the case came on for hearing. The last defence was repelled, and, after long debate, Spottiswood was sentenced to death on 16 Jan. He was executed at the market cross of St. Andrews. On the scaffold he maintained his customary courage and dignity. He was not allowed to address the spectators, but he had his speech printed beforehand, and it was distributed among the multitude. A copy of it is printed in the memoir preceding the ‘Practicks,’ and also in Wishart's edition of the ‘Memoirs of Montrose.’
The character of Spottiswood has been variously estimated according to the sectarian predilections of his critics. While Wishart describes him as a martyr whose chief crime was being the son of the archbishop, Baillie denounces him as a partial and corrupt judge, and seems to regard his violent end as a meet punishment for his alleged unfairness to Lord Balmerino. Modern opinion inclines to the decision that Spottiswood was the victim of the presbyterian hatred of Charles I.
Sir Robert's only work is his ‘Practicks of the Law of Scotland,’ the manuscript of which is now in the Advocates' Library
, Edinburgh. It was published by his grandson, John Spottiswood, advocate, in 1706, with a memoir.
In 1629 Sir Robert married Bethia, daughter of Sir Alexander Morrison of Prestongrange, one of the senators of the College of Justice, and by her had four sons (including Alexander, father of John Spottiswood, 1666–1728) and three daughters. She died in 1639, and a copy of memorial verses in Latin is in the manuscript of the ‘Practicks,’ now in Edinburgh.
He was the second son of John Spottiswoode
John Spottiswoode
John Spottiswoode was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland and historian of Scotland.-Life:...
(1565–1637), archbishop of St. Andrews, and Rachel, daughter of David Lindsay
David Lindsay (d. 1613)
David Lindsay was of the twelve original ministers nominated to the "chief places in Scotland" in 1560. In 1589 as one of the recognised leaders of the Kirk and as chaplain of James VI of Scotland, Lindsay accompanied James to Norway to fetch home his bride. He was appointed bishop of Ross and a...
, bishop of Ross
Bishop of Ross
The Bishop of Ross was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Ross, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first recorded bishop appears in the late 7th century as a witness to Adomnán of Iona's Cáin Adomnáin. The bishopric was based at the settlement of Rosemarkie until the mid-13th...
. Educated at Glasgow Grammar School, he matriculated at Glasgow University in 1609, graduating M.A. 15 March 1613. Thence he proceeded to Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, where he studied under John Prideaux
John Prideaux
John Prideaux D.D. was an English academic and Bishop of Worcester.-Early life:The fourth son of John and Agnes Prideaux, he was born at Stowford House in the parish of Harford, near Ivybridge, Devon, England, on 17 September 1578...
, afterwards bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
. He pursued his studies on the continent, chiefly in France, where ‘he applied himself to the study of the laws civil and canon, and of theology, especially the oriental languages, the holy scriptures, the fathers, and church history.’ His father had projected his ‘History of the Church’ before Spottiswood set out on his travels, and he was commissioned to make researches for documents, many of which had been carried to France at the Reformation. In this search Sir Robert was very successful, recovering many important papers utilised by the archbishop, and discovering at Rome the ‘Black Book of Paisley,’ a manuscript of great value. After spending nine years abroad Spottiswood returned home, and was received with favour by James VI, who appointed him privy councillor on 25 June 1622.
Sir Robert was promoted to the bench
Court of Session
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....
on 12 July 1622, taking the title of Lord Newabbey from the lands which his father had purchased and presented to him. Four years afterwards (14 Feb. 1626) he was appointed an ordinary lord of session, in succession to Sir Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Melrose
Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington
Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington , designated before his peerage as 'of Drumcarny, Monkland, and Binning', was a Scottish administrator, Lord Advocate, judge, and Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire.-Family:...
(afterwards Earl of Haddington
Earl of Haddington
Earl of Haddington is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1627 for the noted Scottish lawyer and judge Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Melrose. He was Lord President of the Court of Session from 1616 to 1625...
). In 1633 he was nominated as one of the commissioners for the valuation of teind
Teind
Teind is a Scots word for tithe meaning a tenth part of. In Scotland, a teind was a tithe derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of the clergy....
s, and at the same time was appointed one of the members of the commission to survey the laws. He continued in favour under Charles I, and on the death of Sir James Skene of Curriehill, in October 1633, Spottiswood was, on Charles's recommendation, elected president of the court of session
Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland, and presiding judge of the College of Justice and Court of Session, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836...
