His Eminence David Beaton |
|
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Cardinal, Archbishop of St Andrews | |
Archdiocese | St Andrews |
Installed | 1539 |
Term ended | 1546 |
Predecessor | James Beaton |
Successor | John Hamilton |
Orders | |
Consecration | between 26 July and 13 August 1538 |
Created Cardinal | 20 December 1538 |
Rank | Cardinal priest of S. Stefano in Monte Celio |
Personal details | |
Born |
c. 1494 (probably Balfour), Fife, Scotland |
Died | 29 May 1546 (aged c. 52) St Andrews Castle, Fife, Scotland |
Nationality | Scottish |
Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
Parents | John Beaton and Isobel Monypenny |
Previous post | Coadjutor Archbishop of St Andrews 1537–1539 |
David Cardinal Beaton (c. 1494 – 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.
Cardinal Beaton was the third of eleven children of John Beaton of Balfour in the county of Fife, and is said to have been born in 1494. He was educated at the universities of St Andrews and Glasgow, and in his sixteenth year was sent to Paris, where he studied civil and canon law. In 1519 King James V of Scotland named him ambassador in France.
In 1520. his uncle, James Beaton Archbishop of Glasgow, named David Beaton Rector and Prebendary at Cambuslang. After his uncle became Archbishop of St. Andrews in 1522, he resigned the position of Commendator of Arbroath in favor of his nephew. In 1525 David Beaton returned from France and took a seat as abbot of Arbroath in the Scottish parliament. In 1528 the king named him Lord Privy Seal.
Between 1533 and 1542 he acted several times as King James V of Scotland's ambassador to France. He took a leading part in the negotiations connected with the King's marriages, first with Madeleine of France, and afterwards with Mary of Guise. In 1537 he was made coadjutor to his uncle at St. Andrews, with right of succession.
In December 1537 Beaton was made Bishop of Mirepoix in Languedoc on the recommendation of King Francis I, and consecrated the following summer. Presumably he was ordained around that time. Also in 1538 he was appointed a Cardinal by Pope Paul III, under the title of St Stephen in the Caelian Hill. In February 1539 Cardinal Beaton succeeded his uncle as Archbishop of St. Andrews. In 1544, he was made Papal legate in Scotland.