Thomas de Kirkcudbright

Who was Thomas de Kirkcudbright?

Thomas de Kirkcudbright, also known as Thomas de Dalton [de Daltoun], was a medieval prelate from the Kingdom of Scotland. He was apparently a nutritus, or foster son, of Robert V de Brus, Lord of Annandale, and seems to have been closely linked in some way to Adam de Kirkcudbright, the man who held the church of Dalton in Annandale. He was likely a native Galwegian or perhaps a native of Annandale.

As the chaplain of Robert de Brus, he was elected by the chapter of Whithorn Cathedral to replace the recently deceased Henry of Holyrood as Bishop of Galloway, sometime before 13 January 1294. He offered obedience to the Archbishop of York on 30 May and was consecrated on 10 October. His election was initially opposed by John Balliol, King of the Scots, though John was eventually reconciled to the election. By the time of his election to the bishopric, he was already a priest and was styled magister, indicating the completion of a university education - though not details of his university education are not known.