Series 3 > Charters of the Abbey of Inchcolm

INTRODUCTION
xxx vii
other rights unless it is defended from the attacks of
the English and others by the might (potentia) of neigh¬
bouring magnates and noblemen and considering that
the relations and kin of James Stewart have aided the
monastery and held themselves ready and prepared to
defend, repair and preserve it, Richard appoints pro¬
curators. . . 1
The attack on the monastery by the English in 1542 is not
otherwise recorded ; 2 but there can be little doubt that
if its reduced circumstances were a reason why the Abbot
should not lightly disregard the opportunity of enlisting
the aid of Stewart’s father and kinsmen in its defence and
reconstruction, the benevolence of the Stewarts was not
disinterested and any pretext was good enough for needy
laymen, like James Stewart, elder, whose ultimate aim was
to provide for himself, as well as his son, out of the revenues
of the Abbey. The suspicion of ‘ bluff ’ is intensified when
we discover the Earl of Arran supporting his plea for the
appointment of James Stewart, yr., in a letter to the
Pope, on quite another ground—the ‘ imbecillitas animi ’
and ‘ moles senii ’ of Abercromby,3 a palpable exaggera¬
tion strangely inconsistent with the presupposition that
Richard was to continue in the discharge of the Abbot’s
duties, for which, in any case, the ‘ noble and studious
youth ’ of thirteen was utterly unfit. The Stewarts’
ambitions were realized. James, elder, had a lease of Death
from the Abbey in 1543 4 and appeared thereafter as Stewart
of Death. James, yr., obtained two papal bulls, dated
13 August 1544, one providing for his admission as a canon
of Inchcolm and the other appointing him Abbot; 5 and
although the bull of appointment grants that a third
or a fourth part of the Abbey revenues may be used for
1 Charters, No. lx. 2 See note to No. lx.
8 Epp. Reg. Scot., ii., p. 163. 4 RMS., ii., 2915. See p. 242.
8 Charters, Nos. lxi., lxii.