[1] Almost nothing is known of Robert Lauder, other than his status "of baronial race" and a "kinsman to sundry barons",[2] until he supplicated the Pope, on 5 December 1429, to provide him to the vicarage of Inverkeilor.
[3] He was then provided, by John Foster, Chaplain of Honour of the Pope and Apostolic See, with the canonry and prebend of 'Castelcaris' in Glasgow, but this appointment was disputed after Forster's death, by Supplication dated 6 March 1430.
On 27 October 1447, just six months later, he was provided by the Pope to the bishopric of Dunblane,[16] incidentally voiding the resolution on the vicarage of Selkirk, as he resigned it and Earlston upon his promotion.
[19] A large number of documents are extant from his episcopate illustrating the workings of the bishopric's law courts and the bishop's governmental activities.
[20] He was a witness to the concession to the Scottish church made by King James II of Scotland in 1451 permitting the disposal of property by testament.
[17] He resigned the bishopric on 12 September 1466 and, with the agreement of his successor and the pope, was granted an annual pension for life of 300 gold florins.