William de Spynie (died 1406) 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 'pre ...

. He was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of Moray by 1363 and

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 ...

( Chanter) of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in 1371. By 1372 x 1373, he had exchanged the latter position with William Boyl for the Precentorship of Moray. He had become

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 * ...

of Aberdeen by 1388. It is possible he had become Dean 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 ...

in 1397, though this may be a mistake in the source, "Aberdeen" rather than "Dunkeld" being meant. At any rate, in that year he was elected as the Bishop of Moray. He travelled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and on September 1397 was consecrated as Bishop. William de Spynie's episcopate, like that of his predecessor

Alexander Bur Alexander Bur (died 1397) was a 14th-century Scottish cleric. It is highly possible that Bur came from somewhere in or around Aberdeenshire, although that is not certain and is only based on the knowledge that Aberdeenshire is where other peopl ...

's, suffered amid the political insecurity in this part of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Alexander of Lochaber, brother of

Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles Donald, Lord of the Isles ( gd, Dómhnall; died 1423), was the son and successor of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald. The Lordship of the Isles was based in and around the Scottish west-coast island of Islay, but un ...

, had been using his role as "protector" of Moray, assigned to him by his brother and the absentee Earl, to further his own lordship. This included granting episcopal lands to his military followers. Tension gradually mounted and on 3 July 1402 Alexander burned much of the town of Elgin and plundered

Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland. The cathedral—dedicated to the Holy Trinity—was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II outside the burgh of Elgin and close to the River Lossie. ...

. Bishop William

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Alexander, and later in the year Alexander came to Spynie seeking forgiveness and bearing a gift of a large golden candle. Alexander was thereafter absolved. Bishop William died at Elgin on 2 August 1406. 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 sp ...

References

* Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912), p. 156 * Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924), p. 142 * Oram, Richard, "The Lordship of the Isles, 1336-1545", in Donald Omand (ed.) ''The Argyll Book'', (Edinburgh, 2005), pp. 123–39 * Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969), pp. 7, 10, 103, 215, 222 1406 deaths Bishops of Moray 14th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops 15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Year of birth unknown {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub