[1594/4/60]¹

Act in favour of [Peter Rollock], bishop of Dunkeld

Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament, understanding that the patrimony and rent of the bishopric of Dunkeld is exhausted by tacks, pensions and other dispositions made and granted by the bishops and titulars thereof of before, so that little or no commodity thereof remains to Peter, now bishop of Dunkeld, except the superiority thereof; having consideration also of the service and good offices done by the said Peter, bishop of Dunkeld in the public affairs of the kirk and commonwealth of this country, therefore our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid, by the tenor hereof, give and grant to the said Peter, now bishop of Dunkeld, during all the days of his lifetime, the right of the superiority of the whole temporal lands, mills, multures, woods, forests, fishings and others belonging to the temporality thereof, with all and sundry liberties, privileges, kanes, customs, casualties and commodities of the same whatsoever, with full power to him during his lifetime as said is to enter and receive all and sundry the feuars, freeholders, vassals and tenants of the temporality of the said benefice, their heirs, assignees and successors, either upon resignation thereof to be made in his hands, confirmations, precepts of clare constat or upon retours passed upon brieves directed out of our said sovereign lord's chancellery, the grassums, compositions and entres silver to intromit with and to his own use to apply, likewise and as freely and his predecessors, titulars of the said benefice, might have done before the making of the act of annexation after-specified, or as our said sovereign lord might have done since then. Declaring all and sundry the interests foresaid to be given by the said Peter, bishop of Dunkeld to the said feuars, freeholders, vassals and tenants of the said temporal lands and others above-written, their heirs, assignees or successors in manner above-rehearsed, to be as good, valid and sufficient to the receivers thereof for holding and enjoying of their said lands and others above-mentioned, as if the same had been given and granted by his highness or by the titulars of the said benefice as said is. In addition, our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid declare and ordain all and whatsoever pensions given out of the temporality of the said benefice of before to whatsoever person or persons which have become vacant, presently becomes vacant or shall happen to become vacant during the said bishop's lifetime by forfeiture, demission, resignation, rebellion and lying at the horn above the space of a year and a day, or by whatsoever way in his highness's hands, to have appertained and to appertain in time coming during the space foresaid to the said Peter, bishop of Dunkeld and to return and accrue to him as a part of the patrimony of the said benefice, to be held and enjoyed by him during all the days of his lifetime likewise and as freely as the said pensioners held and possessed the same of before. With full power to him to uplift and intromit with the same and to charge the tenants, feuars and others indebted in payment thereof to answer, obey and make thankful payment of the same by virtue of his letters raised upon his provision to the said benefice or otherwise as he shall think expedient; discharging thereof the collector general and treasurer of the new augmentations and others, his highness's officers whatsoever, of all troubling or molesting of the said Peter, bishop of Dunkeld in the receiving and entering of the foresaid vassals, feuars, freeholders, their heirs, assignees and successors uplifting the compositions thereof and of the pensions vacant or that shall happen to become vacant in manner above-rehearsed, notwithstanding of the act of annexation of the temporality of all benefices to the crown made in the parliament held at Edinburgh on 29 July 1587, to the which this present act makes and shall make express derogation in so far as the same may be extended to the superiority of the temporality of the said bishopric during the said Peter, bishop of Dunkeld, his lifetime; and that letters of publication be directed hereupon in the appropriate form.