Patronage, Provision and Reservation: Scotland and the Papacy During the Pontificate of Paul III

Graham, Thomas Watson (1992) Patronage, Provision and Reservation: Scotland and the Papacy During the Pontificate of Paul III. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This is a study of relations between Scotland and the papacy during the pontificate of Paul III (1534-49) in the area of ecclesiastical appointments. It deals with the interplay of the various rights of the patrons in Scotland on the one hand and those of the papacy on the other. The system of papal provision and reservation is examined generally and the history of its operation within Scotland is then outlined. The core of the study is an examination of the working of both local patronage and these papal rights throughout the church. This deals initially with the elective benefices which are considered within the framework of the 1487 Indult and subsequent modifications to that agreement. Subsequently, the non-elective benefices, which were subject to a different range of crown, lay and ecclesiastical rights and to the system of papal reservation, are analyzed in detail. The picture presented is one in which effective power in appointments largely lay in Scotland. The crown exercised a major influence throughout the whole church, and was extending this through its powers sede vacante. Other patrons in Scotland are also found exercising their powers extensively through the system of reservation and provision. Various devices for securing peaceful transfers of possession and for retaining benefices within the hold of particular families are illustrated. At the same time, the system generated litigation at the curia on a large scale, and provided considerable opportunities for challengers, including the Scottish procurators at Rome, to intervene in their own interests in benefice appointments. Despite its growing power, the crown was unable to stem either the traffic in benefices to Rome or the litigation which flowed from that traffic. Patrons in Scotland had to work hard to maintain their rights against challenges made through the system. On the whole however, and with some exceptions, they did so successfully.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Adviser: A A M Duncan
• Keywords: Religious history
• Date of Award: 1992
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1992-76366
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2019 15:21
• Last Modified: 19 Nov 2019 15:21
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/76366