William de Lamberton

Seal of Bishop William de Lamberton.

William de Lamberton (sometimes modernized: William Lamberton ) († May 20, 1328 ) was Bishop of St Andrews from 1297 until his death . Lamberton played an influential role in the Scottish War of Independence , initially advocating William Wallace and later Robert the Bruce . In 1306 he crowned this king of Scotland as Robert I. He was instrumental in the formulation of the Declaration of the Clergy 1310 and the Declaration of Arbroath 1320. Because of his committed work for Scottish independence, William de Lamberton was temporarily excommunicated by the Pope.

The early years of life

There are two theories about the place of birth of William de Lamberton. One assumes that he came from Kilmaurs in Ayrshire and that his original name was actually Cunninghame. The Cunninghame family had a long and close relationship with the Lambroughton (or: Lamberton) area in southwest Scotland. The other theory assumes that he came from Lamberton near Berwick , i.e. the eastern Scottish-English border area. The latter theory seems more likely today, but ultimately there is no clear evidence of his ancestry.

Almost nothing is known about his early life and education. What is certain is that he studied at a university and became a canon in Glasgow in 1293 at the latest . In February 1293, he served as Chancellor of Glasgow Cathedral member of John Balliol 's first parliament. In 1293 or 1294 he was sent abroad by Bishop Robert Wishart for further studies.

The appointment as Bishop of St Andrews

In 1298 he was named Bishop of St Andrews to succeed William Fraser . His choice seems unusual because of his youth. The Scottish historian G. W. S. Barrow sees the reason for his appointment primarily because William Wallace spoke out for him. Wallace, in turn, did so because Lamberton had close ties with Robert Wishart, who was an unconditional supporter of the Scottish struggle for independence. St Andrews was then the wealthiest and most influential Scottish bishopric, making Lamberton one of the most important churchmen in Scotland. England later accused William Wallace of forcing the chapter of St Andrews to elect William de Lamberton. This does not seem plausible insofar as he actually appears to have been a popular candidate who also seems to have enjoyed the support of Nicholas Balmyle (who was acting on behalf of the bishopric after the death of Wishart) and the Comyns . On June 1, 1298, William de Lamberton received confirmation of his election by the Pope and then joined a Scottish diplomatic mission to France.

Lamberton owed his position very much to the support of William Wallace, who ruled alone from the winter of 1297 to 1298 as the first Guardian of Scotland . In return, Lamberton generously supported Wallace's campaigns with money and also referred church officials in his diocese to help. But he held on to resolute support for Scottish independence even after Wallace's defeat at the Battle of Falkirk .

During this time Lamberton took James, Lord of Douglas in as a squire , whose father William had played an important role in the First Scottish War of Independence and had finally died in 1298 in the Tower of London in English captivity. Lamberton sponsored the young James Douglas and unsuccessfully asked the court for the restoration of his property. After his installation as bishop Lamberton was able to dispose of the generous benefices of the diocese of St Andrews and used the funds to finance the war effort against England.

As bishop, William de Lamberton had both the cathedral and castle of St Andrews rebuilt. He also took care of the fortification of a number of properties in the diocese .

During the second interregnum until the coronation of Robert I.

Shortly after his confirmation as bishop, Lamberton traveled to France to the royal court and to the Curia in Rome to represent Scotland's interests there. As early as June 1298 his efforts showed success. Both the French King Philip IV and Pope Boniface VIII put pressure on Edward I to stop his attacks on Scotland. This led not least to the fact that John Balliol was transferred from English captivity into papal custody in 1299.

In a letter dated April 6, 1299, Philip IV assured that he intended to support Scotland, even if he did not comply with Lamberton's request to send troops to Scotland. In 1301 and again in 1302 Lamberton traveled to France to further consolidate French support for Scotland. During this time he seems to have established very close contact with Philip IV. In the following years France intervened several times through diplomatic channels for Scotland.

