Gavin Hamilton was an early modern 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 ...

, coadjutor of the Archdiocese of St. Andrews, and

Archbishop of St. Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...

. Gavin was the son of James Hamilton of Raploch. He had been

Abbot of Kilwinning The Abbot of Kilwinning (later Commendator of Kilwinning) was the head of the Tironensian monastic community and lands of Kilwinning Abbey, Cunningham (now in North Ayrshire), founded between 1162 and 1167. The patron is not known for certain, but ...

. In 1555, he was appointed as the coadjutor, i.e. successor, of Archbishop John Hamilton of St Andrews. Archbishop John Hamilton died on 7 April 1571; Gavin's name is mentioned in the record of a

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

held at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 13 June, as "Gawan Hamilton, archbishop of St. Andrews". Although there is no record of his formal appointment, the parliament notice appears to tell us that Gavin indeed ruled as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

for a few months. Gavin died in a skirmish a few days after this parliament.

References

* Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) 1571 deaths 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Scotland 16th-century births Archbishops of St Andrews Scottish abbots Extraordinary Lords of Session Scottish bishops 1560–1638 {{UK-RC-archbishop-stub