Each Benedictine Abbey was entirely autonomous, with no “headquarters” jurisdiction over them like later orders. [4] Although self-sufficient for basic sustenance and core obligations {eg, hospitality}, the newly re-endowed Abbey would not have had any capital reserves by then from raising its own various incomes, spiritualia or temporalia, to be capable of funding and carrying out expensive capital works. (Let alone recruit the architects, skilled workers and labourers and also source, contract for and transport the building materials, etc.)
"Before 1200", Reginald mac Somerled retired - 1203, he founded Iona Abbey - 1204, the building's beginnings were razed to the ground - 1207, Reginald died - 1210, site was again sacked {and burnt as usual?}.
Reginald’s Iona Abbey dream had to be realised, right from the very beginning, by his immediate heirs. These Kings and Clan Donald Lords of the Isles were builders of thirty large stone structures in many difficult coastal and island locations from c.1150 requiring considerable sea power, regional control of land resources (eg, 'rose' granite, freestone, timber from Mull for Iona), building expertise, organisational ability, many vassal men and significant finances.
Founders and their heirs :- “provided the territory, land, stone and timber, books, furniture, farming implements and gold.” [5] “It was the founder of a house and his heirs who provided the impetus to build or rebuild, who might contribute ideas, and who furnished resources to finance the project”. (Monastic and Religious Orders; p.152; Burton, J., 1994.)
“Reginald is said to have made a pilgrimage to Rome and returned with consecrated dust which was scattered on the (Saddell) foundations and to have lived there for three years during its building ‘without coming under a roof’” ("Clan Donald"; 3 Vols; 1900). "It seems that the original plans were not realised until 1207 when Somerled’s son, Reginald, provided the abbey with a site above Carradale bay, half way down the Kintyre peninsula." This strongly indicates that Reginald superintended the Saddell construction from the start, leaving Donald to do the same for Iona. Reginald’s three years living rough at Saddell Abbey’s new Cistercian institution, daughter-house of Mellifont, Ireland, might indicate that this was really his main love - “where his heart was/is.” (Did he also translate Somerled’s embalmed heart as part of Saddell Abbey’s founding ceremony? Somerled is most definitley NOT buried at Saddell!)
Donald was the immediate heir of the founder, and the eponymous head of a three century long, unbroken MacDonald dynasty of ‘unrivalled’ endowers, patrons, generous benefactors, protectors and re-builders. Within 0nly a year from foundation, he even had to contend with an Irish razing of the emerging Abbey in 1204 (ie, means to the ground), arbitrate that serious dispute and assent to a new Abbot appointment from Derry [6] and then a rival’s plundering (burning?) in 1210. [7] The 1210 plundering may have been a 12 galley party under a Hebridean named Óspakr who Power says might have been a member of the Somerled family - and all this may have been connected with the 1210 killing of Reginald's brother Aengus and his three sons over land redistribution that possibly involved Iona grants. (Donald enforcing the Iona endowment arrangements of his father as the principal?) In between these events, his far removed and 'retired' (frail?) father Reginald, died in Paisley, 1207.
NB : The founder's endowment does not pay for the construction costs! “It was the founder of a house and his heirs who provided the impetus to build or rebuild, who might contribute ideas, and who furnished resources to finance the project.” (Monastic and Religious Orders; p.152; Burton, J., 1994.) It is worth repeating :-
"The patron has the subsidiary duty of building" (Trent, Sess. XXI, "de ref.", c. vii). ius patronatus - ipso jure : “A right of patronage comes into existence or is originally acquired by foundation, privilege, or prescription. Under foundation or fundatio in the broader sense is included the granting of the necessary means for the erection and maintenance of a benefice."
"Thus, granting that a church is necessary to a benefice, three things are requisite:
- FOUNDATION - the assignment of land, for the site only; (fundatio in the narrow sense);
- BUILDING - the erection of the church at one's private expense (aedificatio);
- FUNDING - and the granting of the means necessary for the support of the church and beneficiaries (dotatio)." [endowment of much extra land to provide guaranteed recurring income- ‘rents’, tithes, etc]
As Reginald was not only elderly, dying within three years after the Irish razing, but also had been ‘retired from the world’ (assumed the cowl) for over five years {"before 1200'} and often a long distance away at either his new Cistercian foundation at Saddell or in the brotherhood at Paisley Abbey, it was most probably his heir {assuming his rights and responsibilities}, that is the eponymous Donald who actually provided the additional, new resources and superintended the re-construction of the present Abbey and its Church [and later the Nunnery from c.1208] – “In remission of my sins and of the sins of my parents (and) for the health of my soul and the souls of my predecessors and successors.” (An example from the foundation Charter of Monasterevan Abbey, Ireland, by the King of Offalia.)
NB :-The right of patronage is hereditary (haereditarium), that is, the founder's heirs are - “entitled to the right of presentation, honorary rights, utilitarian rights(iura utilia) and the cura beneficii.” And so are the responsibilities : “If the church connected with the patronage is threatened with total ruin, or the endowment with a deficit, if those first bound to restore it are not at hand, the bishop is to exhort the patron to rebuild (reœdificandum) or renew the endowment (ad redotandum).” It is therefore self evident that in the circumstances given above, Donald as the founder's immediate patrilineal successor, would in practice respond and act as the "effective founder" and assume those interests and indeed responsibility. If this occurred with either King Henry I, II, or III or James I, II, or III, then the correct distinction of the specific individual attribution would definitely be made clear.
CLAN DONALD LORDS OF THE ISLES WERE “HANDS ON MANAGERS” OF THEIR INVESTMENT RIGHT FROM THE START AND THROUGHOUT THE THREE CENTURIES OF THEIR CONTROL OF THEIR "ECCLESIASTICAL TENANT-IN–CHIEF”. PATRONS AND THEIR MONASTERIES VALUED EACH OTHER - THE CYCLE OF RECIPROCAL BENEFITS CONTINUED DOWN THE CENTURIES.
THE MACDONALDS WERE NEVER SUBSIDIARY TO THE ABBEY - THEY WERE ALWAYS ESSENTIAL, FUNDAMENTAL.
