![FortroseCathedral](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/FortroseCathedral.PNG)
The Bishop of Ross was the ecclesiastical head of the
Diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
of
Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to:
People
* Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan
* Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning
* Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland
Places
* RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...
, one of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
's 13 medieval
bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
s. The first recorded bishop appears in the late 7th century as a witness to
Adomnán of Iona
Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Col ...
's ''
Cáin Adomnáin
The ''Cáin Adomnáin'' (Law of Adomnán), also known as the ''Lex Innocentium'' (Law of Innocents), was promulgated amongst a gathering of Irish, Dál Riatan and Pictish notables at the Synod of Birr in 697. It is named after its initiator Ado ...
''. The bishopric was based at the settlement of
Rosemarkie
Rosemarkie ( sco, Rossmartnie, from gd, Ros Mhaircnidh meaning "promontory of the horse stream") is a village on the south coast of the Black Isle peninsula in Ross-shire (Ross and Cromarty), northern Scotland.
Geography
Rosemarkie lies a quart ...
until the mid-13th century, afterwards being moved to nearby
Fortrose
Fortrose (; gd, A' Chananaich, sco, Chainry) is a town and former royal burgh in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is on the Moray Firth, about north-east of Inverness. The burgh is a popular location for trying to spot bottlenose dolp ...
and
Fortrose Cathedral
Fortrose Cathedral was the episcopal seat (''cathedra'') of the medieval Scottish diocese of Ross in the Highland region of Scotland. It is probable that the original site of the diocese was at Rosemarkie, but by the 13th century the canons ha ...
. As far as the evidence goes, this bishopric was the oldest of all bishoprics north of the
Forth
Forth or FORTH may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine
* ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008
* ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw
* Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...
, and was perhaps the only
Pictish
Pictish is the extinct language, extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited num ...
bishopric until the 9th century. Indeed, the ''Cáin Adomnáin'' indicates that in the reign of
Bruide mac Der Ilei, king of the Picts, the bishop of Rosemarkie was the only significant figure in Pictland other than the king. The bishopric is located conveniently close to the heartland of
Fortriu
Fortriu ( la, Verturiones; sga, *Foirtrinn; ang, Wærteras; xpi, *Uerteru) was a Pictish kingdom that existed between the 4th and 10th centuries. It was traditionally believed to be located in and around Strathearn in central Scotland, but is ...
, being just across the water from
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
.
However, in the
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
and
Later Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Ren ...
, the bishopric was only of medium-to-low status in the Scottish church. The Bishopric's links with Rome ceased to exist after the
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...
, but continued, saving temporary abolition between 1638 and 1661, under the episcopal
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
until the Revolution of 1688. Episcopacy in the established church in Scotland was permanently abolished in 1689.
List of known bishops and abbots of ''Ross maic Bairend''
List of known bishops of Ross
References
*
Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286'', 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922), vol. i
*
Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
*
Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1824)
* Lawrie, Sir Archibald, ''Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153'', (Glasgow, 1905)
*
Watt, D. E. R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969)
External links
Dauvit Broun's list of 12th century Scottish Bishops
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop Of Ross
Bishop of Ross
12th-century establishments in Scotland
1689 disestablishments in Scotland