Chancellor of Scotland and Abbot of Arbroath Abbey who drafted the famous Declaration of Arbroath. De Linton came to prominence as the Abbot of Kilwinning Abbey and then later, during the reign of Robert the Bruce (1274 - 1329), he was appointed Abbot of Arbroath and Chancellor of Scotland, becoming highly influential. In 1320, he drafted the Declaration of Arbroath, an appeal to Pope John XXII for the independence of Scotland.