Reinald Macer

infobox bishopbiog
name = Reinald Macer


religion= Roman Catholic Church
See = Diocese of Ross
Title = Bishop of Ross
Period = 1195–1213
consecration = September 10, 1195
Predecessor = Gregoir
Successor = Andreas de Moravia
post = Monk of Melrose Abbey | ordination =
bishops =
date of birth = unknown
place of birth = unknown
date of death = December 13, 1213
place of death =

Reinald Macer [also called Reginald] (d. 1213) was a medieval Cistercian monk and bishop, active in the Kingdom of Scotland during the reign of William the Lion. Originally a monk of Melrose Abbey, he rose to become Bishop of Ross in 1195, and held this position until his death in 1213. He is given the nickname "Macer" in Roger of Howden's "Chronica", [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 266.] a French word that meant "skinny".Duncan, "Roger of Howden", p. 145.]

Pre-episcopal life

It is thought possible that Reinald had been in the company of Roland, Lord of Galloway, at some point, perhaps being involved with Roland's foundation of Glenluce Abbey in January 1192; again on purely speculative grounds, he may have had some involvement at Kinloss Abbey in the late 1180s. Reinald was a monk of Melrose Abbey when, on February 27, 1195, he was elected to succeed Gregoir as Bishop of Ross, an episcopal see whose seat at that time was located in Rosemarkie. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 210; Duncan, "Roger of Howden", p. 144; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 266. See also below.]

His election was recorded and indeed celebrated by the "Melrose Chronicle", written at the abbey:

This historian Richard Oram declared that his appointment "provided the crown with a dependable ally in an influential position, within a region where its authority continued to be challenged". [Fawcett & Oram, "Melrose Abbey", p. 29.] The occurrence of the election at Dunfermline, a long way from Rosemarkie, was probably to secure royal control. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 210; see Fawcett & Oram, "Melrose Abbey", p. 29, for a similar comment.]

Reinald, as "Bishop-elect" ("electo Rosensi"), is found witnessing a confirmation by the king of a grant by Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow, to Jedburgh Abbey on July 4; it was issued at Jedburgh. [Barrow (ed.), "Acts of William I", no. 379.] Between his election and consecration, Reinald was found witnessing a charter by Bishop Jocelin to Melrose Abbey. [This is discussed on Duncan, "Roger of Howden", p. 135-6; charters are "Melrose Liber", nos. 121 & 122 (confirmation copy).] The "Chronicle of Melrose" goes on to say that Reinald was consecrated at St Andrews by John, Bishop of Dunkeld. [Stevenson (ed.), "Chronica de Mailros", p. 102, trs. Anderson, "Early Sources", vol. ii, p. 343; see also Dowden, "Bishops", p. 210; Duncan, "Roger of Howden", pp. 136, 144; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 266. ]

Bishop of Ross

On December 29 of the same year, Bishop Reinald was at Christchurch in Hampshire consecrating an altar. [Barrow (ed.), "Acts of William I", p. 392; Duncan, "Roger of Howden", p. 136, & n. 12.] He witnessed two royal grants issued at Elgin to the Cistercian Kinloss Abbey on July 31, 1196. [Barrow (ed.), "Acts of William I", nos. 391 & 392.] On April 3, in a year falling inclusively between the years 1196 and 1207, probably 1199, he witnessed a royal confirmation of a grant by Thomas de Lundin to Coupar Angus Abbey; the confirmation was issued at Forfar in Angus. [Barrow (ed.), "Acts of William I", no. 414.] Bishop Reinald attended the legatine council of the Scottish church held at Perth in December 1201. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 210.] He witnessed a royal grant to Hugh of Benholm of land in the Mearns on April 5, either 1201 or 1202; this grant was issued at Kincardine. [Barrow (ed.), "Acts of William I", no. 428.]

A papal mandate dated to May 27, 1198, instructed Reinald and the Bishop of Orkney (Bjarni Kolbeinsson Skald) to compel the Bishop of Caithness to stop preventing the collection of Peter's Pence, which Earl Harald Maddadsson had granted. [Dowden, "Bishops", p. 211.] This errant Bishop of Caithness was John; he was standing up for the peasantry of his diocese, as well as perhaps his own revenues; collection of the Pence had a strong history in Scandinavia, and John's resistance resulted in his mutilation by Earl Harald, who had the bishop's eyes and tongue cut out. [Crawford, "Peter's Pence", pp. 19-20.]

Death and succession

There is little more information about Reinald, and his role in the rebellions and warfare which took place in Ross in this period is unclear. The "Melrose Chronicle" recorded his obituary:

The date of his death in modern terms was December 13, 1213. [Anderson, "Early Sources", vol. ii, p. 394, n. 1; Dowden, "Bishops", p. 211; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 266.] The aforementioned Andreas de Moravia did eventually become a bishop, becoming Bishop of Moray in 1222. [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", pp. 214, 266.] Reinald was one of several Cistercian, in fact Melrose, monks whom King William forwarded to Scottish bishoprics; notable others were the former Abbots of Melrose Jocelin of Glasgow and Adam of Caithness. [There is a short discussion of this in Fawcett & Oram, "Melrose Abbey", pp. 29-31.]

Reinald and Roger of Howden

Professor A. A. M. Duncan has argued that Reinald was a friend of Roger of Howden, and that Reinald provided information to Roger regarding Rosemarkie and events in northern Scotland both in person when Roger visited Scotland and in a letter written to Roger around 1199 in the French language; Roger, it is argued, incorporated this material into his "Chronica". [ Duncan, "Roger of Howden", pp. 144-5.]

Notes

References

* Anderson, Alan Orr, "Early Sources of Scottish History", 2 vols, (Edinburgh, 1922)
* Barrow, G. W. S. (ed.), "The Acts of William I" ("Regesta Regum Scottorum" vol. ii), (Edinburgh, 1971)
* Crawford, Barbara Elizabeth, "Peter's Pence in Scotland", in G.W.S. Barrow (ed.), "The Scottish Tradition: Essays in Honour of Ronald Gordon Cant", (Edinburgh, 1974), pp. 14-22
* Dowden, John, "The Bishops of Scotland", ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
* Duncan, A. A. M., "Roger of Howden and Scotland, 1187-1201", in Barbara E. Crawford (ed.) "Church, Chronicle and Learning in Medieval and Early Renaissance Scotland: Essays Presented to Donald Watt on the Occasion of the Completion of the Publication of Bower's" Scotichronicon, (Edinburgh, 1999), pp. 135-59
* Fawcett, Richard, & Oram, Richard, "Melrose Abbey", (Stroud, 2004)
* Stevenson, Joseph (ed.), "Chronica de Mailros; E Codice Unico in Biblioteca Cottoniana Servato, Nunc Iterum in Lucem Edita. Notulis Indiceque Aucta.", (Edinburgh, 1835)
* Watt, D. E. R., "Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638", 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969)