Bernard of Kilwinning
Bernard (died c. 1331) was a Tironensian abbot, administrator and bishop active in late 13th- and early 14th-century Scotland, during the First War of Scottish Independence. He first appears in the records already established as Abbot of Kilwinning in 1296, disappearing for a decade before re-emerging as Chancellor of Scotland then Abbot of Arbroath.
Bernard | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of the Isles | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| See | Diocese of the Isles |
| In office | 1327 x 1328–1331 |
| Predecessor | Gillebrìghde MacGilleFhaolain |
| Successor | Thomas de Rossy |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 26 June x 12 November 1328 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | unknown uncertain |
| Died | c. 1331 Buried in Kilwinning Abbey |
| Previous post(s) | Abbot of Kilwinning (x 1296–1296 x 1305) Chancellor of Scotland (1306 x 1308–1328) Abbot of Arbroath (1310–1328) |
A senior figure in the administration of Scotland during the 1310s and 1320s, he is widely said by modern writers to have drafted the Declaration of Arbroath, and although there is no direct evidence for this, he nevertheless probably played a role. By early 1328, his service to the king had earned him a bishopric – the bishopric of the Isles – a position he held for three or four years before his death in 1331.