Florence (or Florentius) (died 30 November 1210) was a late 12th century and early 13th century nobleman and cleric. He was the son of Florence III, Count of Holland, and

Ada of Huntingdon Ada of Scotland (died after 1206), also known as Ada of Huntingdon, was a member of the Scottish royal house who became Countess of Holland by marriage to Floris III, Count of Holland. Life Ada was born in Scotland, the daughter of Henry of Hunt ...

, sister of kings

Malcolm IV Malcolm IV ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Eanric, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 11419 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest ...

and

William I of Scotland William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

. Florence chose an ecclesiastical career, and before 1202 was provost of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

.Watt, D. E. R., & Murray, A. L., editors, ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae Medii Aevi Ad Annum 1638'', revised edition,

Scottish Record Society The Scottish Record Society is a text publication society founded at Edinburgh in 1897, but with earlier roots as the Scottish section of the British Record Society (founded 1889). Since its establishment it has published numerous volumes of cal ...

, Edinburgh, 2003, p. 189 But his status as nephew of the current

King of Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the sovereign state, state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thoug ...

, William, undoubtedly persuaded Florence to pursue a career in

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 1202, Florence was elected

bishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of the ...

, one of the most powerful and wealthy sees in the kingdom, and is recorded as

Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower st ...

on 4 November 1203. It appears though that Florence was never consecrated, yet is found reserving his right when still only bishop-elect before 15 May 1207. He resigned that position to

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

in December 1207. the reasons for his non-consecration are unknown. Florence died as a monk at

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

Notes

References

* Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) {{Authority control 12th-century births 1210 deaths Lord chancellors of Scotland Bishops of Glasgow 13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops House of Dunkeld