David Beaton
Encyclopedia
The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton (c. 1494 – 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews
and the last Scottish
Cardinal
prior to the Reformation
.
, and is said to have been born in 1494. He was educated at the universities of St Andrews
and Glasgow
, and in his sixteenth year was sent to Paris, where he studied civil and canon law
. He began his political career at the French court. He was Rector
and Prebendary
at Cambuslang from 1520. He became Commendator of Arbroath
in 1524, Bishop of Mirepoix in Languedoc
in December 1537 on the recommendation of King Francis I
, and in 1538 he was appointed a Cardinal
by Pope Paul III
, under the title of St Stephen in the Caelian Hill
. He was the only Scotsman named to that office by an undisputed right, Cardinal Wardlaw
, Bishop of Glasgow, having received his appointment from the Antipope Clement VII
about 160 years earlier. On the death in 1539 of Archbishop
James Beaton
, his uncle and patron who had given him the prebend of Cambuslang
, the Cardinal became Archbishop of St. Andrews. In 1544, he was made Papal legate
in Scotland.
Between 1533 and 1542 he acted several times as King James V of Scotland
's ambassador to France. He took a leading part in the negotiations connected with the King's marriages, first with Madeleine of France, and afterwards with Mary of Guise
. He was naturalised as a French subject. During 1542 he served as Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
for a matter of months.
Politically, Beaton was preoccupied with the maintenance of the Franco-Scottish alliance, and opposing Anglophile political attitudes, which were associated with the clamour for Protestant reform in Scotland ('the whole pollution and plague of Anglican impiety' as he called it). He was afraid that James V might follow Henry VIII
's policy of appropriating monastic revenues.
, heir presumptive to the throne, was declared regent. The Cardinal, blamed by many for the war policy that led to the defeat at Solway Moss
, was, by order of the regent, committed to the custody of Lord Seton
. With Beaton out of power, the Anglophile party persuaded Lord Arran to make a marriage treaty with England on behalf of the infant Queen, and to appoint a number of Protestant preachers. In 1543 Beaton regained power, cancelled the treaty (having earlier drawn up the Secret Bond
) and proceeded to prosecute a number of those whom he saw as heretics. Two English invasions followed - and for these many blamed Beaton.
In March 1546, perhaps to divert attention from these criticisms, Cardinal Beaton arranged for the arrest, trial and execution by burning
of George Wishart
, who was prosecuted by Beaton's Private Secretary, Archdeacon
John Lauder
. Wishart, though, had many sympathisers, and this led to the assassination of the Cardinal soon afterwards. The conspirators, led by Norman Leslie, master of Rothes, and William Kirkcaldy of Grange
, managed to obtain admission at daybreak of 29 May 1546, and murdered the cardinal in his own castle of St Andrews
, mutilating the corpse and hanging it from a castle window. At the time it was widely believed that his death was in the interests of Henry VIII of England, who regarded Beaton as the chief obstacle to his policy in Scotland.
The murder of Beaton was certainly a significant point in the eventual triumph of Protestantism in Scotland, and yet even at the time it was not necessarily condoned even among his opponents. His contemporary Sir David Lyndsay
, statesman, poet and strong critic of Beaton, wrote soon after The Tragedie of the Cardinal, which concluded:
Like many senior medieval prelates, Beaton was in a long term relationship with a local noblewoman. Though the harsh Gregorian Reforms of the 11th Century had tried to put an end to clerical marriage, Nicolaitism continued through most of Medieval Europe i.e. though theoretically excluded, clerical “marriage” remained pretty much the norm.
His partner, Marion Ogilvy
, was born in 1500. She was the daughter of Lord James Ogilvy of Airlie. After the deaths of her mother and father this formidable girl managed the family estates in Angus. Around 1520 she met and fell in love with David Beaton. The pair set up home in Ethie Castle
and produced eight children many of whose descendants are today spread throughout the UK. Of his illegitimate daughters, Margaret married David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford and Agnes married George Gordon, 4th of Gight, and was an ancestress of the poet George Gordon Byron.
Beaton was arguably the most able administrator in Scottish history and his stance against Henry VIII has generally been seen as patriotic. Of course the hard-line Protestant reformers dismissed him as 'the best Frenchman' in Scotland but his actions over many years were invariably beneficial to Scottish interests. His brutal murder was the spark that led to subsequent Religious warfare from the middle of the Sixteenth Century.
He was succeeded as Archbishop of Saint Andrews by Dr. John Hamilton
, was early impressed by the principles of the Reformation, and associated himself closely with the movement ; and he was one of the three hundred noblemen and gentlemen whom Cardinal Beaton pressed James V to pursue as heretics.
