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A HISTORY OF THE CULDEES 
 

A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ANCIENT CULDEES 
 
 OF lONA 
 
 And of their Settlements in Scotland 
 England, and Ireland 
 
 JOHN JAMIESON, D.D., F.R.S., F.A.S.E. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "AN ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE 
 SCOTTISH LANGUAGE," &C., &C. 
 
 POPULAR EDITION 
 
 GLASGOW: THOMAS D. MORISON 
 LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON & CO 
 
 1890 
 

 ^zG^.^^s 
 
EDITORIAL NOTE TO POPULAR EDITION. 
 
 In issuing a popular edition of this important and standard worlf, 
 it may be well to recapitualate a few particulars regarding its 
 distinguished author, who may be termed the national philologist 
 of Scotland. The son of a Glasgow minister, he was born in 
 1759, and, in due course, educated at the university of that city, 
 where he especially distinguished himself in linguistic and philo- 
 logical studies. At the age of twenty-two, he was licensed to 
 the ministry, and became pastor of a church at Forfar, where he 
 gained the thorough esteem and confidence of a full congregation 
 through the faithful and able discharge of his clerical labours and 
 duties. For sixteen years he continued his pastoral duties at 
 Forfar, during which period he married the daughter of a 
 neighbouring proprietor, who gladdened the course of his long 
 life, and died only a year before his own decease. 
 
 During the period of his pastorate at Forfar, Mr. Jamieson 
 became the author of no fewer than six publications, some of 
 which excited much interest at the time. But none of them have 
 lived in the same sense that some of his later works have done. 
 Neither are any of his earlier productions of such a kind as one 
 would expect to come from an enthusiastic, word-sifting anti- 
 quary. Among others of this period we find The Sorrows of 
 Slavery : A Poem containing a Faithful Statement of Facts regard- 
 ing the Slave Trade ; as also Eternity : A Poem addressed to Free 
 Thinkers and Philosophical Christians ; there is also A Vindication 
 of the Doctrine of Scripture, and of the Primitive Faith concerning 
 the Divinity of Christ, in reply to Dr. Priestley ; a work of a 
 different nature, and which attained to great popularity, and ran 
 through many editions, was the one entitled Sermons on the 
 Heart. By these and similar labours, Jamieson won for himself 
 an honourable name in the field of literature. 
 
EDITORIAL NOTE. 
 
 In 1796, Jamieson became pastor of Nicolson Street Church, 
 Edinburg-h. The literary capital of Scotland was no doubt the 
 proper place of residence for such a man ; and the facilities for 
 philological and historical research to be had in Edinburgh, 
 would still further increase his zest and natural bent for such 
 studies. Before the publication of his great work, Jamieson, 
 still issued other two books of considerable consequence. 
 In 1802 there appeared, in two volumes. The Use of Sacred 
 History; and in 1806, Tlie Iinportant Trial in the Court of 
 Conscience, both works of considerable note. But in 1808-1809, 
 there came from his pen, his greatest and by far the most im- 
 portant of his works, namely. An Etymological Dictionary of the 
 Scottish Language, first issued in two volumes quarto, then, in 
 1825, increased by a Supplement of other two volumes, making' in 
 all four quarto volumes. The enormous importance of this 
 herculean literary attempt, to the Scottish people at large, and to 
 the interests of philology, can scarcely be over-rated. Jamieson's 
 aim and scope in undertaking and carrying out this great work 
 were as follows : — 1. To illustrate the words in their different 
 significations, by examples from ancient and modern writers. 
 2. To show their afSnity to those of other languages, and 
 especially to the northern. 3. To explain many terms, which, 
 though now obselete in England, \vere formerly common in both 
 countries. 4. To elucidate national rites, customs, and institu- 
 tions, in their analogy to those of other nations. 
 
 In 1811 he published the present work in large quarto size 
 And in 1814 appeared his Hermes Scythicus; or, The Radical 
 Affinities of the Greek and Latin Languages to the Gothic ; and four 
 years afterwards, there came from his pen A Grammar of 
 Rhetoric and Polite Literature. lie also edited two very im- 
 portant national products, which, on account of their obselete 
 language, were fast being forgotten, but through his judicious 
 editing again, were restored to use to a great extent, namelj', 
 Blind Harry's Wallape, and Barbour's Bruce. Pre-deceased by 
 his fourteen children, and also by his wife. Dr. Jamieson died in 
 Edinburgh in 1838, in the eightieth year of his age. 
 
 In issuing a popular edition of this important and significant 
 
EDITORIAL NOTE. 
 
 work, and thus bringing it within the reach of all, the publishers 
 think they have done right. Though on a most important 
 subject, and such as should be of interest to all intelligent and 
 patriotic Scotchmen ; the book hitherto has been within the 
 reach of the wealthy only. For many years back, the book 
 could not be purchased for less than several pounds sterling. In 
 order to permit of this being a popular edition, the foot-notes 
 almost entirely in Latin, and the appendix likewise almost entirely 
 in Latin, have been omitted. From the nature of the two items 
 referred to, the general reader would be quite unable to make 
 any material use of them. In other respects, the book in its 
 entirety, is as it came from the author. 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 When the author engaged in this disquisition, it was 
 not with the remotest idea of writing a book on the 
 subject. His sole design was to collect a few 
 materials, to be afterwards thrown together, so as to 
 form an article in a literary work, to which he had 
 promised to contribute. But, from the contradictory 
 assertions of learned and able writers, concerning the 
 Culdees ; from the variety of topics regarding their 
 history or character, which demanded particular 
 attention ; and from the indispensable necessity, in 
 an inquiry of this kind, of producing original autho- 
 rities ; he soon found, that it was in vain to think 
 of giving any tolerable account of this celebrated 
 society within the usual limits of an essay. Various 
 difficulties have occurred, indeed, in the progress of 
 this investigation. But, in consequence of persever- 
 ing in it, he has had the satisfaction of meeting with 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 facts, which seem to have been formerly overlooked ; 
 and he flatters himself that he has been able, to set 
 some others in a new light. 
 
 Although far from thinking that the work can be 
 free from mistakes, he is conscious that he has done 
 all in his power fairly to exhibit the testimony of 
 antiquity on this subject. If it shall appear to the 
 candid reader, that the author has in any measure 
 elucidated this obscure, but important, branch of our 
 ancient history, he will not regret his labour. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of the Name, Culdees. —Conjectures as to its Origin. — Of the first 
 preaching of the Gospel in North Britain. — Of the Mission of 
 Palladins. — lona the principal seat of the Culdees. — .Said to have been 
 the immediate Successors of the Druids, ...... 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of the coming of Columba into Britain. — Cursory view of his Life and 
 Character. — To.be distinguished from Abbot Columban. — Of the Island 
 of lona. — Of the Druids. — The Dooti'ine of the Culdees, and their mode 
 of Living, ............ 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of the Ecclesiastical Government of the Culdees. — The Account given of 
 this by Bede. — How explained by Bishop Lloyd. — Of Sodora. — Whether 
 a Bishop always resided at Hii. — Usher's Testimony from the Annals of 
 Ulster. — Goodal's reasoning on this Head, . , . . . .35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Account of the Ecclesiastical Government of the Culdees continued. — Of 
 the Mission of Bishop Aidau to the Northumbrians. — Mistranslations 
 in the modern English Version of Bede. — Of the Seniores at lona. — 
 Whether the Term denoted Bishops, or Presbyters ? — Whether the 
 Culdean Government resembled that of a modern University ? — Of 
 Gillan's reasoning. —If the Episcopal Missionaries to Northumbria 
 were amenable to the College of lona ? . . . . . . ,51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Continuation of the Account of the Ecclesiastical Government of the 
 Culdees. — Bishop Lloyd's View of the Ordination of Finan. — Of that of 
 Colraan. — Bede's Account of the Ordination of Aidan. — Of the Episco- 
 pate of Cedd. — Of the Conversion of the Saxous by Scots. — Testimony 
 of the Saxon Chronicle, fis 
 
CONTENTS. II 
 
 CHAPTER \l. 
 
 Of the principal Seats of the Culdees. — Of Abernethy. — Antiquity of this 
 foimdation. — Of St Bridget. — Whether Abernethy was a Bishopric? — 
 Of the University here. — Of tlie Collegiate Ohurcli. — Property of the 
 Abbey given to that of Aberbrothoc. — Controversy on this head. — 
 Temporal Lords of Abernethy, 84 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Monastery of Culdees at Lochlevin. — Of St Serf. — Donations. — Library. — 
 Foundation of Dunkeld. — Reliques of Coluniba transported thither. — 
 Of the Primacy ascribed to it. — The Memory of Columba long held in 
 Veneration there — Monastic Seal. — Culdees at St Andrews. — Of Re- 
 gulus. — Of Constaiitine. — Endowments of the Priory. — If originally 
 the seat of a Bishop ?.......... 101 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the Culdees of Brechin. — Whether they merely constituted the Episco- 
 pal Chapter ? — Of those at Dunblane. — Of the supposed Foundatioti at 
 Mnthel. — Of that of Monimusk. — Culdees at Portmoak. — Scone. — 
 Kirkaldy. — Culross. — Mailros, 115 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of the Monasteries of Crusay and Oronsay. — Of Govan ; — Abercorn ; — 
 Inchcolm ; — Tyningham ; — Aberlady ; and Coldingham. — Of the First 
 Missionaries to the Orkney Islands. — Churches and Chapels dedicated 
 to Columba, 131 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of the Opposition of the Culdees to the Romish System. — Testimony of 
 Bede ; — of Con ; — of Alouiu ; — of Bromton ; — of Auricular Confession ; 
 — the Tonsure ; — Mode of Baptism ; — The Real Presence ; — Idolatrous 
 Worship 146 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The judgment of the adherents of Rome concerning the Culdees.— Of the 
 Synod of Streoneshalch. — Of Colman and Adamnan. —Government not 
 the only ground of difference with the Romanists. — Charge brought by 
 Richard of Hexham against the Scots. — Character given of the Culdees 
 by Dr Henry. — Of the Synod of Cealhythe. —Their Character as given 
 by Gibbon. — Of Clemens, Samson, and Virgilius. — Speech of Gilbert 
 Murray, 161 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Of the Suppression of the Culdees. — Means employed for this Purpose. — 
 Their Promotion to Bishoprics. — Increase of Episcopal Sees. — Preference 
 given to Foreigners. — lutroductioii of Canons Regular; — at St Andrews; 
 — Lochlevin ; — Dunkeld : — Brechin, — Convention between Bishop Mal- 
 voisin and the Culdees of Monimnsk. — Remarks on it, . . .179 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Suppression of the Culdees at St Andrews. — Preparatory Measures 
 adopted with this view. — Their Controversy with the Canons Regular 
 as to St Mary's Church. — Remarks on Goodall's Account of this. — 
 State of the Culdees at lona. — Their Subjection to the authority of 
 Rome ; and Expulsion of those who were refractoi-y. — Of the Trans- 
 lation of the Reliques of Adamnan, and of Columba, . . . 201 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of the Library at lona. — Account given of it by Pennant, from Boece. — 
 Causes assigned for its Destruction ; — Devastations by the Danes ; — by 
 Edward I. ; — by the Reformers ; — by Cromwell ; — during the period of 
 Persecution. — Books, formerly belonging to it, said to be still extant. — 
 The Culdees preserved till about the time that the Lollards appeared. — 
 Of tlie Reformation in Scotland, whether by Bishops ? — Of those called 
 Superintendents, ........... 218 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Objections considered. — The supposed Inconsistency of the Monks of lona 
 sending Bishops, or Improbability of their being applied to for such a 
 Mission, if unfriendly to the Order ; — The Culdees said to have been 
 merely the Episcopal Chapter of the Diocese in which they resided. — 
 Asserted, that there were never any Culdees at lona, or within the 
 Territories of the Ancient Scots ; and that they made their first 
 Appearance at St Andrews, ......... 236 
 
AN 
 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ANCIENT CULDEES OF lONA. 
 
 INTEODUCTION. 
 
 There is no portion of the Scottish history, which has a 
 higher claim to attention, than that which respects the 
 Culdees. Nor are the natives of Scotland alone interested 
 in it. Whatever be the peculiar influence of national attach- 
 ment, or of local connection, this is a subject which merits 
 the regard of all who bear the name of Protestants. By- 
 various writers, indeed, it has either been industriously con- 
 signed to oblivion, or, if brought into view, grossly misrepre- 
 sented. But, happily, amidst all the obscurity and fable, in 
 which the more early part of our history is involved, such 
 gleams of light now and then break forth, as not only to 
 demonstrate the existence, but to elucidate the character, 
 of a succession of men, who, while they were an honour to 
 their country, were at the same time an ornament to the 
 Christian name. Nor is their claim to attention enfeebled, 
 from the circumstance of their appearing in a remote corner 
 of the earth, as champions for the simplicity of our faith, and 
 for the independence of the Church, at the very time that 
 error and tyranny had extended their baleful empire over 
 the continent of Europe. They, in this respect, resemble the 
 Waldenses, who, hid amidst the almost inaccessible retreats 
 
 2 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 of Piedmont, and environed by the natural bulwarks of the 
 Alpine regions, during the same dark period, preserved the 
 truth in its purity, till the time appointed for its more 
 iieneral dissemination arrived. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of the, Name, Culdees. — Conjectures as to its Origin. — Of the 
 first preaching of the Gospel in North Britain. — Of the Mis- 
 sion of Palladius. — loTia the principal seat of the Culdees. — 
 Said to have been the immediate Successors of the D7'uids. 
 
 The name of Culdees, or Keldees, was given to a body of 
 religious men, who ehieiiy resided in Scotland, Ireland, and 
 some of the adjacent isles. The etymon of the name has 
 exercised the ingenuity of the learned. 
 
 According to Boece and Buchanan, they were called Cul- 
 dei, q. Cultores Dei, or worshippers of God, from Lat. colo 
 and Deus. Spotswood thinks that they were named from 
 the cells in which they lived. 
 
 Lloyd, bishop of St Asaph, after saying that he had not 
 met with the word, in this form, " in any author before the 
 time of Giraldus Canibrensis," justly observes : " Then it 
 was a very usual thing to find out Latin derivations for those 
 words of which men did not know the original. And thus 
 the Kyldees, or Kylledei, came to be called Culdei, or Colidei ; 
 that is, the worshippers of God ; being such as spent their 
 whole time, or a great part of it, in devotion." 
 
 Others have embraced still more far-fetched etymons. 
 Bishop Mcolson says, that Culdee signifies " a black monk," 
 as being meant to denote the colour of the cowl, in the Irish 
 language, culla. Some have supposed that the word has 
 been borrowed from the Greeks ; in the same way as the 
 names bishop, presbyter, deacon, and monk, have come to us 
 from them : for their monks, confined to cells, were called 
 
 KeXXewTat. 
 
 The origin assigned by Obrien is certainly very plausible. 
 In Irish, he says, it is Oeile Be, from ceile a servant, and Be, 
 
i6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 God. Goodall adopts this etymon, observing that, " in more 
 ancient MSS. the word is not written Culdei, but Kdedei ; 
 and that the more learned in our old language affirm, that 
 it is compounded of keile, a servant, and Bia, God." 
 
 Dr Smith gives the same etymon. For he views the word 
 Kdedei as merely the Latinized Gaelic phrase Gille Be, 
 which signifies Famuli Bei, or, servants of God. This deri- 
 vation has also the sanction of Dr Shaw, in his History of 
 Moray. 
 
 Toland, however, contends that Keledd "is from the 
 original Irish, or Scottish, word Ceile-de, signifying, separated 
 or espoused to God." 
 
 It has also been said, that " Gaelic cuil, and ceal, signi- 
 fying a sequestered corner, eave, &c., those who retired to 
 such a place were called Cuildeach, in plural, Ctoildich ; which 
 they who spoke or wrote Latin, turned into Ciddetos and 
 Culdei, altering only the termination." Nearly the same 
 account is given by another writer. '' Culdee," he says, " is a 
 Gaelic word, signifying a monk, or hermit, or any sequestered 
 person. Cidldeach is common to this day, and given to per- 
 sons not fond of society. The word is derived from Cuil, a 
 retired corner." 
 
 " Their name," according to another learned writer, " was 
 probably derived from the notion of their retreat, and seclu- 
 sion. In the Welsh, Gel, which means shelter, a hiding, 
 would form the name in the plural thus : Celydi, Celydiaud, 
 Celydion, Celydwys." 
 
 Although both the etymons last mentioned have peculiar 
 claims to attention, yet I am disposed to prefer the latter, 
 from cuil, ceal, or eel, a retreat ; not merely because it re- 
 quires no change of the initial syllable, but because it is most 
 consonant to the established sense of Kil, retained in the 
 names of so many places, which, in an early age, have been 
 consecrated to religion. But of this more fully afterwards. 
 
 When this name was first imposed, it is impossible to 
 
CONJECTURES AS TO THEIR ORIGIN. 17 
 
 ascertain. Without paying any regard to what our historians 
 have said of the establishment of Christianity, by a prince 
 designed Donald I., we may safely assume, that there must 
 have been a considerable number of Christians in the 
 northern part of our island about the time assigned to his 
 reign, that is, towards the close of the second century. For 
 Tertullian, who flourished in this age, asserts, that the gospel 
 had not only been propagated in Britain, but had reached 
 those parts of the island into which the Roman arms had 
 never penetrated. This perfectly agrees with the defence, 
 made by the Culdees, of their peculiar modes of worship. 
 For they still affirmed, that they had received these from the 
 disciples of John the Apostle. 
 
 Scotland and Ireland have contended for the honour of 
 the origin of the Culdees. Some of our writers pretend to 
 trace them to the beginning of the fourth century. The Irish 
 say, that this order of monks was first instituted in their 
 island, by Columba, A. 546 ; and afterwards, by the same 
 apostolic presbyter, in Scotland. Till his time, indeed, we 
 have no evidence of the existence of any societies observing a 
 particular institute ; though there seems to be no good reason 
 to doubt that the doctrines by which the religious of the 
 Columban order were distinguished, were held in North 
 Britain long .before. 
 
 It is said by Prosper of Aquitaine, that " Palladius, being 
 ordained by Pope Celestine, was sent to the Scots believing 
 in Christ, as their first bishop." The same thing is asserted 
 by Bede, in the very language of Prosper. This testimony 
 has occasioned a great deal of controversy. The generality 
 of our Scottish writers have contended that his mission was 
 to the country now denominated Scotland : and many things 
 plausible have been advanced on this side of the question, 
 especially by Goodall. It has, particularly, been urged, 
 that ancient writers were so little acquainted with the 
 northern part of our country, or that lying beyond the 
 
HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Forth, that they viewed it as aii island distinct from Britain ; 
 that they sometimes called it Hibemia, and its inhabitants 
 Hiberni ; and that the position given to the country is 
 applicable to Scotland only. But there can be no doubt 
 that Bede was well acquainted with both countries ; and, 
 though he sometimes calls the inhabitants of Ireland, and at 
 other times those of North Britain, Scots, yet, when he gives 
 an account of the mission of Palladius, as he immediately 
 proceeds to speak of the Scots and Picts, who took possession 
 of Britain all the way to the wall, it appears that he here 
 uses the term as denominating those who had come from 
 Ireland, as allies of the Picts, and soon after returned to 
 their own country. For the very same people, whom in his 
 Chronicle he calls Scotti, he in his History designs Hiberni. 
 Now, it cannot be conceived that Bede would call those 
 Hiberni, whom he knew to be inhabitants of Britain. 
 
 It must be admitted, however, that it forms a considerable 
 difficulty, that Marianus Scotus, who wrote about the year 
 1060, and who was himself an Irishman, should use such 
 language as seems necessarily to imply, that he considered 
 the mission of Palladius as meant for the benefit of the 
 inhabitants oi North Britain. For, having expressed him- 
 self in the very terms used by Prosper, he adds : " After him 
 was St Patrick, by birth a Briton, consecrated by St Celes- 
 tine the Pope, and sent to be archbishop of Ireland. There, 
 preaching for forty years, with signs and miracles, he con- 
 verted the whole island of Ireland to the faith." 
 
 But while it may be supposed that Palladius went first to 
 Ireland, there is reason to believe that he thought himself 
 bound to visit those Christians also who resided in the 
 country, now called Scotland : for it has been asserted, that 
 he died in the northern part of this island. 
 
 A learned writer considers it as "likely that he passed 
 over to Britain from the north of Ireland, and died in Gal- 
 loway, held by the Piks after 427." But he seems to go too 
 
THE MISSION OF PALLADIUS. 19 
 
 far when he says : " Not a church was ever dedicated to 
 Palladms iu Scotland, nor is there a trace of him in our 
 history or tradition." 
 
 Fordun, confining the mission of Palladius to the Scots of 
 Britain, says that King Eugenius gave him and his com- 
 panions a place of residence where he asked it. In the MS. of 
 Coupar, there is this addition ; Apud Fordun, in lie Mearns ; 
 i. e. "at Fordun, in the Mearns." This perfectly coincides 
 with the modern account. " This parish [Fordun] is remark- 
 able for having been for some time the residence, and 
 probably the burial-place, of St Palladius, who was sent by 
 Pope Celestine into Scotland, sometime in the fifth century, 
 to oppose the Pelagian heresy. That Palladius resided, and 
 was probably buried here, appears from several circumstances. 
 There is a house which still remains in the churchyard, called 
 St Palladius's Chapel, where, it is said, the image of the saint 
 was kept, and to which pilgrimages were performed from the 
 most distant parts of Scotland. There is a well at the 
 corner of the minister's garden, which goes by the name of 
 Paldy's Well." 
 
 To this it may be added, that the annual market, held at 
 Fordun, is still universally, in that part of the country, called 
 Paldy, or, as vulgarly pronounced, Paddy Fair. This is a 
 strong presumption that a church had been dedicated to him 
 there ; as it is a well-known fact, that at the Eeformation, 
 when the saints' days were abolished, the fairs, which used 
 to succeed the festivals, and were denominated from them, 
 were retained. Hence their very name, from Lat. Feriae, 
 holidays. Camerarius asserts, on the authority of Polydore, 
 Vergil, that "the precious reliques of this saint were formerly 
 worshipped at Fordun ; and that the shrines, containing 
 these, adorned with silver, gold, and jewels, had been repaired 
 by "William Scheves, archbishop of St Andrews." 
 
 It is ^aid in the Breviary of Aberdeen, that Palladius died 
 at Longforgund in Mernis. Although Longforgan, formerly 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 written Forgund, seems to be a place of very considerable 
 antiquity, the description here given cannot apply to it, as it 
 is situated in the extremity of Perthshire, on the borders of 
 Angus. This place may have been substituted, by mistake, 
 for " Tordun in Mernis." According to Sigebert, Palladius 
 was sent to the Scots, A. 432. It would appear, that, iinding 
 his labours unsuccessful in Ireland, he had attempted the 
 conversion of the Picts : for Fordun was in their territory. 
 Bede informs us that Ninian converted the Southern Picts. 
 These, it has been generally supposed, were in Galloway ; as 
 Niaian is said to have been bishop of Candida Oasa. ^But, if 
 Mr. Pinkerton be right in asserting that, A. 412, the date of 
 the conversion referred to, there were no Picts in Galloway, 
 and that those meant must be such as dwelt to^^the south of 
 the Grampian mountains; Palladius most probably went 
 thither for the purpose of reclaiming them from any errors 
 into which they might have fallen, and especially with the 
 view of bringing them into subjection to the>uthority of the 
 bishop of Eome. 
 
 It may easily be accounted for, that there should be fewer 
 traces of Palladius in our history, or local memorials of him, 
 than of almost any other saint who resided in this country. 
 To a people of so independent a spirit as that which 
 characterized our forefathers, the ministry of any one must 
 have been extremely unacceptable, whose chief object was to 
 subject them to a foreign yoke. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Of the, coming of Gohmiba into Britain. — Cursory view of his 
 Life and Character. — To he distinguished from Abbot Co- 
 lumban. — Of the Island of lona. — Of the Druids. — The 
 Doctrine of the C id dees, and their Mode of Living. 
 
 From the preceding observation it must appear, that, even 
 on the supposition that the primary mission of Palladius 
 was not to Scots inhabiting Britain, Christianity had been 
 received in the northern part of it long before the age of 
 Columba. The southern Piets being already converted, this 
 good man "came into Britain," as Bede informs us, "to preach 
 the word of God to the provinces of the northern Picts." — 
 " He came, at the time that Bridius [otherwise Brudi], a most 
 powerful king, reigned over the Picts, and in the ninth year 
 of his reign ; and converted that nation to the faith of Christ, 
 by his preaching and example ; on which he received from 
 them the forsaid island [Hii] in possession, for the purpose of 
 erecting a monastery." 
 
 Columba was a native of Ireland, and a man of distinguished 
 rank. He was indeed of the blood royal, being the son of 
 Pelim, the son of Fergus, who was grandson to the celebrated 
 Niall of the nine Hostages, king of Ireland. His mother was 
 Aithne, the daughter of Macnave. His paternal grandfather 
 was Connal, from whom, according to Irish antiquarians, the 
 district of Tirconnel took its name. 
 
 He was born A. 521, and educated under Finian, bishop of 
 Clonard, Fenbar, Gemman of Leinster, and the far-famed St 
 Ciaran. When he was about twenty-eight years of age, we 
 are told, he founded the monastery of Dairmeagh, in Ireland, 
 that is, the Field of Oaks. Some have understood this of 
 Armagh. Usher explains the term as denoting Durrough, in 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 the King's county. Others, again, view it as pointing out the 
 modern Derry. 
 
 Zeal for the propagation of the gospel, among the heathen, 
 has been assigned by some writers as the reason of his 
 leaving his native country, while others have imputed his 
 conduct to very different motives. He has been accused, not 
 only of intermeddling in political concerns, to which the clergy 
 have unhappily been too prone in almost every age, but of 
 abusing his influence so far as to excite great disturbances in 
 Ireland. It has been said that in consequence of some real 
 or supposed indignity done to him, his own kindred entered 
 keenly into his quarrel, so as to deluge the country with 
 blond; and that his conduct gave so great offence to the 
 ecclesiastics of that kingdom that they threatened him with 
 excommunication. 
 
 It may be supposed that, in the earlier part of his life, he 
 might in some instances be carried away by pride or ambi- 
 tion ; especially as goaded on by a consciousness of rank, and 
 partially under the influence of the restless spirit of the age 
 in which he lived. But we must conclude, either that his 
 conduct has been misrepresented, or that he learned wisdom 
 from the affecting proofs which he had of his own weakness. 
 For it is acknowledged by all the writers of his life, that, 
 after he left Ireland, he conducted himself with exemplary 
 humility and self-denial. The influence which he afterwards 
 retained in that country goes a great way to vindicate him. 
 Not only is it asserted by Jocelin and other writers that he 
 founded a hundred monasteries, while some increase the 
 number, including churches, to three hundred ; but it is 
 certain that the greatest respect was paid to him at the 
 national council, or parliament, of Drumceat in Ireland, 
 where he appeared as representative of the clergy of North 
 Britain. 
 
 The accounts given of his miracles and predictions should 
 be read with that allowance which we must necessarily make 
 
COLUMBA'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. 23 
 
 for the credulity of the times. In the memoirs of this saint 
 nothing is related more ridiculous or incredible than what we 
 find in the page of the venerable Bede. 
 
 The names of the companions of Columba who attended 
 him to lona have been recorded by various writers. Usher 
 gives the following list, as extracted from an MS. in the 
 Cotton Library. " These are the names of the men who 
 passed over with Colum.ba from Scotland [i. e. Ireland], when 
 lie first went to Britain. The two sons of Brendin, Baithen 
 and Comin, who were both successors of St Columba ; Cob- 
 thach, his brother ; Ernan, the uncle of St Columba ; Dermit, 
 his servant ; Eui and Fethuo, the two sons of Eodan ; 
 Scandal, the son of Bresail, the son of Endei, the son of 
 Mell Luguid; Mocutheimne, Echoid, Thorannu, Mocutir, 
 Cetea Cairnaan, the son of Branduib, the son of Meilgi 
 Grillaan." 
 
 Here, it would seem, there is some error in the enumera- 
 tion, or in the punctuation ; as, instead of twelve, we have 
 thirteen persons mentioned. 
 
 To prevent mistakes, it is necessary to observe, that there 
 were two eminent men, nearly contemporaries, who were 
 both natives of Ireland, both founders of monasteries, both 
 abbots, and both canonized ; to whom the same name is 
 frequently given, and who, from the inattention of ancient 
 writers, have frequently been confounded with each other. 
 These were Columba, and Columban or Columbanus. Our 
 Columba landed in Hii A. 563, and died there in 597. Co- 
 lumban was educated in the monastery of Bangor in Ireland, 
 under St Congall. He left Ireland and travelled into Bur- 
 gundy, A. 589. Like Columba, he took twelve companions 
 with him. Among these, according to Marianus Scotus, was 
 the celebrated St Gall. In Burgundy, he founded the Abbey 
 of Luxeville, which he governed for about twenty years ; 
 being then ejected by the persecution of Queen Brunechilde. 
 Cave says that he was exiled from Luxeville by Theodoric, 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 king of Austrasia, because he too boldly reproved his libidin- 
 ous life. Hofmann calls this Theodoric, Rex Galliae. After 
 this he travelled through the greatest part of France ; and 
 at length retired into Italy. Here, being kindly received by 
 Aigilulph, king of the Lombards, he erected the abbey of 
 Bobio, near N"aples; where he died a year after, A. 615. 
 
 His life was written by Jonas, one of his disciples, a monk 
 of the abbey of Bobio ; and published by Messingham in his 
 Florilegium. 
 
 Bede properly designs the apostle of the Picts Columba, 
 according to the best MSS. ; although, in some editions, 
 Golumbanus occurs. He marks the difference of the names, 
 when, in transcribing the letter from Laurence, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, to the Irish bishops, he designs the other 
 Golumhanum Abhatem in Gallis venientem. Smith is mis- 
 taken, however, when he says in the index of his edition of 
 Bede, that the letter of Pope John was addressed to this 
 Golumbanus among other Irish bishops. For, as it was 
 written A. 640, this was fifty-one years after he left Ireland, 
 and twenty-five after his death. 
 
 In the Saxon Chronicle, the Abbot of lona is denominated 
 Golumba, and also Golumban. By Sigebert he is designed 
 Golumbanus. In the Chronicon Hermanni Contracti, he 
 receives both names; although the latter is also given to 
 Golumban, Abbot of Luxeville. But in the index to Pistorius 
 they are both referred to as one person. Both Goldast and 
 Dempster are chargeable with the same carelessness. 
 
 Dr Smith of Campbelton has fallen into an error in ascri- 
 bing to Columba the three poems which he has inserted, 
 with translations, in his Appendix. They were written by 
 the Abbot of LuxeviUe, and were published by Usher under 
 his name. The Archbishop of Armagh has given another, 
 also by Columban, beginning with these words : 
 
 Mundus ille transit, et quotidie decrescit, &c. 
 
 Besides the hymn in praise of St Kiaran, and another in 
 
COLUMBA AND COLUMBAN. 25 
 
 honour of St Brigid, three poems have been ascribed to Co- 
 himba of Icolnikill ; but all different from those published 
 by Dr Smith. Tlie first begins ; 
 
 Altus Prosator, Vetustus dierum et Ingenitus. 
 
 The second ; In te, Christe, Credentium : and the third ; 
 
 Noli, Pater, indulgere. 
 
 It is the more surprising that Dr Smith should commit so 
 gross a mistake, when he had in his hand Colgan's Trias, in 
 which these three hymns of Columba are published. 
 
 Perhaps it deserves notice, that Colman, one of the dis- 
 ciples of Columba, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, who, rather 
 than submit to the Eonian rites, renounced his bishopric, 
 and who afterwards settled, with his adherents, at Inis- 
 boufinde, was sometimes denominated Columbanus. As he 
 left Lindisfarne A. 667, Usher very reasonably interprets the 
 language of the annals of Ulster, under this year, as appli- 
 cable to him. A. 667. Navigatio Columbani Episcopi cum 
 reliquiis Sanctorum ad Insulam Vaccae Albae, in qua fun- 
 davit ecclesiam. Also, A. 675. Ejusdem Columbani Episcopi 
 Insulae Vaccae Albae pausa; that is, his decease. The 
 reliques especially meant are supposed to be those of Bishop 
 Aidan, which, according to Bede, Colman carried with him 
 from Lindisfarne. 
 
 The memory of Columba is by no means lost, even in the 
 Highlands of Scotland. A Highlandman, about to set out 
 on a journey, thus expresses his wish for divine protection ; 
 Gilli Chahcmchilli ghar pilli, agus ghar tiaunda ; i. e. " May 
 the servant of Columba of the cell protect and bring me safe 
 home!" This invocation is especially used by Eonian Ca- 
 tholics. 
 
 Claich Ichalmkilli is the name given to a small pebble 
 brought from the shore of lona ;. that is, " the stone of Icolni- 
 kill." Stones of this description are still worn, by Catholics, 
 as amulets. They are sometimes set in silver, and suspended 
 over the- heart. 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 A Gaelic proverb is still in use, which has a reference to 
 Columba : Uir ! uir ! air heed Orain mu'n labhair e tuile 
 comh'raclh ; " Earth ! earth ! on the mouth of Oran, that he 
 may blab uo more.'' Legendary tradition gives the following 
 account of the origin of this proverb. When Columba first 
 attempted to build on lona, the walls, it is said, liy the 
 operation of some evil spirit, fell down as fast as they were 
 erected. Columba received supernatural intimation, that 
 they would never stand, unless a human victim was buried 
 alive. According to one account, the lot fell on Oran, the 
 companion of the saint, as the victim that was demanded for 
 the success of the undertaking. Others pretend that Oran 
 voluntarily devoted himself, and was interred accordingly. 
 At the end of three days, Columba had the curiosity to take 
 a farewell look at his old friend, and caused the earth to be 
 removed. Oran raised his swimming eyes and said, " There 
 is no wonder in death, and hell is not as it is reported." The 
 saint was so shocked at this impiety, that he instantly 
 ordered the earth to be flung in again, uttering the words of 
 the proverb mentioned above. The place is still called The 
 Chapel of St Oran. 
 
 It is not improbable, that this story was invented liy some 
 of the druidical enemies of Columba, in order to expose him 
 and the Christian doctrine to ridicule ; especially as the 
 savage rite, attributed to him, was practised only by the 
 heathen. 
 
 According to the annals of Ulster and of Tighernac, which 
 Archbishop Usher seems disposed to follow, the island of 
 lona was given to Columba by Conal, or Conval, son of Com- 
 gal, king of the Dalriad Scots. But there ought to be some 
 very powerful reason for rejecting the express testimony of 
 Bede, who was so well versed in the history of this monas- 
 tery ; especially as Adamnan, the successor of Columba, who 
 wrote his life, nowhere asserts that this island was the gift 
 of the Dalriadic prince. As, however, it lay on the confines 
 
THE ISLAND OF lONA. 27 
 
 of both kingdoms, it might possibly he claimed by both ; 
 and what the one sovereign had given, the other might pre- 
 tend to conlirm. Adamnan, indeed, speaking of a plague 
 whicli had been very fatal A. 702, says, that it visited all the 
 world save " the Picts and Scots of Britain, who were divided 
 from each other by Drum-Albin," or the Grampian mountains. 
 But this determines nothing as to the extent of the Scottish 
 territories a hundred and fifty years before, when Columba 
 received the island of lona in possession ; or only about half 
 a century after the Scots, under Fergus the son of Ere, landed 
 in Argyleshire. 
 
 lona was entitled to no pre-eminence from external cir- 
 cumstances. It is a small island in the Atlantic ocean, 
 separated from the west point of the island of Mull by a 
 narrow channel called " the Sound of I." It is about three 
 miles in length, and from half a mile to a mile in breadth. 
 " The view of lona," says a pleasant writer, when describing 
 his approach to it, " was very picturesque : the east side, or 
 that which bounds the sound, exhibited a beautiful variety ; 
 an extent of plain, a little elevated above the water, and 
 almost covered with the ruins of the sacred buildings, and 
 with the remains of the old town, still inhabited. Beyond 
 these the island rises into little rocky hills, with narrow 
 verdant hollows between (for they merit not the name of 
 vallies,) and numerous enough for every recluse to take his 
 solitary walk, undisturbed by society." 
 
