- Thomas de Buittle
infobox bishopbiog
name = Thomas de Buittle
religion=Roman Catholic Church
See =Diocese of Galloway
Title =Bishop of Galloway
Period = 1415-1420 × 1422
consecration =June 14 ×September 5 ,1415
Predecessor =Gilbert Cavan
Successor =Alexander Vaus
post = Provost ofMaybole Archdeacon of Galloway | ordination = on or before 1388
bishops =
date of birth = unknown
place of birth = ProbablyGalloway
date of death = 1420 × 1422
place of death =Thomas de Buittle [Butil, Butill, Butyll, Butyl, Bucyl] (d. 1420 × 1422) was a Scottish
prelate ,clerk and papalauditor active in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Probably originating inGalloway ,Scotland , Thomas took auniversity career incanon law inEngland andFrance , before taking up service at the court ofAvignon Pope Benedict XIII . He obtained a number ofbenefice s in the mean time, including the position ofArchdeacon of Galloway , and is the earliest known and probably first provost of thecollegiate church ofMaybole . The height of his career came however when the Pope provided him to thebishopric of Galloway , a position he held from 1415 until his death sometime between 1420 and 1422.Background and education
Thomas' name suggests a strong likelihood that he came from
Buittle inKirkcudbrightshire ,Galloway , lands in the control of the Douglas family.Watt, "Dictionary", p. 70.] In 1388, it was claimed that he had been a scholar of Decrees (i.e.Canon law ) at theUniversity of Oxford for five years, a claim to some extent confirmed by the grant of safe-conduct from the English crown onFebruary 18 ,1380 , to travel and study at Oxford for a year. [Burns (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 139; Watt, "Dictionary", pp. 70-1.]By
April 18 ,1390 , he had obtained aBachelors degree (in Decrees) from theUniversity of Avignon ; he appears in the Avignon university student rolls onAugust 9 ,1393 and again onOctober 21 ,1394 .Watt, "Dictionary", p. 71.] Thomas had obtained a doctorate (in Decrees) sometime betweenJuly 15 ,1401 andJune 9 ,1410 . He witnessed BishopHenry de Wardlaw 's foundation charter of theUniversity of St Andrews onFebruary 28 ,1412 , and was named in the grant of privileges made to the new university by Pope Benedict XIII onAugust 28 ,1413 .First provost of Maybole
On
February 1 ,1388 , a letter fromAvignon Pope Clement VII to the official of thediocese of Glasgow says that Thomas "holds the provostship of the chapel of St Mary de Mayboyl, Glasgow diocese, which is a simple benefice without cure". [Burns (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 139.] Thecollegiate church of Maybole was founded under the patronage of John Kennedy, Lord ofDunure , a short time beforeFebruary 2 ,1382 , when a mandate was issued by the papacy confirming its erection. [Burns (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 82; Cowan & Easson, "Medieval Religious Houses", p. 224.] A year previously the Lord of Dunure had founded a chapel to St Mary beside the parish church of Maybole, and the erection established a provost, two chaplains and a clerk. [Cowan & Easson, "Medieval Religious Houses", p. 224.] Thomas de Buittle held the vicarage there. [Burns (ed.), "Papal Letters", pp. 139, 152, 163; Watt, "Dictionary", p. 71; see below.] It is possible that Thomas was the senior priest there when it was erected into a collegiate church; Thomas is certainly the earliest known provost, and neither the appointment nor the death of any predecessor are noted anywhere.Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 366.]He held the vicarage of
Lochrutton inKirkcudbrightshire in 1388, when a papal letter indicated that he was expected to resign Lochrutton after obtaining the benefice of Maybole in the gift of the Prioress of thenunnery ofNorth Berwick . [Burns (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 139; Watt, "Dictionary", p. 71; Maybole parish church had been given to North Berwick nunnery in the reign ofAlexander II of Scotland byDonnchadh, Earl of Carrick . ] He still held Lochrutton onApril 18 ,1390 , when the letter was repeated. [Burns (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 152.] Thomas remained provost of Maybole until at least 1401, and perhaps until his consecration asBishop of Galloway in 1415. [Watt, "Dictionary", p. 71; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 366.] No-one else is known to have held the position of provost there until 1439, although this proves nothing as the evidence for such things in the south-west ofScotland in this period is always scarce.Archdeacon of Galloway
On
March 2 ,1391 , Thomas was provided by the papacy to beArchdeacon of Galloway . [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 137.] OnMay 23 , a mandate was sent to the senior clergy of the bishopric of Glasgow authorising them to collate Thomas to the archdeaconry of Galloway, at that point occupied "unlawfully" by Patrick Smerles; the mandate gave dispensation for Thomas to retain control of both the provostship of Maybole and the vicarage of Lochrutton. [Burns (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 163.] He was still litigating with Smerles onAugust 9 ,1393 , by which point in time he had resigned Lochrutton; he was in firm possession of the archdeaconry byOctober 21 ,1394 . [Watt, "Dictionary", p. 71; see also McGurk (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 33; ] During his time as Archdeacon of Galloway, the church ofPenninghame was annexed as a prebend of the office.Papal career and other benefices
He resigned the vicarage of Maybole through a proxy (Patrick de Houston) at the papal court on
February 16 ,1398 , in exchange with Gilbert Adounane for the church ofKirkcolm inWigtownshire . [McGurk (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 82; Watt, "Dictionary", p. 71.]Sweetheart Abbey , overlords of Kirkholm parish, dispossessed him briefly of this benefice, but Thomas obtained papal restitution in a papal mandate datedOctober 13 ,1410 . He got papal provision onDecember 5 ,1412 , to the politically important vicarage of Dundonald in Kyle, but this was unfruitful as the previous vicar turned out still to be alive. Presumably in its place he obtained the vicarage ofAbernyte in thediocese of Dunkeld onJanuary 30 ,1413 , but despite promisingannate s, failed to obtain possession.He did however successfully obtain provision to the church of
Kinkell in thediocese of Aberdeen , and theprebend ofInverkeithny in thediocese of Moray with its associatedcanonry inElgin Cathedral . As Thomas seems to have spent most of the early 1400s outside of Scotland in the employment of the papacy, these positions were probably given to supplement Thomas' income.Watt, "Dictionary", p. 72.] When he was in Scotland in February 1412 witnessing the foundation charter of St Andrews University, he was said to hold to elevated post of "auditor of the sacred apostolic palace". He had returned to Pope Benedict's court in Spain later in the same year, and can be found conducting various business there over the next few years, both for the papacy and as aproctor for people in Scotland.Bishop of Galloway
As a reward for his service to the "Avignon Pope", now only recognised in Scotland,
Sicily ,Aragon and Castile, Thomas was provided to the bishopric of Galloway following the death ofElisaeus Adougan , the previous bishop. This occurred onJune 14 ,1415 . [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 131.] Although the local chapter had elected oneGilbert Cavan , a clerk of theEarl of Douglas , to fill this position, Benedict overturned this election and put Thomas there instead. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 367; Watt, "Dictionary", pp. 71, 72; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 131.] This probably occurred against the will of the Douglas family, to whom Cavan was a senior clerk. [Brown, "Black Douglases", p. 195.] Thomas resigned the archdeaconry of Galloway, with Gilbert Cavan succeeding him there. Presumably in compensation, Gilbert also received Thomas' previous holdings in the dioceses of Moray and Aberdeen. [McGurk (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 319; Watt, "Dictionary", p. 94; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 137.] It had been supposed by some authorities that Thomas supported thecapitulation ofNarbonne , renounced his allegiance to Pope Benedict and supported the adherence to theCouncil of Constance in December 1415, but this is based on a misreading of the evidence.It is not clear that, with possible Douglas opposition, Thomas obtained possession of the bishopric smoothly. There is a mandate, dated
September 5 ,1415 , to thesubdean ofGlasgow Cathedral , ordering the latter to protect "Thomas and his successors in possession of the lands and heredities of "Innermasan", "Dyrmor", "Innysmocrinyl", "Kykkenot", "Mirtum" and "Nicoltum" in Candida Casa [i.e. Whithorn] diocese ... which are being molested". [McGurk (ed.), "Papal Letters", p. 326.] No more of such problems are heard. Thomas is next found testifying to an "inspeximus" at Perth onMarch 17 ,1416 . [Dowden, "Bishops", pp. 367-8.] This was made by Bishop Henry de Wardlaw ofSt Andrews on the request of the Council of Constance, a sign of the waning loyalty in Scotland and perhaps in Thomas to the Avignon papacy. Bishop Thomas appears to have been suffering ailing health by 1420. In this year he failed to attend aprovincial council of the Scottish church at Perth, although he did sent a proctor. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 368; Watt, "Dictionary", p. 94.] He died at some point betweenJuly 16 ,1420 (date of the council), andDecember 4 ,1422 , whenAlexander Vaus ,Bishop of Caithness , was translated to be Thomas' successor as Bishop of Galloway. [Dowden, Bishops, p. 368; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 131.] Professor Donald Watt believes that his death probably occurred sometime in 1422.Notes
References
* Brown, Michael, "The Black Douglases: War and Lordship in Late Medieval Scotland, 1300-1455", (East Linton, 1998)
* Burns, Charles (ed.), "Papal Letters to Scotland of Clement VII of Avignon, 1378-1394", (Edinburgh, 1976)
* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., "Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man", Second Edition, (London, 1976)
* Dowden, John, "The Bishops of Scotland", ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
* McGurk, Francis (ed.), "Calendar of Papal Letters to Scotland of Benedict XIII of Avignon, 1394-1419", (Edinburgh, 1976)
* Watt, D. E. R., "A Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Graduates to A. D. 1410", (Oxford, 1977)
* Watt, D. E. R., "Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638", 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969)
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