James Bane
Scottish bishop

James Bane (or Ben or Bennet) (died 1332) was Bishop of St. Andrews for a brief period in the early 14th century. In his earlier career, James had been a canon of Aberdeen and prebendary of Cruden.
James rose to the position of Archdeacon of St. Andrews, one of the most senior positions within the diocese. He was appointed one of the ambassadors to France along with Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, Robert Keith the Marischal of Scotland, Adam de Moravia and Walter de Twynham in 1326 to renew the Auld Alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Corbeil (1326). Ten days after the death of Bishop William de Lamberton in 1328, the chapter held an election to fill the vacancy. James, although absent at the court of Pope John XXII at Avignon, stood against Alexander de Kyninmonth, Archdeacon of Lothian, and won. However, before news of his victory reached Avignon, Pope John, who had previously reserved his right to do so, had already provided James to the see. James was consecrated, sometime in the same year, by Bertrand de Turre, Bishop of Frascati.
“James Bane” enters the record as scottish bishop. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what James, Bane and Scottish can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6129333. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1332, 1326 and 1328.
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