Effigy
of Clement, Bishop of Dunblane - Robert
Brydall, "Monumental Effigies of Scotland, from the Thirteenth Century to
the Fifteenth Century", in the Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland, 29 (1894-95), figure 21, p. 358
Saint Clément
Évêque de Dunblane en
Écosse (+ 1258)
Saint
Dominique l'avait accueilli dans l'Ordre qu'il venait de fonder et lui
confia la mission de le répandre en Écosse où il devint évêque de Dunblane.
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6196/Saint-Clement.html
Figure
of Bishop Clement in Dunblane Cathedral
Blessed Clement of
Dunblane
Also
known as
Clement of Scotland
Profile
Studied at
the University
of Paris, France. Dominican friar,
receiving the habit from Saint Dominic
de Guzman. Helped introduce the Dominicans to Scotland.
Noted preacher. Bishop of Dunblane, Scotland in 1233,
ordained by Pope Gregory
IX. He constantly travelled his diocese,
rebuilding churches, including Dunblane Cathedral,
fighting for the rights of the Church,
and evangelizing the laity.
Worked on the Cause for the canonization of Saint Margaret
of Scotland. Assigned to collect alms for
the Holy Land in 1247. Excommunicated a
group who tried to murder the king. Wrote a
biography of Saint Dominic,
a book on pilgrimages to
the Holy Land, a history of the Dominican
Order in Scotland,
and translated a
number of works.
Born
1258 in Dunblane, Scotland of
natural causes
interred in the choir of Dunblane Cathedral
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The
First Disciples of Saint Dominic, by Father Victor
Francis O’Daniel, O.P.
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
MLA
Citation
‘Blessed Clement of
Dunblane‘. CatholicSaints.Info. 29 October 2021. Web. 5 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-clement-of-dunblane/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-clement-of-dunblane/
A chalk lithographic sketch of Dunblane Cathedral published in 1821, a half century before the reconstruction of the cathedral
Blessed Clement of
Dunblane, OP (AC)
Died 1256-58. One of the
pioneers about whom we hear little is the colorful and resourceful Bishop
Clement of Dunblane, who received his habit from Saint Dominic's hands and
introduced the Dominicans as he preached in Scotland. The monasteries he
founded within a few years of the beginning of the Dominican Order served the
Church well, and the Church annals are begemmed with the names of the people
who made history in that interesting country.
We read the names of
Robert Bruce and Lord Douglas on the rolls of benefactors of the Blackfriars.
James Beaton, archbishop of Saint Andrews, fled for sanctuary to the Dominican
church in 1517; and in 1554, John Knox was called to give an account of his
strange doctrines in the Blackfriars Church of Edinburgh.
Clement was Scottish by
birth, and having met Saint Dominic at the University of Paris and being
received into the order, he was vocal and active in bringing the friars to his
homeland. Tradition holds that the Scottish king, Alexander II, in Paris on a
diplomatic mission, made a personal appeal to Saint Dominic for missionaries.
It is an historical fact that this monarch was their first benefactor when the
mission band at last arrived, shortly after Dominic's death.
The priory in the lovely,
seaside town of Ayr was founded in 1230, and seven other large houses soon
followed. There is record of transactions with the rulers of the region at this
time, and, a few years later, King Robert Bruce granted the Dominicans the privilege
of grinding their grain at his mill.
Clement was appointed
bishop of Dunblane in 1233, by Pope Gregory IX, a devoted friend of Saint
Dominic. He worked in this see for 23 years, and, according to an old record,
he "labored with unflagging zeal to uproot superstition and destroy vice,
to make true and solid piety known and practiced, and to draw the faithful
entrusted to his charge to the imitation of all the virtues of Christian
perfection, as he himself fulfilled al the duties of a watchful and loving
pastor"--a description of a bishop that can hardly be bettered. He is
described as being poor himself, and the father of the poor, and all the old
writers speak of his zeal in restoring the ruined churches and the neglected
rights of the Church.
