Fothad I (died 963) is the second alleged

Bishop of the Scots The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...

(906x955). We know he had the status of "bishop" during the reign of King

Dub mac Maíl Coluim Dub mac Maíl Coluim ( Modern Gaelic: ''Dubh mac Mhaoil Chaluim'', ), sometimes anglicised as Duff MacMalcolm, called ''Dén'', "the Vehement" and, "the Black" (born c. 928 – died 967) was king of Alba. He was son of Malcolm I and succeeded to t ...

because the ''

Chronicle of the Kings of Alba The ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'', or ''Scottish Chronicle'', is a short written chronicle of the Kings of Alba, covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) (d. 858) until the reign of Kenneth II (Cináed mac ...

'' has his death in the period of his reign (962-967). Such a date is supported by the Irish annals, and according to the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

'', he died in 963. According to the latter source, he was ''Fothadh, mac Brain, scribhnidh & espucc Insi Alban''; that is, "Fothad, son of Bran, scribe and bishop of the islands of Scotland". This entry taken on its own obviously places some doubt on his status as a bishop of St Andrews. It is only because he is mentioned as a bishop of St. Andrews in the bishop-lists of

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 ...

and

Andrew of Wyntoun Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun (), was a Scottish poet, a canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and, later, a canon of St. Andrews. Andrew Wyntoun is most famous for his completion of an eight-syllabled metre entitled, '' ...

that he is identified with this see; however no pre-15th century sources actually confirm this, although it is true that there was definitely a bishop of this name in the 11th century. Bower, however, gives some explanation, telling us that Fothad "was driven out by King Indolff; and after his expulsion from the see he lived for 8 years". This Indolff, or King Idulb mac Causantín reigned between 954 and 962. If we take both Bower's statement and the obit reported in the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to be correct, this means that Fothad was expelled in 955. Although it is unlikely anyway, he could not have been bishop before the year 906, when we know his predecessor Cellach was still bishop. That he died in 963 as "espucc Insi Alban" allows the possibility that he transferred his see to

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

or elsewhere on the western coast of Scotland after 955, although this is just conjecture.See, for instance, D.E.R. Watt, "Bishops in the Isles before 1203: Bibliography and Biographical Lists", in ''The Innes Review'', Volume 45, 1994, p. 104-5.

Notes

References

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286'', 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922), vol. i *Anderson, Marjorie Ogilvie, "St. Andrews before Alexander I", in G.W.S. Barrow (ed.), ''The Scottish Tradition'', (Edinburgh, 1994), pp. 1–13 *MacQueen, John, MacQueen, Winifred & Watt, D.E.R. (eds.), ''Scottichronicon by Walter Bower in Latin and English'', Vol. 3, (Aberdeen, 1995) *Watt, D.E.R., "Bishops in the Isles before 1203: Bibliography and Biographical Lists", in ''The Innes Review'', Volume 45, 1994, pp. 99–119

External links

Annals of the Four Masters

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fothad 01 10th-century births 963 deaths Year of birth unknown Bishops of St Andrews Medieval Gaels from Scotland 10th-century Scottish bishops