Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline

Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555–1622) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord President of the Court of Session from 1598 to 1604, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1604 to 1622 and as a Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland.

Born at Seton Palace, East Lothian, Alexander was the son of George Seton, 7th Lord Seton and Isobell Hamilton. The Setons remained a Roman Catholic family after the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and continued to support Mary, Queen of Scots after her abdication and exile in England. Alexander was educated at the German and Roman College in Rome from June 1571 to December 1578. Alexander was noted learning Italian and science (philosophy) in Rome by Baptista da Trento in 1577 in a letter describing plots to marry Elizabeth I of England to the Earl of Leicester and re-instate Mary in Scotland. The family historian Viscount Kingston heard it said that he was skilled in mathematics, heraldry and architecture, and Alexander might have been made a Cardinal if he had stayed at Rome.

In 1583, Alexander joined his father's embassy to France. William Schaw, the Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland was his companion. They left from Leith in Andrew Lamb's ship. According to the Jesuit Robert Parsons, Lord Seton even considered sending the youthful Alexander back to Scotland as his representative at one point.

...
Wikipedia