David (Bethune) Beaton Archbishop of St Andrews (abt. 1494 - 1546)

Ancestors

Husband of Marion Ogilvy — married 10 Apr 1546 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland

Descendants

Died 29 May 1546 at about age 52 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

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Biography

David (Bethune) Beaton Archbishop of St Andrews is Notable.

David Beaton (died 1546), always written Beaton, was a Scottish churchman, diplomat and politician. He became head of the Catholic church in Scotland as Archbishop of St Andrews and was the only cardinal of all Scotland before the Reformation. In government, he was Lord Chancellor of Scotland and effective ruler of the kingdom until murdered.

A younger son of John Beaton (died 1532), laird of Balfour in the parish of Markinch, and his wife Isobel Monypenny (died 1541), daughter of David Monypenny, laird of Pitmilly in the parish of Kingsbarns, he was born around 1494. His family, of French origin, had been landowners in Fife since about 1360 and two of his uncles were prominent in the government of Scotland: Sir David Beaton (died 1505), laird of Creich, was Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, while James Beaton (died 1539) was both Archbishop of St Andrews and Lord Chancellor of Scotland.

Between 1508 and 1519 he attended four universities, those of St Andrews, Glasgow, Paris and Orléans, and at the same time was granted various posts in the Scottish church. He was then engaged by the Regent of Scotland, first on diplomatic missions and then in the central administration. In 1524 he received a major appointment as Commendator of Arbroath Abbey, which carried a seat in the Parliament of Scotland. At an early time the whole of the parish of Kingoldrum including Pearsie and Balgray was granted to Arbroath Abbey. On 31 August 1527, David Beaton as Abbot of Arbroath granted feu-ferm of Easter Persie to Thomas Annand of Kinwhirie, Wester Persie to Walter Ogilvy and Balgray to Thomas Annand son of late Alexander Annand in Middle Persie (Balgray). ^[1]

He became a member of the Privy Council of Scotland, was chosen one of the guardians of the young King James V, and in 1529 was appointed Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland.

As Abbot of Arbroath, David set about arranging good marriages for his natural daughters and property for his sons. A preliminary contract of marriage was arranged on 29 Mar 1533 with Robert Maule of Panmuir^[2] by David purchasing for Elizabeth, then but a child, the half lands of Scrine. The following day, her mother Marion Ogilvy arranged a charter for Reversion of the half lands to be on marriage of Elizabeth or her elder sister with Thomas Maule or any other son of Robert or on repayment. ^[3]This marriage did not take place as Thomas Maule took the king's advice "marrie never a priest's get,"

Between 1533 and 1542 he acted several times as Scotland's ambassador to France. He took a leading part in the negotiations over the King's marriages, first with Madeleine of Valois when on 12 Feb 1533/34 he as Abbot and Keeper of the Privy Seal and Thomas Erskine of Brechin commissioned ambasadors ^[4] and secondly with Mary of Guise. In 1537, having been awarded French nationality by King Francis I, he was named Bishop of Mirepoix in Languedoc, for which he had to be ordained priest. James V wrote on 5 Aug 1538 to Pope Paul III, asking that David, Bishop of Mirepoix, be made a Cardinal, ^[5]which the Pope did that year. In 1539 he succeeded his uncle James as Archbishop of St Andrews and as David Beaton founded a college at the University of St Andrews for his kinsman the late Archbishop James Beaton ^[6] and in 1544 he was made Papal Legate for Scotland. As head of the Scottish church, he had to contend with the spread of Protestant beliefs and in 1539 had seven people executed for heresy.

David Beaton's sons James, Alexander and John were legitimated in 1539. ^[7]

In 1542, after an ill-planned invasion of England that led to the rout of the Scottish army at Solway Moss and the death shortly after of King James V, many blamed the Cardinal for the defeat. He however produced a will left by the King, in which he was to head a council of regency that would rule the country during the minority of Queen Mary I, six days old at her father's death.

