William Chisholm (called I in some biographies; c. 1498 – December 1564) was a British divine, and

bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland ...

Life

He was the second son of Edmund Chisholm of Cromlix, near

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

, a son of Chisholm of that ilk in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

, and half-brother of James Chisholm, who was bishop of Dunblane from 1486 to 1527, when he resigned his see, with the consent of

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

and King

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and duri ...

, in favour of his nephew

William Chisholm (II) William Chisholm (called II in some biographies; died 26 September 1593), bishop of Dunblane and bishop of Vaison, was a son of James Chisholm of Cromlix, and nephew to William Chisholm (I), bishop of Dunblane from 1527 to 1564, to whom he was ...

. William Chisholm was consecrated bishop at

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

on 14 April 1527, but James continued to administer the affairs and receive the income of the see until his death in 1534. Chisholm seems to have been a man of immoral character, and a nepotist, for, being an adversary of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, he alienated nearly all the property of the bishopric of Dunblane to his relations. Most of it he gave to his nephew, Sir James Chisholm of Cromlix; and large portions also to his illegitimate son, James Chisholm of Glassengall, who married Joan, daughter of Sir John Drummond of

Innerpeffray Innerpeffray is a hamlet in Perthshire, Scotland, southeast of Crieff. It is located on a raised promontory among beech woodland above the River Earn. A fording point across the river can still be used, on what is the line of a Roman Road. The ...

, and to his two illegitimate daughters, who were married respectively to Sir James Stirling of Keir and to John Buchanan of that ilk. His daughter Jean, who married Sir James Stirling of Keir, is said in an old genealogy of the Drummonds, quoted by Fraser in his "Stirlings of Keir", to have been the daughter of the bishop by Lady Jean Grahame, daughter of the

Earl of Montrose Montrose may refer to: Places Scotland * Montrose, Angus (the original after which all others ultimately named or derived) ** Montrose Academy, the secondary school in Montrose Australia *Montrose, Queensland (Southern Downs Region), a locality i ...

, and in the same book are contained many grants of land from the bishop to this daughter and her husband. One of the

Lords of the Congregation The Lords of the Congregation (), originally styling themselves "the Faithful", were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured a reformation of the Catholic church according to Protestant principles and a Scotti ...

, the Earl of Arran, looted the Bishop's palace and carried him and his valuables to

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

on 9 November 1559.Alexander Laing, , ''Proceedings Society Antiquaries Scotland'', vol. 11 (1874–6), 517–525, He died on 14 or 15 December 1564 and was succeeded in the bishopric of Dunblane by his nephew,

of the family of Cromlix, who had been appointed his

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

in 1561.

References

;Attribution

Sources

* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1824), pp. 179–80 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, William I 1490s births 1564 deaths Bishops of Dunblane 16th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops