Andrew Halyburton or Haliburton (before 1490 – 1507) was a Scottish merchant.

Conservator of Scottish trading privileges

Andrew Halyburton was stationed at

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

where he was 'Conservator of the Scottish Staple,' or 'Conservator of the Scottish privileges in the Low Countries.' A surviving letter in French calls him, 'Conservateur de la Nasion des Eschosoys a Midelburg.' This

consular A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

role administered to the Scottish import and export trade with the county of Flanders. However, few official Scottish or Flemish records of Andrew's administration survive. In two letters to the town of Middelburg

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

called Andrew 'our merchant' and 'the King's familiar servant,' and 'privilegiorum nationis in istis terris conservator,' - conservator of our nation's privileges in your lands. The letters reminded the council of Middelburg of Andrew's jurisdictions over Scottish trade issues, and how he should speak in their courts on behalf of Scottish sailors and captains. One of Andrew's ledgers survives in which he recorded a series of accounts he opened with Scottish clients who sent money and goods to him in Flanders, often to fund special purchases. Some of the cargoes were carried in the ships of Andrew Barton of

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 ...

. Halyburton's ledger provides evidence on the exchange rates for the gold and silver coins used in international trade. Primarily, Andrew's clients sent him wool or skins to sell. A letter from Andrew to a Scottish client survived with the ledger, advising hides would sell best at Eastertide 1502; he wrote,

"Thar standis yet ii sekkis of woll of youris unsauld, and quhen thai are sauld, I shall send you your reckoning of all things between us. ... Please you to wit that here is an evil mercat, sa help me God, except your woll, ... Hydis, I trow, shall be the best merchandise that come here at Pasche, for thar is many folkis that speris (ask) about thaim"

(modernised) There stands yet 2 sacks of wool of yours unsold, and when they are sold, I shall send you your reckoning of all things between us. ... Please you to know that here is an evil market, so help me God, except your wool, ... Hides (skins), I believe, shall be the best merchandise that come here at Eastertide, for there is many folk that ask for them

Halyburton's account for

James Stewart, Duke of Ross James Stewart, Duke of Ross (March 1476 – January 1504) was a Scottish prince, and the second son of King James III of Scotland and his wife, Margaret of Denmark. James was heir presumptive to his brother until his death, and was Archbishop of ...

and

Archbishop of St Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) 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 ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...

, includes a payment in September 1497 apparently for letters sent to

Margaret of York Margaret of York (3 May 1446 – 23 November 1503)—also by marriage known as Margaret of Burgundy—was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Charles the Bold and acted as a protector of the Burgundian State after his death. She was a daught ...

from

Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...

and his wife,

Lady Catherine Gordon Lady Catherine Gordon (–October 1537) was a Scottish noblewoman and the wife of Yorkist pretender Perkin Warbeck, who claimed he was Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. After her imprisonment by King Henry VII of England, she became a favoure ...

, who was known as the White Rose, "Item, gyffyn Davy Rattrye quhen he passed to (blank) with the quhit ros lettrys to my lady, 10 shillings." The Duke of Ross sent money to Halyburton, which he banked with Cornelis Altanitis in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

, the money was to be paid out in Rome to purchase Papal Bulls. Halyburton also commissioned two carved stone tomb sculptures for the Duke, which he called 'throwchts.' Andrew sent the stones to

Veere Veere (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Ter Veere) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands, in the region of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. History The name ''Veere'' ...

in a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

he called a ''

Schout In Dutch-speaking areas, a ''schout'' was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleonic period. Fun ...

'', from where they were shipped to Scotland. Halyburton paid money to the Italian merchant and financier

Jerome Frescobaldi Jerome, Hieronimo, or Girolamo Frescobaldi (died 1517) was an Italian financier and textile merchant based in Bruges. He supplied luxury goods to the Scottish court and was described as a "very good friend to the King of Scots". The Frescobaldi fam ...

, in Antwerp and Bruges, on behalf of his clients and business partners. Frescobaldi supplied luxury goods to the

Royal Court of Scotland The Royal Court of Scotland was the administrative, political and artistic centre of the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged in the tenth century and continued until it ceased to function when James VI inherited the throne of England in 1603. For mos ...

. In Edinburgh, the churchman and lawyer

Patrick Paniter Patrick Paniter (born c. 1470 - 1519) Scottish churchman and principal secretary to James IV of Scotland and the infant James V. The surname is usually written ''Paniter'', or ''Painter'', or occasionally ''Panter''. Life Paniter was born around ...

acted on Andrew's behalf, enforcing the payment of rent at Andrew's house 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 ...

near the Mercat cross in May 1506. Andrew was described as an 'agent in Flanders.' On 31 December 1507, James IV appointed John Francis as 'Conservator of the Privileges in Flanders,

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

', to replace Andrew, who had died.

