John Cameron (died 1446) was a 15th-century Scottish cleric,

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 th ...

, and Keeper of the Privy Seal. A licentiate in decrees (

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

), and provost of Lincluden, he became an official of the bishopric of St Andrews, and a

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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 ...

, as well as secretary to Archibald Douglas,

Earl of Wigtown The title of Earl of Wigtown (or Wigton or Wigtoun) was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation was in 1341 for Malcolm Fleming, and was surrendered in 1372, when the second Earl sold the Earldom and territory to Archibal ...

, who secured for him the

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of Cambuslang. He transferred into the service of King

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 ...

as a secretary in July 1424, and became Keeper of the Privy Seal. When William de Lawedre, bishop of Glasgow, another close advisor of King James, died in 1425, the King chose John Cameron as his successor. John was thus elected to the see, but it was discovered soon after that the pope had already reserved the see for his own nomination. Nevertheless, Pope Martin V provided him to the see on 22 April 1426. He was consecrated sometime in 1427. John was one of the most intimate advisors and associates of King James. On a number of occasions he faced accusations of improper conduct from the papacy, and was accused of being a bad influence on the king, although in reality John was James' man, not the other way around. John also served as an ambassador on embassies 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 ...

in 1429, 1430, and 1431. In November 1432, John passed through England again, this time on his way to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was in

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in July 1436, but back in

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 ...

by September 1437. He died on 24 December 1446 at Lochwood, seven miles from the burgh of Glasgow.

References

*Brown, Michael, ''The Stewart Dynasty in Scotland: James I'', (East Linton, 1994) * Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, John 15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Glasgow Lord chancellors of Scotland 1446 deaths Cambuslang Year of birth unknown Members of the Privy Council of Scotland