John Fraser (bishop)
John Fraser | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Ross | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| See | Diocese of Ross |
| In office | 1497–1507 |
| Predecessor | John Guthrie |
| Successor | Robert Cockburn |
| Previous post(s) | ProvostofAbernethy(×1476–1489×1499) DeanofRestalrig( 1487–1498) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | By 3 January 1499 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | unknown unknown |
| Died | 1507 |
John Fraser[also, more commonly then,FriselorFrisell] (died 1507) was a late medievalScottishprelate.Born about 1429, or 1430 if later tradition can be believed, with strong connections to theburghofLinlithgow,Fraser held a variety of high-level ecclesiastical positions in Scotland, including being the firstDeanofRestalrigcollegiate church(which he helped to found) before becomingBishop of Rossin 1497, a position he held until his death in 1507.
Early career
[edit]Fraser was a university graduate,M. A.,and he seems to have been the John Fraser who was Dean of the Faculty of Arts at theUniversity of St Andrewsin 1479.[1]He is found asProvostof thecollegiate churchofAbernethyon 2 February 1476; it is not known when he obtained this position, and the latest documentation of a previous provost occurs all the way back on 13 March 1445.[2]He can be found as the Official of thediocese of Dunblaneon 26 August 1476.[3]He was litigating to gain theprecentorshipofElgin Cathedralin 1480, although nothing more of this is heard.[4]He is found asrectorof theparish churchofDouglason 28 August 1481.[5]After the election ofRobert BlackadderasBishop of Aberdeenon 14 July 1480, Fraser received provision to the now vacant position ofArchdeacon of Aberdeen;he did not secure the position because of the lack of royal support, but was still claiming the position in 1488.[6]
Collegiate church of Restalrig
[edit]Fraser was the first Dean of the new collegiate church erected on 13 November 1487 atRestalriginMidlothian.[7]Fraser petitioned the pope for the creation of the collegiate church on 6 May, to be dedicated to the "Holy and Indivisible Trinity" and theVirgin Mary;the church had and was benefiting from the patronage of KingJames III of Scotland,and the church was called at the time the "King's chapel" or "chapel royal".[8]Fraser founded a chaplaincy in the new collegiate church, to which he donated a tenement he had built in theCanongate.[9]
Bishop of Ross
[edit]In the 1490s, Fraser became a royal councillor and Clerk of the Register.[5]Some time before 10 September 1497, Fraser was elected through royal influence to thebishopric of Ross,vacant at least three, possibly five years, since the death of the previous bishop,John Guthrie.[10]He received papal provision on 14 March 1498.[11]On 5 May, theFlorentineclerk Ilarion de Portiis acting in Fraser's name paid the papacy 600 goldflorins.[5]His name appeared in Scottish sources datable to 3 December as "elect and confirmed of Ross."[5]He was granted the temporalities of the bishopric on 3 January 1499, by which time he had probably received consecration.[10]
On 10 March 1504, Bishop Fraser was present at a meeting of the parliament; on 10 May, he is recorded as granting his cathedral atFortrosean annual rent of £10 from a tenement he owned in theburghofLinlithgow.[5]On 15 September 1506, KingJames IV of Scotland,while at theChanonry of Ross,granted to the bishop part of the lands of the toun of Arkbol, in the earldom ofRoss.[5]TheHistory of the Frazers(Wardlaw MS) claimed that he died on 5 February 1507, aged 78.[11]According to tradition one of the three funeral effigies inFortrose Cathedralis that of Bishop Fraser.[12]The tradition – attested in the Wardlaw MSHistory of the Frazers– that he wasAbbot of MelroseandPrior of Beaulyis now thought to be spurious.[13]ProfessorDonald Wattomitted him from his list of chancellors ofGlasgow Cathedral,a position he was also widely believed to have held.[14]
Notes
[edit]- ^Dowden,Bishops,p. 222.
- ^Watt,Fasti Ecclesiae,p. 342.
- ^Watt,Fasti Ecclesiae,p. 92.
- ^Watt,Fasti Ecclesiae,p. 162.
- ^abcdefDowden,Bishops,p. 223.
- ^Watt,Fasti Ecclesiae,p. 20.
- ^Dowden,Bishops,p. 222-3; Watt,Fasti Ecclesiae,p. 369.
- ^Cowan & Easson,Medieval Religious Houses,p. 224.
- ^Dowden,Bishops,p. 223, n. 1.
- ^abWatt,Fasti Ecclesiae,p. 269.
- ^abDowden,Bishops,p. 223; Watt,Fasti Ecclesiae,p. 269.
- ^Am Baile,Interior, Fortrose Cathedral,retrieved7 October2007.
- ^Watt & Shead,Heads of Religious Houses,pp. 18–9; see Keith,Historical Catalogue,p. 190 for example of this being repeated; see Watt & Shead,Heads of Religious Houses,pp. 152–3, where Fraser is omitted from the list.
- ^Watt,Fasti Ecclesiae,pp. 160–3; see Dowden,Bishops,p. 222 and Keith,Historical Catalogue,both of whom alleged he was chancellor there.
References
[edit]- Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E.,Medieval Religious Houses: ScotlandWith an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man,Second Edition, (London, 1976)
- Dowden, John,The Bishops of Scotland,ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
- Keith, Robert,An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688,(London, 1824)
- Watt, D. E. R.,Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638,2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969)
- 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)