The Abbot and then Commendator of Melrose was the head of the monastic community of Melrose Abbey, in

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnet ...

in the Borders region of Scotland. The abbots of the earlier Northumbrian foundation from

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

are not included here. The second abbey was founded in 1136 on the patronage of David I (''Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim''), King of Scots, by

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monks from Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire. Control of the abbey was secularized in the 16th century and after the accession of James Stewart, the abbey was held by commendators. The last commendator, James Douglas of Lochleven, resigned the abbacy to William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton (his nephew) in December 1606, and the abbey itself to the king in 1608. The abbey (or most of its lands) was then erected into a secular lordship for viscount Haddington, John Ramsay, who in 1609 was created "Lord Melrose". Lochleven however resumed the title of commendator in 1613 until his death in 1620.

List of Abbots

* Richard, 1136-1148 * St. Waltheof, 1148-1159 * William, 1159-1170 *

Jocelin Jocelyn is a surname and first name. It is a unisex (male/female) name. Variants include Jocelin, Jocelyne, Jocelynn, Jocelynne, Joscelin, Josceline, Joscelyn, Joscelynn, Joscelynne, Joseline, Joselyn, Joselyne, Joslin, Joslyn, Josselin, Josselyn, ...

, 1170-1174 * Laurence, 1175-1178 * Ernald, 1179-89 * Reiner, 1189-94 * Radulf (I), 1194-1202 * William, 1202-06 * Patrick, 1206-07 *

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

, 1207-13 * Hugh de Clipstone, 1214-15 * William de Courcy, 1215-6 * Radulf II, 1216-1219 * Adam de Harkarres, 1219-46 * Matthew, 1246-61 * Adam of Maxton, 1261-67 * John de Edrom (or Ederham), 1267-68 x 69 * Robert de Keldeleth, 1269-73 * Patrick de Selkirk, 1273–96 * ??? * William de Fogo, 1310–1329 * Thomas de Soutra, 1333 x 1335-x1342 * William de St Andrews, 1342–1376 * Gilbert de Roxburgh, 1391–1392 * David Benyng (or Binning), 1394–1422 * John Fogo, 1425–1434 * Richard Londy (or Lundy), 1440–1444 * Andrew Hunter, 1444-1465 * Robert Blackadder, 1471–1483 * Richard Lamb, 1472-1483 * John Brown (or Carnecorss), 1483–1486 * ???, 1486Died soon after election; name unknown. * ???, 1486 * David Brown, 1486-1507/10 ** Bernard Bell, rival to David Brown, 1486–1503 ** William Turnbull, rival to David Brown, 1503-1507 * Robert Betoun, 1507/10-1521 x 1524 * John Maxwell, 1524-1526 *

Andrew Durie Andrew Durie (died 1558), bishop of Galloway and abbot of Melrose, was the son of John Durie of Durie in Fife, and brother to George Durie, abbot of Dunfermline and archdeacon of St. Andrews. Biography Early career and abbacy of Melrose Bot ...

, 1525-1541

List of Commendators

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

, 1535-1557 *

Louis de Guise Louis II de Lorraine, cardinal de Guise (6 July 1555, Dampierre – 24 December 1588, Château de Blois) was a French prelate, Cardinal and politician during the latter French Wars of Religion. The third son of François de Lorraine, duke of Gui ...

, 1558-1559 * James Balfour, 1559–1564 * Michael Balfour, 1564–1568 * James Douglas of Lochleven,Second son of William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton. 1569-1620

Notes

Bibliography

* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., ''Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Man'', Second Edition, (London, 1976), pp. 76–77 * Fawcett, Richard, & Oram, Richard, ''Melrose Abbey'', (Stroud, 2004) * Watt, D.E.R. & Shead, N.F. (eds.), ''The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries'' (The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24), (Edinburgh, 2001), pp. 149–55 {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbot Of Melrose Abbots of Melrose

Scotland religion-related lists