John Porterfield

John Porterfield (fl. 1571–1571x3) was a Scottish prelate in the sixteenth-century. A mysterious figure, he emerges in 1571 as the successor to James Beaton II as Archbishop of Glasgow. He was described by Robert Keith as "a kind of titular bishop", propped up by the establishment for nominal purposes during a period of disorder. [Keith, Historical Catalogue", p. 260.] Porterfield probably held on to the archbishopric into 1572, but he disappeared from the records thereafter. In late 1573 James Boyd became new Archbishop of Glasgow. [Watt & Murray, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 195.] Porterfield is possibly the same as the John Porterfield, minister of Ayr, who died in 1604. [MacDonald, "Welsh, John".]

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References

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* MacDonald, Alan R. "Welsh, John (1568/9–1622)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28979 , accessed 3 April 2008]
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