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Walter de Coventre (died 1371 or 1372) was a 14th-century Scottish ecclesiastic. There is no direct evidence of his birthdate, his family, or his family's origin, although he may have come from the region around Abernethy (in modern-day Perth and Kinross), where a family with the name de Coventre is known to have lived. Walter appeared in the records for the first time in the 1330s, as a student at the University of Paris. From there he went on to the University of Orléans, initially as a student before becoming a lecturer there. He studied the arts, civil law and canon law, and was awarded many university degrees, including two doctorates. His studies were paid for, at least partially, by his benefices in Scotland. Despite holding perhaps more than five benefices at one stage, he did not return to Scotland until the late 1350s. Following his return to Scotland, Walter soon became Dean of Aberdeen Cathedral. From there he became engaged in high-level ecclesiastical affairs with the Scottish church and political affairs with the Earl of Mar. Sometime before June 1361, the cathedral chapter of Dunblane elected him Bishop of Dunblane. He went to France to secure confirmation from the Pope at Avignon, who authorised his consecration. Walter was bishop for 10 years after returning home to Scotland. Records of his episcopate are thin, but there are enough to allow a modest reconstruction of his activities: he presided over legal disputes, issued a dispensation for an important irregular marriage, attended parliaments, and acted as an envoy of the Scottish crown in England. He died in either 1371 or 1372. ==Background== Walter de Coventre was typical of a new class of men in 14th-century Scotland, the university-educated career cleric from the lower nobility.〔Grant, ''Independence and Nationhood'', pp. 96–7.〕 Such men often acquired university education through their family resources, through the patronage of more substantial nobles, or through church influence, particularly support from the pope and his court.〔Brown, ''Black Douglases'', p. 195.〕 Patronage gave access to the resources needed to finance the considerable expense of a 14th-century university education, particularly through the presentation of benefices, gifts of land or income made by the church.〔Barrell, "Papal Provisions", p. 218; Cockburn, ''Medieval Bishops'', pp. 104–5; Grant, ''Independence and Nationhood'', p. 97.〕 Scotland had no universities in de Coventre's time, requiring travel either to England or Continental Europe to acquire a university education. Continental Europe, particularly France, was the favoured destination, partly because of bad relations between Scotland and England.〔Brown & Boardman, "Survival and Revival", p. 91.〕 After their university education, some Scottish graduates chose to remain abroad and teach at a foreign university or to serve the papacy; most returned to Scotland and offered their services to the king, a magnate, or an ecclesiastical institution.〔See Watt, ''Dictionary'', ''passim'', for details and individual examples.〕 The ultimate reward for such services was a bishopric, which brought wealth, prestige, and a "job for life".〔A detailed survey, although regarding 12th- and 13th-century England, but still relevant, can be found in Bartlett, ''England under the Norman and Angevin Kings'', pp. 377–412.〕 Walter de Coventre's life is not well documented. There are no biographies, and no histories or chronicles devote any space to him. His activities can be traced only through a small number of incidental references in legal deeds, church documents and papal records.〔See sources listed in Watt, ''Dictionary'', pp. 114–5.〕 No modern historian has written a monograph about him, and the most extensive attempt to reconstruct his life in modern literature is a two-page entry in ''Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Graduates to A.D. 1410'' (1977).〔Watt, ''Dictionary'', pp. 114–5.〕 James Hutchison Cockburn, in his ''Medieval Bishop of Dunblane and their Church'' (1959) devoted seven less extensively sourced pages, but they emphasized the analysis of a few events during de Coventre's episcopate, and the events of his time.〔Cockburn, ''Medieval Bishops'', pp. 104–11.〕 During most of de Coventre's recorded lifetime Scotland was ruled by King David II. Coming to the throne at age five, King David was driven into exile in France at the age of ten. In the 1330s, civil war raged in Scotland as those loyal to David fought Edward Balliol and his English backers.〔Webster, "David II".〕 In some sense, the conflict became a side-show of the Hundred Years' War, and David resided at Château Gaillard in northern France for much of his exile, until he could return to Scotland in 1341.〔 In 1346, in response to a plea from France to come to its aid, David led an army into England only to be taken prisoner at Neville's Cross; he remained in captivity until he was ransomed in 1357.〔Oram, ''Kings and Queens'' pp. 118, 120.〕 David's exile in France corresponded with Walter's own period in that country, prompting one historian to suggest that Walter was part of David's court while both were in northern France, and that Walter subsequently benefited from the relationship.〔Penman, ''David II'', p. 53.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Walter de Coventre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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