# Clement of Dunblane

By [Edmund Elinor](https://paragraph.com/@03016) · 2022-07-03

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**Clement** (died 1258) was a 13th-century [Dominican](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order) [friar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friar) who was the first member of the Dominican Order in [Britain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain) and [Ireland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland) to become a [bishop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop#Churches). In 1233, he was selected to lead the ailing [diocese of Dunblane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Dunblane) in [Scotland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland), and faced a struggle to bring the [bishopric of Dunblane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_of_Dunblane) (or "bishopric of [Strathearn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strathearn)") to financial viability. This involved many negotiations with the powerful religious institutions and secular authorities which had acquired control of the revenue that would normally have been the entitlement of Clement's bishopric. The negotiations proved difficult, forcing Clement to visit the [papal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope) [court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_curia) in [Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome). While not achieving all of his aims, Clement succeeded in saving the bishopric from relocation to [Inchaffray Abbey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchaffray_Abbey). He also regained enough revenue to begin work on the new [Dunblane Cathedral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_Cathedral).

He faced a similar challenge with the impoverished [bishopric of Argyll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_of_Argyll) in the 1240s. He was given the job of restoring the viability of the [diocese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese) and installing a new bishop; this involved forming a close relationship with King [Alexander II of Scotland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_II_of_Scotland). Clement was with the king during his campaign in [Argyll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyll) in 1249 and was at his side when he died during this campaign. In 1250 Clement had been able to install a new bishop in Argyll and had become one of the Guardians appointed to govern Scotland during the [minority](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent) of King [Alexander III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_III_of_Scotland). By 1250 he had established a reputation as one of the most active Dominican reformers in [Britain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_Great_Britain). Clement helped to elevate [Edmund of Abingdon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Rich) and [Queen Margaret](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Margaret_of_Scotland) to sainthood. After his death, he received [veneration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneration) as a [saint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint#Catholic_Church) himself, although he was never formally [canonised](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonization).

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*Originally published on [Edmund Elinor](https://paragraph.com/@03016/clement-of-dunblane)*