Gavin Hamilton was an early modern Scottish
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
,
coadjutor of the Archdiocese of
St. Andrews, and
Archbishop of St. Andrews.
Gavin was the son of James Hamilton of Raploch. He had been
Abbot of Kilwinning. In 1555, he was appointed as the coadjutor, i.e. successor, of
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
John Hamilton of
St Andrews
St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
. Archbishop John Hamilton died on 7 April 1571; Gavin's name is mentioned in the record of a
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
held at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
on 13 June, as "Gawan Hamilton, archbishop of St. Andrews". Although there is no record of his formal appointment, the parliament notice appears to tell us that Gavin indeed ruled as
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
for a few months. Gavin died in a skirmish a few days after this parliament.
References
*
Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
1571 deaths
16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Scotland
16th-century births
Archbishops of St Andrews
Scottish abbots
Extraordinary Lords of Session
Scottish bishops 1560–1638
16th-century Christian abbots
{{UK-RC-archbishop-stub