The Prior of May then Prior of Pittenweem (later Commendator of Pittenweem) was the

religious superior In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at a higher level in the hierarchy than another (a "subordinate" or "inferior"), and thus closer to the apex. In business, superiors are people who are super ...

of the

Benedictine monks , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

of Isle of May Priory, which later moved to the mainland became called

Pittenweem Priory Pittenweem Priory was an Augustinian priory located in the village of Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland. History The 6th century religious recluse St Monan is believed to have lived at a monastery at Pittenweem before leaving to take up residence in ...

. The priory was originally based on the

Isle of May The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about long and wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now n ...

, but was moved by 1318 to its nearby mainland site of

Pittenweem Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747. Etymology The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

, passing from the overlordship of

Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, ...

(Benedictine) to St Andrews Cathedral Priory (Augustinian). The following is a list of priors and

commendator In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

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List of priors

* Achard, 1141x1150 * Robert, 1161 x 1162-1165 x 1166 * William, 1166x1171 * Hugh de Mortimer, 1198–1205 * John, 1206–1215 * Richard, 1221–1222 * Radulf, 1233 * John, 1248-1251 * William, 1251 x 1260 * Hugh, 1260–1269 * William de Gloucester, 1269–1270 * Thomas de Houburn, x 1306 * Jordan, 1309 * Martin, 1313–1318 * Adam de Pilmor, 1345 * Robert de Anderston, c. 1380 * Robert de Leuchars, 1405 * William Nory, 1402–1408; 1409-1419 x 1421 * James de Haldeston, 1407-1418 * John Litstar, 1418 * Thomas de Camera (Chalmers), 1419 x 1421-1447 * William Stury, 1421 * James Kennedy, 1447-1465 * Walter Monypenny, 1465-1467 ** John Woodman, 1465-1477 * Patrick Graham, 1466-1478 * Walter Davidson, 1477–1479, 1489 * Thomas Kymner, 1486 * William Scheves, 1487-1497

List of commendators

* Andrew Forman, 1495-1515 x 1521 * Robert Forman, 1516–1526 * John Roul, 1525–1553 * Adam Blackadder, 1531 * John de Moncreif, 1550–1551 * James Stewart, 1550-1567As

Commendator of St Andrews The Prior of St Andrews was the head of the property and community of Augustinian canons of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was established by King David I in 1140 with canons from Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire. It is ...

. * Sir James Balfour of Pittendreich, 1567–1573 * James Haliburton, 1575–1583 *

William Stewart of Houston Sir William Stewart of Houston (c. 1540 – c. 1605) was a Scottish soldier, politician and diplomat. He is often known as "Colonel Stewart", or the Commendator of Pittenweem. Life He began his career as a soldier in the Netherlands, where he ...

, 1583-1603 x 1605

Notes

Bibliography

* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., ''Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man'', Second edition, (London, 1976), pp. 94–5 * 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), pp. 143–9 {{DEFAULTSORT:Prior Of May (Pittenweem) May May May

List of priors

List of commendators

See also

Notes

Bibliography