George Crichton or Crichtoun served as Abbot of

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

then as the

Bishop of Dunkeld The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Cormac. However, the first k ...

until his death on 24 January 1543. He was abbot of Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh from at least 1515, succeeding Robert Bellenden. In Edinburgh, he founded the hospital of St Thomas, close to the Water Gate on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

. He served as

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. The office has rem ...

from 1519. He moved from

to Dunkeld Abbey in 1528. He was the person to whom the

Dunkeld Lectern The Dunkeld Lectern is a mediaeval lectern which was one of the most prized possessions of St Stephen's Church, St Albans, England. The 150 kg brass reading desk stands approximately 1.6 metres high and takes the form of a large e ...

was presented by

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

around 1530. He it turn presented to Holyrood Abbey, from whence it was looted by Sir Richard Lee during an English attack on Edinburgh in 1544. It was buried in St Albans during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and rediscovered in 1750. He is not remembered as an especially pious Bishop, and it has been said of him "He is said to have thanked God that he knew neither New nor Old Testaments". He is believed to be the uncle of Robert Crichton, who served as the last known medieval Bishop of Dunkeld until 1554.It is not clear whether John Hamilton or Robert Crichton directly succeeded George Crichton; elections were often disputed and most dates provided for the Bishopric of Dunkeld overlap.

References

External links

Crichton family history
Bishops of Dunkeld (pre-Reformation) 16th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops 1544 deaths Year of birth unknown {{UK-bishop-stub