John Abercromby (monk)

For other people with the same name, see John Abercromby (disambiguation).

John Abercromby
Died1561
Cause of deathExecution
OccupationBenedictine monk (supposed)
Known forSupposed writer of Veritatis Defensio and Hæreseos Confusio

John Abercromby (fl. 1561) was, according to Thomas Dempster's Historia ecclesiastica (1829),[1] a Benedictine monk who was executed for his Roman Catholicism. However, his identity is doubtful: "Abercromby has not come to light in recent scholarly work, nor is he found in the published records... The only possible conclusion is that John Abercromby is a figment, a 'ghost' fabricated by Thomas Dempster."[2]

According to the 1885 Dictionary of National Biography, he was the author of Veritatis Defensio and Hæreseos Confusio.[3]

  1. ^ Thomae Dempsteri Historia ecclesiastica gentis Scotorum, sive, De scriptoribus Scotis, ed. David Irving, rev. edn., 2 vols., Bannatyne Club, 21 (1829 (cited in ODNB)
  2. ^ Mark Dilworth, 'Abercromby, John (supp. fl. 1561)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 26 Sept 2007.
  3. ^ Cooper, Thompson (1885). "Abercromby, John (d.1561?)" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co.