Artists and artists' materials

Andrew Halyburton bought painting materials in Antwerp for an Edinburgh merchant, Thomas Cant, in June 1497. Thomas Cant had sold cloth, clothes, and hats to the royal wardrobe since 1474, and Master John Cant, probably his son, bought a Mass book for

Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland Margaret of Denmark (23 June 1456 – 14 July 1486) was Queen of Scotland from 1469 to 1486 by marriage to King James III. She was the daughter of Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and Dorothea of Brandenburg. Life Margaret wa ...

. The painting materials included gold and silver leaf,

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...

red lead Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

white lead White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...

. In September 1505 Halyburton hired a Flemish painter, 'Piers', to come to Scotland and work for James IV. This was possibly Peerken Bovelant, an apprentice of Goswijn van der Weyden in Antwerp, who joined the

Guild of St Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identi ...

in 1503. Few details are known of Piers' work, except his assistance in painting costumes and heraldry for tournaments, but the King gave him a salary and accommodation, and it is likely that Piers made portraits for the court.

Family and artistic connections

Andrew Halyburton married Cornelia Bening, the daughter of a Flemish painter, Sanders Bening (1448–1519) member of the guilds of Ghent and Bruges, (their niece

Levina Teerlinc Levina Teerlinc (1510s – 23 June 1576) was a Flemish Renaissance miniaturist who served as a painter to the English court of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. She was the most important miniaturist at the English court between ...

(fl. 1545–1567) painted at the court of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

). Cornelia Bening's mother Katheline was a daughter (or sister or niece) of

Hugo van der Goes Hugo van der Goes (c. 1430/1440 – 1482) was one of the most significant and original Flemish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced important innovations in pa ...

(d. 1482), who had painted an altarpiece for Edinburgh's

Trinity College Kirk Trinity College Kirk was a royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk and its adjacent almshouse, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by Mary of Gueldres in memory of her husband, King James II who had been killed at the ...

. Cornelia's younger brothers were the painters

Simon Bening Simon Bening (c. 1483 – 1561) was a Flemish miniaturist, generally regarded as the last major artist of the Netherlandish tradition. Bening, born either in Ghent or Antwerp, was probably trained by his father, illuminator Alexander Bening, i ...

(1483–1561) father of Levina, and Paul Bening. It has been tentatively suggested that the painters in Scotland called ' Binning' during the sixteenth century were connections of the Flemish Bening family. Andrew Halyburton and Cornelia's children included a son Thomas and a daughter Cornelias. Andrew Halyburton was well-connected in the close-knit society of Edinburgh merchants. His sister Helen Halyburton was married to Laurence Taillefer who was joint 'Customar of Edinburgh' with Andrew Moubray senior. The role of the Customar was to collect trade taxes in Edinburgh for the crown. Helen Halyburton had previously married a member of the Mossman family, and had a son, Sandy Mossman. Andrew Moubray senior was married to a Jonet Halyburton, who was perhaps Helen and Andrew's eldest sister. Jonet's brothers James and David Halyburton served in the

Garde Écossaise The Scottish Guards () was a bodyguard unit founded in 1418 by the Valois Charles VII of France, to be personal bodyguards to the French monarchy. They were assimilated into the ''Maison du Roi'' and later formed the first company of the '' Gar ...

. In his ledger, Andrew Halyburton described a trading colleague, William Hoppar, the brother of

Isobel Hoppar Isobel Hoppar or Hopper (born c.1490, died after 1538) was a Scottish landowner and governess of Margaret Douglas. She was a powerful political figure in Scotland during the youth of King James V, and her wealth and influence attracted misogynous ...

and father of the younger Andrew Moubray's wife Katrine, as his 'gossop,' a Scots word meaning relative. He called an associate, the Edinburgh textile merchant

James Hommyll James Hommyll (floruit 1473-1515), was a wealthy merchant in Edinburgh. The surname may also be spelled as "Hommyl" or "Homyl". James Hommyll was the son of a royal tailor, also called "James Hommyll". James Hommyll the elder, and James III His f ...

, his "brother".

Death

Andrew Halyburton died in 1507. His house on the north side of the

was granted to John Mossman, as attorney of Andrew's son, Thomas Haliburton. The 'sasine' of this transaction was disputed by a neighbor John Knollis. Thomas was dead by 1534, and his sister Cornelia was his heir.John Durkan, ''Protocol Book of John Foular'' (Edinburgh, SRS 10, 1985), p. 177 no. 556.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halyburton, Andrew 1507 deaths Businesspeople from Edinburgh Year of birth unknown 16th-century Scottish people 15th-century Scottish people Scottish merchants Court of James IV of Scotland Year of birth uncertain 16th-century Scottish businesspeople