Introduction

This series publishes English summaries of entries in the papal registers preserved in the Vatican Archives that relate to the British Isles. The fourteen volumes cover the period 1198–1492 and form the principal published finding aid for papal letters, provisions, dispensations, and other business concerning Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales. For Guthrie research the later volumes (especially those spanning the fifteenth century) are particularly useful, as they contain multiple references to individuals of the name in connection with Scottish benefices, prebends, and ecclesiastical appointments.

CITATION: Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland. 14 vols. London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1893–1960. Digital edition: British History Online. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/series/calendar-papal-registers-britain-and-ireland

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 1, 1198 – 1304

Volume 1 (1198–1304) of the Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland contains no Guthrie (or variant) entries.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 2, 1305 – 1342

Volume 2 (1305–1342) of the Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland also contains no Guthrie (or variant) entries.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 3, 1342-1362

Master Index – Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 3 (1342–1362)

Excluded after review

• Thomas de la Gotere (Regesta 229) — not a Guthrie variant
• John Guttynghe (Regesta 200) — spelling too remote; excluded

Regesta 211: 1351–1352
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 3)

Date of the Entry 1351–1352 (exact day not specified in the calendar summary; appears among a series of Ibid. entries).

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Margaret Goutry, daughter of William Goutry

Guthrie Role Named as the daughter of William Goutry in a papal register entry.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• William Goutry (her father)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose The entry records Margaret, daughter of William Goutry, of the diocese of Ely. The precise nature of the papal business is not expanded in the calendar summary beyond her identification.

Modern English Translation Margaret, daughter of William Goutry, of the diocese of Ely.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This mid-fourteenth-century reference records a Margaret Goutry and her father William in the diocese of Ely (England). The spelling “Goutry” is a plausible orthographic variant of Guthry/Guthrie. The entry itself contains no reference to Scotland or to any Scottish connection. It is included here as part of the comprehensive survey of all Guthrie-variant mentions in the papal registers.

Document Terms and Practices

• Diocese of Ely: an English diocese covering Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas.
• Ibid.: indicates the entry continues under the same date or heading as the preceding entry in the register.

Citation ‘Regesta 211: 1351–1352’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 3, 1342–1362, ed. W. H. Bliss and C. Johnson (London, 1897), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol3/pp447-461 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 4, 1362-1404

Volume 4 (1362–1404) of the Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland contains no Guthrie (or variant) entries.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 5, 1398-1404

Volume 5 (1398–1404) of the Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland contains no Guthrie (or variant) entries.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 6, 1404-1415

Volume 6 (1404–1415) of the Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland contains no Guthrie (or variant) entries.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 7, 1417-1431

Master Index – Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 7 (1417–1431)

Master Index – Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 7 (1417–1431)

Lateran Regesta 231: 1422–1423
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 7)

Date of the Entry 6 Non. May (2 May) 1423, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• David de Guthry (David Guthrie), donsel

Guthrie Role Petitioner seeking a papal dispensation to marry.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Janet (Joneta) Lyndesay, damsel
• The bishop of St. Andrews (recipient of the mandate)
• Janet’s father (unnamed), who had stood as godfather at David’s baptism

Original Document Language Latin (papal register entry, presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate to the bishop of St. Andrews to dispense David de Guthry and Janet Lyndesay from the impediment of spiritual relationship so that they may marry.

Modern English Translation To the bishop of St. Andrews. Mandate to dispense David de Guthry, donsel, and Janet (Joneta) Lyndesay, damsel, of his diocese, to marry notwithstanding an impediment of spiritual relationship arising from Janet’s father having been godfather at David’s baptism. Oblate nobis.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is one of the earliest clearly dated references to a David de Guthry in the papal records. It places him in the diocese of St. Andrews in 1423 as a donsel (a young man of good birth, often a squire or aspirant to knighthood). The spiritual relationship impediment was a common reason for seeking papal dispensation in the period; the fact that Janet’s father had acted as godfather at David’s baptism created a canonical barrier to their marriage that only papal authority could remove. The entry supplies both a precise date and a named spouse, making it a valuable early anchor for the Guthrie name in Scottish ecclesiastical records.

Document Terms and Practices

• Donsel (Latin domicellus): a young man of gentle or noble birth, typically a squire or youth of the knightly class not yet knighted.
• Damsel (Latin domicella): a young unmarried woman of similar social standing.
• Spiritual relationship (cognatio spiritualis): a canonical impediment to marriage arising from godparenthood at baptism or confirmation.
• Mandate: a papal instruction directing a local bishop to execute the dispensation.
• Oblate nobis: the opening words of the original Latin petition/supplication (“It has been offered to us…”).

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 231: 1422–1423’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 7, 1417–1431, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1906), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol7/pp249-262 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 8, 1427-1447

Lateran Regesta 278: 1428
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 8)

Date of the Entry Id. May (15 May) 1428, SS. Apostoli, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Henry Guth[r]ey (Henry Guthrey / Guthry), clerk, of the diocese of St. Andrews

Guthrie Role Creditor. Hugh, rector of Adzel, had refused to pay a sum of money owed to him, leading to Hugh’s suspension and the present mandate.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Hugh —, rector of Adzel (diocese of St. Andrews)
• William Visart, canon of Orkney (informant and proposed beneficiary)
• Bishop Henry (of St. Andrews), who had previously suspended Hugh
• The prior of St. Andrews (recipient of the mandate)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate to the prior of St. Andrews: if William Visart formally accuses Hugh and the charges are found true, Hugh is to be deprived of the church of Adzel and the benefice collated to William Visart (who must resign the vicarage of Aberellot upon obtaining it).

Modern English Translation To the prior of St. Andrews. Mandate—the pope having been informed by William Visart, canon of Orkney, that Hugh, rector of Adzel in the diocese of St. Andrews, although suspended by bishop Henry for refusing to pay a sum of money which he owed to Henry Guthrey, clerk, of the said diocese, in contempt of the suspension publicly celebrated mass and other divine offices for more than three years—if William will accuse Hugh before him, to summon Hugh and others concerned, and if he find the above to be true, to deprive Hugh, and in that event to collate and assign the said church (value not exceeding £20 sterling) to the said William…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry places Henry Guthrey as a clerk (cleric) of the diocese of St. Andrews in 1428 and shows him engaged in a financial dispute serious enough to result in the suspension of a parish rector. It provides an early, clearly dated reference to a Henry Guthry/Guthrey active in the St. Andrews diocese, complementing the 1423 David de Guthry entry from Volume 7.

Document Terms and Practices

• Clerk: a cleric in minor or major orders, not necessarily a priest.
• Suspension: a temporary ecclesiastical penalty forbidding the exercise of ministry.
• Collation: the act of conferring a benefice.
• Adzel: modern Edzell (Angus).
• Aberellot: modern Arbirlot (Angus).

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 278: 1428’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 8, 1427–1447, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1909), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol8/pp8-16 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 295: 1429–1430
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 8)

Date of the Entry 1429–1430 (exact day not specified in the calendar summary; appears in the register of 12/13 Martin V).

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Henry de Guthry (Henry Guthry), deceased, former rector of Fethirkerne (Fettercairn)

Guthrie Role Previous holder of the rectory of Fettercairn. His death caused the voidance of the benefice that is the subject of the present rehabilitation and new collation.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• David de Ogilbi (Ogilby), canon of Brechin, M.A., subdeacon (petitioner and new collatee)
• Bishop Henry (of St. Andrews), who made the original collation to David
• The abbot of St. Mary’s, Cupar (recipient of the related mandate)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Rehabilitation of David de Ogilbi for having accepted the rectory of Fettercairn without the required canonical dispensation for defect of age, followed by a mandate to collate the benefice to him properly after resignation.

Modern English Translation To David de Ogilbi, canon of Brechin, M.A. Rehabilitation… containing that formerly, on the voidance of the rectory of Fethirkerne in the diocese of St. Andrews by the death of Henry de Guthry, bishop Henry made collation and provision thereof to him… He is to resign. (Mandate follows to the abbot of St. Mary’s, Cupar, to collate the rectory to David after resignation.)

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry establishes that Henry de Guthry held the rectory of Fettercairn (Angus) in the diocese of St. Andrews and had died by 1429/1430. It links him to the same diocese and region as the Henry Guthrey who appears as a clerk in the 1428 entry (Lateran Regesta 278). The two references are very likely the same man and provide a useful terminal date (death by 1429/30) for his career.

Document Terms and Practices

• Voidance: the state of a benefice becoming vacant (here by death).
• Collation and provision: the formal granting of a benefice by the bishop.
• Rehabilitation: papal restoration of a person to a position or right previously obtained irregularly.
• Defect of age: lack of the canonical age required for holding a benefice.
• Fethirkerne: modern Fettercairn (Angus).

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 295: 1429–1430’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 8, 1427–1447, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1909), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol8/pp157-175 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 9, 1431-1447

Master Index – Volume 9 (1431–1447)

Lateran Regesta 411: 1444–1445
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 9)

Date of the Entry 5 Kal. Feb. (28 January) 1445, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• John de Guthre (rectius Guthre), clerk, of the diocese of Glasgow

Guthrie Role Claimant (ultimately unsuccessful) to a canonry and prebend. He took possession of the benefice of Logy and its fruits, and was later removed by definitive sentence of a papal auditor.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Patrick Leiche, canon of Dunblane (lawful collatee and petitioner)
• Adam de Montegomory, clerk of the diocese of Glasgow (co-claimant with John)
• Master Paul de Sanctafide, papal chaplain and auditor (who judged the cause)
• Master John Carnaial, papal chaplain and auditor (who taxed the costs)
• The bishop of Ossero and the officials of Glasgow and Dunblane (recipients of the mandate)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate confirming the definitive sentence that awarded the canonry and prebend of Logy to Patrick Leiche, removed John de Guthre, imposed perpetual silence on John and Adam, and condemned them in costs (taxed at 35 gold florins of the camera).

Modern English Translation …but that John de Guthre (rectius Guthre) and Adam de Montegomory, clerks of the diocese of Glasgow, wrongfully claiming them, prevented… the said John taking possession, which he still detains, and taking the fruits… [the auditor] adjudged the canonry and prebend to Patrick, removed John, inducted Patrick, imposed perpetual silence on John and Adam, condemned John in fruits taken, and him and Adam in the costs…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry places a John de Guthre as a clerk of the diocese of Glasgow in the mid-1440s and shows him actively (and unsuccessfully) litigating for a benefice in Dunblane. The editorial correction “rectius Guthre” confirms the surname form. It adds a Glasgow-diocese individual to the growing list of fifteenth-century Guthrie clerics already documented in the St. Andrews and Brechin spheres.

