James Hamilton (died 1580) was a Scottish churchman who served as

Bishop of Argyll The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll The Diocese of Argyll was an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Argyll, and wa ...

both pre- and post-Reformation and as Sub-

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Life

He was the illegitimate son of

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran and 2nd Lord Hamilton (c. 14751529) was a Scottish nobleman, naval commander and first cousin of James IV of Scotland. He also served as the 9th Lord High Admiral of Scotland. Early life He was the eldest of ...

. His natural brothers were

James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran ( 1519 – 22 January 1575), was a Scottish nobleman and head of the House of Hamilton. A great-grandson of King James II of Scotland, he was heir presumptive to the Scottish thr ...

and John Hamilton, Archbishop of St Andrews. His first ecclesiastical posts were as

reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

Petty, Highland Petty, or Pettie is a place and parish in Highland, Scotland. The village of Petty is about north east of Inverness. The parishes of Petty and Bracholy, were united prior to the Reformation. The original parish church was dedicated to Saint Colum ...

, then

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Spott, East Lothian Spott is a small village on the eastern fringes of East Lothian in Scotland, just over south-west of Dunbar. The village straddles an unclassified road leading from the main A1 highway at . History There is believed to have been settlement i ...

. He was nominated

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of ...

by the crown's representative on 31 July 1547, but was rejected by the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in the summer of 1548 on the grounds of

illegitimacy Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

. Five years later, he receives a dispensation for his illegitimacy and appointed Bishop of Argyll on 14 July 1553, although it is not certain whether he was ever consecrated to the

Episcopate 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 ...

. He also held, '' in commendam'', the Sub-Deanery of Glasgow. He became a

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and sat as Bishop of Argyll in the

Scottish Reformation Parliament The Scottish Reformation Parliament was the assembly commencing in 1560 that claimed to pass major pieces of legislation establishing the Scottish Reformation, most importantly the Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560; and Papal Jurisdictio ...

which ratified the

Confession of Faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The e ...

in August 1560. He died at Monkland on 6 January 1580 n.s. (1579 o.s.).

Family

He married Janet Murray (died before 1 October 1572) and they had three sons, William ( burgess first in Canongate then in

), Gavin, and Paul Hamilton of Coats (entitled "Captain of Arran").''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, James 1580 deaths Bishops of Argyll Year of birth unknown Scottish bishops 1560–1638