Thomas Spens ''de Spens(c. 1415–15 April 1480), Scottish statesman and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

, received his education at

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 ...

, was the second son of John de Spens, custodian of Prince James of Scotland, and of Lady Isabel Wemyss.

Biography

By his exceptional abilities, he attracted the notice the Scottish king, James II, who sent him on errands to England and to France, where he negotiated several treaties. About 1450 he became bishop of Galloway; soon afterwards he was made

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II of Scotland, David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peerage, peer, like the Great Seal of Sco ...

, and in 1459 he was chosen

bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

. Much of his time, however, was passed in journeys to France and to England, and in 1464 he and Alexander Stewart, duke of Albany, a son of James II, were captured at sea by some English sailors.

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

, to whom the bishop had previously revealed an assassination plot, set him at liberty, and he was perhaps partly responsible for the treaty of peace made about this time between the English king and James III. He also helped to bring about the meeting between Edward IV and

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

at Picquigny, and another treaty of peace between England and Scotland in 1474. Spens was a frequent attender at the Scottish parliaments, and contributed very generously to the decoration of his cathedral at

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. In 1479 Spens founded a hospital dedicated to Mary at the foot of Leith Wynd in Edinburgh, catering for up to 12 poor men. A chapel later attached and dedicated to St Paul brought about the name of Paul's Hospital. He died in Edinburgh on 15 April 1480 and was buried in the north aisle of

Trinity College Kirk Trinity College Kirk was a Scottish monarchy, royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk and its adjacent almshouse, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by Mary of Guelders in memory of her husband, King James II of Sco ...

close to the hospital which he founded. In 1582 Edinburgh council forbade "papists" from operating Paul's Hospital and in 1619 had the building rebuilt under the new name of "Paul's Work" which had a function both as hospice and as college. Five Dutchmen were brought to teach production of "coarse woollen stuffs" but this was not a success and around 1621 the building became a house of correction.Grant's Old and New Edinburgh vol.2 p.301

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spens, Thomas 1415 births 1480 deaths Bishops of Aberdeen Bishops of Galloway (pre-Reformation) Clergy from Argyll and Bute Scottish diplomats 15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland