CHAPTER XIII

ABERDEENSHIRE: MORAYSHIRE: ROSS-SHIRE: PERTHSHIRE: STIRLINGSHIRE

DEER: KINLOSS: FEARN: INCHAFFRAY: CAMBUSKENNETH

DEER (_Cistercian_)

_c._ 580, Founded by St Columba and his nephew Drostan--1219, Refounded by William Comyn, Earl of Buchan.

Amidst the low lying hills of the vicinity, the ruins of Deer abbey still lift their shattered walls towards the sky. Founded by St Columba and his nephew, and dedicated to St Drostan, they are situated in the older portion of the parish of Deer, where the incidents related in “Sir John of the Rose” are supposed to have been laid. Of the fine building, which was formerly erected “to the glory of God,” only very little remains; but although the ruins are so scanty that they afford but little pleasure to the archæologist or the tourist, they are treasured and reverenced on account of the immense service they have rendered literature in keeping safely hidden from the ravages of time documents of great antiquity, and consequently of great value as recording the customs and mode of living of our ancestors. The manuscripts, written in Latin, were discovered in the 18th century, but little attention was directed to them until these precious fragments of monastic literature found their way to Cambridge, and in 1860 the attention of students was drawn to them by the learned librarian, Mr Bradshaw. It was then found that the small octavo of 86 pages contained St John’s Gospel, portions of the other three Gospels, the Apostle’s Creed, a fragment of an office for the visitation of the sick, and lastly, a Gælic Rubric. Some notes on the various endowments to the monastery were written on the blank sheets--evidently penmanship of the 12th century. These are of the greatest interest as being the earliest examples of Scottish Gælic known. The Gospels mentioned above were chiefly in the Vulgate version of St Jerome.

The old family of Comyn, a member of whom re-founded the abbey in the 13th century, was defeated in battle at Deer by the followers of Edward Bruce.

KINLOSS (_Cistercian_)

1150, Founded by David I.--1303, Edward I. makes the abbey his headquarters--After the Reformation the abbey demesne passes into the Bruce family.

Situated near the Moray Firth, these few ruins, often, doubtless, the scene of warfare, owe their origin, as is so often the case, to supernatural agency. King David--a hardy and brave man, though at times relentless and cruel towards his victims--is supposed on one occasion to have lost his way while hunting in the forest, and, like many poor mortals when threatened with personal danger, to have invoked his Maker’s aid to extricate him out of his dilemma. In answer to his prayer a dove appeared and led him to the site on which subsequently he built the abbey of Kinloss, and which was in due time inhabited by Cistercian monks. About a century and a half later, Edward I., King of England, having won a decisive victory over the Scots at Falkirk, had reason again to assemble a large force--the Scots not being entirely subjugated, having gained several successes in the meantime. In 1303 he led his army over the frontier, and making the abbey his headquarters, “marched victorious from one end of the kingdom to the other.” Wallace, through the treachery of a friend, fell into Edward’s hands, but though deprived of her heroic leader, Scotland was not to be entirely overcome. Edward I., secure of success, invaded the northern country four years later, and was, as we know, attacked by a fatal illness at Berwick. His son then succeeded to the throne, but having neither the wish nor the capability to follow in his father’s footsteps, the battle of Bannockburn eventually gave Scotland her longed-for independence in 1314. Edward III. also paid a visit to this abbey in the year 1336. The abbey demesne passed after the Reformation into the possession of the Bruce family, whose ancestor, Robert, so bravely led his men to victory at Bannockburn; and, though they in turn sold it, they acquired, as Earls of Elgin, the title of baron through it.

Only the foundations of the abbey church are visible, and not a remnant of the walls remains. For this, Cromwell is to be held partially responsible. His soldiers carried away the stones of the sacred building for the purpose of erecting the Pretender’s Castle at Inverness. But that unfortunate man, on whom there is perhaps more malice and spite vented than on any other of England’s celebrities, was not altogether responsible for the present dilapidated state of the abbey, as for years, nay centuries, in common with so many other religious edifices, the building served as a quarry for all the houses and walks in the neighbourhood. Of the domestic buildings some remnants still remain, consisting of a cloister wall, two arches, a prior’s house and part of a dwelling-house.

