Thomas Lauder (or Thomas de Lawedre) (1395 – 4 November 1481) was a 15th-century Scottish churchman. A graduate of 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 ...

, he served the Scottish king at the

Council of Basel The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...

in the 1430s. Before he rose to the position of

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 ...

, he had been Master of the famous hospital at

Soutra Aisle Soutra Aisle, (the present structure lies just within the boundary of the Scottish Borders from Midlothian) not far from Fala, Midlothian, Fala, is the remains of the ''House of the Holy Trinity'', a church that was part of a complex comprising ...

, and the tutor to King

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his fathe ...

Background

John Dowden 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, ...

states that "Thomas Lauder, Bishop of Dunkeld, was the son of an unmarried nobleman and an unmarried woman, and nephew of William Lauder, Bishop of Glasgow." However, Supplications to Rome state he was the "son of a knight and an unmarried woman". It would therefore appear that Thomas was the natural son of Sir Robert de Lawedre, Knt., of Edrington and

The Bass The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, at its highest point, and is home ...

(died before

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

1451), the only brother of Bishop William Lauder who was a knight. In 1414, Lauder was at the

registered for a Licentiate in the

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

Religious hospitals

A Charter under the

Great Seal of Scotland The Great Seal of Scotland (; also the Scottish Seal; formally the Seal appointed by the Treaty of Union to be kept and made use of in place of the Great Seal of Scotland) is a seal used by the first minister of Scotland to seal letters pate ...

, confirmed by King

James I of Scotland James I (late July 1394 – 21 February 1437) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III of Scotland, Robert III and ...

, grants the King's chaplain Thomas de Lawedre of the House of God or Hospital lying in the burgh of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, to be held to him for the whole time of his life with all lands, teinds, rents and profits, etc., belonging to the said hospital, as freely as is granted to any other hospital in the Kingdom of Scotland; the king also commands all those concerned to pay to the grantee all things necessary for the support of the hospital. Dated at Edinburgh 8 June, in the 20th year of his reign. By 1436 he had become Rector of the church or House of the Holy Trinity of Soltre, Diocese of St Andrews. The ''Great Seal'' mentions "Thomas de Lawedre as Master of the Hospital of Soutra" on 26 February 1439 (no.226); and as Canon of Aberdeen and Master of the hospital at Soutra, 20 May 1444 (no.298). On 7 October 1444, he sent a Supplication to Rome stating that he was the "peaceful possessor without adversary" and requesting the Pope (

Eugenius IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and a nephew of Pope Gregory XII ...

) to give him a Dispensation "to rule and govern for life the said church or House of Soltre as a simple hospital and secular benefice". He also questioned the original Foundation of the hospital and the suggestion in the Supplication is that it be removed from the auspices of the Order of Saint Augustine.

Royal tutor

Father Thomas Lauder had also been tutor to Prince James, the future King

, as evidenced by a Supplication to Rome made by the King on Thomas's behalf, on 26 November 1454, asking for the Bishop to be excused from visiting all parts of his diocese because "it is mountainous and inhabited by wild Scotsmen and certain enemies". In the Supplication the King points out that he presently requires Lauder "to reside in the Court of the King of Scotland at the mandate of the said king, whose counsellor he is and whose instructor and master he formerly was in the King's minority."

Bishop

The ''Great Seal'' mentions Thomas de Lawedre as Bishop-elect of Dunkeld, 22 June 1452 (no.578) and Bishop of Dunkeld on 27 October 1453 (no.600) - 13 March 1480 (no.1469). In a

Papal Bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

dated 18 June 1462, he is styled "Venerabilis frater noster Thomas modernus Episcopus Dunkeldensis" (our venerable brother Thomas, present Bishop of Dunkeld). Whilst at Dunkeld he built a bridge over the

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

near to the Bishop's Palace, and obtained erections of the Bishop's lands on the north side of that river into the Barony of Dunkeld, and on the south side of the river into the Barony of

Aberlady Aberlady (, Gaelic: ''Obar Lobhaite'') is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. The village had an estimated population of in . Etymology The name ''Aberlady'' has Brittonic origins. The first part of the name is t ...

. He founded several chaplainries and prebends, both in

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 ...

and

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

, and made one of the first grants (five shillings) towards the Foundation of the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity in Edinburgh in 1462. He had been provided to the See of Dunkeld in 1452 where he exercised his functions very laboriously until the year 1476, when, being unable any longer to endure the fatigue by reason of his advanced age, he resigned the Bishopric in favour of James Livingston, the Dean.

References

* ''Notes on Historical References to the Scottish Family of Lauder'', edited by James Young, Glasgow, 1884. * ''The Bishops of Scotland'', by

, Glasgow, 1912. (His reference for this is: C.P.R. vii, 248; viii, 407). *''Calendar of Scottish Supplications to Rome 1433–1447'', edited by Annie Dunlop, David MacLauchlan, and Ian Cowan, vol. iv,

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

Press, 1983, pps: 19, 229, 266–7, nos:78,929,1073. *''Calendar of Scottish Supplications to Rome 1447–1471'', edited by Annie Dunlop, James Kirk, and Roland Tanner, vol. v, Scottish Academic Press for the University of Glasgow, 1997, pps:31 and 152–3, nos: 119 and 551. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lauder, Thomas 1395 births 1481 deaths Bishops of Dunkeld (pre-Reformation) 15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops University of Paris alumni