Robert Lauder was a Scottish

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

and

Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...

of the 15th century. The

Lauder The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, gd, Labhdar) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lamme ...

family produced a large number of senior churchman in this period, and alongside Robert can be named William Lauder,

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 ...

, Alexander Lauder and Thomas Lauder, both

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 ...

, and George Lauder,

Bishop of Argyll The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. It was created in 1200, when the western half of the territory of the Bishopric of Dunkeld was formed into t ...

.Cockburn, ''Medieval Bishops'', p. 154. Almost nothing is known of Robert Lauder, other than his status "of baronial race" and a "kinsman to sundry barons", until he supplicated the Pope, on 5 December 1429, to provide him to the vicarage of

Inverkeilor Inverkeilor is a village and parish in Angus, Scotland. It lies near the North Sea coast, midway between Arbroath and Montrose. The A92 road now bypasses the village. The population of Inverkeilor parish in the United Kingdom Census 2001 was ...

. He was then provided, by John Foster, Chaplain of Honour of the Pope and Apostolic See, with the canonry and prebend of 'Castelcaris' in Glasgow, but this appointment was disputed after Forster's death, by Supplication dated 6 March 1430.Dunlop & Cowan (eds.), ''Scottish Supplications to Rome 1428 – 1432'', p. 83. This Supplication appears to have failed as Lauder was still in post at Glasgow on 18 January 1434 when a dispute arose over the vicarage of Stitchell. In January 1437 he was present at the

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

with personal requests to the Pope. On 16 February 1437, described as "Canon of Glasgow", he petitioned the Pope for a licence to choose a confessor. Robert Lauder, Canon of Glasgow, designated "nuncio of the King of Scots to the Pope", was in the

on 1 September 1440 when he asked for the post of

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

to be awarded to him while the case against the previous Precentor, David de Cadzow, another Canon, was considered. This failed to transpire. From then until January 1444 he was Rector of

Cadzow Hamilton ( sco, Hamiltoun; gd, Baile Hamaltan ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and nort ...

which he then wished to resign because "some of the inhabitants of those parts were inimical towards him". He was still there in July 1444 when he was offered the vicarage of

Earlston Earlston ( sco, Yerlston; gd, Dùn Airchill) is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland. Early history Earlston was originally called ''Arc ...

, although he was minded to take it. He resigned Cadzow on 25 November 1444 while he was once more at the Curia successfully arguing that he should be able to hold two parishes (or more) and their benefices at the same time. He successfully Supplicated the Pope on 14 July 1445 for provision as

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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 ...

at £45 per annum, but was no longer holding the position on 12 November, when John Clepham was provided to the position. Likewise, he was briefly

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

, his Supplication being dated 2 January 1447, but resigned sometime before 3 April. He had also held the

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

of Selkirk (or nearby Ashkirk) in the

diocese of Glasgow The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annanda ...

, the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

of which was transferred from

Jedburgh Abbey Jedburgh Abbey, a ruined Augustinian abbey which was founded in the 12th century, is situated in the town of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders north of the border with England at Carter Bar. History Towards the middle of the 9th century, when th ...

Kelso Abbey Kelso Abbey is a ruined Scottish abbey in Kelso, Scotland. It was founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I. It occupies ground overlooking the confluence of the Tweed ...

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

. This transaction led to a dispute between Robert and the

Abbot of Kelso The Abbot of Kelso (later Commendator of Kelso) was the head of the Tironensian monastic community at Kelso Abbey in the Scottish Borders. The Abbey was originally founded at Selkirk in 1113 by David, Prince of the Cumbrians (r. 1113–1124), and t ...

over the vicar's portion of the revenue, a dispute carried to the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in a Supplication dated 15 April 1447. Pope Eugene appointed a chaplain to deal with the issue, but Eugene died before anything was resolved, and the new pope

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

appointed three clerics to deal with the issue, resolved in Spring of 1447. In Lauder's Supplication on this issue whilst a Canon of Glasgow, he had obtained the "perpetual vicarage" of Selkirk (£25 sterling pa) under an "expectative grace", also held the perpetual vicarage of Earlston (£8 sterling pa) and the canonry and prebendary of

Cardross Cardross (Scottish Gaelic: ''Càrdainn Ros'') is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical ...

(£9 sterling pa) and had an annual "pension for life" of £6 on the "fruits" of the prebend of Barlanark. It is impossible that one priest could have fulfilled all these functions in parishes so distant from one another, an indication of the corruption within the Church before the Reformation. On 27 October 1447, just six months later, he was provided by the Pope to the

bishopric 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 Scotland ...

,Watt, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'': 77 incidentally voiding the resolution on the vicarage of Selkirk, as he resigned it and Earlston upon his promotion. On 13 November he is found paying or promising to pay the

800

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.Dowden, ''Bishops'', p. 206. He was consecrated sometime before this date. Over the New Year 1448-9 he was again at the

. Three times between August and November 1449 he was a member of large embassages sent to

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 ...

to negotiate a peace with its king, Henry VI. A large number of documents are extant from his episcopate illustrating the workings of the bishopric's law courts and the bishop's governmental activities. He was a witness to the concession to the Scottish church made by King

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...

in 1451 permitting the disposal of property by testament. He was present at the provincial council held at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

on 18 July 1465. He resigned the bishopric on 12 September 1466 and, with the agreement of his successor and the pope, was granted an annual pension for life of 300 gold florins. The date of his death is unknown.Cockburn, ''Medieval Bishops'', p. 170.

Notes

References

* Cockburn, James Hutchison, ''The Medieval Bishops of Dunblane and Their Church'', (Edinburgh, 1959) * Dunlop, A.I., and Cowan, I.B. (eds.), ''Scottish Supplications to Rome 1428 – 1432'', (Edinburgh, 1970) * Kirk, James, Tanner, Roland, & Dunlop, A.I., (eds.), ''Scottish Supplications to Rome 1447 – 1471'', Scottish Academic Press for the University of Glasgow, 1997, * Dunlop, A.I., and MacLauchlan, David, (eds.), ''Scottish Supplications to Rome 1433 – 1447'',

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Press, 1983, * 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, 1924) * Watt, D. E. R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lauder, Robert 15th-century deaths Bishops of Dunblane 15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Year of birth unknown