As a friend of those who assassinated Cardinal Beaton of St Andrews, he was subsequently executed by Cardinal Beaton's successor, Archbishop John Hamilton .
During the minority of Queen Mary, Melville was a steady favourer of the policy of the ' English Party ' in Scotland, who sought to consolidate the interests of the two nations by uniting the crowns in the marriage of Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots .
Melville had a natural son in England, John Melville, with whom he regularly corresponded while the two countries were at war.
One of his letters fell into the hands of the Scottish governor, Lord Arran, and he was arrested, carried prisoner to Edinburgh, and, being convicted of Treason, was executed there on 13 Dec. 1548. His estates were forfeited.(d. 1548).
Archbishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...
and the last Scottish
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...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
prior to the 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...
.
Career
Cardinal Beaton was a younger son of John Beaton of Balfour in the county of FifeFife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, and is said to have been born in 1494. He was educated at the universities of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
and Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, and in his sixteenth year was sent to Paris, where he studied civil and canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
. He began his political career at the French court. He was Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
and Prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
at Cambuslang from 1520. He became Commendator of Arbroath
Arbroath
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
in 1524, Bishop of Mirepoix in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
in December 1537 on the recommendation of King Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, and in 1538 he was appointed a Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
by Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
, under the title of St Stephen in the Caelian Hill
Caelian Hill
The Caelian Hill is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill...
. He was the only Scotsman named to that office by an undisputed right, Cardinal Wardlaw
Walter Wardlaw
Walter Wardlaw was a 14th century bishop of Glasgow. He was the son of a Sir Henry Wardlaw of Torry, a middling knight of Fife. Before becoming bishop, Walter was a canon of Glasgow, a Master of Theology and archdeacon of Lothian. He was at the University of Paris, and a roll of the year 1349 has...
, Bishop of Glasgow, having received his appointment from the Antipope Clement VII
Antipope Clement VII
Robert of Geneva was elected to the papacy as Pope Clement VII by the French cardinals who opposed Urban VI, and was the first Avignon antipope of the Western Schism.-Biography:...
about 160 years earlier. On the death in 1539 of Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
James Beaton
James Beaton
Dr. James Beaton was a Scottish church leader, the uncle of Dr. David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland....
, his uncle and patron who had given him the prebend of Cambuslang
Cambuslang
Cambuslang is a suburban town on the south-eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. Historically, it was a large rural Parish incorporating nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, and Halfway. It is known as "the largest village in...
, the Cardinal became Archbishop of St. Andrews. In 1544, he was made Papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
in Scotland.
Between 1533 and 1542 he acted several times as King James V of Scotland
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
's ambassador to France. He took a leading part in the negotiations connected with the King's marriages, first with Madeleine of France, and afterwards with Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
. He was naturalised as a French subject. During 1542 he served as Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal...
for a matter of months.
Politically, Beaton was preoccupied with the maintenance of the Franco-Scottish alliance, and opposing Anglophile political attitudes, which were associated with the clamour for Protestant reform in Scotland ('the whole pollution and plague of Anglican impiety' as he called it). He was afraid that James V might follow Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's policy of appropriating monastic revenues.
In Mary's reign
On the death of James in December 1542, Beaton attempted to assume office as one of the regents for the infant sovereign Mary, Queen of Scots, founding his claim on an alleged will of the late King; but the will was generally regarded as forged, and James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of ArranJames Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and 2nd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the eldest legitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....
, heir presumptive to the throne, was declared regent. The Cardinal, blamed by many for the war policy that led to the defeat at Solway Moss
Battle of Solway Moss
The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish Border in November 1542 between forces from England and Scotland.-Background:...
, was, by order of the regent, committed to the custody of Lord Seton
George Seton, 6th Lord Seton
George Seton IV, 6th Lord Seton was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland.He was the son of Jean Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell. His father, the 5th Lord Seton was killed at the battle of Flodden and George's mother survived her husband by 45 years till 1558, managing...
. With Beaton out of power, the Anglophile party persuaded Lord Arran to make a marriage treaty with England on behalf of the infant Queen, and to appoint a number of Protestant preachers. In 1543 Beaton regained power, cancelled the treaty (having earlier drawn up the Secret Bond
Secret Bond
The Secret Bond was a document drawn up by Cardinal Beaton and signed by a number of Scottish peers on 24 July 1543...
) and proceeded to prosecute a number of those whom he saw as heretics. Two English invasions followed - and for these many blamed Beaton.
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
of George Wishart
George Wishart
George Wishart was a Scottish religious reformer and Protestant martyr.He belonged to a younger branch of the Wisharts of Pitarrow near Montrose. He may have graduated M.A., probably at King's College, Aberdeen, and was certainly a student at the University of Leuven, from which he graduated in 1531...