Document Terms and Practices

• Rectius: “more correctly” — an editorial note indicating the preferred spelling Guthre.
• Definitive sentence: a final judgment by a papal auditor.
• Perpetual silence: a judicial order forbidding further claims to the benefice.
• Gold florins of the camera: the standard currency of the papal camera (treasury) used for costs and fees.
• Logy: the prebend of Logie in Dunblane Cathedral.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta, 411: 1444–1445’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 9, 1431–1447, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1912), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol9/pp436-445 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 10, 1447-1455

Master Index – Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 10 (1447–1455)

Vatican Regesta 430: 1454
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10)

Date of the Entry 1454 (exact day not stated in the calendar summary; appears under the register of 8 Nicholas V).

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Prebend commonly called Guthen (Guthrie) in the cathedral church of Brechin

Guthrie Role Territorial / benefice designation. The prebend takes its name from the lands of Guthrie in Angus (co. Forfar).

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Hugh de Douglas, clerk, of the diocese of St. Andrews (intended collatee)
• William Forbas, canon of Brechin (expected to obtain the deanery, thereby vacating the prebend)
• The prior of St. Andrews, the archdeacon of Dunblane, and the official of St. Andrews (executors)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Reservation to the pope’s gift of a canonry of Brechin and the prebend of Guthen for collation to Hugh de Douglas. The prebend is expected to become void when William Forbas obtains the deanery of Brechin (the two being incompatible under the statutes of the church).

Modern English Translation To Hugh de Douglas, clerk, of the diocese of St. Andrews. Reservation to the pope’s gift, for collation to him… of a canonry of Brechin and the prebend commonly called Guthen therein, value not exceeding £6 sterling, which… are expected to become void by the obtaining of the deanery by William Forbas…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a further mid-fifteenth-century reference to the prebend of Guthen/Guthrie in Brechin Cathedral. It confirms the continued use of the territorial name “Guthen” for the benefice and shows it being treated as a standard papal reservation in 1454. Together with the earlier 1432 reference, it documents the prebend’s place in the ecclesiastical structure of Angus over several decades.

Document Terms and Practices

• Prebend commonly called Guthen: the stall in Brechin Cathedral linked to the lands of Guthrie.
• Reservation to the pope’s gift: the pope reserves the right to collate the benefice when it next falls vacant.
• Incompatible benefices: under the statutes of Brechin, the deanery and this prebend could not be held together.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 430: 1454’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 10, 1447–1455, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1915), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol10/pp259-266 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 409: 1448–1449
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10)

Date of the Entry 4 Id. June (10 June) 1449, Spoleto.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Richard Guthre (Richard Guthry), clerk, of the diocese of Brechin

Guthrie Role Proposed new abbot of Arbroath. The mandate orders that he be received as a monk of the Benedictine monastery of Arbroath and that his monastic profession be taken as part of the process of provision to the abbacy.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Walter, the current (ageing) abbot of Arbroath, who proposes to resign
• The bishops of Glasgow and Dunkeld (recipients of the mandate)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate to the bishops of Glasgow and Dunkeld to have Richard Guthre received as a monk of Arbroath Abbey and to receive his profession, in connection with the planned resignation of Abbot Walter and the provision of the abbey to Richard.

Modern English Translation To the same. Mandate to cause Richard Guthre, clerk, of the diocese of Brechin, to be received as a monk of the Benedictine monastery of Abirbrothoc in the diocese of St. Andrews, and to receive his profession. Cupientibus vitam.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a key step in the papal provision of Richard Guthre to the abbacy of Arbroath, one of the major Benedictine houses in Scotland. It identifies him as a clerk of the diocese of Brechin in 1449 and shows him moving from the secular clergy into the monastic state as a prerequisite for holding the abbey. This is one of the highest-status ecclesiastical appointments yet encountered for a Guthrie in the papal registers.

Document Terms and Practices

• Abirbrothoc: Arbroath Abbey (Benedictine).
• Received as a monk / profession: the formal entry into the monastic community and taking of vows, required before a secular clerk could be provided as abbot.
• Cupientibus vitam: the opening words of the papal letter (“To those desiring the life…”).

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 409: 1448–1449’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 10, 1447–1455, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1915), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol10/pp193-197 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 413: 1450
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10)

Date of the Entry 13 Kal. Dec. (19 November) 1450, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Richard Guthry (formerly clerk of the diocese of Brechin; now monk and abbot of Arbroath)

Guthrie Role Abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Arbroath (Abirbrothoc). This letter confirms and re-issues his provision to the abbacy after a technical defect in the earlier execution.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Walter, the previous abbot of Arbroath (resigned on grounds of age and feebleness)
• William, bishop of Glasgow (original executor who appointed a subdelegate)
• John Arows, archdeacon of Glasgow (subdelegate who admitted the resignation and made the provision)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Confirmation of the earlier provision of Arbroath Abbey to Richard Guthry, overcoming a defect in the original letters (absence of an explicit subdelegation clause for execution), and a fresh provision of the monastery to him together with the commission of its rule and administration.

Modern English Translation To Richard Guthry. Grant… The pope lately ordered the bishops of Glasgow and Dunkeld to cause him, then a secular clerk, to be received as a monk of the Benedictine monastery of Abbirbrothoc… and afterwards… ordered the said bishops to receive and admit abbot Walter’s resignation and… to make provision to him… Subsequently… William, bishop of Glasgow… appointed a subdelegate, John Arows… who admitted the said resignation and made provision to Richard… At the said petition… the pope hereby grants that the said provision and its consequences shall hold good… with provision to Richard anew, and commission of the rule and administration.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is the formal papal confirmation of Richard Guthry’s promotion to the abbacy of Arbroath, one of the wealthiest and most important Benedictine houses in Scotland (valued here at not exceeding 600 marks sterling). It completes the process begun in the June 1449 letters and shows that by November 1450 Richard had already taken monastic vows, obtained possession, and was exercising the administration of the abbey. This represents the highest ecclesiastical office yet documented for a member of the Guthrie family in the papal registers.

Document Terms and Practices

• Provision anew: a fresh grant of the benefice to cure any previous technical irregularity.
• Subdelegate: a person appointed by the original papal executor to carry out the mandate.
• Commission of the rule and administration: formal authority to govern the monastery.
• 600 marks sterling: the stated maximum annual value of Arbroath Abbey in this letter.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 413: 1450’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 10, 1447–1455, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1915), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol10/pp208-211 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 418: 1451
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10)

Date of the Entry 6 Non. Oct. (2 October) 1451, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Richard Guthry (Richard), abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Arbroath (Alberbrotht)

Guthrie Role Abbot of Arbroath. He is the subject of a mandate concerning the life pension reserved for the previous abbot and is alleged to be preventing the former abbot from taking possession of the lands assigned for that pension.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Walter, former abbot of Arbroath (now a monk of the house), who holds a reserved life pension
• William, prior of St. Andrews (who confirmed the pension arrangement)
• John Arous (Arows), archdeacon of Glasgow (earlier subdelegate)
• The bishop of St. Andrews (recipient of the present mandate)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate to the bishop of St. Andrews to investigate Walter’s complaint that Richard is obstructing his possession of the pension lands. If the facts are confirmed, the bishop is to induct Walter (or his proctor) into possession and compel Richard to make satisfaction for any fruits wrongfully taken, under pain of excommunication and deprivation.

Modern English Translation To the bishop of St. Andrews. Mandate… At Walter’s recent petition (containing that… the said Richard appealed to the apostolic see… and that Richard prevents Walter from having possession of the lands etc. which constitute the said pension) the pope orders the above bishop to summon Richard and others concerned, and if he find the facts to be as stated, to induct Walter or his proctor into possession of the said lands etc., causing satisfaction to be made to him by the said abbot Richard for fruits etc. wrongfully taken therefrom, under pain of excommunication and deprivation.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This letter shows that by October 1451 Richard Guthry was in possession of the abbacy of Arbroath but was already in dispute with his predecessor over the reserved pension. Such conflicts were common when an aged abbot resigned with a pension; the entry confirms Richard’s active administration of the house and adds a note of tension in the early years of his abbacy.

Document Terms and Practices

• Life pension / reservation of a pension: a common arrangement when an abbot resigned, securing an income for the former superior from specified lands or revenues of the monastery.
• Fruits: the income or profits of the lands in question.
• Under pain of excommunication and deprivation: the standard severe sanctions used to enforce papal mandates against clerics.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 418: 1451’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 10, 1447–1455, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1915), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol10/pp222-228 [accessed 29 July 2026].

We now have a clear sequence for Richard Guthry:

• June 1449 – ordered to be received as a monk of Arbroath
• Nov 1450 – provision to the abbacy confirmed
• Oct 1451 – already in dispute with the previous abbot over the pension

Lateran Regesta 434: 1447–1448
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10)

Date of the Entry 3 Id. Dec. (11 December) 1447.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• John Guthere (John Guthre), Trinitarian friar, son of unmarried parents

Guthrie Role Administrator of the Trinitarian house at Berwick-upon-Tweed. He had obtained the office by provision of the master-general of the Order but without the required papal dispensation for illegitimacy.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• John Andreston, previous administrator of the Berwick house (deceased)
• The master-general of the Trinitarian Order (who made the original collation)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Rehabilitation of John Guthere for having accepted and held the administration of the Trinitarian house at Berwick despite the defect of illegitimate birth. He is required to resign the office.

Modern English Translation To John Guthere, a Trinitarian friar. Rehabilitation on account of his having obtained, by collation and provision of the master-general of the Order… the administration of the house of Berwick in the diocese of St. Andrews, on its voidance by the death of John Andreston, and having held it, without dispensation on account of illegitimacy, being the son of unmarried parents. He is to resign.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry places a John Guthere as a Trinitarian friar in charge of the order’s house at Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1447. The note of illegitimacy is typical of the many dispensations and rehabilitations issued for clerics of irregular birth in this period. It adds a member of a religious order (as opposed to the secular clergy or the major Benedictine abbacy already documented) to the Guthrie ecclesiastical record.

Document Terms and Practices

• Trinitarian friar: member of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians), a mendicant order founded for the redemption of captives.
• Rehabilitation: papal restoration of a person who had obtained a benefice or office irregularly.
• Defect of birth / illegitimacy: canonical impediment requiring dispensation before certain offices could be lawfully held.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 434: 1447–1448’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 10, 1447–1455, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1915), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol10/pp287-294 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 474: 1452
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10)

Date of the Entry 17 Kal. Dec. (15 November) 1452, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Richard (Guthry), abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Arbroath (Abbirbrothot), acting together with the convent

Guthrie Role Abbot of Arbroath. He and the convent petition the pope concerning the disputed life pension reserved for the previous abbot, Walter Painter, and seek to have the related appeal and principal cause committed to local judges.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Walter Painter, former abbot of Arbroath (now a monk of the house), holder of the contested life pension
• The bishops of Aberdeen and Brechin and the abbot of Cupar (recipients of the mandate)
• John Araws (Arows), archdeacon of Glasgow (earlier subdelegate)
• The prior of St. Andrews (who had confirmed the pension and monished Richard)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate issued at the petition of abbot Richard and the convent. They rehearse the whole history of the resignation, provision, pension reservation, technical doubts, confirmation, and Richard’s appeal. They complain that the pension is excessive and petition that the cause be committed to judges in Scotland and that Richard be conditionally absolved from the sentence of excommunication.

Modern English Translation To the bishops of Aberdeen and Brechin, and the abbot of Cupar… The recent petition of abbot Richard and the convent of the Benedictine monastery of Abbirbrothot… contained that… [full recapitulation of the earlier proceedings]… that although it was objected by the said abbot Richard and convent… that the said pension was… so excessive that they could not support it… they appealed to the apostolic see… the pope hereby orders the above three to summon Walter and others concerned, and… conditionally to grant him [Richard] the said absolution, and in regard to other matters, hear both sides and decide what is just, without appeal…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This long petition, dated November 1452, shows that the conflict between abbot Richard Guthry and his predecessor over the reserved pension was still unresolved more than a year after the earlier mandate. It provides the fullest narrative of the whole sequence of events and reveals that Richard and the convent regarded the pension as unreasonably large (approaching the scale of the abbot’s own revenues). It is the last major document in the cluster that details his early years as abbot of Arbroath.

Document Terms and Practices

• Abbatial mensa: the portion of the monastery’s revenues assigned to the abbot’s own table/support.
• Conditional absolution: absolution granted on the condition that the recipient will obey the eventual decision of the judges.
• Quod si non ambo clause: a standard papal formula allowing the remaining executors to act if one cannot.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 474: 1452’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 10, 1447–1455, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1915), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol10/pp556-568 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 434: 1447–1448
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10)

Date of the Entry 11 December 1447 (same register day as the preceding rehabilitation; the mandate itself carries the date 6 Kal. Aug. of the second year in the original, but is calendared here with the 1447 material).

Guthrie(s) Identified

• John Guthere (John Guthre), Trinitarian friar

Guthrie Role Re-appointed administrator of the Trinitarian house at Berwick-upon-Tweed (with the annexed parish church of Kettins), after resigning and receiving a special dispensation for illegitimacy.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• The bishop of Brechin (recipient of the mandate and executor)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate to the bishop of Brechin to collate the administration of the Berwick house (together with the annexed parish church of Kettins) to John Guthere after he has resigned the office and been found fit. The pope specially dispenses him for this purpose.

Modern English Translation To the bishop of Brechin. Mandate, recapitulating the preceding, to collate and assign to the above John, whom the pope hereby specially dispenses for the purpose, after he has duly resigned, and if found fit, the above administration… to which is annexed the parish church of Ketnes in the said diocese, the total value not exceeding £50 sterling.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This mandate completes the regularisation of John Guthere’s position. After the rehabilitation and forced resignation for defect of birth, he is immediately restored to the same office (now with explicit papal dispensation) and the annexed parish church of Kettins (Ketnes) in the diocese of Brechin. It shows a practical solution typical of the period: the irregularity is formally corrected while the same individual is retained in the post.

Document Terms and Practices

• Ketnes / Kettins: the parish church of Kettins (Angus), annexed to the Trinitarian house at Berwick.
• Not conventual nor a dignity nor a personatus: the administration is classified as a simple office rather than a conventual priorate or major dignity, which affected the canonical requirements.
• Special dispensation: the pope’s direct grant of the necessary faculty to overcome the impediment of illegitimate birth.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 434: 1447–1448’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 10, 1447–1455, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1915), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol10/pp287-294 [accessed 29 July 2026].

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 11, 1455-1464

Master Index – Volume 11 (1455–1464)

Master Index – Volume 11 (1455–1464)

Excluded

• Richard Gutherst alias Mugg (p. 162) – not a Guthrie variant.

Vatican Regesta 479: 1460
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 11)

Date of the Entry 6 Id. April (8 April) 1460, Siena.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Prebend of Guthri (Guthrie) in the cathedral church of Brechin

Guthrie Role Territorial / benefice designation. Listed among the benefices already held by the recipient.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Hugh de Douglas, rector of Carnismule alias Kyrkymur (Kyrkynnir), M.A., of noble stock and nephew of James, bishop of St. Andrews (the collatee)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Collation and provision to Hugh de Douglas of the parish church of Carnismule / Kyrkynnir. The letter lists the benefices he already holds, including the prebend of Guthri in Brechin.

Modern English Translation …notwithstanding that he holds the treasurership of Glasgow and canonries of Aberdeen, Brechin and Bochuel… and the prebends of Kincardin, Guthri and Hawyk respectively therein, the value of all which does not exceed £80 sterling…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a further mid-fifteenth-century reference to the prebend of Guthri/Guthrie in Brechin Cathedral. It appears here simply as one of the benefices already in the possession of Hugh de Douglas in 1460, confirming the continued existence and recognition of the prebend under that name.

Document Terms and Practices

• Prebend of Guthri: the stall in Brechin Cathedral associated with the lands of Guthrie in Angus.
• Notwithstanding clause: the standard formula listing incompatible or additional benefices already held by the recipient.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 479: 1460’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 11, 1455–1464, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1921), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol11/pp419-423 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 516: 1460–1464
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 11)

Date of the Entry 11 Kal. Jan. (22 December) 1463, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Master Richard Guthre (also spelled Guttre), monk of the Benedictine monastery of Arbroath (Aberbrothoc), S.T.P.

Guthrie Role Monk of Arbroath, confessor to James III, king of Scots, and newly appointed papal chaplain.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• James, king of Scots (whose confessor Richard is, and who joined in the petition)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Appointment of Master Richard Guthre as a chaplain of the pope and the apostolic see, with the enjoyment of all the privileges attached to that office.

Modern English Translation To Master Richard Guthre, a monk of the Benedictine monastery of Aberbrothoc in the diocese of St. Andrews, S.T.P. Appointing him, at the petition also of James king of Scots, whose confessor he is, a chaplain of the pope and the apostolic see, with the enjoyment of all privileges etc.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a significant later career marker for the same Richard Guthry who was provided to the abbacy of Arbroath in 1449–1450. By December 1463 he is still associated with Arbroath as a monk, holds the advanced degree of S.T.P. (Sacrae Theologiae Professor), serves as personal confessor to King James III, and is elevated to the rank of papal chaplain. The entry demonstrates both his continued prominence and the high level of royal favour he enjoyed.

Document Terms and Practices

• S.T.P.: Sacrae Theologiae Professor (Professor of Sacred Theology), a senior academic/theological degree.
• Papal chaplain: an honorary or functional chaplaincy of the apostolic see that conferred various privileges and status.
• Confessor of the king: a position of considerable personal influence and trust at the Scottish court.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 516: 1460–1464’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 11, 1455–1464, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1921), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol11/pp683-686 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 12, 1458-1471

Master Index – Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 12 (1458–1471)

Rubricelle of Lost Registers
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12)

Date of the Entry Pontificate of Pius II (1458–1464); exact year not stated in the rubricelle.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• David Outhere (recte Guthere)

Guthrie Role Recipient of a new provision to a provostry (prepositura) in the diocese of Argyll.

Other Primary Parties Identified None named in the brief summary.

Original Document Language Latin (rubricelle / brief summary of a now-lost Lateran register entry).

Purpose New provision (nova provisio) of a provostry in the diocese of Argyll to David Guthere.

Modern English Translation David Outhere (more correctly Guthere). New provision of a provostry. (Diocese of Argyll.)

Historical or Genealogical Significance Although only a brief summary of a lost register survives, the editorial correction “recte Guthere” confirms the surname. The entry places a David Guthere in the diocese of Argyll in the period 1458–1464 and records his provision to a provostry (an important administrative office, often attached to a collegiate church or cathedral chapter). It is the earliest Argyll-linked Guthrie reference so far encountered in the papal registers.

Document Terms and Practices

• Rubricelle: brief contemporary summaries of papal bulls, preserved when the full registers have been lost.
• Nova provisio: a fresh papal provision to a benefice.
• Prepositura: a provostry (the office of a provost).
• Ergadien.: the diocese of Argyll (Ergadia).

Citation ‘Rubricelle of Lost Registers’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 12, 1458–1471, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1933), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol12/xx-xxxix [accessed 30 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 526: 1466–1467
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12)

Date of the Entry 4 Kal. Dec. (28 November) 1466, St. Mark’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Alexander Guthri (Alexander Guthry), priest, of the diocese of Brechin, of noble birth

Guthrie Role Petitioner seeking collation of the perpetual vicarage of Auchterhouse (Outherhus). The pope orders that if his accusations against the current holder are proven, the vicarage is to be collated to him.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Thomas Rogerson (Rogerzon), clerk of the diocese of Dunkeld (current holder by alleged simoniacal arrangement)
• David Dyssynton, clerk of the diocese of St. Andrews (earlier intruder)
• John Quheton and John Ruthven (earlier rival claimants)
• The bishop of St. Andrews, the archdeacon of Dunkeld, and the official of Dunkeld (executors)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate arising from Alexander Guthri’s petition. After rehearsing a long history of disputed claims, resignations, intrusion, and an alleged simoniacal bargain over the vicarage of Auchterhouse, the pope extinguishes the earlier suit and orders the executors, if Alexander accuses Rogerson and the facts are found true, to declare Rogerson’s collation void and to collate the vicarage (value not exceeding £9 sterling) to Alexander.

Modern English Translation To the bishop of St. Andrews and the archdeacon and the official of Dunkeld. Mandate… The recent petition of Alexander Guthri, priest, of the diocese of Brechin, contained that [long narrative of the dispute over the perpetual vicarage of Outherhus]… The pope therefore… orders the above three, if and after Alexander, who is by both parents of noble birth, accuses Rogerson before them, to summon Rogerson and others concerned, and if they find the foregoing to be true, to decree the said collation and provision to be without force, and in that event to collate and assign the vicarage… to Alexander, Rogerson being removed…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is the principal provision document for Alexander Guthri as vicar of Auchterhouse. It identifies him as a priest of the diocese of Brechin and of noble birth on both sides. The complicated litigation that preceded his claim is typical of fifteenth-century Scottish benefice disputes and shows him actively pursuing the vicarage through the papal courts. Later entries in this volume (litigation and resignation) will complete the record of his tenure.

