Pre-episcopal Career
Thomas was at the Papal court in Avignon in 1371 acting as proctor for Patrick de Leuchars, Bishop of Brechin, making a payment to the papal chamber. Having obtained his Theology degree, Thomas lectured on the conception of the immaculate Virgin at Paris in 1373 as a Bachelor of Sentences (baccatarius Sententiarum); he had previously been appointed by the Chancellor of the university to deliver the summer lectures on the Sentences.
By 1375 Thomas, now vicar general of the Franciscan Order for Scotland, was running out of money. This put the completion of his studies in jeopardy. For this reason, Pope Gregory XI wrote to Walter de Wardlaw, Bishop of Glasgow, authorising Walter (a renowned scholar himself) and other doctors to grant Thomas, if they "found him fit", a Licentiate and a Doctorate in Theology. Such a grant would enable Thomas to teach legally, allowing him to lessen the burden of his financial problems.
Thomas was at Avignon again in 1375, but had returned to Scotland between March 1378 and April 1379 when he received a gift of £10 from the King of the Scots. By 22 June 1379, Thomas was once again at the papal court at Avignon. While present, the recently elected anti-Pope, Clement VII, appointed him papal penitentiary "for the English and Irish languages".
Read more about this topic: Thomas De Rossy
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