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KENNEDY, JAMES, bishop of St
Andrews, was the younger of the two sons of James Kennedy of Dunure, and his
wife, the countess of Angus, daughter of Robert III. king of Scotland. He
was born about the year 1405 or 1406. The earlier part of his education he
received at home, under the eye of his mother, and was afterwards, agreeably
to the practice of the times, sent abroad to complete it. Being early
destined to the church, the only road to preferment at that period, and the
only profession, besides, worthy his dignified descent, he devoted himself
to the study particularly of theology and the canon law; but, besides his
acquirements in these departments of knowledge, he made a singular
proficiency in the languages and other branches of learning, and was
altogether looked upon as by far the most accomplished prelate of his day.
On his entering into holy
orders, he was preferred (1437) by his uncle James I. to the see of Dunkeld.
The good bishop was no sooner installed in his office than he set
assiduously to work to reform abuses in the church, and to compel his vicars
and parsons to a faithful discharge of their duties. He enjoined them to
remain in their parishes, and to instruct their parishioners in the
knowledge of religion, to preach to them regularly, and to visit, comfort,
and encourage the sick. He himself visited all the churches within his
diocese four times every year, preaching in each of them as he went along.
On these occasions he never failed to inquire of the people if they were
duly instructed by their pastors; if they had no complaints against them;
whether their poor were properly cared for; and if their youth were brought
up in the fear of God. Such were the pious labours of this excellent man at
the outset of his career, and he never deviated from them during the whole
of a long and active after-life. Finding his own authority insufficient to
enable him to accomplish all the good he was desirous of doing, in reforming
the abuses which had crept into the church, he went over to Florence to
procure additional powers for this purpose from the pope, Eugenius IV. On
this occasion his holiness, as a mark of his esteem for the worthy prelate,
bestowed upon him the commendam of the abbacy of Leone.
On the death of Wardlaw,
bishop of St Andrews, an event which happened on 6th April, 1440,
Kennedy was chosen as his successor in that see; and to this new and more
important charge, he brought all that activity and anxiety to do good which
had distinguished him while he filled the bishopric of Dunkeld. He continued
his efforts to reform the manners and practice of the clergy, and in 1446,
set out on a second journey to Italy, to consult with and obtain the
co-operation of the pope in his work of reformation. On this occasion he was
accompanied by a train of thirty persons; for though moderate and temperate
in all his pursuits and enjoyments, he was yet of an exceedingly liberal and
generous disposition, and a scrupulous maintainer of the dignity of the
sacred office which he held, and he had sufficient penetration to discover
how much of this, as of all human dignities, depends upon extrinsic aids.
His dislike of turbulence and anarchy, and his constant efforts to reconcile
differences where they existed, and to discountenance oppression, and to
restrain illegal power, rendered him peculiarly obnoxious to the house of
Douglas, which, during the minority of James II., had nearly accomplished
the total overthrow of the hereditary royalty of Scotland. In revenge of the
part he took in restraining the power of that ambitious family, his lands
were plundered by the earl of Crawford and Alexander Ogilvie of Inveraritie,
at the instigation of the earl of Douglas, who had farther instructed them
to seize, if possible, the person of the bishop, and to put him in irons.
This fate he avoided by confining himself to his castle, the only mode of
resistance which he thought consistent with his sacred character as a
minister of religion. He was, however, eventually the means of reducing the
power of the Douglases within limits more consistent with the peace and
safety of the kingdom. James II., almost driven from his throne by the
increasing insolence and influence of the chief of that house, went in
despair to St Andrews, to seek the counsel and advice of its able and
amiable bishop. On the prince and prelate meeting, the former laid before
him the desperate situation to which the growing power and daring effrontery
of the earl of Douglas had reduced him. He informed him that he had learned
that Douglas was mustering a large army either to dethrone him or
drive him from the country; that he knew no means of resisting him, and was
utterly at a loss what steps to take in this emergency. "Sir," replied the
bishop, perceiving that the disconsolate king was exhausted with fatigue as
well as depressed in spirits, "I entreat your grace to partake, in the mean
time, of some refreshment, and while ye do so, I will pass into my chamber
and pray to God for you and the commonwealth of this realm."
