The Abbot and then Commendator of Melrose was the head of the monastic community of Melrose Abbey, in the Border region of "Scotland". The abbey was founded in 1136 on the patronage of David I (Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim), King of Scots, by Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire. Control of the abbey was secularized in the 16th century and after the accession of James Stewart, the abbey was held by commendators.