SOURCE: Johnson, Carol Clark, 1993, The Scotts of
Balwearie (Leonca Publications: Fairhope, AL.) 110p.BIOGRAPHY: Sir Michael Scott of Balwearie, Kirkcaldy
parish, Fife, was the second baron of Balwearie of the
name Scott. Upon the death of his father he succeeded
to all the possessions of the ancient family of
Balwearie. At Oxford he was a fellow student of Roger
Bacon. At the University of Paris he was styled
Michael the Mathematician and also obtained the degree
of Doctor of Divinity. He was a student at the
University of Padua, and at Toledo in Spain he
translated into Latin from the Arabic the history of
animals by the famous physician, Avicenna. Emperor
Frederick II appointed him Astrologer Royal and at his
request Michael translated the greater part of the
works of Aristotle, assisted by Andrew a Jew. In
England he was cordially received by Edward II.
Arriving back in his native Scotland he was knighted by
King Alexander III. He was one of the four nobles
deputized in 1292 to bring home Margaret, the Maid of
Norway. A man of State affairs as well as a scientist
and philosopher he sailed again to Norway as ambassador
to request the cession of the Orkney Islands. It is
believed that he died in the year 1300 at age 86 and
that his body lies in Melrose Abbey.Dante named him in THE INFERNO, and Sir Walter Scott
immortalized him in THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL.
SOURCE: Johnson, Carol Clark, 1993, The Scotts of
Balwearie (Leonca Publications: Fairhope, AL.) 110p.BIOGRAPHY: Was knighted by Alexander II and was one of
the assize.
SOURCE: Johnson, Carol Clark, 1993, The Scotts of
Balwearie (Leonca Publications: Fairhope, AL.) 110p.BIOGRAPHY: Confirmed his fahter's donation to the
monastery of Dumferline, which was also confirmed by
King Alexander II in 1231.
SOURCE: Johnson, Carol Clark, 1993, The Scotts of
Balwearie (Leonca Publications: Fairhope, AL.) 110p.BIOGRAPHY: A man of property and power in the county of
Fife, Scotland, flourished in the reign of King William
who succeeded to the crown of Scotland in 1165. He was
the first to bear the name Scott as a surname.