Charles Arbuthnot ( – 19 April 1820) was a renowned Scottish

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of the

Scots Monastery, Regensburg The Scots Monastery (in German ''Schottenkirche'', ''Schottenkloster'' or ''Schottenstift'') is the former Benedictine Abbey of St James (''Jakobskirche'') in Regensburg, Germany. It was founded in the 11th century by Irish missionaries and for ...

, and a leading

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n mathematician of his time.

Biography

The son of James Arbuthnot, Senior of West Rora in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

and Margaret Gordon, he was baptized in

Longside Longside is a village located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, consisting of a single main street. It lies seven miles inland from Peterhead and two miles from Mintlaw on the A950. Its population in 2001 was 721. The River Ugie flows through it. It ...

on . He was brought up in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith and was sent to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

aged 11 to be educated there. He afterwards won for himself a reputation as a scientist, mathematician, natural philosopher and chemist besides being renowned for his piety, learning, breadth of mind and benevolence of heart. In 1757, Arbuthnot became a member of the

Benedictine Order , 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 ...

and a member of the Monastery of St James, known as the Scots College at Regensburg. Under the name Benedict, he spent the rest of his life at Regensburg, other than a brief visit to

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 ...

in 1772. His father died in 1770 and he refused his share in his estate. On 4 June 1776 Arbuthnot became abbot of the Scots Monastery. He was greatly respected and when in 1802 the

Eternal Diet of Regensburg The Perpetual Diet of Regensburg or the Eternal Diet of Regensburg, (german: Immerwährender Reichstag) also commonly called in English the perpetual Diet of Ratisbon,Jean Berenger, C.A. Simpson, ''The Habsburg Empire 1700-1918'' (2014), p. 134 fr ...

determined at the instance of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

to secularize all the church lands of the Empire, an express exemption was made in favour of the Scots Monastery at Regensburg, although it was not allowed to take any new novices. Arbuthnot had declared the monastery a Scottish national shrine and put it under the sole authority of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 1814, it came under the authority of the

Bishop of Regensburg The Bishops of Regensburg (Ratisbon) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany.

, but it was still not dissolved, since the monastery had laid out a large part of his fortune at an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n bank which the state did not want to lose. After Arbuthnot's death the monastery was demoted to a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

because of a staff shortage, and in 1862 its existence was at last brought to an end, when the premises were bought by the

n government. According to Charles Arbuthnot's tombstone at

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

he was born at

Rora Rora may refer to: * Rora (name) *Rora, a village administered by the city of Sighișoara, Mureș County, Romania *Rora, Aberdeenshire, a rural settlement in Aberdeenshire, Scotland *Rora, a diminutive of the Russian feminine first name Avrora (a fo ...

on 5 March 1737, made his

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...

(''professus'') on 21 November 1756 and became a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 14 February 1761.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuthnot, Charles 1737 births 1820 deaths 18th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

People from Aberdeenshire Scottish abbots Scottish expatriates in Germany Scottish Christian theologians Benedictine abbots