Archibald Hamilton ( – 1659) was the fourth

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Archbishop of Cashel The Archbishop of Cashel () was an archiepiscopal title which took its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the Reformation, there had been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church ...

Birth and origins

Archibald was born around 1580 probably in Cochno,

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

, Scotland, the second son of Claud Hamilton and his wife Margaret Betoun. His father was Laird of Cochno. His father's family was a cadet branch of the

House of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...

founded by Walter fitz Gilbert of Cadzow. His mother was a daughter of Robert Betoun of Creich.

Studies and marriages

Hamilton studied at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

and obtained a MA in 1599. He stayed on, started teaching but also became minister in Paisley in 1610. He became a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

(D.D.) in 1617. While still in Scotland he married his first wife, who probably was Alison Hay, who had been a nurse to

Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 1596 – 13 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen consort of Bohemia, Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. The couple's selection for the crown by the nobles of Bo ...

. Later he married Anne Balfour of Burleigh, daughter of

James Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Glenawley James Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Glenawley or Clonawley ( – 18 October 1634), was a Scottish nobleman and courtier who was one of the chief undertakers in the Plantation of Ulster. His third marriage to Anne Blayney caused a notable scandal. ...

. He had four sons, and some of his descendants became established in the Swedish nobility.

Career

He was nominated

Bishop of Killala and Achonry The Bishop of Killala and Achonry was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Killala and Achonry in the Ecclesiastical Province of Tuam. The diocese comprised part of Counties Mayo and Sligo in Ireland. The Episcopal see was a union ...

on 8 March 1623 and consecrated 29 May that same year in St. Peter's Church,

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. He was advanced Archbishop of Cashel on 14 November 1629 and appointed by letters patent on 20 April 1630. On 20 April 1630 he was translated to the archbishopric of Cashel and Emly.

Income

The temporalities of his see having been much diminished by Miler Magragh, Hamilton petitioned Thomas Wentworth for their recovery. It required a special letter of instruction from the king to undo the acts of Magragh. Archbishop

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

cautioned Wentworth to keep a sharp eye on Hamilton, who then incurred Laud's displeasure. Summoned to Dublin to explain matters, Hamilton pleaded inability to travel. His friends, including the

Queen of Bohemia This is a list of the royal consorts of the rulers of Bohemia. The first Duchess of Bohemia (''česká kněžna'') was St. Ludmila, while the first Queen of Bohemia (''česká královna'') was Świętosława of Poland. Some of them were (li ...

, interceded with the king.

Flight to Sweden and death

When the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

broke out in Tipperary, Hamilton was absent from his diocese. However he was joined by his wife and family, who had been helped by Catholic neighbours and he left for Sweden. His loss of personal property in the rebellion was great. He is usually said to have died at Stockholm, aged about 80, in 1659. He died in office at

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1659.''A New History of Ireland'', Moody, T. W.; Martin, F. X.; Byrne, F. J.; Cosgrove, A.: Oxford, OUP, 1976

Citations

Sources

* – (online edition) * * (for timeline) * ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Archibald 1580 births 1659 deaths Anglican archbishops of Cashel Bishops of Killala and Achonry People from Dunbartonshire Alumni of the University of Glasgow