Roger de Beaumont (died 1202) was Bishop of St Andrews (Cell Rígmonaid) (elected 1189; consecrated 1198).

Life

He was the son of

Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester Born in 1121 (died 1190) was an English nobleman, one of the principal followers of Henry the Young King in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against his father King Henry II. He is also called Robert Blanchemai ...

. Roger's position as a younger son of the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creations ...

meant that Roger had to seek a fortune elsewhere, and did so within the church. Robert was a second cousin of

William I 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 ...

, being the great-grandson and grandson of Elizabeth of Vermandois respectively.Cowan Vol I, p. 80. William's mother

Ada de Warenne Ada de Warenne (or Adeline de Varenne) ( 1120 – 1178) was the Anglo-Norman wife of Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria and Earl of Huntingdon. She was the daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey by Elizabeth of Vermandois, and a ...

was daughter of Elizabeth of Vermandois' second husband the 2nd Earl of Surrey, whereas Roger's father was a grandson of her first marriage to the 1st Earl of Leicester. At Williiam's court Beaumont managed to obtain favour, eventually reaching the position of Chancellor of the King, a post which usually functioned as a prelude to ascending a high-ranking bishopric.

Bishop of Saint Andrews

So it was that, 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 April 1189, he was elected Bishop of St. Andrews. Roger, nevertheless, had to wait nine years for consecration, which was finally performed in 1198 at St. Andrews by the

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 ...

and the

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

. During his time as chancellor, Beaumont had been party to the negotiations surrounding the nullification of the treaty of

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

, and had lobbied the Pope to secure the independence of the Scottish church from the claims of both

Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

to superiority. These demands of the pope were both met, with

Clement III Pope Clement III ( la, Clemens III; 1130 – 20 March 1191), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 December 1187 to his death in 1191. He ended the conflict between the Papacy and the city of Rome, by all ...

issuing a

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

in 1188 confirming that church in Scotland was answerable only to the Holy See. The following year, 8 months after Beaumont's election as bishop, the English King

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

nullified the Treaty of Falaise, and recognised the independence of the Church. Bishop Roger was witness to the foundation charter of

Inchaffray Abbey Inchaffray Abbey was situated by the village of Madderty, midway between Perth and Crieff in Strathearn, Scotland. The only traces now visible are an earth mound and some walls on rising ground which once (before drainage) formed an island where ...

in 1200, as earlier he had been for the Abbey of Arbroath in 1178, and it was during his tenure as Bishop that the first

St Andrews Castle St Andrews Castle is a ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing a ...

was built as an episcopal palace. His episcopate came to an end when he died at

Cambuskenneth Cambuskenneth ( gd, Camas Choinnich ) is a village in the city of Stirling, Scotland. It has a population of 250 and is the site of the historic Cambuskenneth Abbey. It is situated by the River Forth and the only road access to the village is alo ...

on 7 July 1202. He was buried at St. Andrews. The next bishop of the see was

William de Malveisin Guillaume or William de Malveisin (also, modern forms ''Malvoisin'' or ''Mauvoisin'') was Chancellor of Scotland, Bishop of Glasgow (1199/1200–1202) and then Bishop of St. Andrews (1202–1238). William Malveisin was probably born in France. ...

References

Notes

Sources

*Cowan, Samuel, ''The Lord Chancellors of Scotland'' Edinburgh 1911

*Dowden, John, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Roger De 12th-century births 1202 deaths Bishops of St Andrews

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

Younger sons of earls Lord chancellors of Scotland 13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops 12th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops