Thomas Spens

Thomas Spens
Bishop of Aberdeen
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Diocese of Aberdeen
In office	1457–1480
Predecessor	Ingram Lindsay
Successor	William Forbes
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Galloway (1450–1458) Archdeacon of Moray Archdeacon of Galloway
Orders
Consecration	November 1399
Personal details
Born	1415 Glen Douglas
Died	(1480-04-15)15 April 1480 Edinburgh

Thomas Spens [de Spens] (c. 1415 – 14 April 1480), Scottish statesman and prelate, received his education at Edinburgh, was the second son of John de Spens, custodian of Prince James of Scotland, and of Lady Isabel Wemyss.

Biography

By his exceptional abilities, he attracted the notice the Scottish king, James II, who sent him on errands to England and to France, where he negotiated several treaties. About 1450 he became bishop of Galloway; soon afterwards he was made Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, and in 1459 he was chosen bishop of Aberdeen.

Much of his time, however, was passed in journeys to France and to England, and in 1464 he and Alexander Stewart, duke of Albany, a son of James II, were captured at sea by some English sailors. Edward IV, to whom the bishop had previously revealed an assassination plot, set him at liberty, and he was perhaps partly responsible for the treaty of peace made about this time between the English king and James III.

He also helped to bring about the meeting between Edward IV and Louis XI of France at Picquigny, and another treaty of peace between England and Scotland in 1474. Spens was a frequent attender at the Scottish parliaments, and contributed very generously to the decoration of his cathedral at Aberdeen. He died in Edinburgh on 14 April 1480.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Spens, Thomas de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 639.