Adam de Kald ''de Kalder, Crailwas an early 13th-century

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

. His name, ''de Kald'' or ''de Caral'' could refer to, among other places, Calder in

Nairnshire The County of Nairn, or Nairnshire, () is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was named after Nairn, its only town. The county was used for local government until 1975 when the ...

Crail Crail (; ) is a former royal burgh, parish and Community council#Scotland, community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. Either location may mark his origin place, but this is speculation. There is a river in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

called Calder. His origins remain obscure. He seems to have risen as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

of King

William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

; he is styled ''clericus domini regis'' ("clerk of the lord King") as a witness to a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

of the latter king. In 1207, as a

sub-deacon Subdeacon is a minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in the Eastern Or ...

, he was elected

. According to

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Ancient university governance in Scotland, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, ...

, an often highly unreliable authority of a much later date, Adam was the choice of the king rather than the clergy of the

diocese of Aberdeen The Diocese of Aberdeen was originally believed to be the direct continuation of an 11th-century bishopric at Bishop of Mortlach, Mortlach in present-day Moray. However, this early date and the first bishops were based on a misinterpretation a ...

. He was confirmed in his position only after a

mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

. The mandate was issued to the

Bishop of Dunkeld The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Cormac. However, the firs ...

, the

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is a title held successively, since c. 1150: (firstly) by bishops of the Catholic church until the Reformation of 1560; (secondly) by bishops of the Church of Scotland until that church declared itself presbyterian in ...

and the

Abbot of Kelso The Abbot of Kelso (later Commendator of Kelso) was the head of the Tironensian Order, Tironensian monastic community at Kelso Abbey in the Scottish Borders. The Abbey was originally founded at Selkirk in 1113 by David I of Scotland, David, Prince ...

, who were ordered to determine whether or not Adam was created sub-deacon merely in order to become bishop. Not a lot is known about Adam's episcopate. He left at least three charters, including confirmations of grants made by Morggán, Mormaer of Mar and the latter's kinsman Thomas mac Maíl Choluim, Royal Doorward. There is a little evidence that he served as

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

at some point under King William. He died at some point in the year 1228. He was succeeded by

Gilbert de Stirling Gilbert de Stirling was an early 13th-century bishop of Scotland. His background is unclear, perhaps coming from a burgess family of Stirling; he emerges in 1228 as the newly elected Bishop of Aberdeen, succeeding the recently deceased Adam de K ...

References

Dowden, John John Dowden /d͡ʒɒn ˈdaʊdən/ (29 June 1840 – 30 January 1910) was an Irish-born bishop and ecclesiastical historian. He served in the Scottish Episcopal Church as the Bishop of Edinburgh. Life He was born in Cork on 29 June 1840, ...

, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912), pp. 101–2 * Innes, Cosmo, ''Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis: Ecclesie Cathedralis Aberdonensis Regesta Que Extant in Unum Collecta'', Vol. 1, (Edinburgh, 1845), p. xxii * Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924), p. 106 * Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969), p. 1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kald, Adam de 12th-century births 1228 deaths Bishops of Aberdeen 13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops