Bishop Robert Keith (1681–1757) was a

Scottish Episcopal The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Life

Born at Uras in Kincardineshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, on 7 February 1681, he was the second son of Alexander Keith and Marjory Keith (née Arbuthnot). He was educated at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

between 1695 and 1699; graduating with an A.M. in about 1700. He was

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a '' precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddh ...

to George, Lord Keith (afterward the last Earl Marischal) from July 1703 to July 1710, and to his brother, James Keith. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

on 16 August 1710, and from November 1710 to February 1713, he was domestic chaplain to Charles Hay, 13th

Earl of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

and his mother Anne, the Dowager Countess. Three years later, he was ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1713. On the same day, he was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Barrenger's Close meeting-house in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and in 1733 he became

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...

of the meeting-house; a post he kept until his death. In 1716, he and other clergy in Edinburgh were prosecuted by the Commission of the Justiciary for not praying for King George I. He was prohibited from the ministry and fined. In 1719, he married Isobel Cameron, daughter of the Reverend John Cameron, Incumbent of Kincardine-in-Menteith. They had two children: an unnamed daughter (died before 1757), and Catharine who married Stewart Carmichael, an Edinburgh merchant, in 1752. In March 1720, he was one of the clergy of Edinburgh who met to elect Arthur Ross's successor. In 1727, he was appointed coadjutor to the

Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St Andrews, under the Archbishop of St Andrews ...

, and

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member 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 of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on 18 June 1727. His

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church ...

s were bishops

Arthur Millar Arthur Millar (1649 – 9 October 1727) was an Anglican bishop in the first third of the 18th century. Millar was born in 1649 and educated at the University of Aberdeen. He was the incumbent at Dumbarton, Musselburgh then Leith. He was consec ...

and

Thomas Rattray Thomas Rattray (1684–1743) was a Scottish Episcopal bishop who served as the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church from 1738 to 1743. He was chosen as Bishop of Brechin by the clergy of that diocese, in opposition to John Ochterlony who wa ...

. Four years later, he was appointed Bishop of Caithness,

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...

and The Isles in December 1731. Between 1733 and 1743, he was also

Bishop of Fife A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. He was elected Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church on 20 August 1743. He was deeply versed in

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

and Scottish

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

. His published works include ''History of the Affairs of Church and State in Scotland'' and ''An Historical Catalogue of the Bishops of Scotland''. He died in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

on 20 January 1757, aged 75, and is buried in Canongate Churchyard on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

in Edinburgh. The grave lies slightly west of the church.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Robert 18th-century Scottish historians 1681 births 1757 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Bishops of Fife People from Kincardine and Mearns 18th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Primuses of the Scottish Episcopal Church Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard

Life

See also

References