About the Chronicle


Abbots of Melrose: a brief introduction

Seal impression, Bishop Jocelin19th-century seal impression of Bishop Jocelin, former abbot of Melrose
(image source)

 

The abbots: what does the Chronicle tell us?

The Chronicle is one of the main sources for abbots of Melrose in this period. This can be supplemented with charter documents recording the actions of abbots as grantors, recipients and witnesses, or material evidence such as their seals. In each of these sources, we can only glimpse the individual and their attributes or connections.

The Chronicle itself lists its abbots of Melrose from 1136 to 1273 (Faustina B IX, f. 63v). The list is attributable to Scribal profile 119, and must have been written after 16 March 1273 and while the manuscript was still at Melrose (before the mid-14th century). (The list also notes six bishops who had been appointed from Melrose Abbey up to 1235.)

Below is that list of abbots, with links to any relevant mention in the Chronicle itself. It also gives links to their relevant profile in the People of Medieval Scotland database (PoMS) where their activity in charters can be found. The summaries draw on those in PoMS.


Richard

  • Abbot of Melrose: 23 May 1136 – resigned 1148 (died 1149)
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/503/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 18r, 18v, 19r, 63v
  • Summary: Richard was the first abbot of Melrose, appointed at the abbey’s foundation on 23 May 1136. He resigned in 1148 and died at Clairvaux in 1149. 


St Waldef (Waltheof)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1148 – died 3 August 1159 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/631/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 18v, 19r, 21r (opening of his tomb, AD 1171), 45r (second opening of his tomb, AD 1240), 63v
  • Summary: Waltheof was the stepson of King David I and sacrist of Rievaulx Abbey before becoming abbot of Melrose, Rievaulx’s daughter-house, in 1148. Before the end of May 1159 he was elected bishop of St Andrews with the consent of his nephew King Malcolm IV, but declined the office. He died on 3 August 1159, still abbot of Melrose. He was grandson of Earl Waltheof and brother of Henry, earl of Northumberland, and Simon, earl of Northampton.


William (I)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 27 November 1159 – resigned 22 April 1170 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/141/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 19r, 20v, 63v
  • Summary: William was a monk of Melrose when he succeeded as abbot.


Jocelin

  • Abbot of Melrose: 22 April 1170 – 23 May 1174
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/745/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 20v, 22r, 22v, 23r, 23v, 25v, 26r, 26v, 63v
  • Summary: Jocelin succeeded as abbot of Melrose on 22 April 1170 and held the office until his election as bishop of Glasgow on 23 May 1174, in Perth. He was consecrated in 1175, probably before 15 March, at Clairvaux. He died at Melrose on 17 March 1199 and was buried there. In the Chronicle (f. 22r), at his election, he is described as ‘a gentle and well mannered man, a mild and moderate man’). Later (f. 25v), a passage wishes that ‘his blessed soul always be in eternal glory and happy memory’, written as though Jocelin had already died.


Laurence

  • Abbot of Melrose: 14 May 1175 – died 1178
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/492/
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 22r, 22v, 63v
  • Summary: Laurence was a monk of Melrose and had been abbot of an unidentified house in Orkney before his election as abbot of Melrose on 14 May 1175. He was blessed by the bishop of Glasgow on 21 May that year and died in 1178. In the  Chronicle (f. 22v), his death notice describes him as ‘a man of wonderful humility and gentleness, and learned to the greatest degree in divine texts’.


Arnold (Ernald)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 6 January 1179 – 2 March 1189
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/422/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 22v, 23v, 25r, 63v
  • Summary: Arnold was blessed as abbot of Melrose by Jocelin, bishop of Glasgow, on 6 January 1179. He served until his election as abbot of Rievaulx on 2 March 1189. In 1182 he went with Bishop Jocelin to Rome, returning with gifts and a papal blessing from Lucius III for King William I.


Renier (Rayner)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 23 March 1189 – resigned 17 September 1194
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/796/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 22r, 25r, 26r, 63v
  • Summary: Renier was a monk of Melrose elected abbot of Kinloss after the death of Ascelin in March 1174, occurring in that office by 18 February 1175. He was elected abbot of Melrose on 23 March 1189 and resigned on 17 September 1194.