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CONTEMPORARY EVIDENCE - After only five years from the Irish "razing" (ie, to the ground) of the emerging Benedictine Iona Abbey, it was again plundered (by others) in 1210. "Punishment was merely delayed for those who had attempted to prevent Reginald's Benedictine foundation on Iona, 1203 (Power, R)." In 1212, the two sons of Iona abbey's founder Reginald, ie, Donald {founder of Clan (mac)Donald) and Ruari, together with Tomás mac Uchtraigh, led a raid on Derry and its hinterland, and two years later Ruari and Alan again attacked Derry and took away many of the church’s prize possessions (AU 1212, 1214). "... the sons of Raghnall, son of Somarle, came to Daire of St. Colum-cille with six and seventy ships").
Redemption, retribution and restitution, was not swift, but sweet. "Ruaidhri, son of Raghnall, plundered Daire completely and took the treasures of the Community of Daire and of the North of Ireland besides from out the midst of the church of the Monastery" :- To rebuild and replenish Iona abbey. To restore the prestige and status of Iona. Those who destroyed it should pay! "At all levels of the church hierarchy across Europe, from pope downwards, the ‘defenders of the faith’ frequently sought recourse to the battlefield to air grievances, redeem pride and foster might." [1]
These are the responsibilities of the line of heirs of the abbey founder and Donald and Ruari were his sons. They had the responsibility "not only by fiscal law, but by the [canon] law of scripture to protect" the abbey (more below).
[1] A.T. Lucas, ‘The Plundering and Burning of Churches in Ireland, 7th to16th Century’, in E. Rynne (ed.), NorthMunster Studies: Essays in commemoration of Monsignor Michael Moloney (Cork 1967).
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c.1395-1421. John MacAllister (“Iohannes Goffredi Angusii” MacAlasandair), descendant of the undeposed Clan Donald Chief (III), Alaxandair OG, k.1299 became the Claustral Prior and then Abbot of Iona (c.1395-1405-1421). All of Alaxandair OG’s sons did not go to Ireland, despite what CLAN DONALD history and MacAllister Clan wrongly claim. John was previously the "rector of the parish of St Comgan {which/where?}, Sodor diocese, in subdeacon's orders" and he was "ensured a share of the fruits of the monastery" - Reg Aven 296, 52-52v.
Partly because of the characteristic "hereditary family possession" {p.368}, the powerful Clann Finguinne, the MacKinnons, thought they were the Iona Abbey's sole ecclesiastical polity. [ "..it is not uncommon to find abbots charged with exploiting their position in favour of their kinsmen"; Knowles, D. The Monastic Order in England; 1963.] Maybe they deluded themselves that they were "Familia Columba", with outdated and irrelevant "comarba Coluim Chille" rights, because of the same speculation as Moncreiffe's that they were from St Columba's kindred, the Cenel Conaill. They totally lacked any sense of accountability in terms of separation of "personal ownership" and management (theirs) - ie, outside the "obedientiary system" of restricted positional ownership. "In 1359, a papal mandate narrated that, following the death of Abbot Peter, the monk Finguinne [I] son of Gilbride {Bricius} was unlawfully claiming to be Abbot" - they then usurped “control of a substantial part of the Abbey property” - Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS); ARGYLL VOL 4; 1982.). This occurred when "Good" Lord John [I] MacDonald turned his attention to his new "Holy Cross" Augustinian Oransay Priory of canons regular, his other foundations of mid 14th century and restoring his Finlaggan chapel and many others. All the indications are that the local Mull MacKinnon elite then considered Iona endowments were "theirs - for the taking". For example, the MacKinnons had usurped the Ross of Mull "which lands formerly belonged to the church" [Collectanea de Rubus Albanicis; p.304].
There is the complications of changing ecclesiastical and political governance, and "isolation", distance :- 'The Diocese of the Isles included the islands off the west coast of Scotland, formerly subject to Norway, and annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1206 under James I. The Archbishop of Drontheim {Nidaros, Trondheim} Norway continued to exercise jurisdiction over these islands, but in the middle of the 14th century the Hebrides were ecclesiastically separated from the Isle of Man, which was subjected to the province of Canterbury (and later to York)."
The period of recorded MacKinnon corruption also ran parallel with and was in addition to the serious economic problems caused by "The Crisis of the Late Middle Ages". This crisis refers to a series of events in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that brought centuries of European prosperity and growth to a halt. Three major crises led to radical changes in all areas of society - they were demographic collapse, political instabilities and religious upheavals. The economy of Scotland developed slowly in this period and a population of perhaps a little under a million by the middle of the 14th century began to decline after a series of famines and plagues, such as the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the many episodes of the Black Death, reduced the population to around half of what it was by the beginning of the 16th century. [The Medieval Warm Period ended sometime towards the end of the 13th century, bringing the "Little Ice Age" and harsher winters with reduced harvests. Food shortages and rapidly inflating prices were a fact of life for as much as a century before the plague.] The Abbey's revenue, both spiritualia and temporalia and from pilgrims, would have been reduced by the "Middle Ages Crisis". There is little the MacDonald Lords could do about that, but they could and did do something about the MacKinnon's usurping “control of a substantial part of the Abbey property”, etc.
