Robert of Scone

Robert of Scone († 1159) was a 12th-century bishop of Cell Rígmonaid (or Kilrymont, now St Andrews). Robert's exact origins are unclear. He was an Augustinian canon at the Priory of St. Oswalds, at Nostell. His French name indicates a Norman rather than an Anglo-Saxon origin, but as he was likely born in the later 11th century, this may be due merely to the acculturation of his parents.

Prior of Scone

Robert was one of the most important clerics in the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland (Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim). He was appointed as the first Prior of Scone, the flagship Augustinian monastic establishment of Alexander's reign. This may have happened as early as 1114, and Walter Bower tells us that the new priory was dedicated by Thurgot, then bishop of Cell Rígmonaid. As Turgot left Scotland in 1115, no later date would be possible if Bower is to be believed. Many historians have rejected this date, because the Augustinian Rule was not instituted at Nostell until 1119, but as Kenneth Veitch points out, the date of the formal institution of the Rule is little guide to the actual activities of the monastic establishment. Moreover, the year 1114 just happened to be the year in which Alexander was present in England in the service of his overlord, King Henry I of England.