, who was prosecuted by Beaton's Private Secretary, Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
John Lauder
John Lauder
John Lauder was Scotland's Public Accuser of Heretics.- Family :In the Great Seal of Scotland, - "the King grants Letters of legitimate for John Lauder, bastard son of Sir Robert Lauder of The Bass", knight,...
. Wishart, though, had many sympathisers, and this led to the assassination of the Cardinal soon afterwards. The conspirators, led by Norman Leslie, master of Rothes, and William Kirkcaldy of Grange
William Kirkcaldy of Grange
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange , Scottish politician and general, was the eldest son of Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange , a member of an old Fife family...
, managed to obtain admission at daybreak of 29 May 1546, and murdered the cardinal in his own castle of St Andrews
St Andrews Castle
St Andrew's Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger...
, mutilating the corpse and hanging it from a castle window. At the time it was widely believed that his death was in the interests of Henry VIII of England, who regarded Beaton as the chief obstacle to his policy in Scotland.
The murder of Beaton was certainly a significant point in the eventual triumph of Protestantism in Scotland, and yet even at the time it was not necessarily condoned even among his opponents. His contemporary Sir David Lyndsay
David Lyndsay
Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount, was a Scottish Lord Lyon and poet of the 16th century, whose works reflect the spirit of the Renaissance.-Biography:...
, statesman, poet and strong critic of Beaton, wrote soon after The Tragedie of the Cardinal, which concluded:
- As for the Cardinal, I grant,
- He was the man we weel could want'
- And we’ll forget him soon!
- And yet I think, the sooth to say,
- Although the loon is well away,
- The deed was foully done.
Like many senior medieval prelates, Beaton was in a long term relationship with a local noblewoman. Though the harsh Gregorian Reforms of the 11th Century had tried to put an end to clerical marriage, Nicolaitism continued through most of Medieval Europe i.e. though theoretically excluded, clerical “marriage” remained pretty much the norm.
His partner, Marion Ogilvy
Marion Ogilvy
Marion Ogilvy was the wife or mistress of Cardinal Beaton an advisor of James V of Scotland.Marion was a younger daughter of Sir James Ogilvy of Lintrathen. Sir James, a diplomat, was created Lord Ogilvy of Airlie by James IV of Scotland in 1491. Her mother was Janet Lyle Marion Ogilvy (c....
, was born in 1500. She was the daughter of Lord James Ogilvy of Airlie. After the deaths of her mother and father this formidable girl managed the family estates in Angus. Around 1520 she met and fell in love with David Beaton. The pair set up home in Ethie Castle
Ethie Castle
Ethie Castle is a 14th Century castle, situated around 3 miles north of the fishing town of Arbroath in Angus, Scotland.Ethie Castle dates to around 1300, when the monks at nearby Arbroath Abbey built a sandstone keep. The castle passed through the hands of the de Maxwell family and into the...
and produced eight children many of whose descendants are today spread throughout the UK. Of his illegitimate daughters, Margaret married David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford and Agnes married George Gordon, 4th of Gight, and was an ancestress of the poet George Gordon Byron.
Beaton was arguably the most able administrator in Scottish history and his stance against Henry VIII has generally been seen as patriotic. Of course the hard-line Protestant reformers dismissed him as 'the best Frenchman' in Scotland but his actions over many years were invariably beneficial to Scottish interests. His brutal murder was the spark that led to subsequent Religious warfare from the middle of the Sixteenth Century.
He was succeeded as Archbishop of Saint Andrews by Dr. John Hamilton
John Hamilton (archbishop)
The Most Rev. Dr. John Hamilton , Scottish prelate and politician, was an illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....
John Melville of Raith
Sir John Melville, laird of Raith in FifeFife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, was early impressed by the principles of the Reformation, and associated himself closely with the movement ; and he was one of the three hundred noblemen and gentlemen whom Cardinal Beaton pressed James V to pursue as heretics.
As a friend of those who assassinated Cardinal Beaton of St Andrews, he was subsequently executed by Cardinal Beaton's successor, Archbishop John Hamilton .
During the minority of Queen Mary, Melville was a steady favourer of the policy of the ' English Party ' in Scotland, who sought to consolidate the interests of the two nations by uniting the crowns in the marriage of Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots .
Melville had a natural son in England, John Melville, with whom he regularly corresponded while the two countries were at war.
One of his letters fell into the hands of the Scottish governor, Lord Arran, and he was arrested, carried prisoner to Edinburgh, and, being convicted of Treason, was executed there on 13 Dec. 1548. His estates were forfeited.(d. 1548).