The bishop, the prior, and the founding of the burgh of St Andrews

Abstract

The intertwined relationship between the foundation of the burgh of St Andrews by Robert, bishop of St Andrews (d.1159), and the establishment of the Augustinian cathedral priory (St Andrews Day 1140) has not hitherto been explored. Building on the work of A. A. M. Duncan, it is argued here that the burgh was set up in response to the establishment of the new priory and the ambitious programme pursued by its first prior, Robert (1140–60). The burgh's early history was bound up in the contentious relationship of bishop and prior, as Prior Robert sought to gain sole control over the cathedral and the altar of the apostle Saint Andrew, the parish church, ecclesiastical lands in east Fife, and their revenues. The burgh allowed Bishop Robert to recoup some of his financial losses, but the priory's commercial ambitions presented competition for the bishop's burgesses in the burgh's first generation.