The Abbot of Arbroath or Abbot of Aberbrothok (and later Commendator) was the head of the Tironensian

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastic community of Arbroath Abbey,

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include ...

, founded under the patronage of King

William of Scotland William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

from

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 Twe ...

and dedicated to

St Thomas of Canterbury Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

, Thomas Becket. The abbot, John Gedy, was granted the

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

on 26 June 1396. Arbroath Abbey became the wealthiest and most powerful abbey in later medieval Scotland. According to the poem " The Inchcape Rock" by Robert Southey, John Gedy, then Abbot of Aberbrothok, fixed a bell to the inchcape rock in the 1300s to warn mariners of the perilous rock. The following is a list of abbots and commendators. *Reginald, 1178–79 *Henry, 1179–1207 *Gilbert, 1208–19 x 1229 * Radulf de Lamley, 1225–39 *Adam, 1240–46 *Walter, 1247–58 x *Robert, 1261–67 *Sabinus, 1267 ? *John, 1268–70 *

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, 1276–84 *Henry, 1285–96 *

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

, 1296 x 99-1301Became Bishop of Dunblane. *John de Anegus, 1303–09 * Bernard, 1310–28 *Geoffrey, 1329–47 *William, 1348–66 *John, 1370–84 *John Gedy, 1384–1410 *Walter Paniter, 1410–49 *Robert Bowmaker, 1419 *Richard Guthrie, 1449–55 *Malcolm Brydy, 1456–70 *Richard Guthrie, 1470–12 *Hugh Douglas, 1470 * Francis Gonzaga, 1472 *Alexander Scrymgeour, 1472 *Patrick Graham, 1473–76 *George Boyce, 1472–82 *William Bonkil, 1482–84 *David Lichton, 1484–1503 *

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

, 1503–04 * George Hepburn, 1504–13 * Gavin Douglas, 1514 * Andrew Forman, 1514 *

, 1514–17 *Peter de Accoltis, 1517 * James Beaton, 1517–23 x 1524 * David Beaton, 1524–45 * James Beaton II, 1545–51 * George Douglas, 1546 * John, Lord Hamilton 1551–68 *George Douglas, (again) 1568–72, became

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray ...

*John, Lord Hamilton (again), 1573–79 * Esmé Stuart, 1579–83

Notes

References

* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., ''Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man'', Second Edition, (London, 1976) * Summerson, Henry
"Gedy, John
(

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1370–1401?)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 27 Jan 2009 * 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) {{Scottish Church *

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. Th ...

Abbot of Arbroath