Bishop of Moray - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray

Diocese of Moray

The Diocese of Moray was one of the most important of the medieval dioceses in Scotland. It was founded in the early years of the 12th century by David I of Scotland under its first bishop, Gregoir...

in northern Scotland

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...

, one of Scotland

Scotland

's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray was in existence as early as the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland

Alexander I of Scotland

Alexander I , also called Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim and nicknamed "The Fierce", was King of the Scots from 1107 to his death.-Life:...

(1107–1124), but was certainly in existence by 1127, when one Gregoir ("Gregorius") is mentioned as "Bishop of Moray" in a charter of king David I of Scotland

David I of Scotland

David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...

. The bishopric had its seat (Latin: Cathedra) at Elgin and Elgin Cathedral

Elgin Cathedral

Elgin Cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, sometimes referred to as The Lantern of the North is a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland. It was established in 1224 on an area of ground granted by Alexander II that was close to the River Lossie and outside of the burgh of...

, but was severally at Birnie, Kinneddar and as late as Bishop Andreas de Moravia

Andreas de Moravia

Andreas de Moravia was a 13th century Scottish bishop. He may have been from the "de Moravia" family of Flemish origin who were lords of Duffus and other areas in the Greater Moray region in this period. In the time of Bishop Bricius' episcopate , there was a man called "Andreas" who was rector of...

at Spynie

Spynie Palace

Spynie Palace, also known as Spynie Castle, was the fortified seat of the Bishops of Moray for about 500 years. The founding of the palace dates back to the late 12th Century. It is situated about 500m from the location of the first officially settled Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Moray, in...

, where the bishops continued to maintain a palace. The Bishopric's links with Rome ceased to exist after 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...

, but continued, saving temporary abolition between 1638 and 1661, under the episcopal Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

until the Revolution of 1688. Episcopacy in the established church in Scotland was permanently abolished in 1689.The Bishops fortified seat for over 500 years was at Spynie Palace

Spynie Palace

List of known bishops of Moray

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
fl. x 1114-1127 x 1131	Gregoir of Moray Gregoir of Moray Gregoir of Moray [Giric, Gregory] is the first attested Bishop of Moray. His name occur in witness lists in two charters. The first is the witness list appended to a charter of King Alexander I of Scotland defining the legal powers held by Priory of Scone...
fl. 1152 x 1153-1162	William
fl. 1166 x 1171	Felix of Moray Felix of Moray Felix was a 12th century prelate based in Scotland. His career is rather obscure, and he himself is little more than a name of a Bishop of Moray. Felix appears to have been the successor to Bishop William, Papal legate, who died in 1162. We know that the diocese of Moray was still vacant in 1164,...
1171-1184	Simon de Tosny Simon de Tosny Simon de Tosny was a 12th century Cistercian monk and prelate. Simon was a monk of Melrose Abbey, and served there until he moved to become Abbot of Coggeshall Abbey in Essex. He resigned this abbey in 1168, and returned to Melrose...
1187-1203	Richard de Lincoln Richard de Lincoln Richard de Lincoln was a medieval Anglo-Norman prelate. Although of English origin, he was a royal clerk in the administration of King William of Scotland. With royal support, he was elected Bishop of Moray on 1 March 1187 and was consecrated at St Andrews on 15 March. His episcopate marked an...
1203-1222	Bricius de Douglas	He was Prior of Lesmahagow Lesmahagow Lesmahagow is a small town on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. It is also known as Abbey Green.-Etymology:The name is possibly a corruption of "Church of St Machutus"... before ascending the bishopric of Moray. In this period, the name Bricius is more often a Latinization of the Gaelic names Máel Brigte and Gilla Brigte than a real name; but it is still possible that Bricius was indeed the bishop's real name. He is sometimes called "Bricius of Douglas".
1222-1242	Andreas de Moravia Andreas de Moravia Andreas de Moravia was a 13th century Scottish bishop. He may have been from the "de Moravia" family of Flemish origin who were lords of Duffus and other areas in the Greater Moray region in this period. In the time of Bishop Bricius' episcopate , there was a man called "Andreas" who was rector of...
1244–1251	Simon de Gunby Simon de Gunby Simon was a 13th century prelate based in Moray, Scotland. Professor Donald Watt has shown , through the extrapolation of indirect evidence, that his surname was almost certainly "de Gunby"....	Dean of the cathedral from 1232 until his election as bishop. He was buried in the choir of the catheral.
el. 1252	Radulf of Lincoln Radulf of Lincoln Radulf or Ralph was a canon of the Bishopric of Lincoln. Following the death of Simon de Gunby, Bishop of Moray, he was elected to be the new Bishop. This occurred in 1252....	Radulf was a canon Canon (priest) A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule .... of the Bishopric of Lincoln Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral... ; all we know about him was that he was elected. How Archibald came to consecrated in 1253 instead of Ralph is not known.
1253-1298	Archibald	He rebuilt the palace of Kinneddor and made it his main residence. He died in December 1298.
1299-1326	David de Moravia David de Moravia David de Moravia was Bishop of Moray during most of the First War of Scottish Independence. He was elected Bishop of Moray, probably in early 1299. Extended details exist regarding the election because of an extant letter of Pope Boniface VIII. The result of the election was that David had 13...	Consecrated at Anagni in Italy on the vigil of the holy apostles Peter and Paul in 1299. He founded the Scots College in Paris by donating the land on which it was built. The foundation confirmed by Charles le Bel, King of France in August 1326.
1326-1362	John de Pilmuir John de Pilmuir John de Pilmuir [Pilmor, Pylmore] was a 14th century prelate based in Scotland. He was probably the son of Adam de Pilmuir, a Dundee burgess, and the brother of Richard de Pilmuir, Bishop of Dunkeld ....	The son of a Dundee burgess, he was consecrated by Pope John XXII. He continued what his predecessor began with the Scots College of the University of Paris. Its administration was to remain the responsibility of the Bishops of Moray until the Reformation.
1362-1397	Alexander Bur Alexander Bur Alexander Bur was a 14th-century Scottish cleric. It is highly possible that Bur came from somewhere in or around Aberdeenshire, although that is not certain and is only based on the knowledge that Aberdeenshire is where other people bearing his surname come from in this period...	Consecrated by Pope Urban V at Avignon in December 1396. Bar suffered at the hands of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan when Stewart burned the cathedral along with the city's two monasteries, the church of St Giles and the hospital Domus Dei.
1397-1406	William de Spynie William de Spynie William de Spynie was a Scottish prelate. He was a canon of Moray by 1363 and Precentor of Aberdeen in 1371. By 1372 x 1373, he had exchanged the latter position with William Boyl for the Precentorship of Moray. He had become Dean of Aberdeen by 1388...	Before his consecration by the anti-pope Benedict XIII in 1397, he was the Chantor of Moray.He died 2 August 1406.
1407-1414	John de Innes John de Innes John de Innes was medieval Scottish churchman. Born probably in Moray, he went to France in his youth, receiving a bachelorate in civil law from the University of Paris by 1396 and in canon law by 1407. His education was partly paid for by the prebend of Duffus and a grant from Alexander Bur,...
1414-1422	Henry de Lichton Henry de Lichton Henry de Lichton [de Lychtone, Leighton] was a medieval Scottish prelate and diplomat, who, serving as Bishop of Moray and Bishop of Aberdeen , became a significant patron of the church, a cathedral builder, and a writer...