. His speech on that occasion, in which he described the relations then existing between the bench and the bar, is printed in the memoir by his grandson, John Spottiswood (1666–1728), in his edition of Sir Robert's ‘Practicks,’ and in the first volume of the ‘Spottiswoode Miscellany.’
Sir Robert was one of the crown assessors for the trial of Lord Balmerino
John Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Balmerino
John Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Balmerino was a Scottish aristocrat, convicted in a celebrated trial of the 1630s which became a crux of the religious issue of the time.-Early life:...
in 1634, and it was afterwards alleged—without much foundation—that he gave a partial and unfair aspect to the case. His attitude was so distinctly against the covenanters that in 1638, when episcopacy was abolished by the general assembly, he was forced to flee to England, where he remained until Charles I made his second visit to Scotland. The dominant presbyterian party accused him of fomenting the discord between the king and the people; and when he appeared before the Scottish parliament on 17 Aug. 1641, he was forthwith committed to the castle of Edinburgh. He was specially exempted from the act of oblivion proposed to parliament; but on 10 Nov. he obtained his liberty on condition that he should appear for trial when called upon. The intention of bringing him and the other ‘incendiaries’ to trial was at length abandoned, in deference to the king's wish, and Spottiswood returned with Charles I to England. When the Earl of Lanark
William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton
William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton KG was a Scottish nobleman who supported both Royalist and Presbyterian causes during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms....
, secretary of state
Secretary of State, Scotland
The Secretary of Scotland was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland.The office appeared in the 14th century when it was combined with that of Keeper of the Privy Seal. Called Clericus Regis , he was regarded as an Officer of State...
, was apprehended in December 1643, the king gave the seals of office to Spottiswood at Oxford, and directed him to act as secretary. In this capacity Spottiswood sealed several commissions, one being a warrant appointing Montrose to be his majesty's lieutenant in Scotland. Sir Robert set out from Oxford with this warrant, travelled through Wales to the Isle of Man, shipped thence to Lochaber, and, meeting Montrose in Athol, gave him the commission.
Remaining with Montrose, Spottiswood was present at the battle of Philiphaugh
Battle of Philiphaugh
The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquess of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, restoring the power of the Committee of Estates.-Prelude:When...
on 13 Sept. 1645, and was taken prisoner. He was carried to Glasgow, and removed thence to St. Andrews, where he was tried by parliament on the charge of having purchased the office of secretary without the consent of the estates, and also with having joined with Montrose against the state. Sir Robert pleaded that he had taken the office of secretary at the king's command, temporarily and under pressure of necessity, and he urged that, though he had been with Montrose, he had not borne arms, and also that he had received quarter when he submitted himself. On 10 Jan. 1646 the case came on for hearing. The last defence was repelled, and, after long debate, Spottiswood was sentenced to death on 16 Jan. He was executed at the market cross of St. Andrews. On the scaffold he maintained his customary courage and dignity. He was not allowed to address the spectators, but he had his speech printed beforehand, and it was distributed among the multitude. A copy of it is printed in the memoir preceding the ‘Practicks,’ and also in Wishart's edition of the ‘Memoirs of Montrose.’
The character of Spottiswood has been variously estimated according to the sectarian predilections of his critics. While Wishart describes him as a martyr whose chief crime was being the son of the archbishop, Baillie denounces him as a partial and corrupt judge, and seems to regard his violent end as a meet punishment for his alleged unfairness to Lord Balmerino. Modern opinion inclines to the decision that Spottiswood was the victim of the presbyterian hatred of Charles I.
Sir Robert's only work is his ‘Practicks of the Law of Scotland,’ the manuscript of which is now in the Advocates' Library
Faculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...
, Edinburgh. It was published by his grandson, John Spottiswood, advocate, in 1706, with a memoir.
In 1629 Sir Robert married Bethia, daughter of Sir Alexander Morrison of Prestongrange, one of the senators of the College of Justice, and by her had four sons (including Alexander, father of John Spottiswood, 1666–1728) and three daughters. She died in 1639, and a copy of memorial verses in Latin is in the manuscript of the ‘Practicks,’ now in Edinburgh.