Robert Wauchope (c. 1500 1551) was a Scots-born cleric, who was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh from 1539 to 1551.

Biography

He was born at Nidrie Marischal near

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 ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, son of Gilbert Wauchope, who was the head of the family which owned Niddrie Marischal for several centuries. Robert is known to have been nearly blind from an early age (there are conflicting accounts of precisely how bad his eyesight was), yet he somehow overcame this handicap and became an outstanding scholar. He is recorded as studying at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

in 1526, and also studied for a time with

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Ancient university governance in Scotland, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, ...

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

. He was a friend of

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

. He was considered one of the best theologians of his day, taking a prominent role at the conference at

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in 1540 and the Diet of Ratisbon in 1541. He also attended the early sessions of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

relied heavily on his advice. Wauchope worked as a theologian in Rome, and was probably not consecrated until the death of his predecessor in the See of Armagh,

George Cromer George Cromer (died 16 March 1542) was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII of England, from 1521/2. Biography Cromer was English by birth, a descendant of the Cromer (also spelt Crowemer) family of Tunsta ...

, in 1543. Cromer was suspected of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, and was deposed by

Henry VIII 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. ...

during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. The King appointed

George Dowdall George Dowdall (1487 – 15 August 1558) was a sixteenth-century Irish cleric, who was twice Archbishop of Armagh. Biography Dowdall was born in Drogheda, the son of Edward Dowdall. The Dowdall family came to Ireland from Dovedale in Derbyshire ...

to the See, and Dowdall denounced Wauchope when he arrived in Ireland. Wauchope returned to Rome where he was made

legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

to Ireland, but he died soon afterwards, before he could return to Ireland to reclaim the Archdiocese.

References

Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh Scottish Roman Catholic theologians 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Clergy from Edinburgh

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

16th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests 1500s births Year of birth uncertain 1551 deaths British expatriate Roman Catholic archbishops Scottish expatriates in Ireland {{Christian-theologian-stub