Gavin Dunbar

Who was Gavin Dunbar?

Gavin Dunbar was a 16th-century bishop of Aberdeen. He was the son of Sir Alexander Dunbar of Westfield, near Elgin and Elizabeth Sutherland, apparently a daughter of Alexander Sutherland, Laird of Duffus. Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow, was his nephew.

In 1475 he received a Master's degree from the University of St Andrews, and went on to become Dean of Moray by, if not before, 1487. In 1500 he was clerk of the Register, and in 1504 King James IV presented him archdeacon of the diocese of St Andrews. In 1507 Gavin was sent on a diplomatic mission to Louis XII of France with Antoine d'Arces They sailed on the Treasurer, but on his return the ship was wrecked and he was captured on the orders of Henry VII of England. He was returned to Edinburgh by November 1508.

He became bishop when he was provided to the see of Aberdeen in 1518. He was consecrated the following year. Dunbar's career saw the creation of a huge number of minor ecclesiastical establishments, including two chaplaincies in Elgin Cathedral, a hospital in the chanonry and an altar dedicated to St Katherine in the Aberdeen Cathedral.