According to surviving
records, he must have been a busy man, this rugged missionary in an equally
rugged land. He rebuilt Dunblane Cathedral, visited tirelessly among the
outlying regions of his diocese, setting things in order, and solicited most of
the funds for reconstruction himself. He was appointed on several papal
commissions, once to inquire into the heroic virtues of Margaret of Scotland,
another time to determine the validity of a bishop's appointment. He was sent
to collect alms for the Holy Land in 1247, at a time when he badly needed the
money to rebuild his own diocese.
Through his influence,
the episcopal see was transferred from the Isle of Iona, which was frequently
inaccessible and always in danger from stormy seas, to a place where it could
be readily in touch with the rest of Scotland. He attended the general chapter
of the Order held in London in 1250. At one time he had to pronounce a sentence
of excommunication on all those who had tried to murder the king.
In spite of these varied
and absorbing labors, we are interested to find that he wrote at least three
books: a life of Saint Dominic, a book on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and the
history of the Dominican Order in Scotland.
When Clement died, he
left a legacy of personal holiness so great that even a Protestant historian
would say of him: "This man was an excellent preacher, learned above many
of that time, and of singular integrity of conversation" (Benedictines,
Dorcy).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0319.shtml
The
First Disciples of Saint Dominic – Clement of Scotland, Bishop
Article
But little is known about
the Friars Preacher in Scotland. Doubtless one of the reasons of this
unfortunate ignorance was the destruction of archives and documents during the
many wars between that country and England, and especially at the time of the so-called
Reformation. Touron is evidently of the opinion that Clement entered the Order
in the days of Saint Dominic. Echard thinks he was a native of Scotland, and
was a student at the University of Paris, as well as received the habit there.
This would explain why the early disciple is generally called Clement of
Scotland. The supposition seems to be that he joined the new religious
institute in 1219, while Dominic was in the French capital. The fact that
Clement is styled “a canon” (canonicus) in a document of the time
shows that this surmise can not be far wrong. Some tell us that Alexander II,
king of Scotland, happened to be in Paris during the saint’s visit there
(1219), that the two men met, and that, at the earnest request of the monarch,
Dominic sent eight of his religious into that country. A part of this
statement, however, does not accord with the early history of the Order, which
places it in England (1221) before it began to labor in Scotland. Besides, the
almost contemporary Chronicles of Melrose Abbey, which was in what is now
Roxburghshire, says: “The Jacobin [Dominican] Fathers first came to Scotland in
1230. King Alexander brought them into the country. As he had great love for
them, he proved a generous benefactor to them; for he not only gave them
places, but also built and furnished convents for them.” We do not doubt that
the young monarch met Dominic at the time mentioned, or that the saint promised
to send him a colony of the Order of Preachers. But the founder died before he
could carry out his intention. Indeed, it would seem that several years had
passed, when Blessed Jordan found it feasible to put the design into execution.
Doubtless Clement, who
likely belonged to the sturdy race, was placed at the head of the little band
of missionaries dispatched to labor among the Scotsmen, and to establish the
Order in their country. Prior to this time, he had shown himself to be
possessed of rare talent, and become a learned man, no less than a model,
zealous religious. He had a special gift for languages and oratory. According
to the Rev. D. O. Hunter-Blair, O.S.B. (Catholic Encyclopedia), these Friars
Preacher must have first set up their standard at Edinburgh. In Scotland, as in
all Europe, marvellous success attended the efforts of the fathers; and they
were soon scattered throughout the northern kingdom of the British Isle.
None of them, we may take
it for granted, manifested greater ability, more zeal, or a truer religious
spirit than Father Clement, who seems to have been their leader. Early Scottish
historians assure us that his labors and evident capacity for good suggested
him at once for the See of Dunblane, which became vacant in 1231. Possibly his
own repugnance to such an honor combined with that of Blessed Jordan to delay
his appointment, for he was not consecrated until two years later. The
Chronicles of Melrose Abbey state: “In the year of our Lord 1233, Clement, a
canon of the Order of Preachers, was elected Bishop of Dunblane. He was
consecrated in Wedale [an episcopal tithe or mensal parish, with its church at
Stow, in the southeastern part of County Edinburgh] on the feast of the
translation of Saint Andrew [or rather Saint Cuthbert, September 4] by William
[Malvoisin, O.S.F.], Bishop of Saint Andrews.” The consecration assumes added
significance from the fact that the ordinary of Saint Andrews, though it was
not then an archdiocese, enjoyed quasi primatial rights in Scotland.
From the start, Clement
began to give clear proofs of his executive talent; nor did he relax in his
zeal throughout his long government of some twenty-five years. He found the
diocese in a deplorable condition. Under his watchful care it soon became a
spiritual garden which blossomed with every virtue. Vigorous were his efforts
to enkindle fervor and piety in hearts that had grown cold and indifferent from
neglect, no less than to uproot vices that had become all too prevalent.
Equally active and firm was he in defending the rights of the Church, and in
putting her laws into execution. God crowned the labors of His faithful servant
with success, for in all things he set the example which he asked others to
follow.
Thus, while the model
life of the Friar-Preacher prelate won the esteem and admiration of his flock,
his kindness and affable ways brought him the affection of their hearts. One of
his most prominent traits was charity towards the poor, of whom there were many
in the diocese. Although his varied learning and ability, no less than his
virtue, caused all to look up to him as a man of marked distinction, his
humility and zeal for souls never let him forget the lowly, or those in
distress. These, indeed, were the objects of the holy man’s keenest interest.
Like Saint Paul, he became all things to all men in order to gain all to
Christ. In this, no doubt, we have the secret of the love in which the people
of the Diocese of Dunblane held him.
It would seem, in fact,
that Clement of Scotland possessed a character which won him the good will of
all with whom he came in contact. It would be difficult to find a better proof
of the affection entertained for him by his Order than that given by the
general chapter held at London in 1250. Although he had, in a measure, severed
his relations with the Order seventeen years before, by his consecration, the
fathers of this assemblage enacted by formal decree: “We grant Brother Clement,
Bishop in Scotland, (after his death) one mass by every priest throughout the
Order; and by those in the Province of England the same number that they say
for any member of the province.” Certainly this signal act of benevolence is an
unequivocal indication of the high esteem which he enjoyed among his former
confrères the world over. It inclines one to believe that his services, prior
to his appointment to Dunblane, must have been far more than ordinary.
Another document,
contained in a contemporary Scottish chronicle which escaped the craze for the
destruction of things Catholic, speaks in no less high praise of the subject of
this sketch. Here we read:
In the year of our Lord
1256 died Clement, Bishop of Dunblane, a celebrated preacher even in the Order
of Preachers. He was a skilled linguist, and spoke several tongues with
eloquence. So was he a man powerful in word and deed before both God and man.
Because of the carelessness of his predecessors, he found the Cathedral Church
in a deplorable condition, both spiritually and temporally. Mass was said in it
scarcely three times a week, as if it were no more than a rural chapel. Under
him it became a renowned sanctuary. Furthermore, he enriched it with lands and
prebends, and supplied it with canons.
With Clement two Scottish
historians, Thomas Dempster and George Newton, associate Father Simon Taylor,
an Irish Friar Preacher, of whose virtue and musical gifts they speak in terms
of high praise. They also tell of some works on music which he wrote. Possibly
the bishop of Dunblane made use of this confrère to give a better tone and more
dignity to the services in the cathedral. Certainly, if we may believe the
chronicle just quoted, they sadly needed improvement; whilst Clement’s
character would lead him to adopt the quickest and most effective measure to
that end.
We know just enough to
make us wish to learn much more about this early disciple of the holy man from
Caleruega. Unfortunately those who mention him at all tell in the briefest,
though highly encomiastic, way of his zeal, virtues, and ability. Gams and Dom
Placid Corballis, by placing his death in 1258, make him live two years longer
than the chronicle from which we have quoted. Echard attributes to his pen a
Life of Saint Dominic; a History of the Establishment of the Friars Preacher in
Scotland; a Book on Pilgrimages to Holy Places; and a Collection of Sermons.
None of these works have ever appeared in print. They are still in manuscript,
stored away in archives or libraries, or have, like many other things of the
kind, been destroyed by the hand of time. One of Clement’s stamp could hardly
have failed to leave a lasting impress on his Order and the Church of Scotland,
by neither of which, we may rest assured, will his memory ever cease to be
cherished.
MLA
Citation
Father Victor Francis
O’Daniel, O.P. “Clement of Scotland, Bishop”. The
First Disciples of Saint Dominic, 1928. CatholicSaints.Info.
29 October 2021. Web. 5 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/the-first-disciples-of-saint-dominic-clement-of-scotland-bishop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-first-disciples-of-saint-dominic-clement-of-scotland-bishop/
Clement of Dunblane
Clement of Dunblane lived
from about 1200 to 19 March 1258. He became the first member of the Dominican
Order in the British Isles to become a bishop. By 1250 he had become one of the
Guardians appointed to govern Scotland during the minority of King
Alexander III. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in
our Historical
Timeline.
According to one account,
Clement was born a Scot, and after an education that included periods at the
University of Oxford and the University of Paris, he was admitted into the
Dominican Order in Paris in 1219.
The Dominican Order had
its origins in the reformist ideology of Dominic de Guzmán, later known as
Saint Dominic. By 1219, Dominic had established houses as far apart as Paris,
Bologna, Madrid and Segovia. At the time of his death in 1221, there were 21
houses in Europe. Expansion of the order continued into England as houses were
established at Oxford in 1221 and London in 1224, and there were five houses in
England by 1230. The first Dominicans came to Scotland in about 1230 at the
invitation of King
Alexander II and their first house was established in 1234.
The Bishopric of Dunblane had
stood vacant since 1230. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX charged the bishops of St
Andrews, Brechin and Dunkeld with
coming up with a successor. At the time Dominicans were seen as the cutting
edge in religious thinking, and were known to have found favour with Alexander
II. The choice of Clement to be the next Bishop of Dunblane was
nonetheless a bold move by his fellow-bishops. It may also have been a cynical
one: The Bishopric of Dunblane was
a small diocese with very little income, and it is possible that the
established churchmen in Scotland wanted to give Clement a post in which he was
likely to fail. In Spring 1237, following a visit to Rome by Clement, the Pope
wrote to the Bishop of Dunkeld saying
that:
Bishop Clement ... found
the Church so desolated that there was no place in the Cathedral Church where
he could lay his head; it had no college of clergy; the divine offices were
celebrated in a roofless church and by a rural chaplain only; and the episcopal
revenues were so slender, and had been alienated to such a degree, that they
scarcely sufficed to support him for half a year.
Despite the problems
confronting him on arrival, Bishop Clement proved to be a success, raising enough
funds to rebuild Dunblane
Cathedral and to secure the future of the bishopric. In the mid 1240s
Clement was asked to perform a similar financial and administrative turnaround
for the Bishopric of Argyll. This had been vacant for a number of years, was by
some margin the poorest in Scotland, and had the additional problem of lying
largely outside the zone of effective control of the King of Scotland.
Alexander
II took steps to recover control of Argyll and
the Isles in the late 1240s, but died on the Island of Kerrera on
6 July 1249 during a military expedition to stamp his authority on the area.
Clement was at his side when he died, and went on to be appointed as one of the
Guardians of Scotland during the minority of Alexander
III, who was eight when his father died.
Clement died in 1258,
probably on 19 March. He was later commemorated as a Saint, though no official
record of his canonisation remains. He is primarily remembered for the legacy
he left in Dunblane, in
particular for the magnificent cathedral he
built there.
© 2000-2017 Undiscovered
Scotland
SOURCE : http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/c/clementofdunblane.html
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