[1597/11/67]¹

Ratification to [David Cunningham], bishop of Aberdeen

Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the estates of this present parliament, having consideration of the great and earnest travails and labours of his well-beloved clerk and orator Master David Cunningham, bishop of Aberdeen, not only in the faithful discharge of his office in the function of a pastor in God's kirk, but also in the honourable services done to his highness in the public affairs of this realm, and in special in the last quieting of the troubles within the north parts of this realm and of the great charges made and sustained by him therein, and by his repairing and awaiting upon the parliament and conventions at all times whensoever he is required; and therewithal considering that the present rent of the said bishopric is very mean and sober to maintain his estate and the great charges to which he is ordinarily subject, by reason thereof the patrimony of the said bishopric being wholly dilapidated and exhausted by ²his predecessors' deeds, except a very little part and portion thereof which has partly accrued to him by the death of pensioners, and partly has been acquired by him for large sums of money paid by him to certain other pensioners for the demission and resignation of their said pensions in his favour, so that the whole rent and commodity of the said benefice presently held and possessed by him extends only to the sum of £753 money, 1 chalder, 9 bolls, 3 firlots of barley, 8 bolls, half a boll, 2 pecks of meal, 1 chalder, 5 bolls of oats, with certain small customs of the said bishopric, the consideration of the smallness of the which rent moved his highness to provide the said reverend father with a new security of that part of the said bishopric which was then possessed by him, not exceeding the sum of £400, the rest being possessed by pensioners at that time, and that notwithstanding of the act of annexation according to his highness's gift made to him thereupon of the date 13 December 1590; as also to grant a special act of parliament in his favour not only ratifying the said gift, but also declaring him to have good right and title to whatsoever manner of way during his lifetime, and to the superiority and entry of the free tenants, grassums, entres silver and all other casualties of the said bishopric as freely as the same pertained to him before the making of the said act of annexation, as at more length is contained in the said act of parliament of the date at Edinburgh, the [...] day of [...] the year of God 1593. Therefore his highness, remembering his good, true and thankful service in the premises and for acknowledging the same in a part and for his better maintenance and to encourage him to continue in his former affection to do his majesty's service in time coming, with advice and consent of this present parliament, ratifies and approves whatsoever title and provision made by his highness to him of the bishopric of Aberdeen, fruits, rents, emoluments, casualties, honours, privileges and immunities whatsoever which has appertained or may appertain thereto; as likewise, with consent foresaid, ratifies and approves the said gift made to him in the month of December 1590 and act of parliament foresaid following thereupon and whole articles, clauses and conditions therein contained with whatsoever other rights or securities made by his highness to the said David, bishop of Aberdeen of the said bishopric or any part of the same, declaring the same to be as sufficient as if the same were inserted herein word for word. And for his better security, his highness, with advice foresaid, of new gives, grants and conveys to the said David, bishop of Aberdeen during all the days of his lifetime all and whole the feu mails, victuals and customs above-specified of the temporal lands of the said bishopric specially mentioned in his said gift made to him thereupon in the said month of December 1590, together with the feu mails, customs and other duties of the said bishopric conveyed in pension of before to the late Sir Patrick Gordon of Auchindoun, the late Master Walter Gordon and John Auchinleck and acquired since then by the said David, bishop of Aberdeen and whereof he is presently in possession, with whatsoever other tacks and pensions given out of the said bishopric which may fall or shall happen to become vacant in any time coming during his lifetime by the death of the present possessors, expiring of their tacks and pensions, reductions or nullities of the same or for whatsoever other cause and occasion, together with the superiority and entry of the free tenants, entres silver, grassums and other casualties whatsoever belonging to the said bishopric, with all right, title, interest and claim of right which his highness may pretend thereto, and to the said feu mails, victuals, customs, tacks and pensions and right of the superiority above-specified by virtue of the said act of annexation, which his highness, for himself and his successors, with advice foresaid, transfers, assigns and conveys to the said reverend father during all the days of his lifetime in recompense and satisfaction of the temporality of the said bishopric, decreeing and declaring him to have as good right and title thereto as he or any of his predecessors had to the same before the said act of annexation. In addition, his highness, understanding that there is a special assumption of the third of the said bishopric of Aberdeen which is in no way diminished by the said reverend father, and that the ministers' assignations are specially paid and uplifted out of the same, and that yet nevertheless the said reverend father is daily troubled and charged by the collector general and his officers and by certain pensioners for payment of the surplus of the said thirds and of the said pensions given and conveyed to them by his highness out of the same thirds, albeit he can in no way be justly charged therewith in respect of the particular assumption of the third of the said bishopric, and that he has in no way intromitted with any part of the said old assumption except a small part and portion of the feu mails, victuals and customs assigned and conveyed to him in part payment of the said sum of £753, 3 chalders, 13 bolls of victual and customs above-specified, which is the only free rent of the said bishopric presently held and possessed by him, and therefore of all equity and reason ought and should be made free to him of the payment of all thirds and surplus thereof; therefore his highness, with advice foresaid, decrees and ordains the said reverend father to have been continually since the date of his provision and to be in all time coming during his lifetime free of the payment of the thirds of the said bishopric or surplus thereof and of whatsoever gifts and pensions given and conveyed out of the same of all years and terms bygone and to come during the space foresaid, and exonerates and discharges him simply thereof for now and ever, ordaining the said collector general and his deputes and whatsoever pensioners of the thirds of the said bishopric or any part thereof and all others pretending any right thereto by virtue of whatsoever gifts or pensions conveyed out of the said third or surplus thereof to desist and cease from all charging, troubling or molesting of the said David, bishop of Aberdeen for payment of the said third or any part thereof or of whatsoever pensions allegedly conveyed out of the same for whatsoever years and terms bygone and to come during the space foresaid, and declaring the letters executed or to be executed at their instance against him for the cause foresaid to be void in the self and to have no execution against him; without prejudice always of the said collector's retours against the tenants and possessors of the old assumption of the said third and so much thereof which is not assigned and conveyed to the said David, bishop of Aberdeen in part payment of the said sum of £753 and 3 chalders, 13 bolls of victual and customs foresaid presently held and possessed by him for the free patrimony of the said bishopric as said is, which shall be always allowed to him and shall be deducted to the said tenants and possessors of the said old assumption in the first end of their victuals which they are astricted to pay by virtue of the said assignation.