In January next year, James Hamilton, the 2nd Earl of Arran, whose mother Janet Beaton was the Cardinal's first cousin, became sole Regent and appointed the Cardinal as Lord Chancellor. Shortly after, he had the Cardinal imprisoned, releasing him after three months to house arrest in St Andrews Castle. By September, Arran had reached a deal with the Cardinal, who crowned the infant Mary as Queen. In November, the Scottish Parliament annulled the treaty by which Arran had promised that Mary would be married to the future King Edward VI of England, enacted the anti-heresy laws that the Cardinal wanted, and confirmed the alliance with Catholic France. There followed a nationwide campaign against Protestants, which in turn provoked opposition, while the English launched attacks by land and sea in a conflict later called the Rough Wooing.

With the exception of a victory at Ancrum Moor in February 1545, the defence of the nation was a failure and the limited help sent by France in May 1545 did not shift the balance. By the end of 1545, the popularity of the Cardinal was sinking and the English government supported a plot to remove him by murder. Vigilant against his internal enemies in church and state, he continued his campaign against heretics. He had a Protestant preacher called George Wishart arrested, tried, and publicly executed at St Andrews on 1 March 1546. At daybreak on 29 May 1546, a group of conspirators rushed the gate of St Andrews Castle, murdered the Cardinal, and hung his mutilated corpse from a window.

Family

He was closely associated with several of his brothers and brothers-in-law and their children. His eldest brother John, heir to the family estates, was made Captain of St Andrews Castle, and another brother, James the elder, acquired Meldrum Castle, which he sold to the Cardinal. James the younger was father of James Beaton, who was Archbishop of Glasgow from 1552.

Himself unable to marry because of the Catholic rule of clerical celibacy, from about 1525 he lived with Marion Ogilvy, the youngest daughter of James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Airlie, and his fourth wife Janet, daughter of Robert Lyle, 2nd Lord Lyle.^[8] They kept a grand household with many servants, moving between six residences: St Andrews Castle, Arbroath Abbey, an extensive lodging in Edinburgh, Ethie Castle, Monimail Palace, and Melgund Castle which he made the family seat.

Aware that he had many enemies he made provision for family members and his children even though they were still minors. On15th March 1546, David Beaton, cardinal, archbishop of St. Andrews, etc., and commendator of Arbroath, granted a charter to his kinsman David Betoun of Melgund, and the lawful heirs-male of his body, whom failing, to James Beaton, his brother-german, whom failing, to Alexander Beaton, their brother-german the whole Kirklands of Aberlemno, lying in the lordship and barony of Rescobie. ^[9] Among the witnesses were Walter Beaton, archdeacon of Lothian, the cardinal's brother, John Beaton of Balfour, the cardinal's nephew, captain of the castle of St. Andrews, and Robert Beaton of Creich, stewart of the regality.

Of the eight children he and Marion had, those who married were:

• Margaret, who in 1546 married David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford.
• Elizabeth, who married Alexander Lindsay of Vayne.
• George legitimated 1531 died young
• David, who married first in 1553 Margaret, daughter of John Lindsay, 5th Lord Lindsay of the Byres, and secondly Lucretia, daughter of his second cousin Robert Beaton of Creich.
• James who went to France with his brother David and their tutor in 1542.
• Alexander, who married Margaret, daughter of John Allardyce of Allardyce.
• Agnes, who married first James Auchterlonie of Auchterlonie, secondly George Gordon of Gight, and thirdly Sir Patrick Gordon of Auchindoun.

Sources

1. ↑ Calendar of the Laing charters Charters 360, 361 and 362 see [1]
2. ↑ RMS Vol.iii 1274 see [2]
3. ↑ NRS GD45/16/575 see [3]
4. ↑ RMS Vol.iii 1351 see [4]
5. ↑ NRS GD149/264/f 110 see [5]
6. ↑ RMS Vol.iii 1930 see [6]
7. ↑ RMS Vol.iii 2037 see [7]
8. ↑ MacFarlane, Walter, "Genealogical Collections concerning Families in Scotland made by Walter Macfarlane 1750-1751", Edinburgh: University Press, 1900, Vol. I, Archive,org, p. 8
9. ↑ Calendar of the Laing charters Chrtr.512 see [8]

See also:

• Margaret H. B. Sanderson, “Beaton , David (1494?–1546)” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, May 2005, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/1823

• Margaret H. B. Sanderson, ”Cardinal of Scotland: David Beaton c1594-1546”, Edinburgh, 1986 ISBN 0 85976 110 X

• Wikipedia: David Beaton

• Wikidata: Item Q1173680, en:Wikipedia