John de Glasgu I'

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Biography

John de Glasgu I is securely documented in two Glasgow civic property acts dated 1447 and 1455. These records form a concrete person-level bridge across 1450: the same name appears in the same burgh, in the same class of property proceeding, within the same civic and notarial network.

The identification of the two appearances as one man is assessed at very high confidence. Both instruments were drawn up by Henry Michael, notary and clerk of Glasgow's burgh court; both concern property close to Glasgow Cross; and the printed volume's index groups the entries under Johannes de Glasgu.

The 1447 wording places John within a group expressly described as burgesses of Glasgow. A working birth estimate is before c.1425–30, based on his burgess status by 1447.

He should be kept separate from John Glasgw of Stirling, documented in 1475 and 1479/80, and from John of Glasgow alias Smith, documented in 1506. A generational relationship remains possible, but no parentage, succession, shared property, seal or repeated associate proves one.

1. Glasgow burgess and civic witness, 1447–1455

21 June 1447: Walkergate

On 21 June 1447 Alexander Sawar, burgess of Glasgow, sold an annual rent of 3s 6d from a rood or parcel of land on the west side of the Walkergate. The property lay between the land of John Ade on the north and that of William Stevenson on the south.

The witnesses included Thomas Wyntir, bailie, followed by John Red, John Ade, John de Glasgu, William Oglach, William Stevenson and William Jackson, with Robert Pettigrew, sergeant, and others.^[1]

The crucial Latin places the named lay witnesses within the collective description burgensibus. Thomas Wyntir is separately identified as bailie and Robert Pettigrew as sergeant. The natural grammatical reading is that John Red, John Ade, John de Glasgu, William Oglach, William Stevenson and William Jackson were burgesses.

Accordingly:

• John de Glasgu was a burgess of Glasgow by 21 June 1447;
• he appeared as a formal witness to a sale and delivery of sasine;
• he had no stated ownership or financial interest in the property;
• and no occupation, office or family relationship is supplied.

The Walkergate, also written Waulkersgait or Walcargate, was the street of the cloth-fullers. It corresponds to modern Saltmarket, running south from Glasgow Cross towards the medieval South Port and the Clyde.

Name form and surname-like use

The 1447 wording distinguishes between:

• Alexander Sawar burgensis de Glasgu — Alexander Sawar, burgess of Glasgow; and
• Johanne de Glasgu — John de Glasgu.

The same distinction recurs in 1455, where John Stenson is described as a burgess of Glasgow but the witness is simply John de Glasgu.

This suggests that de Glasgu was functioning as John's stable personal byname or surname-like identifier rather than merely stating residence. Its use inside Glasgow itself strengthens that interpretation.

The evidence does not prove hereditary transmission. No securely identified father, son, brother or other relative is known to use the same designation.

10 April 1455: Fullers' Street and St Thenew's Street

The published Latin dates the second act to 10 April 1455. A modern archival catalogue appears to date the corresponding item to 19 April 1455; the original parchment should be checked to resolve the discrepancy.

John Stenson, burgess of Glasgow, sold Master David de Cadyoche, precentor of Glasgow Cathedral, an annual rent of 3s from a tenement on the west side of the Vicus Fullonum. Mariota Dwn, widow of the late William de Kerswell, also sold him an annual rent of 2s from a tenement on the north side of the Vicus Beate Tenaw.

The witnesses included John Macmulan, bailie, David Hyne, Andrew Brady, John de Glasgu and Robert Fausyde, sergeant, with others.^[2]

John again appears in a formal civic witness group containing a bailie and the burgh sergeant. He had no stated financial or proprietary interest in either annual rent.

Vicus Fullonum means Street of the Fullers and is the Latin equivalent of Walkergate, now Saltmarket. Vicus Beate Tenaw was St Thenew's Street, corresponding broadly to modern Trongate.

The two records therefore place John repeatedly in civic property business close to Glasgow Cross. There is no substantial reason to treat them as different men.

