Andrew Forman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Andrew Forman | |
| Archbishop of St Andrews | |
 |
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| See | St. Andrews |
|---|---|
| Enthroned | 1514 |
| Ended | 1521 |
| Predecessor | Alexander Stewart |
| Successor | James Beaton |
| Born | c. 1465 Hutton, Berwickshire |
| Died | March 11, 1521 Dunfermline |
| Buried | St Andrews Cathedral |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Andrew Forman (c. 1465–11 March 1521) was a Scottish diplomat and ecclesiast who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 and the head of several monasteries. He was probably the son of Nicholas Forman of Hutton in Berwickshire, and Jonet Blackadder.[1] Forman had three brothers, John and Adam who were both knights—Adam, was the standard-bearer to King James IV at the Battle of Flodden Field and John, who was the king's serjeant-porter and who was captured at the battle—and Robert who was dean of Glasgow cathedral.[2][3] He also had two known sisters—Isabel, the second wife of Sir Patrick Home of Fast Castle and an un-named sister whose son, John Roul who became commendator of May after Forman's death.[4] A possible third sister, Jonet Forman the Prioress of Eklis (Eccles), is the first named in a letter of protection and respite (similar to a will) dated 28 March 1513, when Forman lists a number of his kith and kin.[5] Like many senior churchmen of his day, his vow of celibacy was not one that he kept and was known to have had a daughter Jane who married Sir Alexander Oliphant of Kelley.[6] He was educated at the University of St Andrews graduating as a Licentiate of the Arts in 1483.[7] By 1489, Forman had entered the service of King James IV who he represented in Rome in 1489/90 and where he was appointed protonotary apostolic by Pope Innocent VIII.[8] King James’s foreign policy was directed at bringing peace to Europe and required Forman to spend extended periods in Rome, Paris and London. During his career as an ambassador for King James, Forman gained many church and lay endowments.
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[edit] Diplomat and pluralist
Forman, above all, was an emissary for King James IV and during a period of twenty seven years gathered many benefices and royal gifts.[9] The first of these was in 1489 when Pope Innocent VIII provided him to the Parsonage of Forest church (Yarrow in the Scottish borders).[10] Then in 1492, he used his influence at Rome to obtain the guarantee of the provision to the abbacy of Culross but resigned his rights in 1493 in return for a substantial pension from the monastery’s income.[11]
The king received Perkin Warbeck—the bogus Duke of York—in Stirling Castle in November 1495. At this time, King James and some of his councillors needed no excuse to harm England's interests and may have seen Warbeck as a new opportunity.[12] In September 1496 James and Warbeck raided into Northumberland but within a day Warbeck was on his way back over the border in the company of Forman while James himself returned some days later and gave Forman £69 8s to cover Warbeck's costs.[13] For much of the time of Warbecks stay in Scotland, Forman had been designated to look after him and finally oversaw his departure from Ayr in July 1497.[14] Forman was now able to return to normal service to the king. He became prior of May (Pittenweem) in 1495—an office which he retained up until his death—and by 30 September 1497, he was protonotary apostolic.[15][16] The possession of multiple religious appointments was common in late medieval Scotland when ecclesiastical and later, temporal lords, would be gifted commendatorships of monasteries at the discretion of the monarch—it was unlikely that the monasteries in question would have been visited by their commendators very often, if at all.[17] King James had Forman and Bishop William Elphinstone of Aberdeen as the main emissaries in achieving a seven year truce with King Henry VII of England at Aytoun in September 1497.[16] The search for a queen for James began in 1499 when negotiators were appointed to treat with King Henry for the marriage of his eldest daughter, Princess Margaret.[18]
Permission from the pope for the marriage was received—both James and Margaret were descended from John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset—and as distantly related cousins dispensation was needed.[19] On 8 October 1501, Forman, now postulate to the see of Moray, was commissioned along with Robert Blackadder, Archbishop of Glasgow and Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell to conclude the treaty of marriage.[19] In that same year, King Henry, in gratitude for his services required that Thomas Savage, Archbishop of York institute Forman as Rector of the parish church of Cottingham.[20] On 26 November 1501, Pope Alexander VI provided Forman to the bishopric of Moray[21]and then only a few months later in 1502, Bishop Forman concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with England at Richmond Palace.[22] The formal proceedings that finally concluded the marriage terms of King James and Margaret Tudor were conducted in Glasgow Cathedral on 10 December 1502 where Forman was a signatory.[23] He was then appointed as a commissioner to oversee the exchange of the ratified marriage treaties at the courts of Henry and James.[24] James designated Forman to conduct Margaret to Scotland but while in England, gave King Henry an undertaking that the King of Scots would not renew the league with France unless Henry was first consulted. [25][26] The procession to Scotland took them to Fast Castle near Berwick where they stayed with Forman’s sister Isabel and her husband Alexander Oliphant of Kellie.[27] In 1509, Forman became commendator of Dryburgh Abbey and tried unsuccessfully to obtain the commendatorship of the wealthy abbey of Kelso in 1511.[28] The lands and possessions of the parson of Boleskin, south of Inverness were given to Forman (as bishop of Moray) in 1511 and then in 1512 he became the Keeper of the castle of Darnaway, near Forres, Chamberlain of Moray and Custumar north of the River Spey.[29]
[edit] List of benefices
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Positions
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[edit] Holy League
| League of Cambrai (1508–10) | |
|---|---|
| Papal States, France, Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Duchy of Ferrara |
Republic of Venice |
| Veneto-Papal alliance (1510–11) | |
| Papal States, Republic of Venice |
France, Duchy of Ferrara |
| Holy League against France (1511–13) | |
| Papal States, Republic of Venice, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, England, Swiss |
France, Duchy of Ferrara |
| Franco-Venetian alliance (1513–16) | |
| Papal States, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, England, Duchy of Milan, Swiss |
Republic of Venice, France, Scotland, Duchy of Ferrara |
James’s father-in-law, Henry VII of England died in 1509 and his son Henry VIII came to the throne. Forman was sent to the English court on several occasions to facilitate the renewal of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace which was agreed on 29 June 1509[30] and ratified by Forman on king James' behalf on 29 August.[31] In 1510, King James sent Forman to France to try and persuade King Louis XII to make peace with Pope Julius II and then in 1511 to Venice to try and construct a peace between Louis and the Venetians.[1] Also in 1511, Forman carried a letter to Henry in which James complained bitterly that the criminals who had murdered Sir Robert Ker, Warden of the Middle Marches in the time of his father, Henry VII, were still at large. [32] James stated that he could not accept that his subjects were being killed and those responsible not being brought to justice.[32] The Scottish king's letter to the pope in December 1511 showed that James regarded that the treaty between Scotland and England was worthless and that he assumed that the pope had released both kings from their oaths to uphold the treaty.[33] James was now in the complex situation where he still had the existing treaty with England and with an alliance with France on the table but each contradictory to the other.[34] He did not rush to France's side but continued to send Forman on his shuttle diplomacy missions to try and conciliate the opposing demands of Pope Julius II and King Louis XII.[35]
Eventually, after Forman's failure to bring the pontiff and the French king together, James after consultation with his General Council renewed the Franco-Scottish alliance in July 1512—only two councillors opposed the decision.[36][37]
On 21 February 1513, Pope Julius, with England now in the league against France, issued a bull which was in effect a suspended sentence of excommunication on James if he broke the treaty with Henry. James then sent Andrew Forman once more to Rome on 31 March to try and get the new Pope Leo X to countermand the bull but without success.[38] Forman did have personal success in July, however, when at the insistence of King Louis, he was made Archbishop of Bourges and paid homage to the French king on 12 September, just 3 days after the Battle of Flodden Field.[39] It is unlikely that either Louis or Forman would have known of the death of James.[40]
[edit] Flodden and consequences
On 9 September 1513, the Battle of Flodden Field was fought near the village of Branxton in Northumberland. Had Forman been in Scotland, then it is almost certain that he would have accompanied the king into England.[41] Many churchmen died that afternoon, among them were the kings natural son, Alexander Stewart, archbishop of St Andrews, George Hepburn, bishop of the Isles, Lawrence Oliphant, abbot of Inchaffray and William Bunch, abbot of Kilwinning.[42]
Nine of the twenty-one Scottish earls were also killed along with fourteen of the twenty-nine lords of parliament.[43] Ruthal, Bishop of Durham, wrote to Cardinal Wolsey on 20 September saying that King James fell near his banner and then lauded the bravery of the Scottish host:[44]
In all, between 5,000 and 8,000 Scots perished while approximately 1,500 of the English host died and among the few prisoners taken was Sir John Forman, the kings serjeant-porter and Bishop Forman's brother.[45]... such large and strong men, they would not fall when four or five bills struck one of them. ... [the English] did not trouble themselves with prisoners, but slew and stripped King, bishops, lords and nobles, and left them naked on the field. ...
The seventeen month old King James V was crowned in Stirling almost immediately and his mother, Queen Margaret created regent as required by the provisions of the late king's will.[46] She had little freedom of action as a ruling council, consisting of James Beaton, archbishop of Glasgow and chancellor, Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, was appointed to rule the country.[47] When Queen Margaret married the earl of Angus, the lords of the council decided that she had to give up the regency of her infant son King James V and in September, they invited John Stewart, Duke of Albany to become governor of Scotland.[48] The arrival of Albany from France, the opposing Douglas and Hamilton factions within the council and the meddling of the pope impinged on the outcome of the vacant archbishopric of St Andrews.[49]
[edit] See of St Andrews
St Andrews CathedralBoth King Henry VIII and Pope Leo X tried to take advantage of the vacuum created by the loss of so many of the Scottish ruling class. Henry, on 12 October 1513, asked the pope to repudiate the privilege held by the Scottish kings to nominate the successor to vacant ecclesiastical positions; he also asked that the see of St. Andrews should have its metropolitan honours removed and that the unoccupied Scottish bishoprics caused by the battle of Flodden should remain unfilled until he was consulted.[50] Pope Leo also moved quickly to take advantage and appointed his nephew Cardinal Innocenzo Cibo to St Andrews on 13 October.[51] He instructed his ambassador John Battista to take control of the see of St Andrews on Cibos behalf but the governing council of Scotland prevented his entry to the country.[52] The papal datary claimed the priory of Whithorn while Cardinal St Eusebius tried to appropriate Arbroath Abbey prompting the infant King James V via his governing council to write to Cardinal St Mark stating that he “will not submit to a violation of his privileges.”[53] Pope Leo replied in November confirming the right of the Scottish king to make recommendations for religious appointments. Despite this, Andrew Forman was still influential in France and Rome and with the help of the French king and Albany, he obtained provision to the see of St Andrews on 13 November; Leo and Albany agreed that Forman would resign Bourges in Cibos favour.[1][52] However, this didn't automatically guarantee his succession to the cathedra.
The castle and palace of the archbishop of St AndrewsOn the death of Alexander, archbishop of St Andrews, John Hepburn, Prior of St Andrews and dean of St Andrews immediately assumed the vicar-generalship collecting the revenues of the cathedral and then had the chapter elect him to the archbishopric.[54] Despite this, King James via his general council, nominated Aberdeen's aged Bishop Elphinstone to the position.[1][55] Gavin Douglas, provost of the collegiate church of St Giles in Edinburgh was recommended to the pope by both Margaret, the queen-mother and the English King Henry, and took possession of the archbishop's palace which was also St Andrews castle.[1] John Hepburn, who still regarded himself as a contender for the vacancy, dislodged Douglas by force from the castle.[56] The council met in St Andrews on 2 March 1514 at which Hepburn also attended and argued for the council to appeal to the pope to disregard all letters of support for Forman.[57] Hepburn had successfully engineered the council's support as a letter dated 4 March from the king to the pope accused Forman of having a lot of blame for his father's death at Flodden—the letter also stated that Forman was now an exile and a rebel and intimated that his positions and benefices had been taken from him and called for Forman to be disregarded for the vacancy.[57] Forman was not to be deprived as was confirmed in a letter that Leo wrote to Albany on 11 April and named the bishop of Moray for St Andrews.[58] On 13 November, Leo formally provided Forman to St Andrews and followed up by making him legatus a latere on 11 December—the bulls were published in January 1515.[1] In time, both Douglas and Hepburn, unable to secure the backing of Albany and the pope gave up the contest.[1]
Albany left Paris for Scotland in May 1515 without Forman but then in June, Forman did travel to Scotland where he was placed under virtual house arrest in his own priory of Pittenweem and would remain there until the end of the year.[1] Albany eventually managed to persuade the council to reluctantly accept Forman as archbishop and provided the temporalities of the see in February 1516.[1]
[edit] Formans reputation
Dunfermline AbbeyAndrew Forman was highly regarded at the courts of Europe and this respect did not go unrewarded. From King Louis XII of France he received the archbishopric of Bourges, from King Hendry VII of England he obtained the rectorship of the parish church of Cottingham and from his own master, King James IV many headships of Scottish monasteries, the recommendation to the bishopric of Moray and large tracts of land.[59] Rome also appreciated his efforts and provided Forman firstly with the parsonage of Forest Church from Innocent VIII, then the commendatorship of Kelso Abbey from Julius II and finally and most importantly, the archbishopric of St Andrews and the commendatorship of Dunfermline Abbey from Leo X.[60]
Formans standing with Henry VIII was good in his early reign when the bishop was central in renewing the Treaty of Perpetual Peace and later in his attempts at mediation between the English and French kings. As King James edged ever closer to France and then with the renewal of the traditional Franco-Scottish alliance, Forman’s embassies to France were distrusted and he was deprived of safe passage through England.[61][62] That Andrew Forman was seen as the main instigator of the war was in early circulation in England—a contemporary document re-printed in full in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland contains the following excerpt:[63]Dyvers prisoners are taken of the Scottes, but noe notable personne, only Sir Willm Scott knight councelour of the said king of Scottes, and as is said a gentilman well lernyd. Also Sir John Forman knight broder to the Busshop of Murrey, which Busshop as is reported, was and is mosst principall procurour of this warre;
Despite these early views, MacDougall argues that Forman's reputation was without doubt blackened by a coterie that included Gavin Douglas who was a principal competitor for the see of St Andrews and who had called Forman "yon evyll myndit Byschep of Morray".[64] MacDougall also explains that Andrew Forman was one of the main participants in the peace treaty of 1502, its renewal in 1509 and his opposition to the renewal of the alliance with France in 1508; he goes on to say that it would have been inconceivable that the king could be manoeuvered into a position that was against his own wishes.[64] The early chroniclers (Buchanan and Pitscottie) did nothing to revive Formans tarnished reputation yet when King James took the advice of his General Council, only two counsellors opposed the French alliance – Bishop Elphinstone of Aberdeen and Archibald Douglas, the Earl of Angus.[65]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i McGladdery, Andrew Forman
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews pp. : 6, 19
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, pp. : 123, 136, 167
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, pp. : 167, 219
- ^ Historical Review of Scotland, Vol. XIII, No. 1, Glasgow, 1915, pp. : 317, 318
- ^ The Scottish Historical Review, Glasgow, 1909, Vol. VI, 404
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, p. 6
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. : 8,9
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, p. 298
- ^ Manuel, D. G., Dryburgh Abbey in the Light of its Historical and Ecclesiastical Setting, Edinburgh, 1922, p. 219
- ^ Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey, p. 32
- ^ MacDougall, JamesIV, p. 122
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, p. 132
- ^ Archer, Andrew Forman, Dict. Nat. Biog.
- ^ Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey, p. 32
- ^ a b Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot., p. 331
- ^ Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey, pp. : 31,32
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, p. 13
- ^ a b MacDougall, JamesIV, p. 149
- ^ Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot., p. 335
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 38
- ^ Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot., p. 337
- ^ Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot., p. 339
- ^ Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot., p. 340
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. : 20, 21
- ^ Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot., p. 347
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 167
- ^ Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey, p. 31–32
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. 69,70
- ^ Taylor, Life of James IV,p. 204
- ^ Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, Nos. 474, 475, 63
- ^ a b Taylor, Life of James IV, p. 210
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, pp. 261, 262
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, p. 257
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, p. 258
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, pp. 257, 258
- ^ Chalmers, James IV, ODNB
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, p. 261
- ^ Archer, Andrew Forman, Dict. Nat. Biog.
- ^ See Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 163: On the 15th of September, Cardinal Bainbridge and the Bishop of Worcester, with Cardinal Surrentinus and the ambassadors of the emperor and of Arragon, had a secret interview with the pope. They knew that James had invaded England, but were unaware that the English had triumphed at Flodden on the 9th.
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, p. 298
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, pp. 276, 307, 309
- ^ Sadler, Flodden 1513, p. 86
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, pp. 275, 276
- ^ Sadler, Flodden 1513, p. 86
- ^ Bonnar, Albany, ODNB
- ^ Mackay, James V, Archive at ODNB
- ^ Bonnar, Albany, ODNB
- ^ Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 168
- ^ Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, pp. 166, 167
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. 83,84
- ^ a b Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 167
- ^ Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 168
- ^ Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 84
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, pp. 38,130
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, p. 91
- ^ a b Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. 119–121
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, p. 92
- ^ For more detail of benefices received from Henry VII, Louis XII and James IV, see Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot. , p. 331; Archer, Andrew Forman, Dict. Nat. Biog. ; and Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey, pp. 31,32
- ^ For more detail of benefices received from popes see Manuel, D. G., Dryburgh Abbey in the Light of its Historical and Ecclesiastical Setting, Edinburgh, 1922, p. 219; and McGladdery, Andrew Foreman, ODNB
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. 67,68
- ^ Brewer, Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, No. 3569, 448
- ^ David Laing Ed., An Account of the Battle of Flodden, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh, March 1867. Retrieved 12 January 2008, http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_007/7_141_152.pdf
- ^ a b MacDougall, James IV, pp. 297, 298
- ^ Chalmers, James IV, ODNB
[edit] Bibliography
- Archer, T.A. Andrew Forman, Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. XIX, ed. Leslie Stephen, London, 1889. [Archer, Andrew Forman, Dict. Nat. Biog. ]
- Bain, Joseph, ed., Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, Vol. IV, Edinburgh, 1888 [Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot.]
- Bonnar, Elizabeth, Stewart, John, second duke of Albany (c.1482–1536), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/26488, accessed 26 Jan 2008) [Bonnar, Albany, ODNB]
- Brewer, J.S., Ed., Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII, Vol. I, London, 1862 [Brewer, Letters and Papers of Henry VIII]
- Chalmers, T. G., James IV (1473–1513), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2007 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14590, accessed 10 Jan 2008). [Chalmers, James IV, ODNB]
- Dowden, J., The Bishops of Scotland … prior to the Reformation, ed. J. M. Thomson, Edinburgh, 1912. [Dowden, Bishops of Scotland]
- Fawcett, Richard and Oram, Richard, Dryburgh Abbey, Stroud, 2005. (ISBN 0-7524-3439-X [Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey]
- Fleming, David Hay, The Reformation in Scotland, London, 1910 [Fleming, Reformation in Scotland]
- Herkless, John & Hannay, Robert Kerr, The Archbishops of St Andrews, Vol II, Edinburgh, 1909. [Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews]
- MacDougall, Norman, James IV, Edinburgh, 2006. (ISBN 0-85976-663-2) [MacDougall, James IV]
- Mackay, A. J. G., James V (1512–1542), king of Scotland, Dictionary of National Biography, 1891 at Archive at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14591, accessed 28 Jan 2008) [Mackay, James V, archive ODNB]
- McGladdery C.A., Forman, Andrew (c.1465–1521), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 9 Oct 2007 Andrew Forman (c.1465–1521): doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9883. [McGladdery, Andrew Foreman, ODNB]
- Sadler, John, Flodden 1513, Scotlands Greatest Defeat, Osprey, 2006 (ISBN 1-84176-959-2) [Sadler, Flodden 1513]
- Taylor, I.A., The Life of James IV, London, 1913. [Taylor, Life of James IV]
Religious titles Preceded by
William SchevesCommendator of Pittenweem
1495–1515 x 1521Succeeded by
Robert FormanPreceded by
Andrew StewartBishop of Moray
1501–1514 x 1516Succeeded by
James HepburnPreceded by
David FinlaysonCommendator of Dryburgh
1509–1514 x 1516Succeeded by
James OgilviePreceded by
Michel de BuciArchbishop of Bourges
1513–1514Succeeded by
Antoine BohierPreceded by
Alexander StewartArchbishop of St Andrews
1514–1521Succeeded by
James BeatonAcademic offices Preceded by
Alexander Stewart
Archbishop of St AndrewsChancellor of the University of St Andrews
1514–1521Succeeded by
James Beaton
Archbishop of St Andrews
Pre-Reformation Bishops of Moray
Gregoir · William · Felix · Simon de Tosny · Richard de Lincoln · Bricius de Douglas · Andreas de Moravia · Simon de Gunby · Radulf · Archibald · David de Moravia · John de Pilmuir · Alexander Bur · William de Spynie · John de Innes · Henry de Lichton · Columba de Dunbar · John de Winchester · James Stewart · David Stewart · William de Tulloch · Andrew Stewart · Andrew Forman · James Hepburn · Robert Shaw · Alexander Douglas I · Alexander Stewart · Patrick Hepburn ·
Italics indicate non consecrated, titular or doubtful bishops or unsuccessful coadjutorsPost-Reformation Bishops of Moray
George Douglas · Alexander Douglas II · John Guthrie · Murdoch MacKenzie · James Aitken · Colin Falconer · Alexander Rose · William Hay
