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William de Lawedre (modern spelling: Lauder) ( – 14 June 1425) was
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 ...
and
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower st ...
.
Sometimes given (wrongly) as a son of Alan de Lawedre of Haltoun, he was in fact the son of Sir
Robert de Lawedre of Edrington, and
The Bass
The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcani ...
, by his spouse Annabella. William was brother-German to
Alexander de Lawedre,
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 ...
.
William de Lawedre was educated at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
where he took a great interest in its affairs and eventually became Rector. He graduated with a Doctorate in Canon Law In 1392, while still at university, he was given the parish church of St. Eligius, a benefice in the gift of the Bishop, dean and chapter of St. Malo. He also appears on the Roll of the
University of Angers
The University of Angers (french: Université d'Angers; UA) is a public university in western France, with campuses in Angers, Cholet, and Saumur.
It forms part of thAngers-Le Mans University Community
History
The University of Angers was init ...
where he spent some time studying and lecturing.
Before 1404, William de Lawedre had the
Archdeaconry of Lothian conferred on him by Bishop Wardlaw of St. Andrews, as well as holding a canonry and prebend in
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 ...
. In 1405 Lauder unsuccessfully sued in the Curia for the Precentorship of Glasgow. "Willielmus de Lawadir, Archdeacon of Lothian, accompanied by Alanus de Lawedir de Scotia" (his brother) had a safe-conduct from King
Henry IV dated 18 September 1404 with another the following year.
He was 'preferred' and appointed to the bishopric of Glasgow by
Avignon Pope Benedict XIII
Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as in Spanish and Pope Luna in English, was an Aragonese nobleman who, as Benedict XIII, is considered an antipope (see Western Schism) by the Catholic Church ...
on 9 July 1408, and not by election of the Chapter. The Chapter did not challenge his selection, however, and Bishop Dowden suggests that he went to
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
to receive
consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
, returning after
Martinmas
Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas, sometimes historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it ...
the same year. This seems to be supported by an
indult
In Catholic canon law, an indult is a permission or privilege, granted by the competent church authority – the Holy See or the diocesan bishop, as the case may be – for an exception from a particular norm of church law in an individual case ...
dated 11 July 1408 for him to be consecrated elsewhere, and it is likely that occurred in France. On 24 October, King
Henry IV of England
Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...
granted "William de Lawedre, Bishop of Glasgow" safe-conduct to pass through the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On 1 ...
to the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
.
Bishop William was deeply involved in the affairs of the kingdom. In 1406 he was one of the commissioners sent to Charles, King of France, in order to renew the alliance with France against the English. He attended the General Council 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 ...
in 1415, and from September 1420 until his death four years later, William was
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower st ...
. On 9 August 1423 he was named First Commissioner to treat with England for the ransom of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, which was accomplished the following year. Another of the Commissioners was Sir Robert Lauder of Edrington, the Bishop's brother.
Bishop Lauder spent a great deal of his time continuing to build Glasgow or
St Mungo's Cathedral building several portions of it, notably the crypt under the chapter house where the Lauder Arms were carved in several places.
[Shaw, D.,1955, p.162.] He also added the stone steeple and battlement to the already built tower and placed his arms, with a cherub for a crest, on the centre panel of the western parapet.
He was interred in the ancient (now gone) parish church of St. Mary, at
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 ...
,
Berwickshire
Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...
, and succeeded by
John Cameron.
Notes
References
*Stewart-Smith, J.,''The Grange of St Giles'', Edinburgh, 1898.
*
Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
*Lindsay, the Rev. & Hon. E.R.Lindsay, MA., and Cameron, A.I., MA., PhD, D.Litt., ''Calendar of Scottish Supplications to Rome 1418 – 1422'',Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1934, p. 233.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauder, William de
1380 births
1425 deaths
Scottish diplomats
Bishops of Glasgow
Lord chancellors of Scotland
People from Berwickshire
15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops