Walter Forrester (died 1425 or 1426),
bishop of Brechin, was an administrator 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 ...
in
later medieval Scotland. Originating in
Angus, he came from a family of English origin who by the end of the 14th century had become well established in Scottish society. A student 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 ...
and
University of Orleans, he began his career at home by the later 1370s.
He became a royal clerk, and appears to have held the position of
archdeacon of Lothian c. 1386. After extending his education at Paris in the 1390s, he returned to Scotland to continue clerical and ambassadorial duties for the monarch, and was awarded with the
bishopric of Brechin in 1407. He held this post, along with that of Clerk of the Register, until his death in either 1425 or 1426.
Origins and early education
It is known from later documents that Walter Forrester was from the
diocese of Brechin, born sometime in or before 1355.
[Watt, ''Dictionary'', p. 197] The Forresters were a middle-ranking family of English origin who rose to greater prominence during Walter's lifetime.
[Ewan, "Forrester family"] The name of his father is unrecorded, but his mother's name was Mariota or Marion.
[Ewan, "Forrester family"; Watt, ''Dictionary'', p. 197] He had a brother named Patrick Forrester, a burgess of
Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
, and a half-brother named Patrick de Dalgarnock.
[ John Forrester, variously Archdeacon of Teviotdale, Official of Aberdeen and Official of Glasgow, and Adam Forrester, burgess of ]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 ...
, laird of Corstorphine and one of the wealthiest merchants in contemporary Scotland, were his kinsmen, though the detail of this kinship is not recorded.
Forrester attended 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 ...
, graduating Bachelor of Arts under fellow-Scot William de Trebrun in March 1375, and becoming Licentiate in Arts the following May.[ He was a student of ]canon law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
at the University of Orleans c. 1375–79.[ He returned to Scotland by April 1379.][ By 12 April 1384 he was holding a ]canonry
Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an canon law, ecclesiastical rule.
Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the p ...
attached to Aberdeen Cathedral.[Watt, ''Dictionary'', p. 198] It is likely that the prebend was the church of Mortlach, as he can be confirmed holding this church in a document datable to 22 April 1392.[
]
Clerical service and later education
Forrester began a career in the service of the Scottish monarchy, becoming Deputy Clerk of the Wardrobe in the late 1370s and Clerk of the Wardrobe by March 1381.[Ewan, "Forrester family"; Watt, ''Dictionary'', p. 198] He was Keeper of the Privy Seal for a short period in 1386 (filling in for Duncan Petit), and served an auditor of the exchequer from March 1386.[ He is found as the officiating clerk in a treaty between Scotland and France sealed at Edinburgh on 1 December 1390.][ On or before 11 March 1391, he resigned to other members of his family his own land at Inverdovat in Forgan parish, Fife, reserving for himself a life-interest; this perhaps indicates that he had set himself on an ecclesiastical career.
