PRAT, Elizabeth ¹

   User ID: X374.

  General Notes:

Referring to the appointment of chaplains by patrons in medieval Aberdeen Iain Fraser writes:

"The identity of the surname of the presentee with that of the patron is naturally an insufficient indication of preferment due to kinship. Between 1440 and 1560 only 20 of the 94 known altarists serving private chantries in the church of St Nicholas shared the surname of their service's patron. Yet the intricacies of family alliance and intermarriage are obscured by the imperfection of record, and their widespread ramifications undoubtedly account for a much higher number of presentations. This is illustrated by the service of SS Thomas and George, founded by the burgess family of Prat. The first chaplain, sir John Prat, was a son of the founder. No relationship is known between the Prats and his successor, Sir William Coupar, who was, however, a native of the burgh and made provision for the commemoration of Elizabeth Prat in his anniversary. In default of male heirs, the gift of the chantry passed to the founder's granddaughters and their spouses. On Coupar' s death in 1539, possession of the service was given to Mr Andrew Cullen, the son of the provost, by Elizabeth Prat's first husband, Robert Cullen. In turn, on his death, Elizabeth presented sir William Walker, evidently a kinsman of her late second husband." (page 142)

"On 1 Aug 1560 he (William Walker) was presented by Elizabeth Prat for collation by the Bishop of Aberdeen to the chaplainry of St Thomas Martyr (sic - Apostle) in St Nicholas', then vacant by the death of Mr Andrew Cullen." (page 271)

"Should the chaplain fail in service in choir or at altar for forty days continuously, he was to be deprived. The gift passed to Prat's
heiresses and their spouses. On 23 Apr.1539 Robert Cullen appears as patron for that turn, giving possession to Mr Alexander Cullen. On 1 Aug. 1560 Elizabeth Prat, one of the daughters of late Thomas Prat appears as one of the two patronesses of the altar." (page 285)

all from Medieval Burgh Kirk ¹

  Research Notes:

OBIT

Obit, or "obiit", was "a medieval mass of remembrance, named from the 3rd person singular perfect indicative active of the Latin verb ob-eo, to go away: '(s)he has gone away.' Also refers to an anniversary of a death, on which such a mass was held."

And elsewhere:

"Obiits were an annual endowed service commemorating the dead. Feast days for patron saints were often reserved for endowed masses associated with the obiit.
The practice has its origin in the recitation of the names of living and dead Christians (part of the intercessory prayers of the Canon of the Mass). As these lists grew in length separate ceremonies became necessary.
Though many obiit vigils were of the endowed sort, more modest collective obiit was available for parishioners who could not afford an endowment."

from Wikipedia


WHOSE WIFE?

Were there two Bessie or Elizabeth Prats who were wives in the Cullen family, or only one?

In Memorials of the Aldermen, Provosts and Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, the author assigns a Bessie Pratt as the wife of Walter Cullen, father of Robert:

"The elder son, Walter (died 28th October, 1561), became one of the magistrates in 1531, and by his wife, Bessie Prat, had two sons: Robert, who fell at the battle of Pinkie, and Walter, who was for some time Reader of the Kirk of S. Nicholas, and author of 'The Chronicle of Aberdeen."

The PhD thesis by Iain Fraser for the University of Edinburgh, The Late Medieval Burgh Kirk of St Nicholas Aberdeen, appears to suggest otherwise. It states that a woman named Elizabeth Prat was the wife of Robert Cullen. In the mid to late 1520s an Elizabeth Prat was patroness of an altar founded by her father, and her husband is noted not as Walter Cullen, but Robert Cullen:

"Sir William Coupar, who held the chapel between 1520 and 1526/27, named among those to benefit from the celebration of his anniversary Elizabeth Prat, patroness of his chaplainry of SS Thomas and George in the parish church, and Margaret Chalmer, lady of Findlater."

"On Coupar' s death in 1539, possession of the service was given to Mr Andrew Cullen, the son of the provost, by Elizabeth Prat's first husband, Robert Cullen. In turn, on his death, Elizabeth presented sir William Walker, evidently a kinsman of her late second husband." (page 142)

On the other hand, we find this statement

"On 4 Aug 1538 sir William Coupar founded an obit for his parents, his brother sir Andrew, Margaret Chalmer - lady of Findlater, Walter Cullen and Elizabeth Prat." (page 212) (see above for "obit")

This last reference suggests that "Elizabeth Prat" was dead in 1538, as was Walter Cullen. It does not name them as husband an wife, though possibly the inference is there.

Yet 'she', Elizabeth Prat, is clearly alive later:

"On 1 Aug 1560 he (William Walker) was presented by Elizabeth Prat for collation by the Bishop of Aberdeen to the chaplainry of St Thomas Martyr (sic - Apostle) in St Nicholas', then vacant by the death of Mr Andrew Cullen." (page 271)

We have to conclude, surely, that there were in fact two women whose name was "Elizabeth Prat", or Pratt, one who was patroness of the altar of Saints Thomas and George, and who died at around the same time as Wlater Cullen, and another who died later. The later one inherited the patronage of the altar:

"The gift passed to Prat's heiresses and their spouses. On 23 Apr. 1539 Robert Cullen appears as patron for that turn, giving possession to Mr Alexander Cullen. On 1 Aug. 1560 Elizabeth Prat, one of the daughters of late Thomas Prat appears as one of the two patronesses of the altar." (page 285) ^{1 2 3 4}

Elizabeth married Robert CULLEN, son of Walter CULLEN Magistrate in Aberdeen and Bessie PRATT. (Robert CULLEN was born about 1515 and died on 10 September 1547 in Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, near Musselburgh, Midlothian, Scotland ².)

  Marriage Notes:

On Coupar' s death in 1539, possession of the service was given to Mr Andrew Cullen, the son of the provost, by Elizabeth Prat's first husband, Robert Cullen. In turn, on his death, Elizabeth presented sir William Walker, evidently a kinsman of her late second husband." (page 142)

from Medieval Burgh Kirk ¹