View source for William Elphinstone

{{Short description|Roman Catholic bishop}}
{{other people}}
{{one source|date=March 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
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| title = [[Bishop of Aberdeen]]
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| church = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
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| diocese = [[Diocese of Aberdeen|Aberdeen]]
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| appointed = 19 March 1483
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| ended = 25 October 1514
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'''William Elphinstone''' (1431{{snd}}25 October 1514) was a [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish]] statesman, [[Bishop of Aberdeen]] and founder of the [[University of Aberdeen]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==Biography==
He was born in [[Glasgow]]. His father, also William Elphinstone, later became the first Dean of the Faculty of Arts at [[Glasgow University]].  It has been suggested that his mother may have been Margaret Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas, the first laird of [[Drumlanrig]].<ref>Macfarlane, Leslie J. (1995), ''William Elphinstone and the Kingdom of Scotland 1431 - 1514: The Struggle for Order'', Aberdeen University Press, pp. 16 & 17</ref> William Elphinstone junior was educated at the [[High School of Glasgow]] and then the University of Glasgow, taking the degree of M.A. in 1452. After practising for a short time as a lawyer in the church courts, he was ordained a priest, becoming [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of St Michael's Church, [[Trongate]], Glasgow, in 1465. Four years later he went to continue his studies at the [[University of Paris]], where he became reader in [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Canon law]], and then, proceeding to [[Orléans]], became lecturer in the [[University of Orléans|university there]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Before 1474 he had returned to Scotland, and was made [[academic rector]] of the university, and official of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow|see]] of Glasgow. Further promotion followed, but soon more important duties were entrusted to Elphinstone, who was made [[Bishop of Ross (Scotland)|Bishop of Ross]] in 1481. He was a member of the [[Parliament of Scotland]], and was sent by [[James III of Scotland]] on diplomatic missions to [[Louis XI]] of France and [[Edward IV]] of England. In 1483 he was appointed [[Bishop of Aberdeen]], although his consecration was delayed for four years; and he was sent on missions to England, both before and after the death of [[Richard III of England]] in 1485.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Although he regularly attended the meetings of parliament he continued with his episcopal duties, and maintained the fabric of the [[St Machar's Cathedral|cathedral]]. Early in 1488 he was made [[Lord Chancellor of Scotland|Lord High Chancellor]], but on the king's death in the following June he left office, and retired to Aberdeen. As a diplomat, his services were quickly required by the new king, [[James IV of Scotland]], in whose interests he visited the kings of England and France, and the German king, [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}[[File:Monument to Bishop Elphinstone, King's College Aberdeen.jpg|thumb|330px|Monument to Bishop Elphinstone, King's College Aberdeen]]Having been made [[Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland]] in 1492, and having arranged a dispute between the Scots and the Dutch, Elphinstone's later years were mainly spent in the foundation of the University of Aberdeen. The [[papal bull]] was obtained in 1494, and the [[royal charter]] which made Aberdeen the seat of a university is dated 1498. A small endowment was provided by the king. The university, modelled on that of [[University of Paris|Paris]] and intended principally as a [[law school]], soon became the most famous and popular of the Scots seats of learning, largely due to the prestige of Elphinstone and his friend, [[Hector Boece]], the first rector. The building of the college of the Holy Virgin in Nativity, now [[King's College, Aberdeen|King's College]], was completed in 1506. Elphinstone also built the central tower of [[St Machar's Cathedral]], and funded the building of the first stone bridge over the [[River Dee, Aberdeenshire|River Dee]]. Continuing to participate in public affairs he opposed the policy of hostility towards England which led to the [[Battle of Flodden]] in September 1513. He died in [[Edinburgh]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1503, Elphinstone was involved with the merchants James Merchamestoun and [[James Hommyll]], and Italian financer [[Jerome Frescobaldi]] buying silverware and furnishings for the king's marriage to [[Margaret Tudor]].<ref>James Balfour Paul, ''Accounts of the Treasurer: 1500-1504'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1901), p. 241-3: Morvern French & Roger Mason, 'Art, Artefacts, Artillery', in Roger Mason & Alexander Fleming, ''Scotland and the Flemish People'' (Birlinn, 2019), p. 109: George Burnett, ''Exchequer Rolls of Scotland: 1502-1507'', vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1889), pp. 374-5.</ref> Elphinstone was partly responsible for the introduction of printing into Scotland, and for the production of the [[Aberdeen Breviary|''Breviarium Aberdonense'']]. He may have written some of the lives in this collection, and gathered together materials concerning the history of Scotland.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* Thomas, John. "The Elphinstone monument at King's College Aberdeen. Its construction in the sixteenth century and reconstruction (1909–31) by Henry Wilson", ''Aberdeen University Review'', Vol. LIV, 4, No. 188 Autumn 1992, pp.&nbsp;315–333.
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Elphinstone, William|volume=9|page=299}}

==Further reading==
* [[Hector Boece]], ''Murthiacensium et Aberdonensium episcoporum vitae'', edited and translated by J. Moir (Aberdeen, 1894)
* ''Fasli Aberdonenses'', edited by C. Innes (Aberdeen, 1854)
* [[Alexander Gardyne]], ''Theatre of Scottish Worthies and Lyf of W. Elphinston'', edited by [[David Laing (Scottish antiquary)|David Laing]] (Aberdeen, 1878).

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel}}
{{succession box | title=[[Bishop of Ross (Scotland)|Bishop of Ross]] | before=[[John Wodman]] | after=[[Thomas Hay (bishop)|Thomas Hay]] | years=1481–83}}
{{succession box | title=[[Bishop of Aberdeen]] | before=<small>[[Robert Blackadder]] (unconsecrated)</small><br>[[Thomas Spens]] | after=<small>[[Alexander Gordon (d. 1518)|Alexander Gordon]] & [[Robert Forman]] (unconsecrated)</small><br>[[Gavin Dunbar (Bishop of Aberdeen)|Gavin Dunbar]]| years=1483–1514}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box| title=[[Lord Chancellor of Scotland]]| years=1488 (Feb–Jun)|
before=[[Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll|1st Earl of Argyll]] |
after=[[Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll|1st Earl of Argyll]]}}
{{succession box | title=[[Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland]] | before=[[John, Prior of St Andrews]] | after=[[Alexander Gordon (bishop)|Alexander Gordon]] | years=1500–07}}
{{s-end}}

{{Bishops of Ross}}
{{Bishops of Aberdeen}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elphinstone, William}}
[[Category:1431 births]]
[[Category:1514 deaths]]
[[Category:Bishops of Aberdeen]]
[[Category:Bishops of Ross (Scotland)]]
[[Category:People educated at the High School of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Diplomats from Glasgow]]
[[Category:Clergy from Glasgow]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Glasgow]]
[[Category:Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland]]
[[Category:Scottish printers]]
[[Category:Academics from Glasgow]]
[[Category:People associated with the University of Aberdeen]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Orléans]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Paris]]
[[Category:15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:Founders of Scottish schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Court of James IV of Scotland]]
[[Category:16th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:Scottish expatriates in France]]
[[Category:15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland]]
[[Category:Scottish Roman Catholic writers]]