Lay piety in Later Medieval Lothian, c.1306-c.1513

Abstract

This thesis looks at some aspects of the laity's devotional and ecclesiastical interests in the archdeaconry of Lothian, c. 1306 to c. 1513. This is the first such study of a locality in Scotland before the sixteenth century. The laity in question are the social and economic elite - royalty, nobility, landholders and burgesses. This focus is determined by the evidence available. Although Lothian (and Scotland as a whole) does not have the sort of documents or artefacts which have formed the basis of local studies in other parts of Christendom, material is available which allows certain aspects of the laity's relationship with the church to be assessed. Noble and royal interests are addressed in chapters on the rise of the secular college in Scotland, the noble and royal collegiate churches in Lothian, the development of the Chapel Royal, royal almsgiving, and especially James IV's almsgiving in Lothian and his devotional interests more broadly. Lay interest in monastic houses is also treated, complementing other scholars' recent work on the friars and female religious houses in medieval Scotland. Parish life is examined where possible, particularly in terms of investment in intercession in the urban parish of St Giles', Edinburgh. Finally, there is a chapter on the cult of the saints, including pilgrimage sites in Lothian, with particular consideration of the prominence (or otherwise) of interest in native saints. The thesis aims to broaden medieval Scotland's straitly political historiography by highlighting religious practices, particularly in the contexts of kingship and of local society. Given that much of the historiography relating to the Scottish Church and religion has been driven by responses to the Reformation, it also asks how far the Scottish evidence permits useful conclusions about piety to be drawn for the late medieval period.