James Nicolson (bishop)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

James Nicolson (1557–1607) was
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 ...
in 1607.


Life

He was born in
Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...
in central
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 ...
in 1557 the second son of James Nicolson, a local burgess, and his wife, Margaret Philip. He spent most of his life in north
Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
. He was ordained as minister of
Cortachy Cortachy is a village in Angus, Scotland Angus (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshir ...
in 1580 and translated to
Meigle Meigle (, ) is a village in Strathmore, Angus, Strathmore, Scotland. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross in the Coupar Angus and Meigle ward. It lies on the A94 road, A94 road between Perth and Forfar.The A94 used to be the main ro ...
parish church in 1583 and demitted this post in April 1607 when he was appointed
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 ...
.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott He received a grant of a pension of £60 per annum on 6 February 1571, from Robert,
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 ...
, payable from the Priory of St Andrews, "becaus he hes bene twyis schorne of the stane, and is continewallie vexit with that infirmitie". He was a prominent man in the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
soon after the Reformation, and was minister of Cortachy in 1580, and Meigle in 1583. He was selected by the General Assembly to sit in conference regarding stipends in 1592, 1596, 1606, and 1607, was appointed
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 ...
on 23 April 1607.


Death

Nicolson died of a "heavy melancholy" on 17 August 1607. When he died, Alexander Lindsay, was appointed to fill his place.


Family

He married Jane, daughter of Gilbert Ramsay of Banff. Their daughter, Margaret, married Bishop William Lindsay.


References


Sources

* * * 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:Nicolson, James 1607 deaths Bishops of Dunkeld (Church of Scotland) Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 1557 births