John de Cheam ''Cheyamwas a 13th-century English cleric who became

Bishop 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 Pope ...

. Before attaining Glasgow, he had previously been the

archdeacon of Bath The Archdeacon of Bath is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells. The post, having oversight over the archdeaconry of Bath, has existed since the twelfth century. The archdeaconry includes List of eccles ...

and a papal

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

. In the summer of 1259, after the quashing of the election of Nicholas de Moffat,

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

provided John to the see, and he was consecrated soon after at the Roman court without any consultation with the Glasgow canons. His election was opposed by King

Alexander III of Scotland Alexander III (; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. ...

, who sent a protest to

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...

. The pope refused to revoke the decision, but promised to make John render

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fealty" also r ...

to the king. Bishop John arrived in Scotland in the year 1260. When the mother of the king,

Marie de Coucy Marie de Coucy (c. 1218 – 1285) was Queen of Alba by marriage to King Alexander II. She was a member of the royal council during the two last years of the minority of her son, Alexander III, in 1260–1262. Background Marie was the daug ...

, fled from her second husband John de Brienne (a.k.a. Jean d'Acre), the Grand Butler of the King of France and the son of John de Brienne,

King of Jerusalem The king or queen of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Church, Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was Siege of Jerusalem (1099), conquered in ...

, Bishop John was used by King Alexander to reconcile them. Bishop John was one of the witnesses to the

Treaty of Perth The Treaty of Perth, signed 2 July 1266, ended military conflict between Magnus the Lawmender of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland over possession of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. The Hebrides and the Isle of Man had become Norwegian t ...

on 2 July 1266. However, his good relations with the king did not make up for the resentment felt by the Glasgow canons at an outside appointee, and John eventually resigned his see in 1267, and went to France. He died at

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

the following year, and was buried there.

References

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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheyam, John de 13th-century births 1268 deaths Bishops of Glasgow 13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops English chaplains Catholic chaplains Archdeacons of Bath