Robert Cockburn (died 1526) was a 16th-century Scottish

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. Robert Cockburn was the third son of William Cockburn of

Skirling Skirling is a parish, community council area and village in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 2½ miles east of Biggar in Lanarkshire. Biggar Water, a tributary the River Tweed forms the southern boundary of the parish with the pa ...

and Cessford, and Marion, daughter of Lord Crichton of Sanquhar. Cockburn was a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

graduate, and appears for the first time in 1501 when he was presented to

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

for the position of

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

, being styled "

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Robert Cockburn,

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 * ...

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

".Dowden, ''Bishops of Scotland'', p. 224. Cockburn was later praised for his skill in the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

.Dowden, ''Bishops of Scotland'', p. 86. He became Bishop of Ross in 1507, by which time he was holding the position of

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

diocese of Dunkeld The Diocese of Dunkeld was one of the 13 historical dioceses of Scotland preceding the abolition of Episcopacy in 1689. History It is thought that the diocese was constituted as far back as the middle of the ninth century. The first occupant ...

. He had received crown nomination to the bishopric on either March or May, and was provided to the see on 9 July. Cockburn was a chaplain to

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

and acted as a diplomat for

. On 10 July 1507, Louis asked Cockburn to request 4,000 Scottish troops to assist in the defence of the French possession, the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

. In October James replied that he would send military support if warned in advance, and Cockburn was instructed to discuss another project. This was probably the Scottish king's plans for a crusade. Cockburn carried similar messages in 1512, in the crisis that culminated for Scotland in the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

Robert spent most of 1515 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as an ambassador for the government of King

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of James IV of Sco ...

(still a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

). In May 1517 he was sent to France with

Patrick Paniter Patrick Paniter (born c. 1470 - 1519) Scottish churchman and principal secretary to James IV of Scotland and the infant James V. The surname is usually written ''Paniter'', or ''Painter'', or occasionally ''Panter''. Life Paniter was born around ...

to re-negotiate the

Auld Alliance The Auld Alliance ( Scots for "Old Alliance"; ; ) is an alliance made in 1295 between the kingdoms of Scotland and France against England. The Scots word ''auld'', meaning ''old'', has become a partly affectionate term for the long-lasting a ...

. This negotiation lead to Treaty of Rouen. In 1524, he was in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as one of three ambassadors sent by the Scottish government to agree a truce. It was in that year, on 27 April, that Robert was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the bishopric of

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

. Robert became friends with

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...

, and wrote to him in February 1525 describing the political situation in Scotland. Regent Albany, having left Scotland for France, was still influential and his

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near the English-Scott ...

strongly fortified, while Cockburn's ride to England had brought him enemies. In May he addressed a short note to the English ambassador Dr Thomas Magnus, as "my hertly gud frend and broder." He was

Bishop of Dunkeld The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Cormac. However, the first k ...

for only two years, dying on 12 April 1526. He was buried in the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

Dunkeld Cathedral Dunkeld Cathedral is a Church of Scotland place of worship which stands on the north bank of the River Tay in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Built in square-stone style of predominantly grey sandstone, the cathedral proper was begun in 12 ...

Platonic circle

A letter by Robert, as Bishop of Ross, in recommendation of Symphorien Champier, a doctor of medicine at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and the personal physician of

Antoine, Duke of Lorraine Antoine (4 June 148914 June 1544), known as the Good, was Duke of Lorraine from 1508 until his death in 1544. Raised at the French court, Antoine would campaign in Italy twice: once under Louis XII and the other with Francis I. During the Germ ...

, was published in the compendium ''Que in hoc opusculo habentur: Duellum Epistolare, et, Item Complures Illustrium Virorum Epistolae ad Symphorianum Camperium'', Venice/Lyons (1519). The book discusses the French rights to the Duchy of Milan, the object of the requests for military aid carried by Cockburn. Symphorien also printed a catalogue of his humanist friends across Europe including John Liddel a Scottish philosopher, Patrick the Scottish physician of

Anne of France Anne of France (or Anne de Beaujeu; 3 April 146114 November 1522) was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI by Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority fro ...

, and the printer

Jodocus Badius __NOTOC__ Jodocus Badius (french: Josse Bade; es, Jodoco del Badia; 1462–1535), also known as , , and , was a pioneer of the printing industry, a renowned grammarian, and a pedagogue. Life Josse Badius was born in the village of Asse (forme ...

who would publish

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Abe ...

's ''History of the Scottish People.''Broadie, Alexander, in ''The Renaissance in Scotland'', Brill (1994) p. 82, citing Durkan, John, 'Robert Cockburn, bishop of Ross and French humanism', ''Innes Review'', iv, (1953), 121-2.

Notes

References

* Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) * Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, Robert 15th-century births 1526 deaths Bishops of Dunkeld (pre-Reformation) Bishops of Ross (Scotland) Scottish diplomats Scottish Renaissance humanists 16th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Burials at Dunkeld Cathedral Ambassadors of Scotland to England Ambassadors of Scotland to France