Document Terms and Practices

• Outherhus: Auchterhouse (Angus), in the diocese of Dunkeld.
• Simony: the buying or selling of spiritual offices; here alleged in the bargain between Dyssynton and Rogerson.
• Calling up the cause: the pope removes the case from lower judges and takes direct cognisance of it.
• Noble birth (by both parents): a point frequently emphasised in petitions to strengthen the candidate’s suitability.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 526: 1466–1467’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 12, 1458–1471, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1933), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol12/pp253-269 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 648: 1466–1467
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12)

Date of the Entry 5 Id. May (11 May) 1467, St. Mark’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• James Guthery, professed monk of Coupar-Angus (O. Cist.), S.T.B., of lawful age and in priest’s orders

Guthrie Role Newly provided abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Kinloss (Kynlos) in the diocese of Moray.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• John, previous abbot of Kinloss (deceased)
• The bishops of St. Andrews and Brechin (to receive the oath of fealty)
• James, king of Scots (recipient of a concurrent letter)
• The abbot of Melrose (recipient of a concurrent letter)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Papal provision of the abbey of Kinloss to James Guthery. The monastery had been specially reserved to the pope’s gift during the lifetime of the previous abbot. A separate faculty allows him to be blessed by any catholic bishop of his choice.

Modern English Translation To James Guthery, abbot of the monastery of Kynlos, O. Cist., in the diocese of Moray. Provision to him, a professed monk of the monastery of Coupar-Angus… of the above monastery of Kynlos, void by the death of John… Before receiving the administration, he is to take… the usual oath of fealty… (Faculty follows allowing him to be blessed by any catholic bishop of his choice.)

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a major monastic promotion. James Guthery, a Cistercian monk of Coupar-Angus holding the degree of S.T.B. (Bachelor of Sacred Theology), is provided by the pope to the abbacy of Kinloss, one of the important Cistercian houses in the north of Scotland. The reservation of the abbey to the apostolic see and the involvement of the king underline the significance of the appointment. It adds another high-ranking Guthrie ecclesiastic to the mid-fifteenth-century record (alongside Richard Guthry of Arbroath).

Document Terms and Practices

• O. Cist.: Order of Cîteaux (Cistercian).
• S.T.B.: Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Sacred Theology).
• Special reservation to the pope’s gift: the abbey had been reserved so that the next provision would be made directly by the apostolic see.
• Oath of fealty: the standard oath of loyalty taken by a new abbot to the pope.
• Faculty for blessing: permission to receive abbatial blessing from any bishop in communion with Rome, rather than necessarily from the diocesan.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 648: 1466–1467’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 12, 1458–1471, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1933), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol12/pp561-565 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 677: 1469
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12)

Date of the Entry 6 Id. Aug. (8 August) 1469, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Alexander Gutre (Alexander Guthri / Guthry), priest, of the diocese of Brechin

Guthrie Role Litigant for the perpetual vicarage of Auchterhouse (Hocterhows). He had previously obtained papal letters ordering collation to him if he proved his case; those letters are now challenged as surreptitious on the ground of undervaluation.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Thomas Regerson (Bogerson / Rogerson), current holder (previously absolved from simony and re-provided)
• Maurice Ra, priest (new petitioner claiming the vicarage)
• The treasurer Alexander Inglis, the subdean, and the official of Dunkeld (executors)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate arising from the petition of Maurice Ra. After rehearsing the long history of the Auchterhouse dispute (including Alexander’s earlier successful petition and Thomas’s subsequent rehabilitation), the pope, noting the alleged undervaluation of the fruits, extinguishes the previous suit and orders a new examination. If the earlier letters are found surreptitious, the vicarage is to be collated to Maurice Ra and both Thomas and Alexander are to be removed.

Modern English Translation To the treasurer, Alexander Inglis, subdean, and the official of Dunkeld. Mandate… It was lately set forth to the pope by Alexander Gutre… [recapitulation]… Seeing that, as the recent petition of Maurice Ra… contained, the said fruits etc. are worth more than was stated, in which case both the letters granted to the said Alexander and those granted to the said Thomas are surreptitious… the pope hereby… orders the above three to summon the said Thomas Regerson and Alexander and others concerned, and if they find true what is alleged about the surreptitiousness of the said letters, to declare and decree them and their consequences null and void, and in that event to collate and assign the said vicarage… to the said Maurice, removing the said Thomas and Alexander…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This 1469 mandate shows that Alexander Guthri’s claim to Auchterhouse, which had looked promising in 1466, was still unresolved three years later and was now under threat from a new challenger (Maurice Ra) on the technical ground of undervaluation. It keeps Alexander visible as an active litigant in the papal courts into the late 1460s.

Document Terms and Practices

• Surreptitious letters: papal letters obtained by concealment of material facts (here, the true higher value of the benefice).
• Hocterhows / Outherhus: Auchterhouse.
• Undervaluation: stating a lower annual value than the true one in order to reduce fees or avoid certain restrictions; a common ground for declaring letters surreptitious.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 677: 1469’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 12, 1458–1471, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1933), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol12/pp680-685 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 684: 1469
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12)

Date of the Entry Prid. Id. May (14 May) 1469, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Alexander Guthre (Alexander Guthry)

Guthrie Role Named as a possible previous holder whose resignation could have left the perpetual vicarage of Auchterhouse vacant.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Thomas Rogerson, priest, of the diocese of Dunkeld (petitioner seeking absolution from simony and rehabilitation)
• David Dischinton, priest (earlier party to the simoniacal agreement)
• The archdeacon of Lothian and the officials of St. Andrews and Dunkeld (executors)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate issued at the petition of Thomas Rogerson. After rehearsing the simoniacal bargain over Auchterhouse, the pope orders the executors to absolve Thomas from simony, rehabilitate him, and (if they do so) to collate the vicarage to him. Among the possible grounds of vacancy listed is the resignation of Alexander Guthre.

Modern English Translation …to collate and assign to him the said vicarage, with cure, and value not exceeding £9 sterling, whether it be void as above, or by the resignation of William Lion or Alexander Guthre, or in any other way.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry provides the final reference to Alexander Guthre in the Auchterhouse litigation. By May 1469 his claim is treated as having ended in resignation (or at least the possibility of his resignation is formally acknowledged). Together with the 1466 provision attempt and the 1469 challenge by Maurice Ra, it closes the recorded papal litigation over his pursuit of the vicarage.

Document Terms and Practices

• Huthtrehowse / Hocterhows / Outherhus: Auchterhouse.
• Resignation as a ground of vacancy: one of the standard ways a benefice could become void and available for new collation.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 684: 1469’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 12, 1458–1471, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1933), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol12/pp708-714 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 710: 1466–1468
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12)

Date of the Entry Undated in the surviving text (belongs to the period of the main Kinloss provision, May 1467).

Guthrie(s) Identified

• James (Jacobo) Guthry, abbot of the monastery of Kinloss (Kynlos), O. Cist., in the diocese of Moray

Guthrie Role Abbot of Kinloss (this is a cancelled/unfinished registration of his provision).

Other Primary Parties Identified

• John, previous abbot of Kinloss (deceased)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose An incomplete and cancelled registration of the papal provision of Kinloss Abbey to James Guthry. The entry was begun under the wrong rubric and therefore left unfinished.

Modern English Translation To James (Jacobo) Guthry, abbot of the monastery of Kynlos, O. Cist., in the diocese of Moray. [Provision of the said monastery,] void by the death without the Roman court of abbot John, during whose lifetime it was specially reserved by the present pope. Inter solicitudines. [Unfinished and cancelled, having been begun to be registered out of its proper place…]

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a secondary, cancelled registration of the same provision already fully documented in Lateran Regesta 648 (11 May 1467). It confirms the details of James Guthry’s promotion to Kinloss but adds no new biographical information. It is included for completeness of the documentary record.

Document Terms and Practices

• Unfinished and cancelled: the registration was started under the wrong heading in the register and therefore abandoned.
• Special reservation: the same papal reservation of the abbey noted in the principal provision letter.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 710: 1466–1468’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 12, 1458–1471, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1933), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol12/pp812-818 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 710: 1466–1468
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12)

Date of the Entry 12 Kal. April (21 March) 1466, St. Mark’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• David Guttre (David Guthry), nobleman, lord of Kingoldrum (Kyncaudrum) in the diocese of Brechin, treasurer of James, king of Scots
• His present wife (unnamed in the calendar), noblewoman

Guthrie Role Recipient (with his wife) of an indult for a portable altar. David is identified as a nobleman, territorial lord, and royal treasurer.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• James, king of Scots (whose treasurer David is)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Indult granting David Guttre and his wife the right to have a portable altar and to have mass celebrated on it before daybreak.

Modern English Translation To David Guttre, nobleman, lord of the place of Kyncaudrum in the diocese of Brechin, and his present wife, noblewoman. Indult for them (of whom David is treasurer of James, king of Scots), and for each of them, to have a portable altar, and to have mass celebrated thereon before daybreak.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is one of the most important lay Guthrie references in the papal registers. It identifies David Guthry as lord of Kingoldrum (Angus) and as treasurer to King James III in 1466. The grant of a portable altar was a privilege typically sought by high-status individuals who travelled or maintained private chapels. It places a prominent Guthrie layman at the centre of the Scottish royal administration in the mid-1460s and complements the contemporary high ecclesiastical careers of Richard Guthry (Arbroath) and James Guthery (Kinloss).

Document Terms and Practices

• Portable altar: a privileged altar that could be moved and used for the celebration of mass outside a consecrated church.
• Before daybreak: permission to celebrate mass before the normal hour, another mark of special favour.
• Kyncaudrum: Kingoldrum (Angus), in the diocese of Brechin.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 710: 1466–1468’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 12, 1458–1471, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1933), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol12/pp812-818 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 13, 1471-1484

Master Index – Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 13 (1471–1484)

Vatican Regesta 552: 1471
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry 6 Id. Dec. (8 December) 1471, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Alexander Gutere (Alexander Guthre), late perpetual vicar of Coull (Quoll)

Guthrie Role Deceased. His death caused the voidance of the perpetual vicarage of Coull in the diocese of Aberdeen.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• George Carabris, perpetual vicar of Selkirk (Selcrik), priest (new collatee)
• The official of Aberdeen (executor)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate to collate the perpetual vicarage of Coull (void by the death of Alexander Gutere) to George Carabris, with dispensation for him to hold it together with the vicarage of Selkirk for life.

Modern English Translation To the official of Aberdeen. Mandate to collate and assign to George Carabris… the perpetual vicarage of Quoll, in the diocese of Aberdeen, value £9 sterling, void by the death of Alexander Gutere; with dispensation to hold both vicarages for life.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry records the death of Alexander Gutere, formerly vicar of Coull (Aberdeenshire), by December 1471. It provides a terminal date for his tenure and is the first Volume 13 reference to a Guthrie cleric. It may or may not be the same Alexander Guthre who earlier litigated for Auchterhouse; the two benefices are in different dioceses, so further evidence would be needed to confirm identity.

