Marion Ogilvy

Marion Ogilvy (c. 1495–1575) was the wife or mistress of Cardinal Beaton an advisor of James V of Scotland.

Early life

Marion Ogilvy was the younger daughter of Sir James Ogilvy of Lintrathen. Sir James, a diplomat, was created Lord Ogilvy of Airlie by James IV of Scotland in 1491. Her mother was Janet Lyle (d. 1525), Airlie's 4th wife,[1] and possibly a daughter of Robert, 2nd Lord Lyle, of Renfrewshire, another of the King's diplomats. As a child she lived at Airlie Castle and her family's lodging in Arbroath. She had an older sister, Janet Ogilvy, and a much older half-brother, John Ogilvy, who became the 2nd Lord Ogilvy.

Her father had made only partial provision for her before his death, a marriage contract by which the heir of Gordon of Midmar would marry her elder sister Janet or, on her death, Marion. Janet appears to have died young but the contract was not implemented. In 1525 Marion as yet unmarried, served as executrix of her mother's estate.[1]

Arbroath Abbey

Life with David Beaton

James Beaton was Archbishop of Glasgow. With the archbishopric he held the commendatory Abbeys of Arbroath and Kilwinning.[2] in 1522, when James Beaton became Archbishop of St. Andrews, he resigned his rights in Arbroath to his nephew David Beaton in commendam.[3] In commendam was the appointment of an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron, often a layman.[4] The commendatory abbot drew a portion of the revenue of the monastery, but without fulfilling the duties of the abbot or even residing at the monastery.

Ethie Castle

Her association with David Beaton, then abbot of Arbroath, may have begun around 1525, when she wound up her late mother's affairs at Airlie. Marion is recorded in Edinburgh with David Beaton in February 1526, and after she lived at Beaton's Ethie Castle near Arbroath. Beaton's relationship with Marion is often cited as one of his faults, as a Catholic clergyman supposed to remain celibate. However, Beaton's clerical status was complicated. He was not a monk, or professed member of the Benedictine Order, though Abbot or Commendator of Arbroath Abbey. Neither was he in full priest's orders at the start of their relationship. At this time clergymen who pursued secular careers as royal administrators and diplomats were able to postpone their ordination by seeking permission from the Pope. Despite these reservations, the historian Margaret Sanderson sees their relationship as example of clerical concubinage which Beaton himself condemned in others.[5] In her biography Cardinal of Scotland, Sanderson discusses the issue at greater length and points out that all their eight children were born before he was fully ordained, which presumably occurred at the time his consecration as Bishop of Mirepoix in 1538. The Cardinal's relationship with Marion seems not to have become a specific target of his critics or an embarrassment to his apologists until the 19th century.[6]

Ogilvy built up considerable property, held from the abbey, and frequently appeared in court to defend her rights.[7] One of her incomes was the rents of the Kirktoun of St Vigeans.

Melgund Castle

In 1543, David Beaton bought Melgund Castle from his widowed sister-in-law. The castle became Marion's home. A chamber in the new tower has their heraldry displayed over the windows, just as any landed married couple.[7] The Cardinal was killed at St Andrews Castle in 1546. According to John Knox, Marion had just left the castle by the privy postern before it was overwhelmed by Beaton's enemies.[8] In 1547, Marion married a William Douglas, but was a widow by 18 September 1547.

Marion died at Melgund in June 1575 and was buried in the Ogilvy aisle at Kinnell parish church.[9]

The Cardinal's children

Some of the children received royal letters of legitimation in March 1531, and the sons were required Papal dispensations to compensate for their 'defect of birth' before starting careers in the church.

The will of Marion Ogilvy

Marion's will mentions the value of her sheep, cattle, and crops at her farms at the Mains of Melgund, and at Chapelton and Brinton of Ethie north of Arbroath. She had £1000 Scots in cash. Her servants included the cook Robert Smith, Alexander Symson, Thomas Lyne foreman of Melgund, Isobel Greg and Katherine Bell. She gave money to Willie Haghous, the son of Jonet Haghous, to apprentice him to a craft.[11]

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References
  1. Sanderson, Margaret H. B., "Ogilvy, Marion (d. 1575)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005
  2. Hunter-Blair, Oswald. "James Beaton." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 24 Jul. 2015
  3. Miranda, Salvator, "Beaton, David", The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
  4. Ott, Michael. "In Commendam." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 25 Jul. 2015
  5. Sanderson, Margaret H. B., Mary Stewart's People, James Thin (1987), 5-6.
  6. Sanderson, Margaret H. B., Cardinal of Scotland: David Beaton, John Donald (1986), 30-39.
  7. "Marion Ogilvy, Lady of Melgund", The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women, Edinburgh University Press
  8. Knox, John, The History of the Reformation in Scotland, Wodrow Society, vol. 1 (1846), pp174-175.
  9. Sanderson, Margaret H. B., Mary Stewart's People, James Thin (1987), 19.
  10. Margaret Sanderson, Mary Stewart's People (Edinburgh, 1987), p. 19.
  11. William Fraser, Elphinstone Family Book,, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1897), pp. 260-3.
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