Gilbert de Stirling was an early 13th-century
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of
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 ...
. His background is unclear, perhaps coming from a burgess family of Stirling; he emerges in 1228 as the newly elected
Bishop of Aberdeen, succeeding the recently deceased
Adam de Kalder, after
Matthew the Scot had turned down his own election in order to become
Bishop of Dunkeld.
Most of the knowledge historians have about Bishop Gilbert's episcopate relates to various legal agreements made with other religious institutions, including confirmations of grants made to
St Andrews Cathedral Priory
St Andrews Cathedral Priory was a priory of Augustinian canons in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was one of the great religious houses in Scotland, and instrumental in the founding of the University of St Andrews.
History
Plans were made for it ...
and the ''
Céli Dé
The Culdees ( ga, Céilí Dé, "Spouses of God") were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and subsequently in Scotland, attac ...
'' of
Monymusk, the latter made by
Donnchadh, Earl of Mar
Donnchadh of Mar (Anglicized as Duncan) is the fifth known Mormaer of Mar or Earl of Mar, 1203–1244.
Donnchadh was the son of Morggán and Agnes. Donnchadh benefited from the introduction of feudal primogeniture as a custom, as it enabled hi ...
. He also settled a dispute with the
Bishop of Moray
The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray ...
regarding certain rights in boundary churches.
He died at
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
in 1239.
References
*
Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912), p. 103
*
Innes, Cosmo, ''Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis: Ecclesie Cathedralis Aberdonensis Regesta Que Extant in Unum Collecta'', Vol. 1, (Edinburgh, 1845), p. xxii-iii
* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924), pp. 106–7
*
Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969), p. 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Gilbert de
1239 deaths
Bishops of Aberdeen
People from Stirling
13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops
Year of birth unknown