James Spottiswood (7 September 1567 – March, 1645) was a Scottish courtier and Protestant
bishop of Clogher
The Bishop of Clogher is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the ot ...
.
Life
Born at
Calder in Scotland on 7 September 1567, he was the second son of
John Spottiswood
John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland, Lord Chancellor, and historian of Scotland.
Life
He was born in 1565 at Greenbank in ...
(1510–1585), the
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
for
the Lothians
Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scott ...
and the overstretched minister of Calder. His mother was Beatrix, daughter of Patrick Crichton, of Lugton and Gilmerton. His younger brother
John Spottiswood
John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland, Lord Chancellor, and historian of Scotland.
Life
He was born in 1565 at Greenbank in ...
, the historian, became the
archbishop of St. Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...
and crowned
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
. James was educated at home under a tutor, William Strange, and then spent time at
Edinburgh grammar school and
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
. In 1579, when just 12 years old, he entered
Glasgow University
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, graduating M.A. in 1583. He spent the next two years in attendance on his father at Calder.
In 1588 Spottiswood entered the service of
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
. In October 1589 he accompanied James as his gentleman-usher on his sea voyage to meet his bride
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...
, and on 27 December 1591 he raised the alarm which saved James from seizure by
Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
* Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
* Rural ...
. In 1598 he was sent abroad as secretary to the ambassadors to the king of Denmark and the German princes, and on James's accession to the English throne in 1603 Spottiswood was left behind in Scotland in attendance on Queen Anne.
Early in James's reign in England, Spottiswood was sent with letters to Archbishop
John Whitgift
John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...
, who persuaded him to take orders the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. On 24 November he was granted letters of naturalisation, and in December he was presented by the king to the rectory of
Wells, Norfolk
Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England.
The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household ...
. For years Spottiswood avoided the court. In 1616 he accompanied
Patrick Young
Patrick Young (29 August 1584 – 7 September 1652), also known as Patricius Junius, was a Scottish scholar and royal librarian to King James VI and I, and King Charles I. He was a noted Biblical and patristic scholar.
Life
He was born at Seto ...
on his visitation to reform the
University of St. Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
, and there he graduated D.D.
In 1620 Spottiswood went to London for a court case. While he was there,
George Montgomery died, leaving two Irish sees vacant. Through the
Marquess of Buckingham
Marquess of Buckingham may refer to:
* George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592–1628) Marquess of Buckingham from 1618 until elevated to Duke of Buckingham in 1623
* George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753–1813), ...
, Spottiswood was appointed bishop of one of them, Clogher, based south-west
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
, much of it in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...
.
He landed at Dublin in April 1621, but his patent was not dated until 22 October, and he was involved in a dispute with
James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...
.
In his diocese, Spottiswood was involved in a further dispute from 1625, over the schoolmaster at the royal school founded at
Enniskillen
Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...
. He was opposed by
James Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Glenawley
James Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Glenawley or Clonawley ( – 18 October 1634) was a Scottish nobleman and courtier who was one of the chief undertakers in the Plantation of Ulster. His third marriage to Anne Blayney caused a notable scandal.
...
, and the matter came to blows, before the issue was settled in 1627. A complex legal case arose when one of Spottiswood's clergy stabbed fatally Lord Balfour's son-in-law Sir John Wemyss, the
High Sheriff of Fermanagh
The High Sheriff of Fermanagh is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Fermanagh. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides h ...
in 1626.
Spottiswood refused to sign Ussher's declaration against Catholicism in 1626. He retained royal favour, turning down the
archbishopric of Cashel in 1629.
When the
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...
, Spottiswood left for England. He died at Westminster in March 1645, and was buried in St Benedict's Chapel there on the 31st.
Works
Spottiswood published his doctoral thesis, ''Concio J. Spottiswodii … quam habuit ad Clerum Andreanopoli … pro gradu Doctoratus'', Edinburgh, 1616. He is believed to have been the author of an anonymous manuscript in the Auchinleck library, ''A Briefe Memoriall of the Life and Death of James Spottiswoode, bishop of Clogher''. It contains information about his early years, but consists mainly of a long account of his private and public troubles as bishop; the last few pages are in another hand, and do not extend to the date of his death. The manuscript was edited and published by
Sir Alexander Boswell in 1811 (Edinburgh). Spottiswood also published ''The Execution of Neshech and the Confyning of his brother Tarbith: or a short Discourse shewing the difference betwixt damned Usurie and that which is lawfull. Whereunto there is subjoyned an Epistle of … J. Calvin touching that same Argument … translated out of Latine'', Edinburgh, 1616.
Family
Spottiswood, who was married before taking orders, left a son, Sir Henry Spottiswood, and a daughter Mary, who married Abraham Crichton;
Abraham Creighton, 1st Baron Erne
Abraham Creighton, 1st Baron Erne (December 1703 – 10 June 1772), was an Irish peer and politician.
He was the only son of David Creighton of Crom Castle and Catherine Southwell, daughter of Richard Southwell. He married Elizabeth Rogerson, ...
was their grandson.
Notes
Further reading
*Raymond Gillespie, ''The Trials of Bishop Spottiswood 1620-40'', Clogher Record Vol. 12, No. 3 (1987), pp. 320–333. Published by: Clogher Historical Society. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27699247
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spottiswood, James
1567 births
1645 deaths
17th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests
Bishops of Clogher (Church of Ireland)
People from West Lothian