[MR] Wikipedia: Death of Robert Blackadder

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Scots,

On this date in 1508, Robert Blackadder, Archbishop of Glasgow, died while
on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He boarded a ship at Venice. Some sources
say others in his party also died, which suggests the cause was the plague
or some other nasty communicable disease.

Archbishop Blackadder's birth year is unknown, but he was probably born at
Tulliallen near Perthshire in Fife, seat of a cadet Blackadder line. He is
recorded among the students at St. Andrews University circa 1461,
suggesting he was born sometime in the 1440s.

Robert Blackadder enjoyed a career both as a churchman, and as a diplomat
for the Scottish crown. His appointment as Bishop of Glasgow came in 1483.
Blackadder's see was elevated to the archbishop level in 1492, making him
both Glasgow's last Bishop and its first Archbishop. He was responsible for
Glasgow Cathedral's Blackadder Aisle, the last major addition to the
building.

Sorry to disappoint, but the name Blackadder (aka Blacader or Blackater)
has nothing to do with snakes. It comes from a stream near the family's
traditional estates in the southeastern Lowlands near Berwick. The name
actually means "black water". It is still a very cool name.

More about Archbishop Blackadder's life is found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blackadder .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