This is not about trying to assign proportionality of cause and effect on the abbey's "impoverishment and collapse". It is about the fact that MacKinnon corruption did "usurp substantial church property and wealth" - and the fact that their fraud and excesses did contribute to "impoverish and dilapidate" the abbey - and the fact that many MacDonald Chiefs took continuous action over a very long period [> 150 years] to stop them contributing to the Abbey's probable demise. That is, the proof, that MacDonald Chiefs, as the responsible founder's heirs, were continuous guardians and protectors of their hereditary 'asset-investment' - that endowment is not a once off event; that its feudal "functional reciprocity" is a dynamic obligation - that MacDonald Chiefs were clearly not merely subsidiary patrons or benefactors as is wrongly portrayed and demeans their fundamental and essential role in the abbey's entire existence. {And not about hereditary family possession itself, or celibacy which had generally broken down over two centuries, or concubinage which had become an established feature, but excessive spending of the Abbey resources by MacKinnons on them and their children, ie, "dowered them large with goods of the monastery" for daughter's dowrys.}
The first Finguine MacKinnon (son of Chief), the “subtle and wicked councillor – the Green Abbot” [from c.1357] - “unlawful occupier, who falsely bears himself as Abbot”; “the greatest tyrant (who) had his lands from the goods of the monastery, and moreover dilapidated the monastery” was finally removed officially [ecclesiastically] in 1405 by the actions of the Clan Donald Claustral Prior, John MacAllister by a commissio privationis against Finguine which was effected 26 Aug 1405 - incurring large legal fees to the Vatican (Calendar of Papal Letters to Scotland of 2nd Anti-Pope Benedict XIII of Avignon 1394-1419 {see below} ; Highland Papers, iv, Vatican Transcripts, 1934; pps 156-7). It took upwards of 10 years - with John MacAllister effectively running the Abbey, while Finguine, although he may have been in technical "canon possession" was confined, ie, immured at Iona, by the Lord of the Isles. An incredible 40 years after him first "unlawfully claiming to be Abbot" c.1357, and, it figures, around 6 years after the failed mutiny and coup by Finguine and his Chief [and Finguine's "neutering" by Donald], his family elite somehow obtained retrospective papal confirmation of his election in 1397 during the upheavals of the Papal Schism. "This may have been an attempt to forestall criticism" [RCAHMS] - ie, a costly [and desperate?] legal maneuver to counter MacAllister's well founded commissio privationis against the MacKinnon's corruption and squandering of Abbey revenue. NOTE : Finguine would have very old by 1397, probably upwards of 70. This action by Finguine's family was obviously done to try and prevent the Prior, John MacAllister, from formally becoming Abbot "in possession" and him permanently stemming the rich flow from what they regarded as their Iona Abbey "honey pot" of many decades past. {see : MacQuarrie, Alan (1987) "Kings, Lords, and Abbots : power and patronage at the medieval monastery of Iona". Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, 54. 355 -375.}
[RCAHMS, ARGYLL VOL 4, p.144] "The financial damage suffered was estimated at four hundred marks of silver, and it was further alleged that the Abbot {Finguinne} had allowed the monastery buidings to fall into ruin. It is certainly true that that no part of the abbey buildings can be attributed to 14th century".]
John was the lead reforming Prior {c.1395} and Abbot {1405} of the early 15th century {during the turbulent period of the Papal Schism}. Prior John MacAllister first broke the corruption and nepotism of the "perverse noblemen" Finguines MacKinnon (1,2,3) family of Abbot (“the greatest tyrant"), his son Prior ("wicked and covetous"), his son monk ("a bad tree cannot bear good fruit"), and it was John that commenced the long process of recovery and reform of the impoverished, collapsed monastery [decades before the next Abbot, Dominic MacKenzie, who maintained the momentum]. John's role as the Prior, ie, 2nd In Charge and acting Abbot while MacKinnon was effectively sidelined, was akin to a receiver being called in with custodial responsibility for securing and realising the assets, ie, the process of undoing the corrupt diversion of endowment revenue and this would take considerable time and effort - with the local MacKinnons interfering, obfuscating, and objecting all the way. The MacKinnons, hereditary marsagál of Clan Donald’s military forces and standard bearer, had been given too much free reign for too long and Lord John I MacDonald, "Good John of Islay", was much diverted with his “new order” Augustinian Priory foundation on Oransay, mid 14th century, and others, eg, Holy Island monastery, Eilean Moliase. Abbot Finguine [I] MacKinnon was the son of Chief Gilbride {Bricius}, reputed to have been with Angus Og at Bannockburn. [Iona was further removed from the Lords of the Isles' administrative centre, Finlaggan, Islay, compared to nearby Oransay. And of course, as already mentioned, there was the "The Crisis of the Late Middle Ages". ]
Donald of Harlaw was the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland and first cousin of King Robert III; he took pride in his royal blood, even adopting the royal tressure to surround his coat of arms. His wife was Mariota, Countess of Ross (Mairead, also called Mary and Margaret; died 1440) who was the daughter of Euphemia I, Countess of Ross and her husband, the crusading war-hero Walter Leslie, Lord of Ross. “Following the elimination of the Duke of Albany, 1424, the earldom of Ross came into the hands of the Macdonald Lords of the Isles. Alexander, the son of Donald, achieved his late father's ambition. The earldom carried the ownership of vast properties in western Scotland which resulted in the Mackenzies and other clans becoming vassals instead of kinsmen to the Macdonalds. The new {11th} Earl of Ross continued to hold the title of Lord of the Isles and the Macdonald clan became so powerful that they frequently came into conflict with the king who was relatively powerless against their uprisings.” McKenzie, Alan, FSA Scot. ‘History of the Mackenzies’; 2006.
When Donald II became Lord, 1386, he began a process of intervention to stop the corruption which triggered a MacKinnon inspired attempted coup against him in c.1390-5 (Donald regulating conditions of tenure – corporate governance; accountability). The MacKinnons and supporters were defeated, their Chief [Niall?] hung, and Abbot Finguine I was "confined at Iona", ie, incarcerated in some manner. [Hugh Macdonald of Sleat, 17th century; Collectanea de Rubus Albanicis; Ed Iona Club; 1847. Hugh is wrong about Finguine's "stately tomb" - it is John MacKinnons, a century later.] Old Finguine was effectively "neutered" by Donald, and his days were numbered, despite the vain attempt at re-installation by somehow obtaining from the "alternate Pope" a "confirmation in possession" in 1397. {That is, by the Anti-Pope, Benedict XIII {as above but later for MacAllister}; The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance (1414–1418). The simultaneous claims to the papal chair of two different men hurt the reputation of the office. The Western Schism is sometimes called the Great Schism, although this term is also applied to the East–West Schism of 1054. Clement VII Antipope, 1378-1394 : "resorted to simony and extortion to meet the financial needs of his court, and seems never to have sincerely desired the termination of the schism" {if can, wait to make petitions until after he dies?}. Benedict XIII Antipope, 1394-1423 : "A learned and clever man of noble birth, subtle in diplomacy, austere in private life, an expert manipulator. Scotland was among the handful of supporters that remained loyal to this antipope" - he issued the Papal Bull for the first university of Scotland in 1412.}
Under any normal interpretation of the confinement of this "wicked, subtle and eloquent Green Abbot", someone who personally organised the high treasonous act against the Lord of the Isles to topple him, then it is very reasonable, even obvious, to make the distinction almost without doubt, that he was in fact "confined" in some manner, ie, incarcerated. [ie, not just that he couldn't leave Iona.] Coupled with the added information that "his life being spared", which is typical of saying someone avoided capital punishment [as per his cohort Chief being hung] but was jailed for life, it all adds up to a justifiable narrative that Finguinne [I] was physically confined in some manner to a "cell", building or discrete quarters -and guarded or watched. The truth is that the traitorous ringleader, Finguine, would have swung as well if Donald wasn't petrified about being kept in Purgatory 'till Judgment Day for killing an Abbot - and 'the right of patronage lapses ipso iure for the murder or mutilation of an ecclesiastic connected with the church." Donald of Harlaw would not tolerate Finguinne staying in the position of active Abbot or ever again having the least operational sway. He would not tolerate him being able to influence others, or to hinder someone new properly taking charge. This means Finguinne had to be effectively removed from any possibility of influence, either overtly or by undermining. [It must not be forgotten that the MacKinnons, even though they were vassals of the MacDonald Lordship were "lurking" just across the sound on Mull - they were a very close, powerful physical presence and used to getting their own way on Iona - "hereditary family possession".] There was only one way to nullify Finguine's "wicked" influence : Synonyms of "confined" - captivity, internment, immured, imprisonment. And there is nothing Rome could have done about - even if they were in a position to, or wanted to [and it was the destabilising period of the Western Schism or Papal Schism. eg, a five-year siege of the papal palace in 1398, which ended when Anti-Pope Benedict XIII managed to escape from Avignon on 12 March 1403].