FEARN (_Præmonstratensian Canons_)

_c._ 1230, Founded by the Earl of Ross in the reign of Alexander III.--1607, Annexed to the bishopric of Ross by James VI.--1742, Some slates and part of the roof fall during service, killing forty-four people.

As is so often the case in regard to various abbeys, the mutilated remains of this conventual church, once belonging to the Præmonstratensian monastery, founded at Fearn in the 13th century, are now appropriated for the religious worship of the inhabitants of the town--the nave, chancel, and two side chapels (all of the Early English period), being converted into the parish church of the district. The abbey, curiously enough, was originally founded at Edderton, twelve miles to the north-west, but was subsequently placed in its present position, owing, it is thought, to the fertility of the soil. It was built by Farquhar, first Earl of Ross. Patrick Hamilton, the noted Scotch reformer of the 16th century, was abbot there. He and George Wishart--both ardent followers of John Knox--were burnt at the stake for heresy during the primacies of Archbishop Beatoun, and his successor.

It may be of interest to follow the various stages of Scottish religion from early Celtic times until the Reformation.

“From the days of St Columba up to the 12th century, the old Celtic Church of Scotland preserved its independence; but it had to bow before the onward march of papal usurpation just as the Church of England had done. Their wild nature and their tribal feuds made the Scots a ready prey to the diplomacy of papal embassies when the sister kingdom sought for aid against Norman conquerors, and the Scots allowed the Pope to claim feudal lordship over them that he might help them to keep the English south of the border. The ecclesiastical supremacy obtained by Anselm over the Scottish Church was only temporary, for Pope Clement III. was induced (A.D. 1190) to declare the Scotch Church independent of any authority outside his own. After that the Scotch clergy fell into the worldly minded habits of mediæval Christianity, and many scandalous proceedings were recorded ... until the cry went up in Scotland as elsewhere that the church should be purified. But the Scottish Reformation came like a deluge, sweeping away the good and the bad together, until nothing was left of the apostolic constitution which has descended from the old Celtic Christianity. John Knox ... was the leader of the Scotch Reformers; and the example of England, with which his position as chaplain to Edward VI. had made him familiar, was speedily followed in the destruction of the Scottish monasteries.”--_English Church History_ (Rev. C. ARTHUR LANE).

In consequence of all this disturbance, many beautiful churches in Scotland were destroyed. To take a solitary case--that of the Carthusian monastery at Perth, which succumbed to the violent attacks of the Reformers in 1559. In this year John Knox returned to Scotland, and urging on his men, who were on the point of defending Perth by force of arms, prevailed upon them to destroy the ornaments, stained glass and statuary of every church in the place, and finally to demolish the monastery. Scott writes: “The example of the reformers in Perth was followed in St Andrews and other places; and we have to regret that many beautiful buildings fell a sacrifice to the fury of the lower orders, and were either totally destroyed or reduced to piles of shapeless ruins.” After the disastrous fall of the roof in 1742 when forty-four persons were killed, the abbey was repaired without the slightest regard to architectural propriety, with unusually unfortunate results. The style is mixed, the doors being round and the windows pointed. Both on the north and south are small chapels which at first sight bear the appearance of transepts. In the south chapel, now the Shandwick burial ground, is a recumbent figure, under a handsomely carved canopy, long supposed to be that of an abbot, but afterwards ascertained to represent a lady of the clan MacKenzie, with a veil over her face. A most peculiar feature of this abbey is the fact that these monastic ruins are simply the result of the fanatic rule of John Knox.

INCHAFFRAY (_Augustine Canons_)

1200, Founded by Gilbert, Earl of Strathern and his Countess--Favoured by many grants from Alexander III.--1314, The abbot accompanies Robert Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn--1513, The abbot slain at Flodden Field.

