Abbot of Holyrood

The Abbot of Holyrood (later Commendator of Holyrood) was the head of the Augustinian monastic community of Holyrood Abbey, now in Edinburgh. The long history of the abbey came to a formal end in July 1606 when the parliament of Scotland turned the abbey into a secular lordship for the last commendator, John Bothwell (confirmed by charter in December 1607). The following is a list of abbots and commendators:

List of abbots
Seal of Adam
  • Alwin, 1128-1151
  • Osbert, 1151
  • William (I), 1152-1172
  • John, 1173-1178x1184
  • William (II), 1187x1189-1206
  • Walter, 1210-1217 or 1218[1]
  • William (III), 1217 x 1218-1221
  • William (IV) son of "Owin", 1221-1227
  • Gilbert, 1236
  • Elias son of Nicholas, 1227-1236 x 1253
  • Henry, 1236 x 1253-1255[2]
  • Radulf, 1253x1256-1258
  • Robert, 1273 x1279
  • William de Haddington, 1285
  • Adam, 1291-1299
  • Elias, 1309-1320 or 1321
  • Simon de Wedale, 1321-1327[3]
  • John de Cambusnethan, 1328-1339
  • Bartholomew, 1342
  • Thomas de St Andrews, ?1347-1370
  • John, 1370-1378
  • David Bell, 1379-1386
  • John de Leith, 1386-71415x1420
  • Henry de Dryden, 1420-1423
  • Patrick Witherspoon (Wotherspoon), 1423-1445[5]
  • William, 1425
  • James Cameron, 1446-1450[6]
  • Archibald Crawford, 1450-1484
  • Robert Ballantyne, 1484-1500[7]
  • James Stewart, 1498-1500[8]
  • George Crichton, 1500-1526[9]
  • William Douglas, 1526-1528
  • Robert Cairncross, 1528-1538[10]
  • David Douglas, 1530-1531

List of commendators
Seal of Robert Stewart abbot

Notes
  1. Formerly Abbot of Inchcolm.
  2. Became Bishop of Galloway.
  3. Became Bishop of Galloway.
  4. Possibly elected in opposition to Dryden. Bower did not push the claim, and claim was nullified in March 1432.
  5. Formerly Prior of St Mary's Isle.
  6. Was prior of St Mary's Isle (1426-1446); became Prior of Whithorn in 1446 before being provided to Holyrood. Resigned in 1450.
  7. Formerly Prior of St Mary's Isle.
  8. Was Archbishop of St Andrews (1497–1504), Commendator of Dunfermline (1500-1504) and Commendator of Arbroath (1503-1504)
  9. Became Bishop of Dunkeld.
  10. Became Bishop of Ross.
  11. Illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland.
  12. Also bishop of Orkney (1559-1593)

Bibliography
  • Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man, Second Edition, (London, 1976), pp. 90–1
  • Watt, D.E.R. & Shead, N.F. (eds.), The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries, The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24, (Edinburgh, 2001), pp. 92–6

See also
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