Andrew Stewart (d. 1501)

infobox bishopbiog
name = Andrew Stewart


religion= Roman Catholic Church
See = Diocese of Moray
Title = Bishop of Moray
Period = 1482–1501
consecration = 1485 x 1487
Predecessor = William Tulloch
Successor = Andrew Forman
post = Dean of Moray | ordination =
bishops =
date of birth = 1442 x 1445
place of birth = Scotland
date of death = September 29, 1501
place of death = Moray

Andrew Stewart (died 1501) was a 15th century Scottish prelate and administrator. Born between 1442 and 1444, [His older brother James Stewart, Earl of Buchan, was born in 1441 x 1442, and Joan died in 1445; Boardman, "Stewart, James, earl of Buchan (1441/2?–1499/1500)"; Brown, "Joan [Joan Beaufort] (died 1445)".] he was the son of Joan Beaufort (d. 1445), widow of King James I of Scotland and former Queen-consort, and her second husband, James Stewart, the so-called "Black Knight of Lorne". [Boardman, "Stewart, James, earl of Buchan (1441/2?–1499/1500)"; Brown, "Joan [Joan Beaufort] (d. 1445)"; Dowden, "Bishops", p. 163; Keith, "Historical Catalogue", p. 245.] Being a third son, an ecclesiastical career was a natural course, and as early as 1455 Andrew held the positions of Sub-Dean of the diocese of Glasgow and, briefly, Dean of the diocese of Aberdeen. [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", pp. 8, 168.] This was because on May 7, 1455, Pope Calixtus III conferred the deanery of Aberdeen, the Glasgow prebendary of Kirkandris and well as canonry of Lincluden and the vicarage of Kilpatrick, both also in the diocese of Glasgow, after the promotion of Andrew de Durisdeer as Bishop of Glasgow.Dowden, "Bishops", p. 163, n. 1.] He was unable to retain the Aberdeen deanery, assumed by Richard Forbes in the following year. [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 8.]

These positions were ideal for funding a university education. Andrew was incorporated at the University of Glasgow in 1456, and he is found as a determinant, i.e. having completed his Bachelor's Degree, at the University of St Andrews in 1462 x 1463. He appears to have entered the University of Paris "ad eundem" in 1465. By 1460, he had become Dean of Moray, while retaining the Glasgow sub-deanery. [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 220.] In 1470, he may have been given the position of Provost of the Collegiate church of Lincluden, a position he certainly did hold in 1477. [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 364.]

Andrew's career reached its height when, after the death of Bishop William Tulloch in 1482, he was elected to become the new Bishop of Moray.Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 216.] He received papal provision on August 12, 1482, but was not consecrated until sometime between December 22, 1485, and October 24, 1487. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 164, n. 2; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 216.] Andrew obtained a papal bull incorporating the provostry of Lincluden into the Moravian episcopal "mensa" for his lifetime, although this was cancelled in 1488. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 163; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 364.] He was the Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, a position he resigned in early 1483. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 164; Keith, "Historical Catalogue", p. 146.]

For a period he had hopes of becoming Archbishop of St Andrews in the place of William Scheves, but this never transpired. In 1482 he and his two brothers promised 6000 ducats of gold to the city of Edinburgh, "in or the cais of prmocion of the saif reverend fadir [Andrew] to the Archbishoprik of Sanctandrois or quhatsomeuer vther benefice, dignitie, or privilegis". [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 163.] Probably in pursuit of his ambition for St Andrews, he became the most prominent supporter of Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, who was attempting to seize the throne of Scotland in this period; this alliance had ended by 1485, when Albany had been defeated, and then killed in a joust in France. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 164; Tanner, "Stewart, Alexander, duke of Albany (1454?–1485)".]

Despite incurring the enmity of King James III of Scotland and the censure of Pope Sixtus IV, Bishop Andrew survived, and was probably reconciled by 1487 when he received consecration. His episcopate is not particularly well documented, but he presided over a general convocation of the canons of Moray late in the year 1487. Andrew is known to have issued a number of episcopal statutes. Among other activities, he was in receipt of a safe-conduct from the English government in May, 1497, and was at the Edinburgh parliament of June 23, 1496. King Henry VII of England requested, July 5, 1497, that Bishop Andrew be sent as an emissary to England concerning Perkin Warbeck. [Dowden, "Bishops", pp. 164-5.]

On August 13, 1501, Pope Alexander VI, at the instance of King Louis XII of France, made a reservation of the bishopric of Moray, showing that the Pope believed the see would soon become vacant, and perhaps indicating that Bishop Andrew had contracted some kind of mortal illness. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 164.] Bishop Andrew did die, on September 29, 1501. He was buried in Elgin Cathedral. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 165.]

Notes

References

* Boardman, S. I., "Stewart, James, earl of Buchan (1441/2?–1499/1500)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/54326, accessed 5 May 2007]
* Brown, M. H., "Joan [Joan Beaufort] (d. 1445)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14646, accessed 5 May 2007]
* Dowden, John, "The Bishops of Scotland", ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
* Keith, Robert, "An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688", (London, 1924)
* Tanner, Roland J., "Stewart, Alexander, duke of Albany (1454?–1485)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/26453, accessed 5 May 2007]
* Watt, D.E.R., "Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638", 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969)