Nicholas O. Tiron (died 1306 × 1307),

Abbot of Arbroath The Abbot of Arbroath or Abbot of Aberbrothok (and later Commendator) was the head of the Tironensian Benedictine monastic community of Arbroath Abbey, Angus, Scotland, founded under the patronage of King William of Scotland from Kelso Abbey an ...

and

Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotla ...

, was a late 13th-century and early 14th-century churchman 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 l ...

. Little is known about Nicholas until he appeared on 21 November 1299, holding the position of Abbot of Arbroath in a charter of that abbey; the last attestation of his predecessor Henry can be dated to 16 October 1296, so that Nicholas must have become abbot sometime in between these two dates. As Abbot of Arbroath, he was a canon of

Dunblane Cathedral Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland. The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-standi ...

, and entitled to participate in episcopal elections. Bishop Alpín had died sometime between 1 October 1299 and 15 October 1301, and the new election to the bishopric became deadlocked. Several canons had emerged as candidates, and it seems to have been decided that all candidates should proceed to the

papal see The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rom ...

to request judgment from the Pope. As it happened, Abbot Nicholas was the only candidate to travel to the papacy; as Cockburn commented, "An abbot could face the heavy expense; no poor canon of the Cathedral could".Cockburn, ''Medieval Bishops'', p. 86. When no other turned up, the Pope authorised Nicholas' provision, and he was consecrated by

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

, Bishop of Palestrina, on 13 November 1301. Nicholas' short career as bishop is not well recorded. In the events of the early

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

, Nicholas' role is unclear and aside from some appearances in the charters of

Coupar Angus Abbey Coupar Angus Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near Coupar Angus, in central Scotland, on the boundary between Angus and Gowrie. It was founded on the old royal manor of Coupar in 1161 x 1162 with the patronage of Máel Coluim IV ("Malcolm IV" ...

, his name is largely absent from the evidence. He appears for the last time, in papal documents, on 26 January 1306 and was dead a good time before 11 December 1307, when his successor

Nicholas de Balmyle Nicholas de Balmyle (d. 1319 × 1320), also called Nicholas of St Andrews, was a Scottish administrator and prelate in the late 13th century and early 14th century. A graduate of an unknown university, he served his earliest years as a clergyman ...

was consecrated as bishop in France.Dowden, ''Bishops'', p. 201; Watt & Murray, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', pp. 100-1.

Notes

References

* Cockburn, James Hutchison, ''The Medieval Bishops of Dunblane and Their Church'', (Edinburgh, 1959) * Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) * Watt, D. E. R., ''A Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Graduates to A. D. 1410'', (Oxford, 1977) * Watt, D. E. R., & Murray, A. L., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', Revised Edition, (Edinburgh, 2003) * 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:Nicholas 13th-century births 1300s deaths Abbots of Arbroath Bishops of Dunblane 13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests 14th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops People of the Wars of Scottish Independence