Document Terms and Practices

• Quoll / Coull: the parish of Coull in Aberdeenshire.
• Void by the death: the standard ground of vacancy used here.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 552: 1471’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol13/p12 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 553: 1472
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry Prid. Non. May (6 May) 1472, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Richard Cutre (Richard Guthre / Guthry), late monk (and provided abbot) of Arbroath, master in theology

Guthrie Role Deceased. His death caused a new voidance of Arbroath Abbey. He had previously been provided to the abbacy by Paul II.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Alexander Schrymgeour, priest, of the diocese of St. Andrews, licentiate in laws, M.A., of noble birth (new beneficiary of a commendam / provision)
• Malcolm Brida, monk of Arbroath (rival claimant with whom Richard had a pending suit at the time of his death)
• Patrick, bishop of St. Andrews (who had deprived Malcolm)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Decree regulating the situation at Arbroath after Richard’s death. The pope extinguishes the suit that had been pending between Richard and Malcolm Brida, confirms Malcolm’s deprivation, and validates a short-term commendam and intended provision for Alexander Schrymgeour.

Modern English Translation …Paul II… made provision thereof to the late Richard Cutre, a monk of the same, master in theology… The monastery having since become void by the death of the said Richard… (who… at the time of his death a suit was pending… between him and the said Malcolm about the rule of the monastery) hereby extinguishes the said suit…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry supplies the death date (by early May 1472) for Richard Guthre / Guthry, the former abbot of Arbroath whose career we have followed since his reception as a monk in 1449 and provision to the abbacy in 1450. It confirms that he remained closely associated with Arbroath until the end and that a dispute over the rule of the monastery was still active at the time of his death. It closes the long documentary record of one of the most prominent Guthrie ecclesiastics of the fifteenth century.

Document Terms and Practices

• Master in theology: equivalent to the earlier S.T.P. / advanced theological degree held by Richard.
• Pending suit about the rule: litigation concerning the government / administration of the abbey.
• Commenda: a temporary grant of the revenues and administration of a benefice.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 553: 1472’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol13/pp12-14 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 562: 1473–1474
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry 5 Kal. May (27 April) 1474, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Alexander Guthre (Alexander Guthry), sometime claimant / possible resigner of the vicarage of Auchterhouse

Guthrie Role Named as one of the persons whose resignation could have left the perpetual vicarage of Auchterhouse (Outhtrehowse) vacant.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Thomas Rogerson, priest, of the diocese of Dunkeld (petitioner seeking absolution, rehabilitation, and collation)
• Maurice Ra (previous rival claimant, now deceased)
• The archpriest of Bologna and the officials of St. Andrews and Dunkeld (executors)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate at the petition of Thomas Rogerson. After a long recapitulation of the Auchterhouse litigation (including the earlier simony, surreptitious letters, and the death of Maurice Ra), the pope orders Rogerson’s absolution and rehabilitation and the collation of the vicarage to him. Among the possible grounds of vacancy is the resignation of Alexander Guthre.

Modern English Translation …to collate and assign to him the said vicarage, value £9 sterling, whether void as above, or by the death of the said Maurice, or by the resignation of Alexander Guthre or William Lyon or the said John Rovven or John Quyrton or David, or void in any other way.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This 1474 reference is the last appearance of Alexander Guthre in the Auchterhouse dispute that began in 1466. He is now treated simply as a former possible holder whose resignation is one of several potential grounds of vacancy. It effectively closes his recorded involvement with the benefice.

Document Terms and Practices

• Outhtrehowse: Auchterhouse.
• Resignation as a ground of vacancy: standard canonical formula listing previous holders whose departure could have created the vacancy.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 562: 1473–1474’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol13/pp27-31 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 569: 1471–1475 (Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry 8 Kal. Sept. (25 August) 1471, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Richard Guthre (Richard Guthry), provided abbot of Arbroath

Guthrie Role Recipient of a papal provision to the monastery of Arbroath (Abberbroyt) made by Paul II. The present letter mentions the provision retrospectively.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• Hugh Dowglas, clerk, of the diocese of St. Andrews (principal beneficiary of the present validation)
• Francis, cardinal deacon of S. Maria Nuova (earlier judge in the cause about the voidance)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Validation of letters of Paul II concerning a grant to Hugh Dowglas. In the course of the narrative the letter records that Paul II made provision of Arbroath Abbey to Richard Guthre.

Modern English Translation …Paul II… committed the cause about the voidance… but… pope Paul made provision to Richard Guthre. Subsequently the same pope…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a confirmatory reference to the provision of Arbroath to Richard Guthre by Paul II. It belongs with the earlier documentation of his abbacy and with the 1472 death notice already processed. It adds no new biographical detail but reinforces the fact of the provision.

Document Terms and Practices

• Abberbroyt: Arbroath Abbey.
• Retrospective mention: the provision to Richard is cited as background to the later dealings with Hugh Dowglas.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 569: 1471–1475’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol13/pp41-42 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Vatican Regesta 631: 1479–1483
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry 14 Kal. June (19 May) 1479, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Alexander, temporal lord of Guthre (Guthrie) in the diocese of Brechin (petitioner)
• David, late lord of Guthre (his father), who began the preparations for the erection

Guthrie Role Founders / patrons. Alexander petitions for, and obtains, the formal papal erection of the parish church of Guthrie into a collegiate church, completing the arrangements initiated by his father David.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• John, bishop of Brechin, the chapter of Brechin, and James de Chison, canon of Brechin (whose consent was obtained)
• James, king of Scots (joined in the petition)
• The bishop of Dunkeld, the abbot of Arbroath, and the archdeacon of Brechin (executors)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Papal bull erecting the parish church of Guthrie into a collegiate church with a provostship (principal dignity) and four canonries/prebends. The rectory of Kirkbuddo (Kirbuthow) is united to one of the canonries. Patronage of the provostship and canonries is reserved to the lords of Guthrie. The previous canonry and prebend of Brechin that had been carved out of the church of Guthrie are suppressed.

Modern English Translation Erection of the collegiate church of Guthre… The recent petition of Alexander, temporal lord of Guthre… contained that the late David, his father—with a view to the restoration of the parish church of Guthre… to its former state; its erection into a collegiate church, with a provostship as a principal dignity and four canonries and prebends; and the perpetual union thereto of the parish church of Kirbuthow… The pope… suppresses and extinguishes the said canonry and prebend of Brechin… restores the said church of Guthre… and erects it into a collegiate church… erects therein a provostship… erects four canonries… unites the said church of Kirbuthow in perpetuity to the fourth of the said canonries…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is one of the most important Guthrie family documents in the entire papal register series. It records the formal foundation of the Collegiate Church of Guthrie by Alexander, lord of Guthrie, in fulfilment of plans begun by his father David. The bull preserves the family’s patronage rights, details the endowment (including the union of Kirkbuddo), and establishes a full collegiate structure (provost + four canons). It is a clear expression of the family’s status, piety, and territorial identity in late-fifteenth-century Angus.

Document Terms and Practices

• Collegiate church: a church served by a college of secular canons under a provost, rather than a monastic community.
• Provostship as principal dignity: the headship of the college, carrying the cure of souls.
• Union of Kirbuthow (Kirkbuddo): the rectory is permanently annexed to provide endowment for one of the new canonries.
• Reservation of patronage: the lords of Guthrie retain the right to present the provost and canons.
• Suppression of the earlier Brechin prebend: the previous arrangement that had turned part of Guthrie into a prebend of Brechin Cathedral is undone.

Citation ‘Vatican Regesta 631: 1479–1483’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol13/pp136-139 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 772: 1476–1477
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry Prid. Non. Nov. (4 November) 1476, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• Richard (Guthre / Guthry), late abbot of Arbroath (St. Thomas the Martyr, Aberbrothoc)

Guthrie Role Deceased abbot. His death (outside the Roman court) caused the voidance of Arbroath Abbey that is the subject of the present provision.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• George Bois (Bois), monk (formerly of Lindores), now provided as abbot of Arbroath
• Alexander Schrymgeour (earlier temporary commendatory)
• Malcolm Bridi (sometime abbot, previously deprived)
• Patrick, archbishop of St. Andrews

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Provision of Arbroath Abbey to George Bois after the death of abbot Richard. The letter rehearses the earlier special reservation made during Richard’s lifetime and the subsequent voidance by his death.

Modern English Translation …Lately, during the lifetime of abbot Richard, the pope specially reserved the provision of the said monastery to his own gift. Subsequently, on its voidance by the death of the said Richard extra R.c.…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This is a further confirmation of the death of Richard Guthre, abbot of Arbroath, already recorded in the 1472 entry. It reiterates that the abbey had been specially reserved to the pope during Richard’s lifetime and became void by his death outside the Roman court. It adds no new personal details but reinforces the terminal date for his abbacy (before November 1476, consistent with the earlier 1472 notice).

Document Terms and Practices

• Extra R.c.: extra Romanam curiam – outside the Roman court.
• Special reservation during the lifetime of the abbot: a common device to ensure the next provision would be made directly by the pope.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 772: 1476–1477’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol13/pp554-562 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 805: 1481
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry 17 Kal. July (15 June) 1481, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• James (Guthry), former abbot of Kinloss (Kynlos)

Guthrie Role Resigned the abbacy of Kinloss to the pope, thereby creating the vacancy that is now being filled.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• William Galbraith, monk of Kinloss (new abbot)
• James, king of Scots (recipient of a concurrent letter)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Provision of Kinloss Abbey to William Galbraith following the resignation of the previous abbot, James, to the apostolic see. A concurrent faculty allows the new abbot to be blessed by any catholic bishop.

Modern English Translation To William Galbraith, abbot of the monastery of St. Mary, Kynlos… Provision to him… of the said monastery, void at the apostolic see, and therefore reserved, by the resignation of James to the pope.

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry marks the end of James Guthry’s tenure as abbot of Kinloss. He had been provided to the abbacy in 1467; by June 1481 he had resigned the office directly to the pope. It supplies a useful terminal date for his abbacy (resignation by mid-1481) and closes the recorded career of the second major Guthrie monastic superior in the series (after Richard of Arbroath).

Document Terms and Practices

• Resignation to the pope: a formal surrender of the benefice directly into the hands of the apostolic see, leaving the provision entirely at the pope’s disposal.
• Void at the apostolic see: the technical consequence of such a resignation.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 805: 1481’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol13/pp720-722 [accessed 30 July 2026].

Lateran Regesta 826: 1482–1484
(Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 13)

Date of the Entry 15 Kal. March (15 February) 1482, St. Peter’s, Rome.

Guthrie(s) Identified

• David Guthre, canon of Aberdeen, M.A. (presented to the provostship)
• Alexander, temporal lord of Guthrie (the patron who made the presentation)

Guthrie Role David is the presentee to the newly founded provostship of the collegiate church of Guthrie. Alexander, as temporal lord, exercises the family’s reserved right of patronage.

Other Primary Parties Identified

• The bishop of Brechin (who refused to institute David)
• The abbot of Arbroath (executor ordered to collate)

Original Document Language Latin (presented here in the English calendar summary).