In addition to his diplomatic missions, Lamberton's importance also steadily increased in inner-Scottish politics. From 1299 to 1301 he held next to John III. Comyn and Robert the Bruce and Ingram de Umfraville held the Guardian of Scotland. In his appointment, he was supposed to act primarily to balance Comyn and Bruce, who were in opposition to each other. He did not live up to this role, however, as he soon developed a close bond with Robert the Bruce, which would last until the end of his life. This spoke not only for a continuation of the war against England, so opposed that of John III. Comyn pursued a policy of compensation, but also pursued his own ambitions for the Scottish throne. After Robert the Bruce on February 10, 1306 John III. Comyn murdered in Dumfries Church , Lamberton, Robert Wishart and David de Moravia (the Bishop of Moray ), the three chief clergymen of Scotland, attended the coronation of Robert the Bruce in Scone on March 25th . It is said to have been Lamberton who put the crown on Robert's head. Lamberton and Wishart were later incarcerated in London for their roles in the coronation and charged with high treason. Both escaped execution probably only because of their outstanding ecclesiastical position.

The time after captivity

After the death of Edward I, William de Lamberton - like many other Scottish nobles and clergymen - made his son Edward II the oath of allegiance and vowed to stay only in the vicinity of the lake of Durham . On top of that, he paid a ransom of £ 6,000 for his release. Lamberton himself considered his oath to be taken under duress and therefore invalid. After his return he stayed mainly in the Scottish-English border region near the Tweed , so that he could keep in close contact with the parts of his diocese under English rule . He entered into correspondence with the French king to seek further support for Scottish independence.

Around 1309, Robert I, who in previous years had mainly fought his inner-Scottish rivals, was confirmed as king by the Scottish clergy despite his excommunication after the murder in the church of Dumfries , a decision that is presumed not least due to the considerable influence of William de Lamberton declined. Interestingly, Lamberton took part in diplomatic negotiations as "English" envoy in the same year. Apparently he kept in close contact with both sides during this time. After Robert I had largely consolidated his control over Scotland in 1312, Lamberton played an important role at the Scottish court and broke with England. Robert I does not seem to have viewed his close contact with England as treason in the previous years, at least no allegations of this kind are known at the Scottish court today.

Excommunication and reconciliation

Edward II tried in 1318 unsuccessfully with Pope John XXII. to intervene in favor of the removal of William de Lamberton as Bishop of St Andrews. Even if he did not immediately comply with the request of the English king, he called Lamberton and the two other Scottish bishops to his seat in Avignon in November 1319. When all three did not comply, they were excommunicated on June 16, 1320. The King, Lamberton and the Scottish nobility then each wrote their own letter to the Pope in which they commented on the developments. The letter from the nobility - known today as the Declaration of Arbroath - was the most important here, as it ultimately led to a reconciliation with the Pope, so that both the excommunication of Lamberton and that of Robert I (still because of the murder in 1306 ) were withdrawn.

Late life

Lamberton held the episcopal see of St Andrews until his death in 1328 and remained a close adviser and supporter of Robert I. He died on May 20, 1328, 18 days after England formally recognized Scotland's perpetual independence. His remains were buried on June 7th in the north side of the high altar of St Andrews Cathedral.

literature

• GWS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland. 4th edition. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2005, ISBN 0-7486-2022-2 .
• Duncan McNaught: Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Alexander Gardner, Paisley 1912.
• AHM:  Lamberton, William de . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 32:  Lambe - Leigh. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1892, pp. 19 - 21 (English).

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• Francis Palgrave (Ed.) Scotland: Documents and records illustrating the history of Scotland, and the transactions between the crowns of Scotland and England, preserved in the treasury of Her Majesty's Exchequer. Volume 1. London 1837, pp. 331-340, archive.org

Web links

• Lamberton Family History at ancestryuk.com
• Short biography of William de Lamberton on the website of the future museum South West Scotland.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cf. McNaught
2. ↑ AHM:  Lamberton, William de . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 32:  Lambe - Leigh. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1892, pp. 19 - 21 (English).
3. ↑ cf. Barrow, p. 94.
4. ↑ cf. Barrow, p. 153.

predecessor	Office	successor
William Fraser , Nicholas de Balmyle (1297; acting)	Bishop of St Andrews 1297-1328	Alexander de Kininmund (1328; acting), Jakob Báne
William Wallace	Guardian of Scotland 1299-1301 Co-regents: John III. Comyn , Robert the Bruce (until 1300), Ingram de Umfraville (from 1300)	John de Soules