John de Lindsay

Who was John de Lindsay?

John de Lindsay or simply John Lindsay was a 14th-century bishop of Glasgow. He was from the Lindsay family, a family of Anglo-Norman origin who had settled in Scotland, and in the 14th century were noted for their crusading exploits, a feature which earned them the patronage of the Scottish kings and who by the end of the century were elevated to comital status with the creation of the Earldom of Crawford. The Lindsay arms are depicted in Bishop John de Lindesay's seal. So also are the de Coucy arms, probably suggesting he had some sort of connection with this great French noble family. John himself was the son of Sir Philip de Lyndesay of the barony of Staplegorton, probably the son or grandson of the 13th century Chamberlain of King Alexander III who also bore this name.

John was a canon of Glasgow before becoming bishop. After the death of bishop-elect Stephen de Donydouer in August 1317, the Glasgow canons elected John de Lindesay as bishop. However, they apparently did not know that the pope, Pope John XXII, had already reserved the see for his own appointment.