Ralph (I)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 18 September 1194 – 1202 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/4052/
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 26r, 27r, 63v
  • Summary: Ralph was probably prior of Kinloss when he succeeded Renier there as abbot in 1189, then succeeded Renier again as abbot of Melrose on 18 September 1194. In 1202 he was made bishop of Down, Ireland, by a papal legate, serving eleven years; his successor as bishop appears in 1213.


William (II)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1202 – died 8 June 1206 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/826/
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 27r, 27v, 63v
  • Summary: William was master of the laybrothers at Melrose before becoming abbot of Coupar Angus on 15 January 1200. He resigned that post in 1202 to become abbot of Melrose, dying in office on 8 June 1206.


Patrick (I)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1206 – died 1207 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/804/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 27v, 28r, 63v
  • Summary: Patrick was sub-prior of Melrose when made abbot in 1206. He died the following year.


Adam (I)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1207 – 5 August 1213
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/4118/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 28r, 30r, 30v, 39r, 39v, 42r (possible reference to him as bishop), 63v
  • Summary: Adam was abbot of Melrose when elected bishop of Caithness on 5 August 1213 (consecrated on 11 May 1214). He dedicated St Mary’s, Hawick, later that same month. In 1218 he travelled to Rome with Bishop Walter of Glasgow and Bishop Brice of Moray seeking absolution, returning in 1219. On 11 September 1222 he was murdered by stoning, along with the Newbattle monk Serlo at his manor of Halkirk during a dispute with John, earl of Caithness; the manor was then burnt. In the Chronicle (ff. 39r–39v) his death is described and eulogised, comparing him to a martyr.


Hugh (Hugo) of Clipstone

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1214 – resigned 1215
  • PoMS: Not present in PoMS 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 30v, 32r, 63v
  • Summary: Hugh was a monk of Melrose when elected as abbot. He resigned his office in the general chapter of Cîteaux.


William (III) de Courcy

  • Abbot of Melrose: 16 November 1215 – 31 August 1216
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/7230/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 32r, 33r, 63v
  • Summary: William de Courcy was abbot of Holm Cultram before succeeding as abbot of Melrose on 16 November 1215. He went on to become abbot of Rievaulx on 31 August 1216.


Ralph (II)

  • Abbot of Melrose: 14 September 1216 – died 1 June 1219
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/8383/
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 33r, 36v, 37r, 63v
  • Summary: Ralph was cellarer of Melrose before his election as abbot on 14 September 1216. He was blessed at Melrose by the bishop of Dunkeld (in the absence of the bishop of Glasgow) on 29 September 1216. He died on 1 June 1219. He was one of the abbots who successfully appealed in 1218 against a prohibition on Cistercian monks in Scotland celebrating divine offices.


Adam (II) of Harcarse

  • Abbot of Melrose: 6 August 1219 – 1245 or 1246 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/3395/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 37r, 42v, 43v, 61r, 63v
  • Summary: Adam became cellarer of Newbattle and succeeded Richard as abbot there on 20 August 1216. In 1218 he joined other Scottish abbots in a successful appeal to the papal legate Guala against the suspension of Cistercian divine offices in Scotland. He succeeded Ralph as abbot of Melrose on 6 August 1219. He died in 1245. An anecdote in the Chronicle (f. 61r) is described as occurring ‘[i]n the days of that venerable abbot of Melrose, Adam of Harcarse’.


Matthew of Newton

  • Abbot of Melrose: 15 April 1246 – 1261 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/2131/
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 55r, 60v, 62v, 63v
  • Summary: Matthew was cellarer of Melrose before his election as abbot on 15 April 1246, blessed by the bishop of Glasgow at Melrose on 17 May that year. Accounts in the chronicle differ as to whether he was deposed in absentia by the father-abbot of Rievaulx in 1261, or resigned at Melrose on 24 July 1261 owing to infirmity. In the Chronicle (f. 62v), he is described as ‘a good, devout, and most generous man’.


Adam (III) of Maxton

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1 August 1261 – deposed 1267
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/6078/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 60v, 63v, 66r 
  • Summary: Adam was cellarer at Melrose before succeeding William as abbot of Newbattle on 22 January 1260. He was elected abbot of Melrose and installed on 1 August 1261. He was deposed by the Cistercian general chapter in 1267, after himself deposing the abbot of Holm Cultram without the chapter’s authority.


John of Edrom

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1267 – 1268
  • PoMS: Not in PoMS 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 63v, 66r, 73v
  • Summary: John was elected abbot after Adam of Maxton was pressured into resigning in 1267, and resigned himself the following year. Edrom is in Berwickshire.