Purpose Mandate to the abbot of Arbroath to collate the provostship of the collegiate church of Guthrie to David Guthre. The provostship had remained vacant since the 1479 erection; Alexander, lord of Guthrie, had presented David within the lawful time, but the bishop of Brechin refused institution, prompting David’s appeal to Rome.

Modern English Translation …Alexander, the present temporal lord of the said place, presented the said David within the lawful time to the present bishop of Brechin, who for a reason unknown refused to institute him, wherefore the said David has appealed to the apostolic see… the pope… orders the above abbot to collate and assign it… to the said David; notwithstanding that he holds a canonry and prebend of Aberdeen…

Historical or Genealogical Significance This entry completes the foundation story of the Collegiate Church of Guthrie. Three years after the 1479 erection bull, the family’s first presentation to the new provostship is recorded. Alexander, lord of Guthrie, presents David Guthre (almost certainly a kinsman), a graduate and canon of Aberdeen. The bishop’s refusal and the subsequent papal intervention show both the family’s determination to exercise its patronage and the practical difficulties that could attend a new collegiate foundation. It is a fitting final document for the Volume 13 Guthrie cluster.

Document Terms and Practices

• Presentation within the lawful time: the patron must present a candidate within a set period after vacancy.
• Refusal of institution: the diocesan bishop’s right to examine and (if cause appears) refuse the presentee; here the reason is stated as unknown.
• Appeal to the apostolic see: the standard remedy when institution is refused.
• Value £6 sterling: the stated annual value of the new provostship.

Citation ‘Lateran Regesta 826: 1482–1484’, in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 13, 1471–1484, ed. J. A. Twemlow (London, 1955), British History Online https://ww

Calendar of Papal Registers, Britain and Ireland
Volume 14, 1484-1492

Volume 14 (1484–1492) of the Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland contains no Guthrie (or variant) entries.

Guthrie Research Sketches
from the
Calendar of Papal Registers

Margaret Goutry and William Goutry

Father and daughter of the Diocese of Ely, England, 1351

Key Evidence

On 12 November 1351, Margaret was recorded as “Margaret, daughter of William Goutry, of the diocese of Ely.” Her name appears within a series of papal indults allowing the recipients to choose confessors empowered to grant them plenary remission at the hour of death, provided they were penitent.

Although the calendar identifies Margaret through her father rather than explicitly calling her “Margaret Goutry,” the entry establishes a direct father–daughter relationship and places both individuals within the Diocese of Ely in England.

Genealogical Significance

This is the earliest possible Guthrie-surname reference found in the fourteen published volumes of the Calendar of Papal Registers. Its value lies primarily in the identification of two generations: William Goutry and his daughter Margaret.

The record does not identify Margaret’s marital status, residence, social standing, or other relatives. Her ability to obtain a papal indult may indicate access to ecclesiastical channels, but it does not by itself establish elevated rank or wealth.

Assessment

“Goutry” is sufficiently close to medieval forms of Guthry or Guthrie to justify its inclusion in a comprehensive surname survey. However, the entry provides no Scottish association and no evidence connecting William and Margaret with the Guthries of Angus.

They should therefore be treated as a potentially distinct English family unless supporting records from the Diocese of Ely demonstrate that Goutry was being used as a form of the Scottish surname.

Reference

Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 3, Regesta 211, 1351–1352, p. 451: British History Online.

One useful correction emerged from the original calendar: the entry can be dated specifically to 12 November 1351, and its purpose was the granting of a deathbed-remission indult. The current extracted entry on the blog describes both details as unspecified.

David de Guthry
and Janet (Joneta) Lyndesay

Noble prospective marriage partners
of the Diocese of St Andrews, 1423

Key Evidence

On 2 May 1423, a papal supplication was submitted on behalf of David de Guthry and Janet—or Joneta—Lyndesay, both of the Diocese of St Andrews. The fuller Scottish calendar describes them as nobiles domicelli: young people of noble or gentle birth.

David and Janet wished to marry with the consent of their friends and kinsfolk. The proposed union was said to arise from a longstanding friendship between the two families. A canonical obstacle existed, however, because Janet’s unnamed father had served as David’s godfather at baptism. Medieval canon law regarded that relationship as spiritual kinship, creating an impediment to marriage between David and his godfather’s daughter.

The petition was approved, and the bishop of St Andrews was authorized to dispense the couple so that they could marry. Any children born to them were to be considered legitimate.

Cross-Source Evidence

The Calendar of Papal Registers provides the concise mandate issued to the bishop. The corresponding entry in the Calendar of Scottish Supplications to Rome adds the participation of both kin groups and the longstanding friendship behind the proposed alliance.

Together, the records establish that the match was supported by the Guthry and Lyndesay families rather than being solely a private arrangement between the couple.

Genealogical Significance

The entry identifies a prospective Guthrie–Lindsay marriage and an earlier personal connection between the families: Janet’s father had been chosen as David’s godfather. Although his name is omitted, this places the two family circles in close association from the time of David’s baptism.

The papal approval permitted the marriage but does not prove that it was subsequently solemnized. No children or property settlements are identified in the surviving entry.

Assessment

David de Guthry should presently be kept separate from the later Sir David Guthrie of Kincaldrum and Guthrie. The David named here was already of marriageable age in 1423, whereas the reconstructed Kincaldrum pedigree generally places Sir David’s birth in the following generation and identifies his wives as a Maule and Janet Dundas.

Those dates and identifications are not sufficiently secure to make the distinction absolute. Nevertheless, merging the two men would require additional evidence—ideally a charter, marriage settlement, or later record connecting the Guthries of Kincaldrum with Janet Lyndesay or her family.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 7, Lateran Regesta 231, p. 250: British History Online.

Annie I. Dunlop, ed., Calendar of Scottish Supplications to Rome, 1423–1428, p. 22: National Library of Scotland.

Henry Guthrey, Rector of Fettercairn

Cleric of the Diocese of St Andrews,
active 1401–1428; deceased by 1429–1430

Key Evidence

On 15 May 1428, Henry Guthrey was identified as a clerk of the Diocese of St Andrews in a dispute involving Hugh, rector of Edzell. Hugh had been suspended by the bishop for refusing to pay money owed to Henry but had continued publicly celebrating mass and other divine offices for more than three years. The pope ordered an investigation that could result in Hugh’s deprivation from the church of Edzell.

A second papal entry, dated 1429–1430, records that the rectory of Fettercairn had become vacant through the death of Henry de Guthry. Bishop Henry of St Andrews had subsequently provided the benefice to David de Ogilbi.

Cross-Source Evidence

The Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches supplies an important earlier record. Its history of Fettercairn states that Henry de Guthrie was provided to the church in 1401 after the previous appointee, Walter Danielson, failed to obtain ordination.

If all three references concern the same man, Henry held—or at least possessed the right to—the rectory of Fettercairn for nearly three decades.

Genealogical Significance

No parents, siblings, or other relatives are identified. Henry’s importance lies instead in establishing a Guthrie cleric in the Mearns at the beginning of the fifteenth century, earlier than most of the named Guthrie churchmen found in the present collection.

His long association with Fettercairn may eventually help distinguish him from otherwise unidentified members of the contemporary Guthrie families of Angus and the Mearns. For the present, however, his place within any specific Guthrie lineage remains unknown.

Assessment

The Henry Guthrey named as a creditor in 1428 and Henry de Guthry, deceased rector of Fettercairn, were very likely the same man. They bear the same uncommon name, belonged to the same diocese, and appear within a narrow period in neighboring Angus–Mearns ecclesiastical affairs. The description of Henry simply as a “clerk” in 1428 does not conflict with his holding a rectory.

The identification is strongly supported by the independent evidence placing Henry at Fettercairn from 1401, although the 1428 entry does not expressly identify its creditor as the rector.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 8, Lateran Regesta 278, pp. 8–16, and Lateran Regesta 295, pp. 157–175: British History Online.

“Fettercairn Parish Church,” Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches.

John de Guthre,
Claimant to the Prebend of Logie

Clerk of the Diocese of Glasgow, 1445

Key Evidence

On 28 January 1445, John de Guthre was named in a papal mandate concerning the canonry and prebend of Logie in Dunblane Cathedral. He and Adam de Montegomory, both clerks of the Diocese of Glasgow, had challenged the claim of Patrick Leiche, canon of Dunblane.

John’s claim had progressed beyond litigation: he had taken possession of the benefice, continued to detain it, and collected its fruits or revenues. Master Paul de Sanctafide, a papal chaplain and auditor, ultimately ruled in Patrick’s favor. John was ordered to surrender the prebend, repay the fruits he had received, and—together with Adam—pay the legal costs, assessed at thirty-five gold florins. The judgment also imposed “perpetual silence,” barring them from renewing the same claim.

Genealogical Significance

The entry establishes a John Guthre engaged in Scottish ecclesiastical affairs in 1445 and associates him specifically with the Diocese of Glasgow. It does not identify his parents, birthplace, age, or any other benefice he may have held.

The calendar’s notation rectius Guthre—“more correctly Guthre”—confirms that the editor regarded Guthre as the proper reading of his surname.

Assessment

John was a clerk, but the term does not prove that he had been ordained as a priest. His ability to obtain and defend possession of a cathedral prebend nevertheless suggests some standing, legal support, or ecclesiastical patronage, even though the papal tribunal rejected his title.

He should presently be kept separate from John Guthere, the Trinitarian friar who appears in 1447 as administrator of the order’s house at Berwick and the annexed parish of Kettins. The two men lived in the same broad period, but the records provide different diocesan and institutional associations and contain no evidence connecting their careers.

Reference

Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 9, Lateran Regesta 411, pp. 436–445: British History Online.

John Guthere, Trinitarian Friar

Administrator of the Trinitarian house at Berwick
and the annexed church of Kettins, 1447

Key Evidence

Two papal letters dated 11 December 1447 document John Guthere’s appointment as administrator of the Trinitarian house at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

John was a friar of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and the son of unmarried parents. Following the death of the previous administrator, John Andreston, the order’s master-general had provided John to the vacant office. John accepted and exercised the administration without first obtaining the papal dispensation required because of his illegitimate birth.

The first letter rehabilitated John but required him to resign the office he had obtained irregularly. The second instructed the bishop of Brechin to accept that resignation and, if John were found suitable, collate him to the same administration anew. The pope granted the necessary special dispensation for this purpose.

The parish church of Kettins in the Diocese of Brechin was annexed to the Berwick house, and their combined annual value was stated as no more than £50 sterling. The connection with Kettins was therefore institutional and financial; it does not necessarily mean John resided there or personally served as its parish priest.

Genealogical Significance

The entry supplies an unusual detail about John’s parentage but names neither parent. Because he was born to an unmarried couple, the surname Guthere alone cannot establish whether the Guthrie parent was his father or mother.

