- Bricius de Douglas
:"This Bricius was a 13th century bishop of Moray, for other uses see
Bricius (disambiguation) "infobox bishopbiog
name = Bricius
religion=Roman Catholic Church
See =Diocese of Moray
Title =Bishop of Moray
Period =1203 —1222
consecration =1203
Predecessor = Richard
Successor =Andreas de Moravia
post =Prior of Lesmahagow | ordination =
bishops = None
date of birth =12th century
place of birth = ProbablyLanarkshire ,Scotland
date of death =
place of death =Moray ,1222 Bricius (sometimes anglicized as Brice, died
1222 ) wasprior of Lesmahagow and afterwardsbishop of Moray (Gaelic "epscop Muireb"; Latin "episcopus Moraviensis").In this period, the name "Bricius" is more often a Latinization of the Gaelic names Máel Brigte ("tonsured devotee of St. Brigit") and Gilla Brigte ("devotee of St. Brigit") than a real name, although it is still possible that Bricius was indeed the bishop's real name. He is called "Bricius Douglas" by John Wilkins' "Concilia magnae Britanniae et Hiberniae", and this is supported by two men who used this name, "Arkenbald and Henric" (Archibald and Henry), being called his brothers. Bricius appears to have been a son of "William de Dufglas", and had five brothers, four of whom also became clerics, all in the Moray diocese. The fifth and presumably eldest brother, Archibald of Douglas, succeeded to the Barony of Douglas in
Lanarkshire .Bricius became bishop of Moray in
1203 , although the exact details of this accession (i.e.election ,consecration , etc) are unknown. OnApril 7 ,1206 , Bishop Bricius received papal permission to move the seat (Latin: "cathedra") of the see of Moray fromBirnie to Spynie. The move was probably complete by June1208 . It would not be until the episcopate of his successor,Andreas de Moravia , that the bishopric would settle atElgin Cathedral , Elgin.Bricius was one of the most important clerics in the Scotland of his time, that is, during the later part of the reign of William the Lion (r.
1165 -1214 ) and early part of the reign of Alexander II (1214-49). For instance, in1207 ,Pope Innocent III appointed him judge-delegate of a dispute betweenMelrose Abbey and theEarl of Dunbar , two of the most important landownders in what for Moray-based Bricius was the remote English-speaking south-east of Scotland. In1215 , Bricius was one of three Scottish bishops to attend the Fourth Lateran Council at Rome (the other two wereWilliam de Malveisin ,bishop of St Andrews and Walter,bishop of Glasgow ). He returned to Rome in 1218, as part of a delegation of three Scottish bishops, including Walter of Glasgow, and Adam,bishop of Caithness , in order to obtain absolution fromPope Honorius III for the sentence ofexcommunication imposed on King Alexander II and the wholeKingdom of Scotland . This second visit to Rome is mentioned in Scottish sources, and confirmed by Papal records. The latter record that Bricius had solemny denied practicing divine offices during the interdict. Bricius, however, found his episcopate in disrepute. Church records indicate that theArchdeacon andChancellor of Moray reported Bricius' corrupt behaviour, including over-taxing his flock, dissolving lawfulmarriage s for payment, tolerating unlawful ones for payment and takingprocuration s without the appropriate visitations, and spending a good deal of the proceeds on the services of women. On30 January ,1219 , Pope Honorius III instructed the abbots ofCupar Angus , Scone andDunfermline to investigate these claims. The results are not known.He died in the year in the year
1222 , and was succeeded by Andreas de Moravia.Certain histories refer to "St Brice" in reference to this bishop. [Maxwell, Vol. I, pp. 14-16, p.62] This however is almost certainly a case of misidentification with St Brice, Archbishop of Tours, a
Gallo-Roman cleric and protegé ofSaint Martin of Tours References
Notes
ources
* Dowden, John, "The Bishops of Scotland", ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
* Maxwell, Sir Herbert, "A History of the House of Douglas", II vols., (London, 1902)
* Tabraham, Chris, (ed.) "Elgin Cathedral", (Historic Scotland, 1999)Lifetime|12th century|1222|Bricius of Moray]
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