Andrew Forman

Infobox Archbishop
honorific-prefix =
name = Andrew Forman
archbishop_of = Archbishop of St Andrews
honorific-suffix =


caption =
ordination =
consecration =
enthroned = 1514
ended = 1521
province =
diocese =
see = St. Andrews
predecessor = Alexander Stewart
successor = James Beaton
birth_name =
birth_date = c. 1465
birthplace = Hutton, Berwickshire
death_date = death date|1521|3|11|mf=y
deathplace = Dunfermline
buried = St Andrews Cathedral
nationality = Scottish
residence =
parents = Nicholas Forman and Jonet Blackadder
spouse =
children = Jane Forman
ocupation =
profession = Ambassador and prelate
religion = Church of Rome
alma_mater =

Andrew Forman (c. 1465–11 March 1521) was a Scottish diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 as well as the headship of several monasteries.He was probably the son of Nicholas Forman of Hutton in Berwickshire, and Jonet Blackadder. McGladdery, "Andrew Forman"] Forman had three brothers, John and Adam who were both knights—Adam was the standard-bearer to King James IV at the Battle of Flodden Field and John, the king's serjeant-porter who was captured at the battle—and Robert who was dean of Glasgow cathedral. [Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews" pp.&nbsp: 6, 19] [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", pp.&nbsp: 123, 136, 167] He also had two known sisters—Isabel, the second wife of Sir Patrick Home of Fast Castle and an un-named sister whose son, John Roul, became commendator of May after Forman's death. [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", pp.&nbsp: 167, 219] A possible third sister, Jonet Forman the Prioress of Eklis (Eccles), is the first named in a letter of protection and respite (similar to a will) dated 28 March 1513, when Forman lists a number of his kith and kin. [Historical Review of Scotland, Vol. XIII, No. 1, Glasgow, 1915, pp.&nbsp: 317, 318] Like many senior churchmen of his day, his vow of celibacy was not one that he kept and was known to have had a daughter Jane who married Sir Alexander Oliphant of Kelley. [The Scottish Historical Review, Glasgow, 1909, Vol. VI, 404] He was educated at the University of St Andrews graduating as a Licentiate of the Arts in 1483. [ Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", p. 6] By 1489, Forman had entered the service of King James IV whom he represented in Rome in 1489/90 and where he was appointed protonotary apostolic by Pope Innocent VIII. [ Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", pp.&nbsp: 8,9 ] King James’s foreign policy was directed at bringing peace to Europe and required Forman to spend extended periods in Rome, Paris and London. During his ambassadorial career Forman gained many church and lay endowments. The king's death at Flodden and that of his son Alexander, Archbishop of St Andrews, triggered a round of attempted seizures of senior ecclesiastical offices in Scotland. Forman eventually emerged with his appointment to the archbishopric of St Andrews in 1514 which he held until his death in 1521.

Diplomat and pluralist

Although Forman obtained many high offices in the church, his primary role was as a senior emissary in the service of the king; a role that saw him receive generous royal and papal gifts. The first benefice he received was in 1489 when Pope Innocent VIII provided him to the Parsonage of Forest church (Yarrow in the Scottish borders). [Manuel, D. G., "Dryburgh Abbey in the Light of its Historical and Ecclesiastical Setting", Edinburgh, 1922, p. 219] . [ Archer, "Andrew Forman", Dict. Nat. Biog. ]

Forman and Bishop William Elphinstone of Aberdeen were the principal envoys who brokered a seven year truce with King Henry VII of England at Aytoun in September 1497. The search for a queen for James began in 1499 when negotiators were appointed to treat with King Henry for the marriage of his eldest daughter, Princess Margaret. [Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", p. 13] . [ Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", pp. 69,70]

Appointments and possessions

The information contained in these maps is taken from:
Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews"; Archer, "Andrew Forman", Dict. Nat. Biog.; Bain, "Cal. Docs. Scot."; Manuel, D. G., "Dryburgh Abbey in the Light of its Historical and Ecclesiastical Setting"; McGladdery, "Andrew Forman", ODNB; Fawcett & Oram, "Dryburgh Abbey".

Holy League

James’s father-in-law, Henry VII of England died in 1509 and his son Henry VIII came to the throne. Forman traveled to the English court on several occasions to facilitate the renewal of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace which was agreed on 29 June 1509 [Taylor, "Life of James IV",p. 204] and ratified by Forman on King James' behalf on 29 August. [Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, Nos. 474, 475, 63] In 1510, the king sent Forman to France to try and persuade King Louis XII to make peace with Pope Julius II and then in 1511 to Venice to try and construct a peace between Louis and the Venetians.

Also in 1511, Forman carried a letter to Henry in which James complained bitterly that the criminals who had murdered Sir Robert Ker, Warden of the Middle Marches in the time of his father, Henry VII, were still at large. Taylor, "Life of James IV", p. 210] James stated that he could not accept that his subjects were being killed and those responsible not being brought to justice. The Scottish king's letter to the pope in December 1511 showed that James regarded that the treaty between Scotland and England was worthless and that he assumed that the pope had released both kings from their oaths to uphold the treaty. [MacDougall, "James IV", pp. 261, 262] James was now in the complex situation where he still had the existing treaty with England and with an alliance with France on the table but each contradictory to the other. [MacDougall, "James IV", p. 257] He did not rush to France's side but continued to send Forman on his shuttle diplomacy missions to try and conciliate the opposing demands of Pope Julius II and King Louis XII. [MacDougall, "James IV", p. 258] Eventually, after Forman's failure to bring the pontiff and the French king together, James after consultation with his General Council renewed the Franco-Scottish alliance in July 1512—only two councillors opposed the decision. [MacDougall, "James IV", pp. 257, 258] [ Chalmers, "James IV", ODNB] On 21 February 1513, Pope Julius, with England now in the league against France, issued a bull which was in effect a suspended sentence of excommunication on James if he broke the treaty with Henry. James then sent Andrew Forman once more to Rome on 31 March to try and get the new Pope Leo X to countermand the bull but without success. [MacDougall, "James IV", p. 261] Forman did have personal success in July, however, when at the insistence of King Louis, he was made Archbishop of Bourges and paid homage to the French king on 12 September, just 3 days after the Battle of Flodden Field. [Archer, "Andrew Forman", Dict. Nat. Biog. ] It is unlikely that either Louis or Forman would have known of the death of James. [See Fleming, "Reformation in Scotland", p. 163: On the 15th of September, Cardinal Bainbridge and the Bishop of Worcester, with Cardinal Surrentinus and the ambassadors of the emperor and of Arragon, had a secret interview with the pope. They knew that James had invaded England, but were unaware that the English had triumphed at Flodden on the 9th.]

Flodden

saying that King James fell near his banner and then lauded the bravery of the Scottish host: [MacDougall, "James IV", pp. 275, 276]

... such large and strong men, they would not fall when four or five bills struck one of them. ... [the English] did not trouble themselves with prisoners, but slew and stripped King, bishops, lords and nobles, and left them naked on the field. ...

In all, between 5,000 and 8,000 Scots were killed while approximately 1,500 of the English host died—among the few prisoners taken was Andrew Forman's brother, Sir John Forman who was the king's serjeant-porter. [Sadler, "Flodden 1513", p. 86]

The seventeen month old King James V was crowned in Stirling almost immediately and his mother, Queen Margaret created regent as required by the provisions of the late king's will. [ Bonnar, "Albany", ODNB] She had little freedom of action as a ruling council, consisting of James Beaton, archbishop of Glasgow and chancellor, Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, was appointed to rule the country. [ Mackay, "James V", Archive at ODNB] When Queen Margaret married the earl of Angus, the lords of the council decided that she had to give up the regency of her infant son King James V and in September, they invited John Stewart, Duke of Albany to become governor of Scotland. [Bonnar, "Albany", ODNB] The arrival of Albany from France, the opposing Douglas and Hamilton factions within the council and the meddling of the pope all impinged on the outcome of the vacant archbishopric of St Andrews. [ Fleming, "Reformation in Scotland", p. 168]

ee of St Andrews

Despite this, King James via his general council, nominated Aberdeen's aged Bishop Elphinstone to the position. [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", pp. 38,130] Gavin Douglas, provost of the collegiate church of St Giles in Edinburgh was recommended to the pope by both Margaret, the queen-mother and the English King Henry, and took possession of the archbishop's palace which was also St Andrews castle. John Hepburn, who still regarded himself as a contender for the vacancy, dislodged Douglas by force from the castle. [Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", p. 91] The council met in St Andrews on 2 March 1514 at which Hepburn also attended and argued for the council to appeal to the pope to disregard all letters of support for Forman. Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", pp. 119–121] Hepburn had successfully engineered the council's support as a letter dated 4 March from the king to the pope accused Forman of having a lot of blame for his father's death at Flodden—the letter also stated that Forman was now an exile and a rebel and intimated that his positions and benefices had been taken from him and called for Forman to be disregarded for the vacancy. Forman was not to be deprived as was confirmed in a letter that Leo wrote to Albany on 11 April and named the bishop of Moray for St Andrews. [Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", p. 92] On 13 November, Leo formally provided Forman to St Andrews and followed up by making him legatus a latere on 11 December—the bulls were published in January 1515. In time, both Douglas and Hepburn, unable to secure the backing of Albany and the pope gave up the contest. Albany left Paris for Scotland in May 1515 without Forman but then in June, Forman did travel to Scotland where he was placed under virtual house arrest in his own priory of Pittenweem and would remain there until the end of the year. Albany eventually managed to persuade the council to reluctantly accept Forman as archbishop and provided the temporalities of the see in February 1516.

He died in Dunfermline on 11 March 1521 and was buried in St Andrews Cathedral.

