Alexander Gordon (bishop of Galloway)
Alexander Gordon | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Galloway | |
| Diocese | Galloway |
| In office | 1559–1575 |
| Predecessor | Andrew Durie |
| Successor | John Gordon |
| Other post(s) | Titular Archbishop of Athens(1551–75) |
| Previous post(s) | Archbishop of Glasgow (1550–51) Bishop of the Isles (1554–59) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | doubtful if ever consecrated[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1516[1] |
| Died | 11 November 1575 (agedc. 59) Clary,Penninghame,Wigtonshire,Scotland[1] |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Denomination | Church of Scotland prev.Roman Catholic |
| Parents | John Gordon, Lord Gordonand Margaret Stewart |
| Spouse | Barbara Logie |
| Children | five sons and one daughter[2] |
Alexander Gordon(c. 1516– 11 November 1575) was a 16th-centuryScottishchurchman who was successivelyArchbishop of Glasgow,Titular Archbishop of Athens,Bishop of the IslesandBishop of Galloway.
Biography
[edit]His father wasJohn Gordon, Lord Gordonand his mother wasMargaret Stewart,an illegitimate daughter ofJames IV of ScotlandandMargaret Drummond.He was the brother ofGeorge Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly,the ex-Chancellor of Scotland.He acquired his first ecclesiastic appointment, as administrator ofCaithness,despite competition withRobert Stewart,brother of theEarl of Lennox.[3]He was provided and consecrated to thearchdiocese of Glasgowin the year 1550. This see was resigned to the pope in 1551, and he was given a pension and the titlearchbishop of Athensin partibus,along with thecommendamofInchaffray.In 1553, he was translated to the bishopric of the Isles (Sodor) atIona.In 1559, after the death of the bishop of Galloway, Alexander was translated that bishopric. Alexander became a Protestant, and died on 11 November 1575.
In 1544, Alexander described himself as a servant ofFrancis I of France,and he was a loyal and well rewarded servant to the Queen Dowager,Mary of Guise.Apart from his ecclesiastical preferments, Guise gave him a yearly pension of £200 on 17 January 1547. The next year Alexander claimed poverty because Robert Stewart had possession of his Caithness rents, but he wrote that he would not tempted by English offers, 'for suppose poverty banish me from your grace's service, riches shall not cause me offend.'[4]Alexander sent Mary of Guise a vivid account of the capture ofFerniehirst Castlefrom the French in February 1549. He was there in the company of his brother George, Earl of Huntly.[5]
Alexander travelled through England to Scotland with a retinue of 12 followers in April 1553.[6]Alexander preached at the wedding of his nieceJean Gordonto theEarl of Bothwellon 24 February 1566.[7]A year later, Alexander was a signatory toAinslie's Tavern Bandin April 1567, agreeing to the marriage ofMary, Queen of Scotsto Bothwell.[8]
On 16 November 1571 he wrote from Edinburgh to theEarl of Shrewsbury,who was the keeper ofMary, Queen of Scots.He had promised to send Shrewsbury some hawks from theEarl of Huntly.Gordon described theMarian Civil Warfrom the point of view of a supporter of Mary, saying the queen's enemies had suffered a defeat at Edinburgh, and in the northAdam Gordon of Auchindounhad a victory against theClan Forbesat thebattle of Tillieangus.He thought thatLord Hunsdon,Governor ofBerwick-upon-Tweedwas working on a peace deal.[9]
He died in 1575.
Family
[edit]John Gordon,future Bishop of Galloway, was the son of Alexander Gordon and his wife Barbara Logie. John seems to have been illegitimate; his parents married, perhaps clandestinely, only in 1546, before Alexander obtained ecclesiastical preferment.[10]
References
[edit]- ^abcScott 1928,Fasti Ecclesae Scoticanae,volume 7, p. 343.
- ^Scott 1928,Fasti Ecclesae Scoticanae,volume 7, p. 344.
- ^Cameron, Annie I., ed.,Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine(Scottish History Society, 1927), 12-13, 239-240.
- ^Cameron, Annie I., ed.,Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine,Scottish History Society (1927), 40, 96, 102, 214, 240
- ^Cameron, Annie I., ed.,Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine(SHS, 1927), 286-290, 20 February 1549.
- ^Strype, John,Ecclesiastical Memorials,vol 2, part 2, Oxford (1822), 235 (passport from Edward VI).
- ^Calendar State Papers Scotland,vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), 258.
- ^Wormald, Jenny,Lords and Men in Scotland(John Donald, 1985), 406.
- ^Edmund Lodge,Illustrations of British History,vol. 2 (London, 1791), pp. 62–63.
- ^"Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/11061.Retrieved1 May2007.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
Sources
[edit]- Dowden, John(1912). Thomson, J. Maitland (ed.).The Bishops of Scotland.Glasgow: James Maclehose and Son.
- Scott, Hew (1928).Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae.Vol. 7 (New ed.). Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.
|  | |
| ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
- 1510s births
- 1575 deaths
- Roman Catholic archbishops of Glasgow
- Bishops of Caithness
- Bishops of Galloway (pre-Reformation)
- Bishops of the Isles
- Clergy from Aberdeenshire
- 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Scotland
- Extraordinary Lords of Session
- Scottish people of the Rough Wooing
- 16th-century bishops of the Church of Scotland
- 16th-century Scottish bishops
- Bishops of Galloway (Church of Scotland)