Abbot of Holyrood

The Abbot of Holyrood (later Commendator of Holyrood) was the head of the Augustinian monastic community of Holyrood Abbey, now in Edinburgh. The long history of the abbey came to a formal end in July 1606 when the parliament of Scotland turned the abbey into a secular lordship for the last commendator, John Bothwell (confirmed by charter in December 1607). The following is a list of abbots and commendators:

List of abbots

Seal of Adam

• Alwin, 1128-1151
• Osbert, 1151
• William (I), 1152-1172
• John, 1173-1178x1184
• William (II), 1187x1189-1206
• Walter, 1210-1217 or 1218^[1]
• William (III), 1217 x 1218-1221
• William (IV) son of "Owin", 1221-1227
• Gilbert, 1236
• Elias son of Nicholas, 1227-1236 x 1253
• Henry, 1236 x 1253-1255^[2]
• Radulf, 1253x1256-1258
• Robert, 1273 x1279
• William de Haddington, 1285
• Adam, 1291-1299
• Elias, 1309-1320 or 1321
• Simon de Wedale, 1321-1327^[3]
• John de Cambusnethan, 1328-1339
• Bartholomew, 1342
• Thomas de St Andrews, ?1347-1370
• John, 1370-1378
• David Bell, 1379-1386
• John de Leith, 1386-71415x1420
• Henry de Dryden, 1420-1423
  • Walter Bower, 1420^[4]
• Patrick Witherspoon (Wotherspoon), 1423-1445^[5]
• William, 1425
• James Cameron, 1446-1450^[6]
• Archibald Crawford, 1450-1484
• Robert Ballantyne, 1484-1500^[7]
• James Stewart, 1498-1500^[8]
• George Crichton, 1500-1526^[9]
• William Douglas, 1526-1528
• Robert Cairncross, 1528-1538^[10]
• David Douglas, 1530-1531

List of commendators

Seal of Robert Stewart abbot

• Robert Stewart, 1539-1568^[11]
• Adam Bothwell, 1568-1582^[12]
• John Bothwell, 1582-1606