John Woodman ''Wodman(d. 1480 × 1481) was a 15th-century churchman based in the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a la ...

. Woodman was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of the

diocese of St Andrews The Archdiocese of St Andrews (originally the Diocese of St Andrews) was a territorial episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in early modern and medieval Scotland. It was the largest, most populous and wealthiest diocese of the mediev ...

, and as such was locally made Prior of Pittenweem on the death of the previous prior, James Kennedy,

Bishop 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 ...

; however, he was opposed by one Walter Monypenny, while the new bishop, Patrick Graham, desired the position for himself. Woodman had lost litigation for this post to Monypenny by 17 September 1466, and possession to the bishop, though Woodman was still claiming this priory as late as 1477 when he became Bishop of Ross. Some time after November 1465, he was collated as

Prior of Restenneth The Prior of Restenneth (later Commendator of Restenneth) was the head of the Augustinian canons of Restenneth Priory, Angus. The following is a list of priors and commendators: List of priors * Robert, 1147x1159-1162 * William, 1178- 1189x11 ...

by Bishop Patrick Graham, which involved him in unsuccessful litigation against the sitting prior James Dunmain. In 1468, while still litigating with Dunmain in the papal curia, he was provided as

Abbot of Jedburgh The Abbot of Jedburgh (previously Prior of Jedburgh, later Commendator of Jedburgh) was the head of the Augustinian canons of Jedburgh Abbey, Roxburghshire. It was founded by King David I of Scotland in 1138, and David's grandson and successor Má ...

. The death of the previous abbot Andrew Bolton led the

Bishop 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 the ...

to try to imposed Robert Turnbull as abbot, but it was Woodman who secured papal provision. Woodman was provided to the bishopric of Ross sometime before 20 August 1476, but after 22 July. He occurs as Bishop-elect on 17 August 1477, and on 16 October made a payment to the papacy of 321 gold

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

s through Nicholas de Rabatis and Rayner de Ricolis.Dowden, ''Bishops'', p. 220; Watt, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 269. He occurs again as Bishop-elect of Ross (though unnamed) on 4 May 1478.Watt, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 269. Woodman was in the

archdiocese of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

in 1480, allegedly acting as a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

, though this may be doubtful. We have no knowledge of his consecration, and his successor

William Elphinstone William Elphinstone (143125 October 1514) was a Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen. Biography He was born in Glasgow. His father, also William Elphinstone, later became the first Dean of the Fac ...

was provided to the (now vacant) bishopric of Ross on 3 August 1481 following the death of Woodman, though it is not possible to date Woodman's death more narrowly than either 1480 or 1481.

Notes

References

* Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) * Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1824) * Watt, D. E. R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969) * Watt, D. E. R. & Shead, N. F. (eds.), ''The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries'', The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24, (Edinburgh, 2001)\ {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodman, John 1480s deaths Bishops of Ross (Scotland) Scottish abbots 15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Year of birth unknown