The Abbot of Arbroath or Abbot of Aberbrothok (and later Commendator) was the head of the

Tironensian The Tironensian Order or the Order of Tiron was a medieval monastic order named after the location of the mother abbey (Tiron Abbey, french: Abbaye de la Sainte-Trinité de Tiron, established in 1109) in the woods of Thiron-Gardais (sometimes ''Ti ...

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastic community of

Arbroath Abbey Arbroath Abbey, in the Scottish town of Arbroath, was founded in 1178 by King William the Lion for a group of Tironensian Benedictine monks from Kelso Abbey. It was consecrated in 1197 with a dedication to the deceased Saint Thomas Becket, who ...

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

, founded under the patronage of King William of Scotland from

Kelso Abbey Kelso Abbey is a ruined Scottish abbey in Kelso, Scotland. It was founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I. It occupies ground overlooking the confluence of the Tweed ...

and dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The abbot, John Gedy, was granted the

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

on 26 June 1396. Arbroath Abbey became the wealthiest and most powerful abbey in later medieval Scotland. According to the poem "

The Inchcape Rock "The Inchcape Rock" is a ballad written by English poet Robert Southey. Published in 1802, it tells the story of a 14th-century attempt by the Abbot of Arbroath ("Aberbrothock") to install a warning bell on Inchcape, a notorious sandstone reef abo ...

" by

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

, John Gedy, then Abbot of Aberbrothok, fixed a bell to the inchcape rock in the 1300s to warn mariners of the perilous rock. The following is a list of abbots and commendators. *Reginald, 1178–79 *Henry, 1179–1207 *Gilbert, 1208–19 x 1229 *

Radulf de Lamley Radulf de Lamley ''Ralph, Ranulf, Randalph de Lambley(died 1247) was a 13th-century monk and cleric. Radulf's youth is obscure, and it is not until the 1220s that he emerges in the sources as a Tironensian monk, now Abbot of Arbroath. He held the ...

, 1225–39 *Adam, 1240–46 *Walter, 1247–58 x *Robert, 1261–67 *Sabinus, 1267 ? *John, 1268–70 *

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, 1276–84 *Henry, 1285–96 *

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

, 1296 x 99-1301Became Bishop of Dunblane. *John de Anegus, 1303–09 *

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

, 1310–28 *Geoffrey, 1329–47 *William, 1348–66 *John, 1370–84 *John Gedy, 1384–1410 *Walter Paniter, 1410–49 *Robert Bowmaker, 1419 *Richard Guthrie, 1449–55 *Malcolm Brydy, 1456–70 *Richard Guthrie, 1470–12 *Hugh Douglas, 1470 * Francis Gonzaga, 1472 *Alexander Scrymgeour, 1472 *Patrick Graham, 1473–76 *George Boyce, 1472–82 *William Bonkil, 1482–84 *David Lichton, 1484–1503 *

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 ...

, 1503–04 * George Hepburn, 1504–13 *

Gavin Douglas Gavin Douglas (c. 1474 – September 1522) was a Scottish bishop, makar and translator. Although he had an important political career, he is chiefly remembered for his poetry. His main pioneering achievement was the '' Eneados'', a full and fa ...

, 1514 *

Andrew Forman Andrew Forman (11 March 1521) was a Scottish people, Scottish diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 as well as being Commendator of several monasteries ...

, 1514 *

, 1514–17 *Peter de Accoltis, 1517 *

James Beaton James Beaton (or Bethune) (1473–1539) was a Roman Catholic Scottish church leader, the uncle of David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. Life James Beaton was the sixth and youngest son of John Beaton of Balfour ...

, 1517–23 x 1524 *

David Beaton David Beaton (also Beton or Bethune; 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scotland, Scottish Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal prior to the Scottish Reformation, Reformation. Career Cardinal Beaton was the sixth and youngest ...

, 1524–45 *

James Beaton II James Beaton (1517 – 24/25 April 1603) was a 16th-century archbishop of Glasgow. He served both pre- and post-Reformation therefore representing both a Catholic Archbishop and a Protestant Archbishop. Life He was the son of James Beaton ...

, 1545–51 * George Douglas, 1546 * John, Lord Hamilton 1551–68 *George Douglas, (again) 1568–72, became

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray ...

*John, Lord Hamilton (again), 1573–79 * Esmé Stuart, 1579–83

Notes

References

* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., ''Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man'', Second Edition, (London, 1976) * Summerson, Henry
"Gedy, John
( fl. 1370–1401?)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 27 Jan 2009 * 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) {{Scottish Church *

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

Abbot of Arbroath The Abbot of Arbroath or Abbot of Aberbrothok (and later Commendator) was the head of the Tironensian Benedictine monastic community of Arbroath Abbey, Angus, Scotland, founded under the patronage of King William of Scotland from Kelso Abbey an ...