John’s original appointment by the Trinitarian master-general and his immediate papal reappointment suggest that he possessed the order’s confidence. The problem was not misconduct in office but the absence of a required dispensation before accepting it.

Cross-Source Evidence

A separate transcription of papal consistorial records identifies a John Guthere who was provided to the bishopric of Ross in 1492. The uncommon spelling and ecclesiastical careers make comparison worthwhile.

The forty-five-year interval is substantial, however, and no intervening evidence connects the Trinitarian administrator with the future bishop. The two men should remain separate unless records of the bishop’s earlier career reveal an association with Berwick, Kettins, or the Trinitarian Order.

Assessment

John Guthere should also be kept separate from John de Guthre, the Glasgow clerk who unsuccessfully claimed the prebend of Logie in 1445. Their similar names and close chronology permit the possibility of one identity, but their known institutional associations are different and no record links the two careers.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 10, Lateran Regesta 434, pp. 287–294: British History Online.

William Maziere Brady, The Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, A.D. 1400 to 1875, entry for John Guthere’s provision to Ross in 1492: Internet Archive.

Master Richard Guthrie

Professor of sacred theology, royal confessor, general almoner,
papal chaplain, and twice Abbot of Arbroath

Evidence from the Papal Registers

On 10 June 1449, Richard Guthre was a secular clerk of the Diocese of Brechin. In preparation for the elderly Abbot Walter’s resignation, the pope ordered that Richard be received as a monk of Arbroath Abbey and allowed to make his monastic profession.

Richard subsequently obtained the abbacy, but a technical defect arose because one of the papal executors had acted through a subdelegate without express authority to do so. On 19 November 1450, the pope confirmed the previous proceedings and provided Richard to the abbey anew, formally granting him its rule and administration.

Richard’s early tenure was troubled by a dispute with Walter over the former abbot’s reserved lifetime pension. In 1451, Walter alleged that Richard was preventing him from possessing the lands assigned for his support. Richard and the convent appealed, arguing that the pension was so excessive that it threatened the abbey’s finances. A further mandate in November 1452 ordered local judges to hear both sides and settle the dispute.

By 22 December 1463, Richard was again styled a monk of Arbroath rather than its abbot. He was now a professor of sacred theology and confessor to King James III. At the joint petition of Richard and the king, the pope appointed him a chaplain of the apostolic see.

Richard later returned to the abbacy. Papal entries dated 1471–1472 record that Pope Paul II had provided him to Arbroath and identify him as a master in theology. Richard died by 6 May 1472 while litigation over the government of the monastery remained pending between him and Malcolm Bridi. A 1476 provision for a later abbot again confirmed that Arbroath had become vacant through Richard’s death outside the Roman court.

Cross-Source Evidence

University evidence places Richard at Cologne in 1442 and later at St Andrews as an arts regent and faculty official. The Arbroath records document his resignation of the abbacy on 18 December 1455, explaining why he was described simply as a monk in 1463.

In 1464, Richard and the Dominican prior John Graham acted under royal and episcopal authority to investigate Arbroath Abbey’s almonry and Spitalfield. Parliament expanded this work in 1469 by appointing Richard principal confessor to James III, general almoner, and royal agent for restoring hospitals to their proper charitable purposes.

Following Malcolm Bridi’s removal, Richard—then prior and professor of theology—was elected Abbot of Arbroath on 3 November 1470. He attended Parliament as abbot on 6 May 1471, confirming his second tenure shortly before his death.

Genealogical Significance and Assessment

The combined records strongly identify one highly educated ecclesiastic whose career included two separate tenures as abbot: approximately 1449–1455 and 1470–1472. His description as the king’s confessor links the 1463 papal chaplain, the royal officer of 1469, and the abbot provided under Paul II.

Richard and Sir David Guthrie of that Ilk occupied the same academic and governmental circles. Both studied at Cologne; David witnessed Richard’s resignation in 1455; and both attended Parliament in 1469 while holding senior royal offices. These associations make kinship possible, but no known record names Richard’s parents or identifies him as a member of the Kincaldrum family.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 10 — reception as a monk, provision to the abbacy, and dispute with Abbot Walter, 1449–1452.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 11, pp. 683–686 — royal confessor and papal chaplain, 1463.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 13 — second provision, death, and later confirmation of the vacancy.

Arbroath Abbey Register, Volume II, pp. 86–88 — resignation of the first abbacy, 1455.

Arbroath Abbey Register, Volume II, pp. 141–143 — almonry investigation, 1464.

Records of the Parliaments of Scotland, 1469 — principal royal confessor, general almoner, and hospital reform.

Records of the Parliaments of Scotland, 1471 — attendance as Abbot of Arbroath.

David Uchtre, Provost of Kilmun

Probable false Guthrie identification,
Diocese of Argyll, fifteenth century

Key Evidence

A surviving summary from a lost papal register names “David Outhere,” corrected by the calendar editor to “Guthere.” David received a new provision to an unnamed provostry in the Diocese of Argyll.

The entry appears under the second year of Pope Pius II’s pontificate, nominally 3 September 1459–2 September 1460. The calendar warns, however, that the pontifical years assigned in the surviving index are artificial, so the provision cannot be dated precisely.

Cross-Source Evidence

The unnamed office was almost certainly the provostry of Kilmun, the principal collegiate provostry within the Diocese of Argyll.

Modern research into the medieval clergy of Argyll identifies the officeholder as David Uchtre, Auchter, or Ouchtour—not Guthrie. Iain MacDonald places David as provost of Kilmun during the period 1465–1476 and probably also as the former vicar of Lochgoilhead, who was deceased by 1488.

A Glasgow University record from 1475 names Dominus David Vchiltre, provost of Kilmun. MacDonald associates him tentatively with the MacUchtraigh or MacUchtre kindred of Cowal. Another member of this local family, Alan Ouchtre or Oghtre, became vicar of Glenorchy in 1471.

Assessment

The papal calendar editor’s correction from Outhere to Guthere initially made this appear to be a Guthrie reference. The combined Argyll evidence points instead to David Uchtre or MacUchtraigh, a member of a locally established clerical and administrative family.

The entry should therefore be retained on the source page as a reviewed false positive but excluded from the Guthrie Research Sketches. It should not be merged with Sir David Guthrie of Kincaldrum, the Cologne-educated royal officer, or with any other David Guthrie.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 12, “Rubricelle of Lost Registers,” p. xxxiii: British History Online.

Iain G. MacDonald, Clerics and Clansmen: The Diocese of Argyll between the Twelfth and Sixteenth Centuries, pp. 159 and note 248, 294, and 363: Brill.

Sir David Guthrie of That Ilk

Lord of Kincaldrum, royal treasurer,
and founder of the Collegiate Church of Guthrie

Evidence from the Papal Registers

On 21 March 1466, David Guttre and his unnamed wife received a papal indult permitting each of them to use a portable altar and have mass celebrated upon it before daybreak. David was described as a nobleman, lord of Kyncaudrum—Kincaldrum—in the Diocese of Brechin, and treasurer to King James III.

The indult was issued only four days before the royal charter of 25 March 1466 that confirmed David’s acquisition of the lands of Guthrie. His designation as lord of Kincaldrum rather than Guthrie therefore accurately reflects his territorial status immediately before he became Guthrie of that Ilk.

The papal register next identifies David retrospectively. On 19 May 1479, his son Alexander petitioned for the formal erection of the parish church of Guthrie into a collegiate church. The petition stated that the late David, Alexander’s father, had initiated the project. The resulting institution comprised a provostship and four canonries or prebends, with Kirkbuddo united to one of them. Patronage was reserved to the succeeding lords of Guthrie.

Cross-Source Evidence

Sir David was a son of Sir Alexander Guthrie, first of Kincaldrum, and Marjory Guthrie. His royal career included service as sheriff of Forfar, treasurer, comptroller of the household, Clerk of the Rolls, diplomat, and justiciar.

The royal charter of 25 March 1466 restored the lands of Guthrie to the family. Sir David subsequently enlarged or altered the parish church as the intended setting for the collegiate foundation and a dynastic burial place. He died before completing the canonical arrangements, leaving his son and heir, Sir Alexander Guthrie, to secure papal approval.

Compiled pedigrees identify Sir David’s first wife as an unnamed daughter of Sir Thomas Maule of Panmure and his second as Janet Dundas, mother of Alexander and Elizabeth Guthrie. The papal indult’s unnamed “present wife” may have been Janet Dundas, but the document does not establish her identity. Nor does the word “present” independently prove an earlier marriage.

Genealogical Significance and Assessment

The two papal entries document the transition of this family from the Guthries of Kincaldrum to the territorial line of Guthrie of that Ilk. They also provide a direct father–son connection: David, the late initiator of the collegiate foundation, was father of Alexander, temporal lord of Guthrie in 1479.

The 1479 letter confirms that Sir David was already deceased by 19 May of that year. It is consistent with the traditionally reported death in 1474 but does not prove that exact year. It does, however, rule out accounts describing him as alive after the papal erection of the church.

The frequently repeated date of 14 June 1479 for the papal bull should also be reviewed. The calendar dates the surviving entry 19 May 1479—14 Kalends of June—which may explain how the date was later misread as 14 June.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 12, pp. 812–818 — portable-altar indult, 21 March 1466.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 13, pp. 136–139 — erection of the Collegiate Church of Guthrie, 19 May 1479.

Guthrie Parish Church, Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches — acquisition of Guthrie and development of the collegiate church.

Guthrie of Kincaldrum — family structure and cross-source career summary.

Alexander Guthry, Priest
and Claimant to Auchterhouse

Priest of the Diocese of Brechin
and litigant for an Angus vicarage, 1466–1469

Key Evidence

On 28 November 1466, Alexander Guthri petitioned for the perpetual vicarage of Auchterhouse in the Diocese of Dunkeld. He was identified as a priest of the Diocese of Brechin and as being of noble birth through both parents.

The benefice was already entangled in prolonged litigation. After two earlier claimants resigned while their dispute remained unresolved, it was granted to David Dishington. David allegedly agreed to resign in favor of Thomas Rogerson in exchange for money. Alexander challenged this arrangement as simoniacal.

The pope instructed local judges to investigate. If Alexander proved his allegations, Rogerson’s appointment was to be declared invalid and the vicarage, valued at no more than £9 sterling annually, assigned to Alexander. This was a conditional mandate rather than an immediate provision, so it does not prove that Alexander obtained possession.

The dispute continued in 1469. On 14 May, Rogerson acknowledged the improper bargain and petitioned for absolution, rehabilitation, and a fresh appointment. On 8 August, a new claimant, Maurice Ra, alleged that the true value of Auchterhouse exceeded the amount stated in both Alexander’s and Rogerson’s papal letters. If that allegation were proved, both sets of letters were to be annulled and the vicarage granted to Maurice.

Alexander’s name appeared again retrospectively in a mandate dated 27 April 1474. His possible resignation was listed among several alternative grounds by which Auchterhouse might be vacant. This formula does not prove that Alexander had possessed and resigned the benefice.