Robert de Keldeleth

  • Abbot of Melrose: 1269 – died between 16 and 24 March 1273 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/4395/ 
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 63v, 73v
  • Summary: Robert was a monk of Dunfermline who succeeded to that abbacy in 1240, then moved to Newbattle on or after 2 February 1252, resigning Dunfermline at that time. He was chancellor of Scotland when he succeeded as abbot of Melrose in 1269, resigning and dying between 16 and 24 March 1273.


Patrick (II) of Selkirk

  • Abbot of Melrose: after 16 March 1273 
  • PoMS: www.poms.ac.uk/record/person/3308/
  • Mentions in the Chronicle of Melrose: ff. 52r, 63v
  • Summary: Patrick was a monk of Melrose who succeeded as abbot after 16 March 1273. He is recorded again on 28 August 1296.

 

 

The abbots of Melrose: influence on the chronicle? 

The abbots exerted a profound influence on the day-to-day running of the abbey. It is natural to assume that this extended to all activities undertaken by members of the community, including chronicle writing. 

For Melrose, we cannot say definitively what was directed by the abbot. We can surely guess, however, that the original undertaking of compiling a chronicle was likely the abbot’s initiative (see the discussion of Who started the chronicle? here), and that the large-scale updates must have been carried out with the abbot’s permission, even if not at his explicit direction. 

Some episodes may indeed be attributable to particular abbots of Melrose. William Scott has traced the influence of abbots in the early-thirteenth-century annals, suggesting a noticeable shift which could be attributable to Abbot Adam (1207–13). This occurs within the section of annals for 1198–1215 attributable to Scribal profile 65, datable after 1215 but probably drawing on notes compiled earlier. From 1198 to 1207 the entries are concise and of limited range; from 1208 they become more stylised and lengthy. Abbot Adam held important roles for the king of Scots at this time, notably serving as ambassador to King John. As Scott shows, the chronicle offers unique insights on the report of the two kings’ meeting in 1209 (see Faustina B IX, f. 28v). Scott further suggests that the folio summarising relations between kings of Scots and kings of England (Faustina B IX, f. 54) may have been compiled as a briefing note for Adam ahead of the 1212 meetings between Kings William and John. After Adam departed Melrose to become bishop of Caithness, there are signs that he may still have been sending information to Melrose about the north of Scotland, such as the 1215 Mac Uilleim rebellion in Moray, suppressed by Mac an t-Sagairt (Faustina B IX, f. 31r). 

William de Courcy was abbot of Melrose for less than a year (16 November 1215 – 31 August 1216) but he too may have left a trace. Although the section for his year as abbot was written after November 1218 (Scribal profile 66), it gives detailed attention to Holm Cultram during the 1216 Scottish raids into northern England – an abbey where William had previously been abbot. (See further William W. Scott, ‘Abbots Adam (1207–1213) and William (1215–1216) of Melrose and the Melrose Chronicle’, in Church, Chronicle and Learning in Medieval and Early Renaissance Scotland, ed. Barbara E. Crawford (Edinburgh, 1998), pp. 161–71.) 

These are examples where the content of the chronicle might be linked to a certain abbot, especially where these are large-scale updates. The manuscripts of the Chronicle of Melrose also, however, make visible a more individual, responsive mode of reading and writing. Some of the smaller updates, such marginal notes or signposts, might suggest a reader who was moved to add an item while a quill was readily to hand. To highlight the translation of Abbot Waldef (Faustina B IX, f. 21r); to add reminders that some or all of the chronicle had been borrowed by the abbot of Dundrennan (Faustina B IX, f. 11v and f. 46v); to jot down the current reign-length of the king of England (Faustina B IX, f. 53v); to supplement an entry so that readers would know it was John of Haddington who succeeded as porter of St Serf’s in 1252 (Faustina B IX, f. 56v). These moments of individuality, or scribal autonomy, can sit uneasily with what we understand of Cistercian communal practice, which was highly regulated. It can also complicate our hopes that a source such as a chronicle was regulated and ‘quality assured’ rather than left to the whim of individual monks. To appreciate the full possible spectrum of chronicle activity, we are indebted to the survival of the manuscripts. The digital edition of the Melrose Chronicle hopes to allow all the hands, and voices, of the abbey to be seen and heard in their original setting.

 

 

Author: Jo Tucker
Last updated: 31/08/2026