Beóán of Mortlach is the first of the three known Bishops of Mortlach. His name, which could also be written in non-Gaelic contexts as Beanus, Beoanus and Beyn, means "lively one".

Walter Bower Walter Bower (or Bowmaker; 24 December 1449) was a Scottish canon regular and abbot of Inchcolm Abbey in the Firth of Forth, who is noted as a chronicler of his era. He was born about 1385 at Haddington, East Lothian, in the Kingdom of Scotlan ...

, following

John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th cen ...

, tells us that the bishopric was founded by king Máel Coluim II of Scotland in the seventh year of his reign (1012 AD) as thanks to God for victories over the Scandinavians, and tells us that "the first bishop was Beyn, a saintly man, worthy of the episcopal office, elevated to this see by the Lord

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieva ...

at the king's request". The ''Aberdeen Registrum'' records a charter granted to Bishop Beóán by King Máel Coluim at

Forfar Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a p ...

, granting the bishop the churches and lands of Clova and the unidentified ''Dulmech''. The ''Aberdeen Breviary'' commemorated "Bishop Beóán" (''Beyn episcopus'') as a saint on 26 October. Another Beóán, perhaps the one mentioned in the '' Life of St. Cathróe of Metz'', was commemorated on 16 December, and the two were often confused.See Archibald Lawrie, ''op. cit.'', p. 230.

Notes

References

* Innes, Cosmo, ''Registrum episcopatus Aberdonensis : ecclesie Cathedralis Aberdonensis regesta que extant in unum collecta'', 2 Vols, (Spalding and Maitland Clubs, 1845), Vol. II * Lawrie, Sir Archibald, ''Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153'', (Glasgow, 1905) * MacQueen, John, MacQueen, Winifred & Watt, D.E.R. (eds.), ''Scottichronicon by Walter Bower in Latin and English'', Vol. 2, (Aberdeen, 1989) * Skene, William Forbes, ''Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban'', 2nd ed., (Edinburgh, 1887), vol. ii * Watson, W.J., ''The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland'', (Edinburgh, 1926) reprinted, with an Introduction, full Watson bibliography and corrigenda by Simon Taylor (Edinburgh, 2004)

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