The low ground on which this abbey stands was once surrounded by water and known as _Insula Missarum_, or the “island of the masses.” Now, however, it is connected with the mainland and is the property of the noble house of Kinnoul. The records show that many brave men held the office of abbot in this Augustine establishment, in fact that their spirit in some instances was of a very warlike nature. Maurice, the abbot of the period, fought with Bruce at Bannockburn with the arm of St Fillan in a silver casket, a relic to which tremendous importance was attached in those days. It is recorded that many of the dour superstitious Highlanders ascribed their sweeping victory to the presence among them of this precious relic. To the enlightenment and progress of the 19th century the final destruction of this abbey--so nearly total in its effects--is to be attributed; for when the authorities of the district deemed it advisable in 1816 to make a new road in the vicinity of the abbey, the ruined, sacred walls were ruthlessly overthrown, hardly a vestige being left beyond an arched apartment, a gable at the west end of the church, and several other fragments.

CAMBUSKENNETH (_Augustine Canons_)

1147, Founded by David I.--1326, The meeting-place of the first Scots Parliament to which representatives from burghs were summoned--Pillaged during the wars of the Succession--_c._ 1559, Sacked and destroyed at the Reformation--The land given to the Earl of Mar by James VI.--1709, Purchased by the town council of Stirling.

About two and a half miles from Stirling, and on the north side of the river Forth, lying in one of the many creeks formed by that winding river, is the abbey of Cambuskenneth. All that can be seen now in the green fields, with cows quietly grazing by the river sides, is a sheltered tower of grey stone, the sole remains of what was once a large ecclesiastical house. In 1864, great and important excavations were made, disclosing the foundations of the chancel, nave, transept and chapter-house, showing them to have been of a very considerable size. A few feet from the only remaining part of the abbey is the tomb of James III. and his queen, the Princess Margaret of Denmark. The tomb is railed in and bears this inscription:--

“The restoration of the tomb of her ancestors was erected by Her Majesty Queen Victoria A.D. 1865.

“In this place near the high altar of the abbey of Cambuskenneth were the remains of James III., King of the Scots, who died on June 11th, 1488, and of his Queen (the Princess Margaret of Denmark).”

Cambuskenneth at its zenith was an abbey of some importance in Scotland--a great many events of interest and national significance taking place there. As far as politics were concerned, the abbey was by far the most important in Scotland; indeed, so much was it used as a house of government that a new apartment had to be built called “Parliament Hall.” It was here that the first Scottish representative Parliament ever called together met by the order of Robert Bruce in 1324. The abbey was of the order of St Augustine, dedicated to the Virgin, and was founded by David I. in 1147 as St Mary’s of Stirling. This same king, the founder of Melrose Abbey, endowed the abbey with land and extensive property. In 1201 its name was changed to St Mary’s of Cambuskenneth, a battle having been fought on its site by King Kenneth against the Picts. In 1304, at the Feast of St Barnabas, the secret agreement took place between Robert Bruce and William Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews, which decided the former to rise in rebellion against English power in Scotland. When the abbey was pillaged and set fire to by Richard II. in 1385, the revenues of the church would not admit of the extensive repairs necessary to restore it to its former state. About the year 1559, at the Reformation, the abbey was demolished and plundered again. The land and See of Cambuskenneth were handed over by Queen Mary to the Erskine family in the year 1562. One of the family of the Earl of Mar took stone from the abbey with which to build his house in Broad Street, thereby leaving the demolished church stripped of anything that could signify to its former pomp and influence.

A few fragments of walls, a gateway and a noble and substantial tower are all that is left of the grand old building. From the summit of the tower, which is approached by a well-preserved staircase, the imposing rock and castle of Stirling may be seen, which, in olden days, safeguarded the lives of the valley dwellers, as did the abbey of Cambuskenneth their religious interests.