Fionnlagh MacCailein | |
---|---|
Bishop of Dunblane | |
Church | Roman Catholic Church |
See | Diocese of Dunblane |
In office | 1403–1419 |
Predecessor | Dúghall de Lorne |
Successor | William Stephani |
Orders | |
Consecration | 10 September 1403 × 28 April 1404 |
Personal details | |
Born | unknown unknown |
Died | 1419 |
Previous post | Archdeacon of Dunblane (1400 × 1402–1403) |
Fionnlagh MacCailein or Finlay Colini (died 1419) was a medieval Scottish bishop. Both his early life and the details of his career as Bishop of Dunblane are not well known, however it is known that he held the latter bishopric between 1403 and his death in 1419. He was part of the circle of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, and was one of the many clerics from west and central Gaelic-speaking Scotland who benefited from the latter's patronage. He is said to have authorised the construction of the first bridge over the river Allan at Dunblane.
It was said by John Spottiswood that his surname was "Dermoch", but that is not corroborated by contemporary sources and is probably a mistake. His last name appears in contemporary Latin sources as Colini, representing MacCailein, meaning "son of Cailean"; it may mean that Cailean was the name of his father, but if it was a surname it probably means he was a Campbell, a family also known at the time as MacCailein, believing as they did that they were descended from one Cailean Mór.
He held a bachelor's degree in canon law by 13 December 1400. On 15 September 1402 Pope Benedict XIII provided Fionnlagh to a canonry (with the expectation of a prebend) in the diocese of Dunkeld; the mandate of provision contains information much about Fionnlagh, informing us that he was a priest, confirming that he possessed a bachelor's degree in canon law, while also stating that he was Archdeacon of Dunblane.
He was said in the papal document to have held the hospital of Uthrogle and "a certain perpetual office or benefice without cure in the secular collegiate church of Abernethy"; the latter, we know from another papal source, was the lectorship of Abernethy called "ferlinn", i.e. fer léighinn (literally "man of letters"), a position which existed at Abernethy collegiate church into the 16th century.