David Arnot (before 1497 – 1536 or 1537) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the

Bishop of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, is the ecclesiastical 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 7 ...

(Scotland) from 1509 to 1526. He was from the Arnot family of Arnot,

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 ...

.Dowden, ''Bishops'', p. 372.

Early career

Archdeacon of Lothian

Arnot was Rector of Kirkforthar, Fife, receiving crown presentation to that

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

on 19 September 1497. He received crown presentation to become Archdeacon of Lothian on 26 October 1498.

Provost of Bothwell

Arnot is found to be

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...

in a document dating to 20 September 1499, a document recording a grant made to Arnot by the king of a tenement in

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

; it is not known when he attained this position. The last known provost is found as provost no later than 26 January 1468; and although this man, Patrick Leich, did not die until either 1493 or 1494, it is not known if Leich still held this position at his death.Watt, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 345. Arnot was provost there no later than 30 November 1502, when

James Beaton James Beaton (or Bethune) ( – 15 February 1539) was a Roman Catholic Scottish church leader, the uncle of David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. Life James Beaton was the sixth and youngest son of John Beaton ...

is attested as provost.

Abbot of Cambuskenneth

After the death of Henry Abercrombie,

Abbot of Cambuskenneth The Abbot of Cambuskenneth or Abbot of Stirling (later Commendator of Cambuskenneth) was the head of the Arrouaisian ( Augustinian) monastic community of Cambuskenneth Abbey, near Stirling. The long history of the abbey came to a formal end when ...

, on 29 March 1503, Arnot was provided to succeed him.Watt & Shead, ''Heads'', p. 27. He is found as abbot-elect on 30 May and then as full abbot on 28 November. Arnot led the Abbey of Cambuskenneth for over five years.

Bishop of Galloway

In November 1508, after the translation of James Beaton from

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Catholic Church, the title was restored by Pop ...

, Arnot received crown nomination to the papacy to fill the vacant see of Galloway.Watt, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 132. He was provided to the bishopric on 29 January 1509, and granted the

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

of the see on 27 May as "Bishop of Candida Casa hithornand of the Chapel Royal". Since 1504, the position of Bishop of Galloway and that of

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

went together. Arnot's position was supplemented in 1509, when he received crown nomination to receive

Tongland Abbey Tungland or Tongland Abbey was a Premonstratensians, Premonstratensian monastic community located in Tongland in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It was probably founded circa 1218 by Alan, Lord ...

in commendam In canon law, commenda (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 ecclesiastica ...

'', after the resignation of the previous Abbot of Tongland Peter Damian de Falcutiis. Bishop Arnot was provided as

Commendator of Tongland The Abbot of Tongland (later Commendator of Tongland) was the head of the Premonstratensian (originally Cistercian) monastic community of Tongland Abbey in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway. The following is a lis ...

on 18 April 1510, for which on 7 May he paid the papacy 50

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

s. Arnot was sent on an embassy on behalf of King

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

in April 1516 to

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, for which he received a royal letter of protection on 3 April 1516; he was accompanied by, among others, the

Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotlan ...

, the

Bishop of Caithness The Bishop of Caithness was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Caithness, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first referenced bishop of Caithness was Aindréas, a Gael who appears in sources between 1146 and 1151 as bishop. Ai ...

, the

Earl of Cassillis Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassillis. The title Earl of Cassillis (pronounced "Cass-ell ...

, the

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...

and the

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.Dowden, ''Bishops'', p. 371. Arnot witnessed a royal charter on 18 February 1517, and another on 28 March 1522. Arnot resigned his bishopric on 23/4 January 1526, to Henry Wemyss, with right of return and for a pension. Although Arnot also resigned Tongland for lifelong pension with right of return on vacancy, Arnot may have effectively held on to Tongland for a few more years; repeated crown nominations of Wemyss to Tongland failed, apparently because of Arnot, while William Stewart, a secular canon of

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the province of Glasgow, from the 12th ...

, also got crown nomination until the Pope finally agreed to give Wemyss the commend in 1530, with Stewart resigning his rights.Watt & Shead, ''Heads'', pp. 211-2. Arnot is found consenting to a deed of Bishop Henry on 7 June 1535, and to another on 10 July 1536. This was the last time Arnot can be found in the sources; he was dead by 25 August 1537, though he could have died at any time before this and after 10 July 1536.

Notes

References

* Donaldson, Gordon, "The Bishops and Priors of Whithorn", in ''Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History & Antiquarians Society: Transactions and Journal of Proceedings'', Third Series, vol. 27 (1950), pp. 127–54 *

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) * Watt, D. E. R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969) * 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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnot, David Year of birth unknown 1530s deaths Canonical Augustinian abbots and priors Canonical Augustinian bishops Bishops of Galloway (pre-Reformation) Scottish abbots 16th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops 16th-century Christian abbots