Seal of James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow, 1508-1524. The seal portrays St Kentigern dressed as a monk, holding a book. The legendary salmon with the ring is beside him and below him there is a shield bearing the arms of Beaton.
King James IV was defeated by an English army at the disastrous Battle of Flodden (1513) during Beaton's time as archbishop. It was said that only one of the Glasgow men who went to fight with king returned to tell the tale. As the dead included King James IV and the Archbishop of St Andrews, it was left to the Archbishop of Glasgow to crown the infant James V, at Stirling Castle in 1513. In the aftermath of the battle, the Bishop's Palace in Glasgow was fortified with a surrounding stone wall 15 feet in height.
Beaton also spent money on the building and repair of bridges in the area. Crossings of the River Clyde, and of the Molendinar, Camlachie and Glasgow burns were all improved. Similar work was done outside the city, and it is thought that Beaton is the bishop commemorated in the name of the village of Bishopbriggs, to the north of Glasgow.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 941.435 REN
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
archbishops, Battle of Flodden, Bishop's Castle, Bishop's Palace, bridges, Camlachie Burn, coats of arms, fish, Glasgow Burn, heraldry, Molendinar Burn, River Clyde, salmon, rings, seals, walls
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