Gilbert of Dunkeld was a 13th-century

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 ...

. He began his career in the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

as a chaplain to Bishop

Hugh de Sigillo Hugh or Hugo de Sigillo († 1229) was 13th century bishop of Dunkeld, Atholl, Scotland. Little is known of his general background before becoming bishop. What is known in that he was a clerk of King William of Scotland and Abbot of Newbattle. Hu ...

. When Hugh's successor as bishop,

Matthew the Scot Matthew the Scot (died 1229) was a 13th-century Scottish cleric. Biography Matthew had been the Chancellor of Scotland in the late reign of king Alexander II of Scotland. He was appointed in 1227 after the death of Thomas, Archdeacon of Lothian. ...

, died unexpectedly in 1229, it was Gilbert whom the chapter chose to elect as Matthew's successor. The details of Gilbert's consecration are unknown. It was during Gilbert's episcopate that

Inchcolm Inchcolm (from the Scottish Gaelic "Innis Choluim", meaning Columba's Island) is an island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It was repeatedly attacked by English raiders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was fortified during both Wo ...

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

was elevated to the status of an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

. The latter monastic establishment was in the

diocese of Dunkeld The Diocese of Dunkeld was one of the 13 historical dioceses of Scotland preceding the abolition of Episcopacy in 1689. History It is thought that the diocese was constituted as far back as the middle of the ninth century. The first occupant ...

because it had been an earlier Dunkeld foundation, dedicated, like

Dunkeld Cathedral Dunkeld Cathedral is a Church of Scotland place of worship which stands on the north bank of the River Tay in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Built in square-stone style of predominantly grey sandstone, the cathedral proper was begun in 12 ...

was, to

Saint Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is tod ...

, hence the name ''Insula Columbae'', or in the vernacular, ''Innse Choluim'', "island of Columba". On 22 May 1235

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

wrote to Gilbert authorizing the elevation, and, moreover, instructing Gilbert to donate to the monastery a portion of the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

's revenues. Gilbert died sometime in the year 1236, and was buried in

Inchcolm Abbey Inchcolm Abbey is a medieval abbey located on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The Abbey, which is located at the centre of the island, was founded in the 12th century during the episcopate of Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld ...

. There survives one charter of bishop Gilbert.

References

* Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) {{Authority control 12th-century births 1236 deaths Bishops of Dunkeld (pre-Reformation) Medieval Gaels from Scotland 13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops