Andrew Forman
His Grace Andrew Forman | |
---|---|
Archbishop of Bourges 1513-1514 |
Andrew Forman (c. 1465 – 11 March 1521) was a
Early life
He was probably the son of Nicholas Forman of Hutton in Berwickshire, and Jonet Blackadder.
Diplomat and pluralist
By 1489, he had entered the service of King James IV. King James's foreign policy was directed at bringing peace to Europe, and although Forman obtained many high offices in the church, his primary role was as a senior emissary in the service of the king; a role that saw him receive generous royal and papal gifts and required Forman to spend extended periods in Rome, Paris and London.
He represented the king in Rome in 1489/90 where he was appointed
Forman and Bishop
Appointments and possessions
Benefices
- 1489—provided by Pope Innocent VIII to parsonage of Forest (Yarrow in the Borders)
- 1498—appointed prior of May (Pittenweem)
- 1499—papal prothonotary
- 1501—in May, Henry VII provides him with the rectorship of Cottingham parish church
- 1501— in November, he was bishop of Moray
- 1503—appointed to be Keeper of Dunbar Castle
- 1507—appointed to be Keeper of Darnaway Castle and Keeper of Dingwall Castle, Forester of Darnaway Forest, Chancellor of the Lordship of Moray and Custumer beyond the Spey
- 1509—he became Commendator of Dryburgh
- 1511—Pope Julius II provided him to the Commendatorship of Kelso
- 1513—Louis XII of France ensured his election to the archbishopric of Brouges
- 1514—he obtained the bulls from Pope Leo X to become archbishop of St. Andrews and also to be commendator of Arbroath; again opposition by Albany denied him Arbroath; became legate a latere
- 1516—he became perpetual commendator of Dunfermline
Lands
- 1506—along with his brother John, received the lands of Lochirmacus in Berwickshire.
- 1506–07—received a 19-year lease of the Mains of Dunbar from King James IV.
- 1508—received the lands of Hillhous.
- 1508–09—with his brother John, received the lands of Rutherford and Wellis.
- 1512—King James gave him the lands of Boleskyn (south of Inverness)
Holy League
James's
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.[29] James stated that he could not accept that his subjects were being killed and those responsible not being brought to justice.[29] The Scottish king's letter to the pope in December 1511 showed that James regarded the treaty between Scotland and England as worthless and that he assumed that the pope had released both kings from their oaths to uphold the treaty.[30]
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.[31] He did not rush to France's side but continued to send Forman on his shuttle diplomacy missions to try to conciliate the opposing demands of Pope Julius II and King Louis XII.[32] Eventually, after Forman failed 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.[33][34]
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
Flodden
... 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. ...
In all, between 5,000 and 8,000 Scots were killed while approximately 1,500 of the English host died—among the few prisoners taken was Andrew Forman's brother, Sir John Forman who was the King's serjeant-porter.[39]
The seventeen-month-old King
See of St Andrews
Despite this, King James via his general council, nominated Aberdeen's aged Bishop Elphinstone to the position.
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]
He died in Dunfermline on 11 March 1521 and was buried in St Andrews Cathedral.[1] 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 Kellie.[53]
Forman's reputation
Andrew 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.[54] 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.[55]
Forman's 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.[56][57] That Andrew Forman was seen as the main instigator of the war was in early circulation in England—a contemporary document reprinted in full in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland contains the following excerpt:[58]
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".[59] 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 manoeuvred into a position that was against his own wishes.[59] The early chroniclers (Buchanan and Pitscottie) did nothing to revive Forman's 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.[34]
According to the chronicle writer
Notes
- ^ The information contained in these maps is taken from: Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews; Archer, Andrew Forman, Dictionary of National Biography; Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot.; Manuel, D. G., Dryburgh Abbey in the Light of its Historical and Ecclesiastical Setting; McGladdery, Andrew Forman, ODNB; Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, p. 6
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. 8,9
- ^ Manuel, D. G., Dryburgh Abbey in the Light of its Historical and Ecclesiastical Setting, Edinburgh, 1922, p. 219
- ^ a b Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey, p. 32
- ^ Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey, pp. 31,32
- ^ a b Bain, Cal. Docs. Scot., p. 331
- ^ MacDougall, JamesIV, p. 122
- ^ a b Archer, Andrew Forman, Dict. Nat. Biog.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Milan, vol. 1 (1912), no. 558.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Chalmers, James IV, ODNB
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, p. 261
- ^ See Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 163: On 15 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
- ^ a b Sadler, Flodden 1513, p. 86
- ^ MacDougall, James IV, pp. 275, 276
- ^ a b Bonnar, Albany, ODNB
- ^ Mackay, James V, Archive at ODNB
- ^ a b Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 168
- ^ Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, pp. 166, 167
- ^ Herkless & Hannay, Archbishops of St Andrews, pp. 83,84
- ^ Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII, Volume 1, 4725
- ^ a b Fleming, Reformation in Scotland, p. 167
- ^ 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
- ^ The Scottish Historical Review, Glasgow, 1909, Vol. VI, 404
- ^ 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
- ^ a b MacDougall, James IV, pp. 297, 298
- ^ Aeneas Mackay, Historie and Cronicles of Scotland, by Robert Lindesay of Pitscottie, vol. 1 (STS: Edinburgh, 1899), p. 244.
Bibliography
- Archer, T. A. (1889). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. London: Smith, Elder & Co. [Archer, Andrew Forman, Dict. Nat. Biog.] . In
- 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, September 2004; online edn, May 2006 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/26488, Retrieved 26 January 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, September 2004; online edn, October 2007 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14590, Retrieved 10 January 2008). [Chalmers, James IV, ODNB] The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- 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, Retrieved 28 January 2008) [Mackay, James V, archive ODNB] The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- McGladdery C.A., Forman, Andrew (c. 1465–1521), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 9 October 2007 Andrew Forman (c. 1465–1521): . [McGladdery, Andrew Foreman, ODNB]
- Sadler, John, Flodden 1513, Scotland's 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]