Wardlaw, Henry de
WARDLAW, HENRY DE
Scottish bishop, founder of the University of Saint Andrews; b Wilton, Roxburghshire, Scotland, c. 1365; d. Saint Andrews, Scotland, April 6, 1440. Henry, the son of the laird of Wilton, and nephew of Cardinal Wardlaw, studied arts and law at the universities of Oxford, Paris, Orléans and Avignon, and was archdeacon and precentor of Glasgow and a canon of Aberdeen and Moray before being provided to the See of Saint Andrews, Sept. 10, 1403. Gifted and widely traveled, Wardlaw clearly understood the needs of his war–torn and impoverished country, and he strove for political stability, peace with England, the encouragement of learning, and clerical reform. As loyal counselor of King Robert III and tutor to his son James I, he was able to exercise a moderating and constructive influence on the Crown at a crucial time. His greatest achievement, however, was the erection in 1412 of the University of Saint Andrews, the first in Scotland, by which he was able to provide for the Long–term needs of the Scottish clergy and laity.
Bibliography: j. c. gibson, Henry Wardlaw, Founder of St. Andrews University (privately pr.; Stirling 1911). j. h. baxter, "H.W., Bishop of St. Andrews," Scots Magazine NS 33 (1940) 5–14. a. b. emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500 3:1983–84.
[l. macfarlane]