Cross-Source Evidence

A Forfarshire contract dated 24 December 1478 was witnessed by “sir Alexander Guthre, priest.” The shared name, clerical status, county, and close chronology make him a possible later appearance of the Auchterhouse claimant. The record names no benefice, however, so the identification remains unconfirmed.

Genealogical Significance

The description of Alexander as noble through both parents is particularly valuable. It places him within a Guthrie family of recognized gentle or noble standing, although neither parent is named.

One candidate for comparison is Master Alexander Guthrie, brother of Marjory Guthrie of Kincaldrum. That Master Alexander was active in Scottish legal affairs from at least the 1430s and joined Marjory in resigning Kincaldrum to its superior in February 1466/67—only a few months after the papal petition.

The overlap of name, period, region, education or clerical standing, and noble status makes this a worthwhile theory. Nevertheless, the papal letters never call the priest “Master,” identify Marjory, or connect him with Kincaldrum. The two identities should not yet be merged.

Assessment

Alexander was a serious claimant with sufficient status and support to pursue a complicated benefice case through the papal administration. The surviving mandates establish his participation but do not show that he became the undisputed vicar of Auchterhouse.

He was not Sir Alexander Guthrie of that Ilk, a contemporary lay landholder with a wife and children. He should also remain separate from Alexander Gutere, the deceased vicar of Coull recorded in 1471, unless additional evidence connects the two clerical careers. Because the 1474 Auchterhouse reference is retrospective, it does not establish that its Alexander was still alive at that date.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 12, pp. 253–269 — Alexander’s petition and conditional provision, 28 November 1466.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 12, pp. 708–714 — Rogerson’s rehabilitation, 14 May 1469.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 12, pp. 680–685 — Maurice Ra’s challenge, 8 August 1469.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 13, pp. 27–31 — retrospective reference to Alexander’s possible resignation, 27 April 1474.

National Records of Scotland, GD121/3/47 — “sir Alexander Guthre, priest,” witness in 1478.

James Guthry, Abbot of Kinloss

Cistercian theologian and former cellarer of Coupar-Angus, 1467–1481

Evidence from the Papal Registers

On 11 May 1467, Pope Paul II provided James Guthery to the abbacy of Kinloss in the Diocese of Moray. The monastery had become vacant through the death of its previous abbot, John Ellem, and its next provision had been specially reserved to the pope.

James was already a professed Cistercian monk of Coupar-Angus, a priest of lawful age, and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology. Before assuming the administration, he was required to take the customary oath of fealty before the bishops of St Andrews and Brechin. He also received permission to obtain the abbatial blessing from any Catholic bishop of his choice. Concurrent letters were sent to King James III and the abbot of Melrose.

An unfinished and cancelled registration of the same provision appears elsewhere in the papal registers. It was abandoned because it had been entered under the wrong heading and represents no separate appointment.

On 15 June 1481, the pope provided William Galbraith to Kinloss. The letter states that the abbey had become vacant at the apostolic see through James’s formal resignation to the pope. His tenure can therefore be dated securely from May 1467 until no later than June 1481.

Cross-Source Evidence

The sixteenth-century Kinloss historian John Ferrerius describes James as a learned theologian and former cellarer of Coupar-Angus. As cellarer, James would have held substantial responsibility for the monastery’s provisions and domestic administration.

Ferrerius records that David Bane, Abbot of Coupar-Angus and Cistercian visitor for Scotland, presided over James’s election at Kinloss. John Tellen, one of the senior Kinloss monks, cast the first vote for him. The subsequent papal provision was still necessary because the abbey had been reserved to the pope’s appointment.

During his abbacy, James completed building work begun by his predecessor, including the bell tower, and constructed a new stable. He also exercised authority within the wider Cistercian order, reportedly compelling Richard Marshall to resign as Abbot of Culross following a visitation.

Ferrerius records James’s death at Forfar on 16 March 1482/83 and states that he was buried there. He also repeats an allegation that James received money from William Galbraith while arranging his succession and hoped afterward to obtain the abbacy of Coupar. The papal record confirms the resignation and Galbraith’s succession but says nothing about payment or James’s motives. The accusation should therefore be treated as a later report, not an established fact.

Genealogical Significance

Neither the papal letters nor the Kinloss chronicle names James’s parents or identifies his birthplace. His profession at Coupar-Angus places his earlier religious career in Angus but does not prove that he belonged to one of the nearby landed Guthrie families.

Ferrerius also names a John Guthery who became a monk of Kinloss during James’s abbacy. Their shared surname makes a family connection worth investigating, particularly if James influenced John’s admission, but the chronicle states no relationship between them.

Assessment

James was one of the most highly educated and senior Guthrie churchmen of the fifteenth century. His theological degree, administrative experience, election at Kinloss, papal provision, and authority as a monastic visitor indicate a substantial ecclesiastical career.

He should not be identified with the contemporary James Guthrie of Halkerton, a lay landholder with a wife and family. No evidence presently connects the abbot genealogically with the Guthries of Kincaldrum or Guthrie of that Ilk.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 12, pp. 561–565 — provision to Kinloss, 11 May 1467.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 12, pp. 812–818 — unfinished and cancelled duplicate registration.

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 13, pp. 720–722 — James’s resignation and William Galbraith’s provision, 15 June 1481.

John Ferrerius, Historia Abbatum de Kynlos, pp. 31–33 — election, administration, resignation tradition, death, and John Guthery’s admission as a monk.

Alexander Gutere, Vicar of Coull

Clergyman of the Diocese of Aberdeen, deceased by 1471

Key Evidence

On 8 December 1471, Pope Sixtus IV ordered the official of Aberdeen to provide George Carabris with the perpetual vicarage of Quoll—Coull—in the Diocese of Aberdeen. The benefice, valued at £9 sterling annually, was vacant through the death of its previous holder, Alexander Gutere.

The mandate supplies no date for Alexander’s appointment or death. It establishes only that he had held the vicarage and was deceased by December 1471.

Coull was an Aberdeenshire parish whose church had belonged to Arbroath Abbey since its grant by King William the Lion in 1188. Alexander’s association was nevertheless with the Diocese of Aberdeen rather than the abbey’s Angus locality.

Genealogical Significance

The entry names no parents, relatives, birthplace, or additional benefice. The spelling Gutere supports his inclusion in the Guthrie surname survey, but the record does not connect him with a particular Guthrie family.

Assessment

Alexander should presently be kept separate from Alexander Guthry, the Brechin priest who claimed the vicarage of Auchterhouse between 1466 and 1469. The chronology permits them to have been the same man, since the Auchterhouse claimant could have died before December 1471. However, the different diocesan and benefice associations and absence of any connecting record make consolidation premature.

He also cannot be the “sir Alexander Guthre, priest” who witnessed an Angus contract in 1478, because the vicar of Coull was already dead.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 13, p. 12 — provision following Alexander’s death, 8 December 1471.

Historic Environment Scotland: Coull Parish Church — early history of the church and its connection with Arbroath Abbey.

Master David Guthre, Provost of Guthrie

Canon of Aberdeen, university teacher,
and doctor of both laws, active 1482–1504

Evidence from the Papal Registers

On 15 February 1482, Pope Sixtus IV ordered the abbot of Arbroath to collate Master David Guthre to the provostship of the Collegiate Church of Guthrie. David was already a canon of Aberdeen and Master of Arts.

The collegiate church had been erected in 1479 but its first provostship remained vacant. Alexander, temporal lord of Guthrie, had presented David within the lawful period, but the bishop of Brechin had refused to institute him for an unstated reason. The pope therefore intervened and ordered David’s collation. The provostship was valued at £6 sterling annually, and David was permitted to retain his Aberdeen canonry and prebend.

The mandate authorized David’s appointment but does not alone prove that it was executed. Later records, however, explicitly style him Provost of Guthrie, confirming that he eventually obtained the office.

Cross-Source Evidence

University records place a David Guthrie—apparently the same educated cleric—as Dean of the Faculty of Arts at St Andrews during the session of 1486–1487. He had personal experience of academic practice at Cologne.

On 12 December 1496, Master David Guthre, Doctor of Both Laws, was appointed procurator in an Arbroath Abbey ecclesiastical case. In 1497 he acted for Bishop William Elphinstone and the University of Aberdeen and lectured there. By 1499 he was also rector of Aberdour and a member of the Aberdeen Cathedral chapter.

Records of the Lords of Council bring the academic lawyer and the provostship together. During litigation in 1500–1501, Master David appeared both as a doctor and as “provest of that ilk.” He represented Elizabeth Guthrie, widow of Alexander Maule, and participated in disputes concerning the Guthrie family estates.

These records resolve an important ambiguity. The title “provost of that ilk” refers to the Provost of the Collegiate Church of Guthrie—not to the civic Provost of Aberdeen. Aberdeen’s municipal provostship was held by other men during the years in which David appears.

Genealogical Significance

Alexander Guthrie’s presentation of a same-surname cleric to the headship of his family’s collegiate foundation suggests close confidence and probably kinship. Master David is a plausible candidate for the David traditionally identified as Sir Alexander Guthrie’s eldest son and heir.

The chronology supports that possibility. David was already a Master of Arts in 1482 and later represented members of the Guthrie family in litigation. If he was Sir Alexander’s son, however, his mother must have been Alexander’s unidentified earlier wife rather than Margaret Lyon, whom Alexander married only after 1500–1501.

No surviving record yet calls the provost Alexander’s son, identifies him as heir of Guthrie, or connects him with Andrew Guthrie, the next territorial successor.

Assessment

The combined evidence strongly supports identifying the canon presented in 1482 with the later university teacher, Doctor of Both Laws, and Provost of Guthrie. His education, Aberdeen offices, legal career, and direct involvement in Guthrie family affairs form a coherent professional history.

He cannot be Sir David Guthrie who founded the collegiate church, since that David was already deceased before the 1479 erection. His proposed identification with Sir Alexander’s son David—traditionally said to have died at Flodden in 1513—remains promising but unproven. Evidence concerning his ordination, any marriage, and the parentage of Andrew Guthrie would be required before merging the cleric securely into the territorial pedigree.

References

Calendar of Papal Registers, Volume 13, pp. 815–823 — proposed appointment to the first provostship of Guthrie, 15 February 1482.

Annie I. Dunlop, ed., Acta Facultatis Artium Universitatis Sanctiandree, 1413–1588 — deanship at St Andrews and academic experience at Cologne, 1486–1487.

Arbroath Abbey Register, Volume II, pp. 298–299 — Doctor of Both Laws and ecclesiastical procurator, 1496.

Fasti Aberdonenses — University of Aberdeen activity and rectory of Aberdour, 1497–1499.

Acts of the Lords of Council — appearances as doctor and Provost of Guthrie in family litigation, 1500–1501.