On retiring, as he had
proposed, the good bishop fervently implored the interference of the
Almighty in behalf of the unhappy prince, who, friendless and distracted,
had sought his counsel and advice; and when the king had finished his
repast, he came forth, and taking him by the hand, led him into the
apartment in which he himself had been praying, and there they both knelt
down and besought the guidance and assistance of Him who directs all
things,—a scene than which it would not probably be easy to conceive
anything more striking or interesting.
When they had concluded their
devotions, the bishop proceeded to point out to the king such a mode of
procedure as he deemed the most suitable to the circumstances. He advised
the monarch immediately to issue proclamations, calling upon his subjects in
the north to muster around his standard, which he afterwards erected at St
Andrews, and still more wisely, and as the issue showed, with a still better
effect, proposed his offering pardon to all who, having previously attached
themselves to the earl of Douglas, would now abandon his cause, and aid that
of the king. The consequence was, that James soon found himself at the head
of forty thousand men. The final muster took place at Stirling, and a
battle, which was to decide whether a Douglas or a Stuart was to be king of
Scotland, appeared to be at hand; for the former with an equal force was at
that moment encamped on the south side of the Carron. But, while in the very
act of advancing with his army to encounter the forces of the king, Douglas
detected the effects of the amnesty proclaimed by James by the advice of the
bishop of St Andrews. A spirit of disaffection and indications of doubt and
wavering appeared in his ranks. Alarmed by these symptoms, he marched his
army back to their encampment, hoping to restore their confidence in him by
the following day, when he proposed again to march forth against the enemy.
The result, however, was directly the reverse of what he had anticipated.
The feeling which he expected to subdue, in place of subsiding, gained
ground; so that in the morning, there were not a hundred men remaining of
all Douglas’s host. Finding himself thus suddenly deserted, the earl
instantly fled; and in this manner fell the overgrown power of the house of
Douglas,—a circumstance mainly, if not entirely attributable to the wisdom
and energy of the bishop of St Andrews.
On the death of James II.,
bishop Kennedy was intrusted with the charge and education of his son,
afterwards James III., then about seven years of age. His known wisdom,
prudence, and integrity, pointed him out as the fittest person for this
important duty, and on the same ground there was added to it a large share
in the management of public affairs during the regency of the queen-mother.
He had acquired an authority in the kingdom by the mere influence of his
character, which few had ever attained by adventitious circumstances, and
which no churchman had at any time before enjoyed; and he was thus enabled
to accomplish more amongst a rude and barbarous people, than would have been
yielded to the mere force of power or rank. The consequence was, that an
unusual quietness and prosperity pervaded the whole kingdom during his
administration. He enjoyed the confidence and good-will of all parties, and
was no less esteemed for his probity, humanity, and wisdom, than admired for
the splendour of his abilities; and so highly was his character appreciated,
and so universal the satisfaction which his government afforded, that the
chief management of public affairs was still left in his hands even after
the death of the queen-mother, and remained with him until his own death,
which took place on the 10th of May, 1466, an event which was widely and
sincerely deplored.
Bishop Kennedy was not less
remarkable for his munificence than for the other splendid qualities which
composed his character. He founded the college at St Andrews, called St
Salvator’s, in honour of our Saviour, and endowed it with a fund for the
maintenance of a provost, four regents, and eight poor scholars, or bursars,
at an expense of about ten thousand pounds. He built a ship, which was
afterwards known by the name of the Bishop’s Barge, at a similar cost, and
his tomb is said to have been equally expensive with the two former. In
1444, he was appointed chancellor of the kingdom, but this office he
resigned in a few weeks afterwards, because he found it interfered with
those projects for doing good in his clerical capacity, which he had
resolved to follow out from the beginning of his career. He was, by his own
desire, interred in the collegiate church of St Andrews, where his tomb is
still shown, along with several silver maces which were found in it some
years ago. |