There is absolutely no possibility whatsoever that the Abbey founder's heir in succession, Donald of Harlaw, would tolerate the prime instigator of a mutinous rebellion against him to remain at large to continue:- robbing his Abbey; running down the fabric of his Abbey; to seriously breach the "functional reciprocity of conditionality of endowment" [which Donald had the responsibility "not only by fiscal law, but by the law of scripture to protect"]; OR, for Finguinne to be in a position to further foster rebellion against the Lordship. It is obvious that Prior John MacAllister was appointed as Donald's new "Manager" of the Abbey from c.1395, the "Tanaise Abbad", heir apparent - the Abbey founder's heir and Patron had the right of permitting candidature selection, "assent" of the election of the Abbot and referral to the Bishop for benediction [Burton, J.; p.213]. Under Donald's right of patronage and the unique circumstances of threat to the existence of his abbey, he does not need to bow to any Bishop or Pope [especially at the time of the Papal Schism and the new Bishop of the Isles, Michael, translated 1387 from Cashel, Ireland by the Antipope Clement VII, upon deprivation of Dongan.] NB : "Any church benefice, with the exception of the papacy {Pope}, the cardinalate {Cardinals}, the episcopate {Bishops}, and the prelatures {ie, the superior} of cathedral {Archbishop}, collegiate, and monastic churches {Abbot}, may be the object of the right of patronage {ie, a Prior is.}". "The, right of presentation (ius praesentandi), the most important privilege of a patron, consists in this, that in case of a vacancy in the benefice, he may propose (praesentare) to the ecclesiastical superiors empowered with the right of collation, the name of a suitable person (persona idonea), the result being that if the one suggested is available at the time of presentation, the ecclesiastical superior is bound to bestow on him the office in question".
The Clan Donald Prior, John MacAllister, and Lord Donald MacDonald [of Harlaw] stopped the encroachment and diversion of abbey funds into MacKinnon hands. John, of the Clan Donald line of "MacAlax(s)andair"; [MS 1467]; p.468; n.13 (to spelling 'Alast(d)air', 'Al(l)ister' - descended from Alaxandair/Alexander OG), obviously had the full backing and necessary financial support of his 2nd cousin, Lord of the Isles, Donald (II) of Harlaw.
Prior John MacAllister, finally becoming Abbot in 1405, “devoted much of his career to securing full control of the monastic revenues as a preliminary to the repair of the abbey”. If it need be said and explained at all, it is obvious that the MacDonalds were not "entering the abbey" for nefarious reasons. In effect, they were forced to do it to protect their "investment-asset". In fact, over the entire 300 year period of the medieval abbey, there was only one MacDonald Prior/Abbot for any length of time {25 yrs}, with another being forced out after only two years by the MacKinnon Chief for his unelected son, John, 1467 {last Iona Abbot - see later}; and two MacDonald Bishops [son, grandson of Donald of Harlaw}. And what is noteworthy and very relevant is the fact that all these occupancies occurred at the time of, or near after, the Abbey was under severe threat of being rendered inoperable by the MacKinnon greed and self interest - and the period of its recovery. The MacDonald occupancies can be interpreted as a management imperative, a mechanism of preservation and survival by the Abbey founder's heirs. They had a perfect legal and moral right, a duty and an obligation, to do so.
NB: The MacKinnons created the problem and made themselves "political enemies" with MacDonalds (pps 259-260; Skene, WF; "Highlanders of Scotland"; 1837). A plea for the reverse is non sequitur. It remains so, regardless of flamboyant language or some 'stock standard' embroidering in making prosecutions against them .
It should be remembered that Abbot John MacAllister, and Bishops Angus {I and II} MacDonald, were legitimate ecclesiastical nobles of Clan Donald and as such they were in an institution that only existed because of their ancestor founder and the unparallelled, unbroken Clan Donald munificence for many centuries. Not like the many others who put nothing in, but took much and finally all. It might be expressed that Iona Abbey had been acting as a ‘land trust’ for Clan Donald.
1421 {A} :- At the time Abbot MacAllister died, Lord Donald of Harlaw's personal "chaplain and familiar" was Adam Dominici, "perpetual vicar of the parish church of St Eugenius in Rossye {Kilviceowin, Ross - actually Kilvickeon, Ross of Mull}. Donald, Lord of the Isles, had Adam sent to the Roman Curia as his Officer in State, ambassador, and had petitioned for a second benefice for his maintenance there {Calendar 1418-1422; pps 269, 275}. Also from Rossye, this time the actual Earldom of Ross, was Dominicus Dominici "Kenychi" MacKenzie [eg, "Chief Alexandro McKennye of Kintaill", 1416-91] who was duly elected as new Abbot of Iona, confirmed and blessed by the Bishop of Sodor and supplication made to the Apostolic See for the Pope's ratification and provision to the monastery. Dominic was also in Rome with Adam "awaiting a grace of the Pope" - he was nearly broke and also asking for "whatsoever ecclesiastical benefice" to tide him over. It is not half obvious here that the MacDonald Chief, Donald {and later supported by his son Alexander, "Master"/Earl of Ross}, had 'directed' this appointment of Dominic MacKenzie of Kintail, Wester Ross (ius praesentandi - see above, his right of presentation to; the Bishop, 'bound to bestow'). And Donald was also taking the necessary precaution of placing a trusted, loyal agent in Rome to ensure the Pope's confirmation and blessing was not circumvented by manoeuvrings of the "wicked and perverse" MacKinnons, who had form, for their Finguine II who was now a real threat as the Prior of Iona Abbey. [As per exactly what happened only in 1419 as shown just above when the waiting nominated Abbot was imprisoned by a corrupt rival who then obtained the Abbacy by bribery.] Donald was managing the situation at the abbey, putting "his man" in charge and ensuring the ground work of Abbot John MacAllister to recover the "better part of its lands and possessions that were preyed upon" would continue unabated under Abbot Dominic MacKenzie. Despite John MacAllister's reforming, there was still a huge amount of recovery to undertake as :- the abbey was "situated in the Isles among the wild Scots and is almost destroyed in its buildings and rents by continuous wars" - this can only be the "dire wars by the wild Scots in those parts" mainly between the MacDonalds and the MacKinnons {Battle of Harlaw was on the mainland, Ross}. John MacAllister had always to contend with the heavy MacKinnon influence - eg, the traitorous "Green Abbot's" son, Finguine II MacKinnon, "monk professed and now claustral prior", had petitioned for a perpetual vicarage to support him in the very same year, 1421.
{B} - And it was Lord Donald MacDonald who then ensured the abbey would have additional revenue coming in by "uniting" the best part of the "fruits", income, of three perpetual vicarages to the abbey - leaving a poorly paid "temporal vicar, or more truly a hiring" for the cure of the souls of the three unimpressed communities {Sorobie, Tiree; Kilfinichin - south-western parts of Mull; Kilcolmkill, Quinish, Mull - mainly MacKinnons?}. The right of patronage is hereditary (haereditarium), that is, the founder's heirs are - “entitled to the right of presentation, honorary rights, utilitarian rights(iura utilia) and the cura beneficii.” And so are the responsibilities : “If the church connected with the patronage is threatened with total ruin, or the endowment with a deficit, if those first bound to restore it are not at hand, the bishop is to exhort the patron to rebuild (reœdificandum) or renew the endowment (ad redotandum).” The reason given in the supplication to Rome, 3 Dec 1421, for Lord Donald annexing these perpetual vicarages to Iona Abbey precisely relates to its "threat of total ruin" and it was he, the heir of the abbey founder and not Abbot Dominic MacKenzie, who had the power and was making a financial decision to fund recovery because - "of the continual wars raging among the Western Isles of the Kingdom of Scotland, the monastery of Iona, OSB, Sodor Diocese, is so collapsed and impoverished in its buildings and rents that it is sinking to irreparable ruin, unless the Pope in his clemenecy provide an opportune remedy, especially because the revenues of the monastery do not suffice for its reparation..." {Calendar 1418-1422; p.271}.
It is so simplistic and highly assumptive to guess that pilgrims were the source of the funds for the reparation. [It's not appropriate to simply extrapolate from other areas, periods, different historical, ecclesiastical, socio-economic and political paradigms, etc, etc, for obvious reasons.}
1433. RAISING OF IONA CATHEDRAL. At the height of clan Donald's power, Temporal and Spiritual, the Bishop of the Isles, Angus (I) MacDonald (grandson of the King of Scots, son of Lord Donald II), petitioned and relocated the Episcopal See or Cathedra of The Isles (Bishop’s Seat/Throne) from Skye to Iona. This seat is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called, the "BISHOP'S CATHEDRAL". There can be no doubt whatsoever of an intention for a Cathedral at this early stage as Angus MacDonald also petitioned to create 12 canonries and as many prepends, a type of benefice, endowed income [CSSR, iv, no. 5.]. The members of the chapter of a cathedral are a type of canon - prebendaries have [had] a role in the administration of a cathedral. The obvious burial places for bishops were cathedral churches under their jurisdiction and by long tradition, bishops and archbishops are buried in their cathedrals. The Bishop of The Isles, Angus MacDonald, d.1441, was buried “with his crozier and Episcopal habit, south side of the great choir” of the Iona Abbey Church, his ‘monastic Cathedral’ in effect, and all that entails in episcopal/diocese funds access.
Whilst Wyclif's influence politically was limited [ie, challenging Pope's authority; his "Anti-Christ"], his interpretation of law on endowments was certainly not, and it is very important to understand that the reality of the relationship between the grantor, his heirs and the religious house under functional reciprocity was not subsidiary. Even from: "1309 - Parliament to Pope Clement : According to the law of the land, possessions given to churches and religious places, should they be applied to a use contrary to the desire and intention of the founders and donors, can be most certainly recalled through their founders and donors or their heirs….." [8] There was the “writ of cessavit”… repossess the property. (Given by statute to recover lands when the tenant has for two years failed to perform the conditions of his tenure.) Again : “It had been John Wyclif’s contention that when the purpose of the secular donations had been frustrated, those same donations ought to revert to their original owner. This seems, in fact, to have been true for a large segment of tenures." NB: The brothers Lord Donald II [of Harlaw] and Ian Mor Tanister were strong, formal liegeman of King Richard II (and then Henry IV), having an alliance with him and being received at court frequently between c.1378-1408 – being “in league” with him (R Williams, “The Lords of The Isles”; p180). They would have been well aware of Lollard leader, John Wyclif, c. 1320 – 1384) :- an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher at Oxford in England, who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. "From 1376 to 1378, Wyclif was clerical adviser to John of Gaunt, who effectively governed England until his nephew, Richard II, came of age in 1381. It is not clear what influence each man had on the other, but it is conjectured that John of Gaunt, who had his own reasons for opposing the wealth and power of the clergy, may have used a naive Wyclif as his tool." "Richard II personally possessed a strong faith, and did not question the role of the established Church, yet he did little to stamp out the Lollards, tolerating key adherents to their beliefs in his own court" - BBC.
"Wyclif had, of course, further asserted : ‘if clerics occupying temporalities are wanting according to the form of the donation, temporal lords are held not only by fiscal law, but by the law of scripture to protect against impoverishment of the land.’ "Again and again, its companion notice was voiced; if conditions of endowment were unfilled, the endowment laity should, and could, resume their donations".
1443 : AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT CLAN DONALD LORD ALEXANDER
THREATENED TO DO.
Under Lord Donald II’s son Alexander, the power of Clan Donald reached its high tide. With Ross and all of the Western Isles under his control, Alexander's power was even greater than that of Somerled. He was King of Western Scotland – not just the Isles and Western Highlands – on equal terms with “The Steward”, James I, of South Eastern Scotland (1421-d.1449). Alexander, “a grand man, called Macdonald, with a great train of men after him", (p.307) said 1443, that he was forced by conscience to rather “diminish the monastery” by making the serious and real threat of moving the “relics and bones of his progenitors who are buried therein (Iona - St Orans) and the precious things which have been given..” ('diminish' had a much stronger meaning back then - same as "to reduce" a town or castle). He was in fact threatening to “shut the place down”! And he could (if necessary : a “writ of cessavit”).
By taking away the reliquaries, etc, the Abbeys prestige, status and viability would decline, but more so, by removing his ancestors bones (eg, to Oransay, Saddell) the nexus of divine service for souls in return for endowments to the abbey was breached and under functional reciprocity there was no obligation to continue those major income sources. Endowed lands could and would be withdrawn ("revert to their original owner -resume their donations") and this would redirect the cash-flow or the economic value of both the temporalia (rents and labourers, etc) and the spiritualia (ie, ecclesiastical - tithes, their appropriated benefices/vicarages, etc) away from the abbey. Endowments can be re-allocated as agreed by RCAHMS (p.145). The estates were administered locally by stewards or lay bailies (office of Fragramannach and Armannach) who were vassals of the Lordship (eg, MacLean) who would, under order, action this directive quite quickly and effectively.
NB: The broadly supported petition to Vatican, 18 December 1443. [CSSR, iv, no. 968.] - From Alexander, Lord of the Isles, James King of Scots, Abbot MacKenzie and other temporal lords and nobles of the Isles; Annulment of letters to Fyngon Fyngonni [MacKinnon]; Mandate issued 8 Jan 1444. ("Acts of the Lords of the Isles; Appendix B-16; Munro and Munro; 1986.)
[THESE EVENTS ILLUSTRATE WYCLIF'S POINTS : PUT BLUNTLY IN TODAY'S TERMS, THE MACKINNON BROTHERS, ABBOT AND CHIEF, COMMITTED TREASON-SEDITION IN AN ATTEMPT TO PROTECT THEIR ABBEY RACKET BY INSTIGATING A REBELLION, A COUP, TO PLACE THEIR "PUPPET" [IAN MOR] AS THE LORD OF THE ISLES. {Or at least seize all the lands south of Ardnamurchin which of course included Mull and Iona.} The local “perverse noblemen” MacKinnons, had (c.1390-5) inspired a serious rebellion against Alexander MacDonald’s father, Lord of the Isles, Donald of Harlaw, after usurping “control of a substantial part of the Abbey property” (RCAHMS). Donald II had obviously threatened the MacKinnon Chief and his cohort Abbot son with failing to meet the "conditionality of endowment" - conditions of the tenure - corporate governance; accountability. The MacKinnons and supporters (including the ensnared Tanist, Ian Mor MacDonald, MacLeans, Harris McLeods) were defeated (the MacKenzies were on Donald's side} and the McKinnon Chief was sentenced to death. However, the “subtle, eloquent” Green Abbot, Finguine MacKinnon (I) who entrapped Ian Mor, brother of Donald II, was spared .... "all his lifetime confined at Icolumkill, his life being spared because he was a churchman". ]
Here is "conditionality of endowment" further more at work :- The local MacKinnons were once again trying to 're-found' and continue that corruption through their Finguine MacKinnon III (grand-son of the Green Abbot). He had entered the monastery, 1426, despite Abbot Dominic’s counter-petition and Dominic could never have overcome the MacKinnon’s corrosive, powerful influence over the community without Lord Alexander MacDonald having the ultimate authority and powers to enforce compliance and accountability. “Property is given conditionally. And these conditions are the handles by which the founder and his heirs can direct the endowment towards its specific purpose.” [PS : Dominic MacKenzie was likely supported {gained "assent"} for Abbot by the MacDonald Lord of the Isles to bolster the Lordship's support from the nobles of Ross].
Stepping back a little, with the abbey's finances then coming back under control:- DONALD (II) of Harlaw acquired and gifted to the Abbey c.1412-21 the priceless “Hand of St Columba” - a rarity and the only corporeal relic of St Columba repatriated from its five centuries of safekeeping in Derry, Ireland - a prestigious, sacred “Hebridean Holy Grail”. Donald and his artists enshrined it in a ‘charismatic’ gold and silver reliquary of ‘dazzling, wondrous beauty’. This event, of momentous religious significance and high political status, was achieved after a three decades long partnership with his 2nd cousin, the Iona Claustral Prior and lead reforming Abbot John MacALASANDAIR from a senior line of Clan DONALD. ["undoubtedly in the light of primogeniture they were the senior family of the line of Somerled”.] The acquisition was a huge symbolic gloss, not only on Donald II himself, but was a blessing on the whole Lordship, providing the collective merit in raising the Abbey’s status. “He (Donald II) was an entertainer of clerics, priests and monks in his companionship, and he gave lands in Mull and in Isla to the monastery of Iona – with every immunity given by his ancestors.” “Made a covering of gold and silver for the relic of the hand of St Columba”. (Similar to St Patrick’s 15th century hand shrine). “He is also said to have presented vessels of gold and silver to Icolumkill for the monastery.” The enshrined relic of St Columba would have been ceremoniously presented by Donald of Harlaw to his kinsman Abbot, John MacAllister, most probably after the 1411 Battle of Harlaw (for the Abbey of course). Lets be perfectly clear about the fact that it could only have been Abbot MacAllister - it is a sheer impossibility that Donald would ever have handed the precious reliquary to ANY MacKinnon of the period! {and it would be to the Abbot - not the Bishop].
The momentous event was the culmination of years of a shared ambition and was successful because of the two to three decade long relationship and the combined political power of the two related nobles within their derbfine. They were 2nd cousins and both had their own strong connections of “nobility” in the right circles and places in Ireland where St Columba’s relic was located. (R Power; p.41; 2005 : “The members of this branch (Clan Donald) turned early to Ireland and rarely if ever went to Norway.” - [slide presentation.] And this was to Derry and not to Antrim which wasn't until well after 1400. In the late 12th century, Flaithbertach Ua Brolcháin, Abbot of Derry (d. 1175), the comarba ("successor") of Colum Cille, relocated from Kells to Derry with the relics - they were ‘the title-deed of the Columban community”, p.317; Reeves; Adomnan’s Life of St Columba; p.315; 1857.
The PIVOTAL 25 YEAR PARTNERSHIP [c.1395-1421] of the Lord of the Isles, Donald (II) of Harlaw and Clan Donald Abbot, John MacAllister, closely followed by the MacDonalds firmly placing their Bishop of the Isles right on Iona and then Lord Alexander's further successful intervention to eradicate the corruption, directly led to Lord John (II) MacDonald greatly enlarging and enhancing the "collapsed, impoverished" Abbey church (c.1450-1480), using none other than Clan Donald’s church-wright (architect) and chief masons, the renowned O’Brolchans, “Chief Artificers of Ireland” (family as just above), c.1450 :- “The monastery was collapsed, impoverished in its rents and of extreme poverty” and John's new works were of - “so comprehensive a scale as to involve the destruction of nearly three-fourths (3/4s) of the structure.” "Donaldus O'Brolchan fecit hoc opus" ('Donal O Brolchain made this work') – incised on the capital of the south pier, east crossing, late 15th c.. [NB : To widen (and lengthen) the whole church meant totally removing and replacing the roof with massive works on the crossing tower.]
[The right of patronage is hereditary (haereditarium), eg, “entitled to the right of presentation, honorary rights, utilitarian rights (iura utilia) and the cura beneficii.” And so are the responsibilities : “If the church connected with the patronage is threatened with total ruin, or the endowment with a deficit, if those first bound to restore it are not at hand, the bishop is to exhort the patron to rebuild (reœdificandum) or renew the endowment (ad redotandum).” ]
[slide presentation] :- Clan Donald Lord, John II, instead of just economically restoring the existing (size) dilapidated Abbey church, obviously used his treasury and resources, greatly boosted from 1438 by revenue from Ross and Skye, to significantly enlarge and enhance it (over 1450 to 1476 - 1st forfeiture). He did this with the clear aim of raising its status as their MacDonald Cathedral of the Isles. (eg, Edward the Confessor’s wife, Edith, financed the rebuild of Wilton nunnery. Henry III, financed the rebuild of Westminster.) Donald II was assisted by his cousin, Bishop Angus (II) MacDonald and the exemplary reforming Abbot, Dominic MacKenzie [from Wester Ross most probably]. It must be remembered too that the first MacDonald Bishop, Angus, relocated his seat, The Isles Cathedra, to the Iona Abbey Church in 1433, making it a ‘monastic Cathedral’ in effect, or reality, and all that entails in diocese and 'communa' funds access. The bigger and grander decorated church/cathedral and the only ensitu relic/reliquary of St Columba, all the product of and acquired by the MacDonalds, would then have increased the Pilgrim visitation and donations. [The careful management of pilgrims, the deliberate development of diversity of attractions within a cult centre or region, the composition of guidebooks and the manufacture of souvenirs are characteristics of late medieval pilgrimage which can be regarded, to an extent, as precursors of modern mass tourism.]
No one should underestimate the advanced nature of the polity in the isles. The Lordship was very different from the rest of Scotland in its form of government and culture. An elected council at Finlaggan, Islay, governed the isles - a "High Court of Judicature" [Martin Martin; 1695] . It "decernit, decreitit and gave suits furth upon all debaitable matters according to the laws made by Ranald McSomhakle ......King of the Occident Isles'. [1549; Sir Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles; "A Description of The Occidental“]. It decided weighty matters of law, succession and inheritance, and gave direction to the cultural and spiritual life of an extended community. { "Fourteen to sixteen chieftains of prestigious clans whose number and make-up may have varied from Lord to Lord, advised and wielded influence and power commensurate with their territorial jurisdictions and the strength of their fleets. The Council, likely modeled on the Manx Tynwald, was, in fact, an effective and cohesive Norse-Gael-style parliament well suited to the Isles. It was a learned and skilled assembly of prominent Gaels that convened at Finlaggan."} The point to make with this knowledge and understanding is that the desire, ambition and ability of the Lords of The Isles to have a monastic Cathedral of The Isles in this advanced polity, in their own 2.5 centuries old dynastic foundation and ecclesiastical capital of Iona, is very understandable, reasonable and attainable.
