Gilbert Blackhall or Blakhal (died 1671)
was a Scottish Catholic missionary priest. He is now remembered for his autobiographical writings.
Life
Blackhall's background is believed to have been in
Aberdeenshire. He spent a period as a soldier of fortune.
He entered the
Scotch College, Rome in 1626, was ordained priest, and returned to Scotland in 1630. He encountered opposition from
Jesuits there, however, and left for Paris, where he became confessor to Lady Isabella Hay, eldest daughter of
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll (30 April 156416 July 1631) was a Scottish nobleman. A convert to Catholicism, he openly conspired with the king of Spain to try to unseat the Protestant Queen Elizabeth.
Biography
He was the son of Andrew Hay ...
.
Going to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in search of patronage, he had an audience with
Isabella Clara Eugenia, right at the end of her life. By persistence he found Lady Isabella a pension, enabling her to return to Scotland. He himself turned down a position, thought to be with the
Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...
. But Isabella Clara Eugenia's death in 1633 closed down chances for Scots in Brussels at court. Lady Isabella was in a house of canonesses at
Mons, in 1637.
In 1637 Blackhall returned to Scotland, where he did missionary work in Aberdeenshire and
Banffshire. He also acted as chaplain to
Sophia Hay, Countess of Aboyne at
Aboyne Castle
Aboyne Castle (historical name: castrum de Obeyn; alternate names: Castle Of Aboyne or Aboyne Castle Policies; also Bonty Castle or Bunty Castle) is a 13th-century castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland north of the town of Aboyne (Grid Reference N ...
; she was the sister of Lady Isabella.
The Countess died in 1642, leaving her only child
Henrietta Gordon.
Blackhall returned to France in 1643, with the view of inducing the
Marchioness of Huntly, Henrietta's grandmother, to bring her to France to be educated. He initially failed in this plan, and applied to
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...
, the Queen of France, to use her influence, ultimately successfully.
Meanwhile, Henrietta had become a Protestant, but was anyway taken to France. Blackhall had a brief period as head of the
Scots College, Paris in 1653.
Works
Blackhall wrote his autobiography in Paris in 1653.
It contains accounts of his relations with Lady Isabella Hay, with the Countess of Aboyne, and with Henrietta Gordon. The title is ''A breiffe Narration of the Services done to three noble Ladyes, by Gilbert Blakal, Preist of the Scots Mission in France, in the Low Countries, and in Scotland. Dedicated to Madame de Gourdon, one of the forsaid three, and now Dame d'Attour to Madame''. It was edited by
John Stuart from the original manuscript in the possession of
James Francis Kyle, and printed at Aberdeen for the
Spalding Club
The Spalding Club was the name of three successive antiquarian and text publication societies founded in Aberdeen, which published scholarly editions of texts and archaeological studies relevant to the history of Aberdeenshire and its region. The ...
in 1844.
Family
See also
*
Catholic Church in Scotland
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackhall, Gilbert
Year of birth missing
1671 deaths
Scottish Roman Catholic priests
17th-century Scottish autobiographers
Scottish soldiers