2. Legal and civic setting

Both instruments were drawn up by Henry Michael, clerk of the Diocese of Glasgow and notary public.

A separate instrument dated 10 May 1454 describes Henry Michael as scriba curie Glasguensis et notario — clerk or scribe of the Glasgow court and notary.^[3]

John's two appearances therefore belong to the same professional burgh legal network. This supports his accepted standing within Glasgow's burgess community, but does not prove that he was literate, legally trained, a notary, merchant, craftsman or civic officer.

Walkergate witness network

A separate act dated 9 September 1454 describes a Walkergate property bounded by the tenement of John Reid on the north and William Oglach on the south.^[4]

William Oglach is an exact match to John's 1447 fellow witness. John Red and John Reid are probably the same person, though that identification remains qualified. At least part of the witness group was therefore drawn from burgesses with property interests in the immediate neighbourhood. John's own residence or ownership there is not proved.

Brady–Brade–Spreull network context

The 1455 witness list places Andrew Brady alongside John de Glasgu. This does not prove kinship, but it is relevant to the later civic network.

A Glasgow property description of 1430 referred to land of the heirs of Walter Sprewl.^[5]

On 27 November 1488 William Sprwl and his wife Joneta Burl sold an annual rent from a Glasgow tenement, witnessed by Robert Brade.^[6]

On 31 December 1534 William Glasgow and Esbell Brade transferred property to their son John Glasgow and his wife Jonet Spreull.^[7]

The sequence creates a civic and property-network bridge into the milieu of the first proved sixteenth-century pedigree. It is not a pedigree. No inspected record proves that Andrew Brady was related to Robert or Esbell Brade, or that the earlier Spreulls were ancestors of Jonet Spreull.

3. Relationship to the other Johns

A separate John Glasgw witnessed Stirling acts in 1475 and 1479/80. He may have been the same man, a son, a nephew or an unrelated bearer. Splitting the profiles is the safer treatment because no direct bridge identifies them.

John de Glasgu I should not be merged with John alias Smith or the Saltmarket property-holder. Extending the 1447 burgess to the Saltmarket record of 1548 would require an implausibly long adult career.

4. Surviving originals and archival leads

The printed Liber Collegii Nostre Domine states that the instruments were abbreviated from original documents preserved among the University of Glasgow's Blackhouse Charters.

These identifications should be checked directly with Glasgow University Archives.^[8]

Images could establish the precise spelling and abbreviation of John's name, whether burgensibus unquestionably encompasses him, the full witness order, the correct April 1455 date, and any omitted status or occupation.

Evidence assessment

The secure evidence establishes that:

• John de Glasgu was a burgess of Glasgow by 1447;
• he witnessed Glasgow property acts in 1447 and 1455;
• the two acts concern the same individual at very high confidence;
• both were recorded by Henry Michael;
• both involved property close to Glasgow Cross;
• and the records provide a concrete person-level bridge across 1450.

The evidence does not establish his occupation, property ownership, wife, children, parentage, relationship to the Stirling John, or descent to the later Glasgow families.

Timeline summary

• before c.1425–30 — working birth estimate based on burgess status by 1447
• 21 June 1447 — witnesses a west-side Walkergate transaction as a Glasgow burgess
• 10 April 1455 — witnesses Fullers' Street and St Thenew's Street transactions; Andrew Brady appears in the same group

Secure records assigned to John de Glasgu I: 2.

For further research

• Obtain images of GUA 12418 and GUA 12430.
• Resolve the 10 April / 19 April 1455 date discrepancy.
• Compare the full witness networks in the two instruments.
• Reconstruct Andrew Brady's family without prematurely normalising Brady and Brade as one surname.
• Search for explicit relationship or succession terms linking John to the Stirling and sixteenth-century bearers.

See also

• John Glasgw of Stirling, fl. 1475–1479/80
• John de Glasgow alias Smith / John Glasgow of Saltmarket, fl. 1506–1553
• Glasgow Origins Research (1170–1600)
• Other Medieval Glasgow Candidates

Resources

• University of Glasgow Blackhouse Charters