Michael Ochiltree

Michael Ochiltree
Bishop of Dunblane
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Diocese of Dunblane
In office	1429–1446 x 1447
Predecessor	William Stephani
Successor	Robert Lauder
Orders
Consecration	1430 x 1431
Personal details
Born	Probably late 14th century Probably Ochiltree, East Ayrshire
Died	1446 x 1447 Dunblane (?), Strathearn, Scotland
Previous post	Dean of Dunblane

Michael Ochiltree [Ouchtre] (d. 1445 x 1447) was a 15th-century Scottish prelate and administrator. A close associate of King James I of Scotland, from the late 1410s he rose in rank from canon to Dean of Dunblane and then Bishop of Dunblane. He was responsible for the coronation of King James II of Scotland, and obtaining a grant from the crown which allowed the comparatively small diocese of Dunblane to attain historically unprecedented viability.

He probably came from Ochiltree in East Ayrshire; according to one source, he was the son of a priest and an unmarried woman, though this is contradicted by another source that claims he was the son of a married man and an unmarried woman; he was however certainly regarded as illegitimate, and later had to gain a dispensation for his illegitimacy. As a young man, Ochiltree obtained a Bachelorate in Canon Law from the University of Paris. He became a canon of the diocese of Dunblane and held the vicarage of Strogeith by 1418.

Ochiltree was involved in a long dispute at the Papal curia over the deanery of Dunblane; his opponents were John Stewart and then John de Keremor. Bishop William Stephani had appointed Michael as Dean following the death of the previous Dean, probably Donald de Bute; however, the Pope appointed John Stewart, M.A., B.L., rector of the parish of Flysk and bastard son of King Robert II of Scotland.

...
Wikipedia