MACKINNON'S FINAL ACT OF DEFIANCE :- John MacKinnon, not even a member of the Iona community and, of course, son of the MacKinnon Chief Lachlan, was euphemistically "..'provided'! to the Abbacy.." by ejecting the convent-chapter postulated Angus {"of the Isles"} MacDonald, provisionally granted June 1465, after only 2 years in 1467 [ARGYLL, VOL 4; p.148]. Angus [II] was the grandson of Donald of Harlaw, which would rile the Mull MacKinnons who had come to believe, or expect it seems, that the Abbacy of adjacent Iona was their divine right {this Angus became the MacDonald's 2nd Bishop of the Isles, 1472-1480, with his seat on Iona - see above for justification and necessity}. Here we have another example of the “perverse noblemen's” habitual modus operandi and using the phase applied to them of "a bad tree cannot bear good fruit", I don't hesitate in saying it was not due to Abbot John MacKinnon that the Abbey church was enhanced and enlarged {he part paid annates, "first fruits", first year's profits of a benefice which were given to the papal treasury, 1469, and his provisional appointment was later challenged by a com. priv., 1487 - Watt & Shead, Ed.; Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland, p.112; 2001}. He, John MacKinnon, just happened to have been "provided" when the church [Cathedral] re-building was being completed, paid for by the treasury of Lord John MacDonald II and built by the MacDonald's hereditary master mason and church wright, Donald O'Brolchan. Abbot MacKinnon should only be given credit for, as usual, just as the first Finguinne MacKinnon Abbot did (for their Chief Gilbride, the Bricius effigy, c.1375), the "commissioning of", ie, misappropriating huge abbey resources for his own grandiose effigy (and an expensive cross for his father, Chief Lachlan and himself, of course). And, as a symbolic gesture of some considerable gall and impertinence after the Lordship of the Isles fell 1493, he orchestrated as his Prior, 1495, a person named Finguine! [Argyll VOL 4, p. 148], almost certainly a member of his own family. This was secular succession planning to perpetuate the tradition of them "good old days" of Finguines nefarious 1, 2, 3 - and then there was 4! Prior Finguine IV then "donated" another Iona School monument {No. 7} 1495, this time a grave-slab for a relative on Tiree. The MacKinnons were a thorn in the side of Iona Abbey's propriety and to the MacDonald heirs of its founder for 150 years - half of its entire existence. Using the evidence of Martin Martin, c.1695, at face value ["A Description of the Western Islands...."] :- sometime after the Lordship was forfeited, the MacKinnons then had the audacity to deliberately place the "stateliest tomb in the isle; a statue as big as life" of their Chief Bricius [of five burials from outside in Reilig Òdhrain] right over The MacDonald's ancestral tomb, the last buried there being their nemesis, Donald of Harlaw. He was the 6th MacDonald Lord occupying [in turn] the "sacred storehouse of his predecessors on the south side of Teampull Òdhrain" below the later elaborate, triple arched wall niche. A clear message perhaps of a hollow triumph, reflecting their apt motto - "AUDENTES FORTUNA JUVAT"; "Fortune favours the bold".
RAISING OF CATHEDRAL SUMMARY [link]
IF THE SUCCESSIVE CLAN DONALD CHIEFS NOTED ABOVE, HEIRS OF THE FOUNDER, HAD NOT EXERCISED THEIR POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER CONDITIONALITY OF ENDOWMENT FOR THREE CENTURIES (PERPETUAL FUNCTIONAL RECIPROCITY 1207-1497) THEN "IMPOVERISHED" IONA ABBEY WOULD HAVE BEEN "COLLAPSED" AND UNSUSTAINABLE WELL OVER A CENTURY BEFORE ITS FINAL DISSOLUTION. INSTEAD, IT PROSPERED AND THE ABBEY CHURCH WAS ENLARGED AND ENHANCED BY CLAN DONALD’S LONG TERM STRATEGIC INTERVENTION, AT BOTH A TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL LEVEL, AS WELL AS THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING.
THIS MONASTERY OF THE LATER MIDDLE AGES, WHICH IS ALREADY SPECIAL TO SCOTLAND BECAUSE IT WAS NOT TOTALLY DESTROYED LIKE MANY OTHERS BY THE 14th CENTURY WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, AND THEN NEITHER BY THE REFORMATION AND CIVIL WARS, IS PROBABLY UNIQUE IN BRITAIN FOR ANOTHER REASON.
- FOR EFFECTIVELY ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE OVER THE WHOLE LATER MEDIEVAL PERIOD, IONA ABBEY WAS RECREATED, PROSPERED AND GREW UNDER THE ONE UNBROKEN FAMILY OF FOUNDER, BUILDERS, PATRONS, BENEFACTORS, PROTECTORS, REBUILDERS AND CONTINUOUS ENDOWERS – FROM FOUNDATION TO PRE-DISSOLUTION. THIS IS CERTAINLY RARE. THIS MACDONALD FAMILY OUGHT TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED PUBLICLY AND PROMINENTLY AS SUCH ON THE ABBEY.
- FOR PRECISENESS AND BETTER UNDERSTANDING (INTERPRETATION) IT SHOULD BE EXPRESSED IN FULL, PROPER CONTEXT AS:-
“THE CLAN DONALD LORDS OF THE ISLES”, WITH IONA:- “The ancient ecclesiastical capital of The Royal Family of MacDonald, formerly Kings of the Western parts of Scotland and the Isles.”
MEDIEVAL IONA ABBEY AS YOU SEE IT TODAY, AND THE "CATHEDRAL OF THE ISLES”, ARE THE CLAN DONALD'S LEGACY.
..... Còir fhògradh .....
"It is right to proclaim it."
IAN ROSS MACDONNELL
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Dec 2012 [Updated Feb 2015].
© International rights reserved : Moral, Economic, Attribution.
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Footnotes
[4] later Order.., eg, the Cistercians with their new conversi, the lay brethren (not servants) and their innovative system of grange-farming which they pioneered, etc, etc. They attracted huge endowments from Royalty because of their reputation as “the highest form of monasticism – authentic Christianity” (viz, Lord “Good John” (MacDonald) de Yle with his Oransay Priory). They developed a system of government to oversee their network :- that is, they, the Cistercians, revolutionised the management of the economy.
[5] Donnachadh Ua Cearbhaill (O’Carrol), King of Airgialla gave for Mellifont abbey, 1142-57 :- Ussher’s MS, “Class B, Tab 1, no.1”; Trinity College, Dublin. Petrie, G; Ecclesiastical architecture of Ireland; p.394; 1845.
[6] Monastic and Religious Orders in Britain, 1000-1300. Burton, J. 1994. p.213. The patron had these rights.... gave permission for selection of a candidate; right to give assent to the election.. ..his referral to bishop for benediction.
[7] After only five years from the razing of the emerging Benedictine Iona Abbey by the Irish, it was plundered in 1210 by the King of Mann. Destruction? Probably. The Isles’ opposing and competing Rushen Abbey church, Isle of Man, was only completed 1257.
Power, Rosemary; p.38; 2005: She says "The island was pillaged in 1210, according to B†glunga s†gur, by a band of Norwegians twelve ships strong, raising funds for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem."
[8] John Wyclif as Legal Reformer (Conditionality of Endowment; p.108); William E. Farr; Uni. of Washington; 1971. (Wyclif : c. 1320 – 31 December 1384) was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher at Oxford in England, who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. From 1380 : Wyclif led the movement that translated the New Testament into English so that his countrymen could see and hear for themselves the real word of God - for the first time.
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