He appears as Archdeacon of Lothian in documents from 1386, an extremely prestigious position (or claim at least) he appears to have lost by 1390, when the position is securely held by another. Other honours held before the episcopate, excluding Mortlach, include the church of Liston (by November 1391), previously held by Gilbert de Greenlaw, and the office of sub-dean of Brechin.][
From early 1393 until early 1399, he appears to have resumed his studies on the continent, financed perhaps by the Scottish king.][Watt, ''Dictionary'', p. 199] By February 1394 he had an M.A. from Paris, and served as regent in the Arts for several years while once again studying canon law.[ He was a Bachelor of Decrees by July 1398.][ He was three times serving proctor of the English nation at Paris, March and April 1395, winter 1396/7, and Summer 1398.][ He was university rector between October and December 1395.][ Along with two Germans and one John de Edinburgh, he represented the "English nation" at the Second Council of Paris (August and September 1396), and was the nation's proctor at the Third Council (May to July 1398), meetings aimed at ending the ]Schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
.[ This Council withdrew support from Pope Benedict XIII ("Antipope"), and there is much evidence that Forrester was an enthusiastic proponent of this position, though he later was to serve as a bishop in obedience to this pope.][Watt, Dictionary, pp. 197–98]
Returning to Scotland in 1398, he regained his position as Clerk of the Wardrobe.[ At a royal council in Perth in January 1398, he was named as one of 20 assistants of the Duke of Rothesay as lieutenant of the realm.][ He was exchequer auditor every year between 1399 and 1404, and was secretary of the king from either the second half of 1401 or first half of 1402, and held this position until Robert III's death in 1406.][ By June 1403 he was Clerk of the Rolls, a position he would hold until his death.][ In the first five years of the 1400s (decade), he frequently served as an ambassador to the English, and went to France in 1406, appearing at Paris in April on a committee of the English nation, a trip perhaps connected with his candidacy for the bishopric of Brechin.][
]
Episcopate
Walter was elected bishop of Brechin at some point between 1405 and April 1407. On 11 April 1407 Benedict XIII instructed Henry de Wardlaw, bishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews (, ) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews (), the Archdiocese of St Andrews.
The name St Andrews is not the town or ...
, and Fionnlagh MacCailein, bishop of Dunblane, to investigate any objections to Walter's election, perhaps on account of former hostility to Benedict's cause.[ He does not appear to have received ]consecration
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
until some point between 11 May 1410 and 10 May 1411.
After becoming bishop, Walter remained a prominent royal servant, continuing his duties as Clerk of the Rolls and Clerk of the Register, and enjoyed a strong relationship with the ruler of Scotland, now Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany.[ He officiated at every exchequer audit between May 1409 and July 1422.][ He also continued his ambassadorial role, serving as leader of a mission to England in 1408 to negotiate the release of James I, the nominal king.][ He appears to have gone on further missions in May 1412, April 1413 and September 1413, though the evidence we have is for the grants of safe-conduct rather than the expeditions themselves.][ He was in Rome 1423–1424, and made a separate trip to Flanders later in 1424. After James I's return in 1424, he served once more as exchequer auditor, 7 May 1425.][Watt, ''Biographical Dictionary'', p. 200]
Like other bishops of Brechin, Forrester does not seem to have been very active in his diocese, on several occasions obtaining papal indults legitimizing procurations without visitation.[ He is recorded presiding over ]statute
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
s issued by his cathedral chapter in 1410, and later in the year pursued land claims successfully with the support of Governor Albany and his sheriff in Angus.[ Albany granted him the second tenth of crown revenues from the sheriffdom of Kincardine in 1413 and 1417.][ He was present at a provincial council of the Scottish church at ]Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
on 16 July 1419.[ Historian D. E. R. Watt has summarised that "though he did visit Brechin from time to time and idtake some interest in heorganisation and property of his see, it does not add up to much".][
His appearance at the exchequer audit of May 1425 was his last in the records.][Dowden, ''Bishops'', pp. 184–85; Watt, ''Biographical Dictionary'', p. 200; Watt and Murray, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 55] By 7 June 1426, when his successor John de Crannach
John de Crannach (c. 1386 – 1453/54) was a 15th-century Scottish scholar, diplomat and prelate. Originating in the north-east of Lowland Scotland, he probably came from a family associated with the burgh of Aberdeen. Like many of his re ...
was provided to the see at the papal court, he must have been dead for some time.[ He was probably dead by the exchequer audit of 15 April, when John de Scheves was acting as Clerk of the Rolls and Register (an indication that Bishop Forrester was no longer available to perform this office).][Watt, ''Biographical Dictionary'', p. 200; Watt and Murray, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 55]
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrester, Walter
1350s births
1420s deaths
15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops
Bishops of Brechin (pre-Reformation)
Clergy from Angus, Scotland
Rectors of the University of Paris
University of Paris alumni
Scottish expatriates in France
15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland