The Prior of Whithorn was the head of the monastic community at

Whithorn Priory Whithorn Priory was a medieval Scottish monastery that also served as a cathedral, located at 6 Bruce Street in Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway (54.7357N, 4.415954W; OS grid reference NX445405). History The priory was founded ab ...

, attached to the

bishopric of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7t ...

Whithorn Whithorn ( �ʍɪthorn 'HWIT-horn'; ''Taigh Mhàrtainn'' in Gaelic), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christia ...

. It was originally an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

establishment, but became Premonstratensian by the time of the second or third known prior. As most of the priors of Whithorn appear to be native

Galwegian Galwegian or Galwegians may refer to: * Of Galway (disambiguation) ** Of or pertaining to Galway, Ireland, or to its residents. ** Galwegians RFC, rugby club in Galway, Ireland * Of Galloway (disambiguation) ** Of, or pertaining to, Galloway, Scot ...

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langu ...

, it would appear that most priors before the 16th century at least were drawn from region, something unusual in medieval Scotland. The following is a list of abbots and commendators.

List of priors of Whithorn

* Edanus (Adam or Áedan), 1154 x 1161 * William (?), 1172x1178 * Michael, 1200 x 1209. * Malcolm, 1209 x 1226 * Paul, 1217 x 1235 * Duncan, 1235 * Gregory, 1235 x1253 * Duncan, 1273 * Dungal, 1279 * Thomas, 1287 * John, 1293 -1294 * Maurice, 1296 * Michael MacKenlagh (or de Makenlagh), 1355 * Gilbert, 1382-1413 * Thomas "Macilhachnisi" ("Makillehachuyfy"), 1413 -1431 * James Cameron, 1446 * William Douglas, 1447-1467 x 1468 * Fergus MacDowell, 1466-1470 * David Ralston, 1468 * David Lindsay, 1470 * Roger, 1473 * Patrick Vaus, 1474 -1503 * Patrick McCathroge acCaffrey? x 1477 * Thomas Adunnale, 1470s * Henry MacDowell, 1503-1514 x 1516

List of commendators

Alexander Stewart de Pitcairne Alexander Stewart (1477 – 19 December 1537) was a Scottish prelate; also known as Alexander Stewart of Pitcairn. He was the son of Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, and his first wife Catherine Sinclair, daughter of William Sinclair, Earl of ...

, 1516-1518 * Silvio Passarini, 1516-1526 * Gavin Dunbar, 1518-1524 * William Dick, 1520 * John Maxwell, 1524 * Ninian Fleming, 1524-1537 x 1539 * Abraham Vaus, 1532 * Malcolm Fleming, 1539-1568 * Robert Stewart, 1568-1581 x 1582 * William Fleming, 1568-1594 *

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

, 1582-1605 * Gavin Hamilton, 1605-1612Also Bishop of Galloway,

Commendator of Dundrennan The Abbot of Dundrennan was the head of the Cistercian monastic community of Dundrennan Abbey, Galloway. It was founded by Fergus of Galloway in 1142. Dundrennan was a large and powerful monastery in the context of the south-west. It became secul ...

and

Commendator of Glenluce The Abbot of Glenluce (later, Commendator of Glenluce) was the head of the monastic community of Glenluce Abbey, Galloway. The monastery was founded in 1192 by monks from Dundrennan Abbey with the patronage of Lochlann (Roland), Lord of Galloway. ...

Notes

Bibliography

* Donaldson, Gordon, "The Bishops and Priors of Whithorn", in ''Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History & Antiquarians Society: Transactions and Journal of Proceedings'', Third Series, vol. 27 (1950), pp. 127–54 * Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) * 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), pp. 216–20

List of priors of Whithorn

List of commendators

Notes

Bibliography

See also