Forman's reputation

Andrew Forman was highly regarded at the courts of Europe and this respect did not go unrewarded. From King Louis XII of France he received the archbishopric of Bourges, from King Hendry VII of England he obtained the rectorship of the parish church of Cottingham and from his own master, King James IV many headships of Scottish monasteries, the recommendation to the bishopric of Moray and large tracts of land. [For more detail of benefices received from Henry VII, Louis XII and James IV, see Bain, "Cal. Docs. Scot." , p. 331; Archer, "Andrew Forman", Dict. Nat. Biog. ; and Fawcett & Oram, "Dryburgh Abbey", pp. 31,32] Rome also appreciated his efforts and provided Forman firstly with the parsonage of Forest Church from Innocent VIII, then the commendatorship of Kelso Abbey from Julius II and finally and most importantly, the archbishopric of St Andrews and the commendatorship of Dunfermline Abbey from Leo X. [ For more detail of benefices received from popes see Manuel, D. G., Dryburgh Abbey in the Light of its Historical and Ecclesiastical Setting, Edinburgh, 1922, p. 219; and McGladdery, "Andrew Foreman", ODNB ] Forman's standing with Henry VIII was good in his early reign when the bishop was central in renewing the Treaty of Perpetual Peace and later in his attempts at mediation between the English and French kings. As King James edged ever closer to France and then with the renewal of the traditional Franco-Scottish alliance, Forman’s embassies to France were distrusted and he was deprived of safe passage through England. [Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews", pp. 67,68 ] [Brewer, "Letters and Papers of Henry VIII", No. 3569, 448] That Andrew Forman was seen as the main instigator of the war was in early circulation in England—a contemporary document re-printed in full in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland contains the following excerpt: [David Laing Ed., An Account of the Battle of Flodden, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh, March 1867. Retrieved 12 January 2008, http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_007/7_141_152.pdf]

Dyvers prisoners are taken of the Scottes, but noe notable personne, only Sir Willm Scott knight councelour of the said king of Scottes, and as is said a gentilman well lernyd. Also Sir John Forman knight broder to the Busshop of Murrey, which Busshop as is reported, was and is mosst principall procurour of this warre;

Despite these early views, MacDougall argues that Forman's reputation was without doubt blackened by a coterie that included Gavin Douglas who was a principal competitor for the see of St Andrews and who had called Forman "yon evyll myndit Byschep of Morray". MacDougall, "James IV", pp. 297, 298] MacDougall also explains that Andrew Forman was one of the main participants in the peace treaty of 1502, its renewal in 1509 and his opposition to the renewal of the alliance with France in 1508; he goes on to say that it would have been inconceivable that the king could be manoeuvered into a position that was against his own wishes. The early chroniclers (Buchanan and Pitscottie) did nothing to revive Forman's tarnished reputation yet when King James took the advice of his General Council, only two counsellors opposed the French alliance— Bishop Elphinstone of Aberdeen and Archibald Douglas, the Earl of Angus. [ Chalmers, "James IV", ODNB]

References

Bibliography

*Archer, T.A. "Andrew Forman", Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. XIX, ed. Leslie Stephen, London, 1889. [Archer, "Andrew Forman", Dict. Nat. Biog. ]
*Bain, Joseph, ed., "Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland", Vol. IV, Edinburgh, 1888 [Bain, "Cal. Docs. Scot."]
*Bonnar, Elizabeth, "Stewart, John, second duke of Albany (c.1482–1536)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/26488, accessed 26 Jan 2008) [Bonnar, "Albany", ODNB]
*Brewer, J.S., Ed., "Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII", Vol. I, London, 1862 [Brewer, "Letters and Papers of Henry VIII"]
*Chalmers, T. G., "James IV (1473–1513)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2007 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14590, accessed 10 Jan 2008). [Chalmers, "James IV", ODNB]
*Dowden, J., "The Bishops of Scotland … prior to the Reformation", ed. J. M. Thomson, Edinburgh, 1912. [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland"]
*Fawcett, Richard and Oram, Richard, "Dryburgh Abbey", Stroud, 2005. (ISBN 0-7524-3439-X [Fawcett & Oram, "Dryburgh Abbey"]
*Fleming, David Hay, "The Reformation in Scotland, London", 1910 [Fleming, "Reformation in Scotland"]
*Herkless, John & Hannay, Robert Kerr, "The Archbishops of St Andrews", Vol II, Edinburgh, 1909. [Herkless & Hannay, "Archbishops of St Andrews"]
*MacDougall, Norman, "James IV", Edinburgh, 2006. (ISBN 0-85976-663-2) [MacDougall, "James IV"]
*Mackay, A. J. G., "James V (1512–1542), king of Scotland", Dictionary of National Biography, 1891 at Archive at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14591, accessed 28 Jan 2008) [Mackay, "James V", archive ODNB]
*McGladdery C.A., "Forman, Andrew (c.1465–1521)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9883, accessed 9 Oct 2007] Andrew Forman (c.1465–1521): doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9883. [McGladdery, "Andrew Foreman", ODNB]
*Sadler, John, "Flodden 1513", Scotlands Greatest Defeat, Osprey, 2006 (ISBN 1-84176-959-2) [Sadler, "Flodden 1513"]
*Taylor, I.A., "The Life of James IV", London, 1913. [Taylor, "Life of James IV"]
succession box|title=Chancellor of the University of St Andrews|years=1514–1521|before=Alexander Stewart Archbishop of St Andrews
after=James Beaton Archbishop of St Andrews