1422-1435	Columba de Dunbar Columba de Dunbar Columba de Dunbar was Bishop of Moray from 1422 until his death at Spynie Palace near Elgin sometime before 7 November 1435.Columba was "of Royal race", the youngest "lawful son of George de Dunbar, 10th Earl of March" and his spouse Christian née Seton.His father, who supported the so-called...
1436-1460	John de Winchester John de Winchester John de Winchester was a 15th century English cleric who distinguished himself as an administrator and bishop in Scotland. Winchester was a student of canon law from 1418, graduating with a bachelorate in 1421....
1460-1462	James Stewart
1462-1476	David Stewart David Stewart (bishop) David Stewart was a prelate from 15th century Scotland. A member of the Stewart kindred of Lorne, he is known to have held a succession of senior ecclesiastical positions in northern Scotland before eventually succeeding his brother James Stewart as Bishop of Moray.David was provided to the...
1477-1482	William Tulloch William Tulloch William de Tulloch was a 15th century Scottish prelate. A native of Angus, he became a canon of Orkney, almost certainly brought there by his relative Thomas de Tulloch, Bishop of Orkney. He was provided to the bishopric upon the resignation of his cousin by Pope Pius II at the Apostolic see on 11...
1482-1501	Andrew Stewart
1501-1514 x 1516	Andrew Forman Andrew Forman Andrew Forman was a Scottish diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 as well as the headship of several monasteries....
1516-1524	James Hepburn James Hepburn (bishop) James Hepburn was a Scottish prelate and administrator. He was the son of Alexander Hepburn of Whitsome. His name occurs as the rector of Dalry and king's clerk on 1 August 1511. Hepburn was Treasurer of Scotland between from at least June 1515, until October the following year...
1525-1527	Robert Shaw Robert Shaw (bishop) Robert Shaw was a Scottish cluniac monk and prelate. A son of the Laird of Sauchie, he became a monk at Paisley Abbey. He was provided as Abbot of Paisley after the resignation of Abbot George Shaw on July 20, 1498. As abbot, he took an active if unimportant role in national affairs, appearing...
nom. 1528	Alexander Douglas (elder)	Had crown nomination, but failed to obtain consecration because of political circumstances.
1529-1537	Alexander Stewart
1538-1573	Patrick Hepburn Patrick Hepburn Sir Patrick Hepburn of Dunsyre, 1st Lord Hailes was the feudal lord of Hailes and its castle in Haddingtonshire and a Lord of Parliament.-Family:...
1573-1589	George Douglas George Douglas (bishop) George Douglas was a late medieval Scottish nobleman and prelate. A son of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, he was elected by the chapter of the diocese of Moray by 22 December 1573 several months after the death of Patrick Hepburn, the previous Bishop of Moray. He held the bishopric for 16...	Temporalities annexed to the crown after 1587., which were largely granted to Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie in 1590, until surrendered back to crown in an arrangement with Bishop Alexander Douglas.
1602-1623	Alexander Douglas (younger)
1623-1638	John Guthrie John Guthrie (Bishop of Moray) John Guthrie was a Scottish prelate active in the first half of the 17th century. The son of the goldsmith Patrick Guthrie and Margaret née Rait, in 1597 he completed an MA at the University of St Andrews, becoming a Reader at the church of Arbroath in the same year...	Episcopy abolished on December 13, 1638.
1662–1677	Murdoch MacKenzie Murdoch MacKenzie Murdoch MacKenzie was a 17th century Scottish minister and prelate. Born around 1600, his family was an offshoot of the kin of the earls of Seaforth. After being ordained by John Maxwell, Bishop of Ross, he served as a chaplain in a regiment of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden during the Thirty...	Epicopy restored in 1661. Became Bishop of Orkney Bishop of Orkney The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics within the territory of modern Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St... .
1677–1680	James Aitken	Became Bishop of Galloway Bishop of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and the first known... .
1680-1686	Colin Falconer Colin Falconer (bishop) Colin Falconer was a 17th century Scottish minister and bishop. Born in 1623, he was the son of Beatrix Falconer née Dunbar and her husband William Falconer of Dunduff. He graduated in the liberal arts at St Leonard's College, University of St Andrews, and moved on to become a clergyman...	Previously Bishop of Argyll Bishop of Argyll The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. It was created in 1200, when the western half of the territory of the Bishopric of Dunkeld was formed into the new diocese. The bishops were based at Lismore... .
1687	Alexander Rose Alexander Rose Alexander Rose of Edinburgh was a wood and ivory turner, following in the footsteps of his father, John, who came from Cromarty. He developed an interest in minerals and began a mineral collection, becoming a dealer in minerals...	Became Bishop of Edinburgh Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh is the Ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.The see was founded in 1633 by King Charles I. William Forbes was consecrated in St. Giles' Cathedral as its first bishop on 23 January 1634 though he died later that year... .
1688	William Hay William Hay (bishop) William Hay was a Scottish clergyman and prelate. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen. He entered the church, receiving holy orders from Patrick Scougal, Bishop of Aberdeen, and took control of Kilconquhar parish church in Fife. He soon moved on to Perth, and in early 1688 was selected...	The Revolution of 1688 led to the abolition of Episcopy in Church of Scotland.

External links

Jackson, Kenneth H. (ed), The Gaelic Notes in the Book of Deer, (Cambridge, 1972)
Dauvit Broun's list of 12th century Scottish Bishops

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