 This celebrated island has been variously denominated. 
 " Its ancient name," we are told, " was /, Hi, or Aoi (as writ- 
 ten in the annals of Ulster,) which were Latinized into Hy- 
 ona, or lona. The common name of it now is I-colum-kill 
 (the Isle of Colum of the Cells), included in one of the 
 parishes of the island of Mull." According to Toland, / 
 signifies in Irish an island, and is often written Hii, li, Hu, 
 to avoid making a word of one letter." But Hu, I suspect, 
 must, in the first instance, have been merely an inaccuracy, 
 
28 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 in consequence of the double i being mistaken by some 
 transcriber for u. Pennant gravely tells us, that " lona 
 derives its name from a Hebrew word, signifying a dove, in 
 allusion to the name of the great saint, Columba, the founder 
 of its fame." But this is scarcely more plausible than the 
 traditionary account of the etymon of the name Sii, as 
 related by Martin. "The natives have a tradition among 
 them," he says, " that one of the clergymen who accompanied 
 Columbus," as he erroneously designs him, "in his voyage 
 thither, having at a good distance espied the isle, cried joy- 
 fully to Columbus, in the Irish language, CM mi, i. e. I see 
 her ; meaning thereby the country of which they had been 
 in quest; that Columbus then answered, it shall be from hence- 
 forth called Y." What is said by Toland is far more natural. 
 It seems to have been thus denominated from peculiar 
 respect. " Bede," says an intelligent writer, resident in that 
 district, " calls it Hii, but the proper name is /, sounded like 
 ee in English, which in the Gaelic signifies an island, and [it] 
 is called so by way of eminence to this day. Bede's mistake 
 proceeded from his ignorance of the Gaelic. In [By] monkish 
 writers it is called lona, which signifies the Island of Waves. 
 lona is, in Gaelic, spelled I-thona ; but, as the th is not 
 sounded, Latin writers spell it lona. The name is very 
 characteristic of it in times of storm." But although / in 
 Irish signfLeis an island, it affords no proof that lona origin- 
 ally belonged to a Celtic people. Tor it is evidently the 
 same word which occurs in the very same sense, al- 
 though in a variety of forms, in almost all the Gothic 
 dialects ; Icelandic ey, Suio-Gothic and Danish oe, Anglo- 
 Saxon ig, ecu/e, Frisic oge, German ey. 
 
 There is, I am informed, a pretty general tradition in the 
 highlands of Scotland, that the Culdees immediately suc- 
 ceeded the Druids, as the ministers of religion ; and it- is said, 
 that they received the name of Ouildeach, mentioned above, 
 as delighting, like the priests of heathenism, in retired situa- 
 
THE ISLAND OF lONA. 29 
 
 tions. The reader may lay what stress he pleases on this 
 tradition. But it perhaps deserves to be mentioned that, 
 according to a writer formerly quoted, " the Druids undoubt- 
 edly possessed I before the introduction of Christianity. A 
 green eminence," he says, " close to the sound of I is to this 
 day called the Druid's burial place ; Gael, doadh nan Drui- 
 neach. A cottager some years ago planting potatoes in this 
 spot, and digging earth to cover them, brought up some bones, 
 which the people of the island immediately concluded to 
 be the bones of the Druids. The tradition is, that the first 
 Christians banished the Druids, and took possession of their 
 seats." 
 
 The tradition that the Culdees succeeded the Druids at 
 no great distance of time might seem to be supported by a 
 circumstance of an interesting nature, which has been men- 
 tioned by several writers in our statistic accounts ; that Cla- 
 chan, the name still given in the Highlands to the place where 
 a church stands, originally belonged to a Druidical temple. 
 Hence it is still said, " "Will ye go to the stones ? " or " Have 
 you been at the stones ? " that is, " Will you go to," or 
 " Have you been at church ? " But it is unnecessary to 
 enlarge on this singular circumstance, as I have illustrated it 
 pretty fully in another work. 
 
 It is probable that Druidism was not extinct even in the 
 age of Columba. The history of Bede has been appealed to 
 in proof of this : but many will hesitate as to the propriety 
 of the appeal, as we have it on good authority that the Drui- 
 dical rites were not practised by the Germans. A writer, 
 however, of great ingenuity and of considerable learning, 
 thinks that the Saxons, after the abolition of Druidism by the 
 Roman Emperors, restored the same worship when they had 
 conquered South Britain. The passage merits attention. 
 For, although the author be viewed as proceeding on a false 
 theory, he has brought forth a singular fact with respect to 
 the meaning in the Gaelic language of a designation used by 
 
 3 
 
so HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 liy the venerable historian, which, if there be no mistake in 
 his assertion, points out an analogy that could not have been 
 supposed. 
 
 " I have already observed," he says, " that those victorious 
 infidels [the .Pagan Saxons], brought the word Drif from 
 Germany [as being the name by which every German priest 
 was called]. Together with the name they certainly intro- 
 duced the office, being superstitiously devoted to Tuisto, 
 Woden, and Thor. The history of King Edwin's conversion 
 in Bede, and the great revolution brought about in the king- 
 dom of ISTorthumberland at that time in spiritual matters, is a 
 sufficient demonstration of this position. One circumstance 
 is sufficient for my purpose to mention concerning the con- 
 version of Edwin. After Pauliuus had exhorted Edwin to 
 embrace the Christain faith, agreeably to the instructions he 
 had formerly received from a person sent from the invisible 
 world, the king summoned his friends and great council to 
 have their advice and approbation. One of the councillors 
 or princes was the pagan high priest, or prirmis pontificum. 
 The name, or rather title, of this high priest, or pontifex 
 rnaximus, was Coifi, or Coefi. I know not whether any one 
 has attempted to explain the meaning of this word. It was, 
 in my opinion, the common title of every druidical superin- 
 tendent of spiritual affairs. The Highland talemakers talk 
 frequently concerning Oaiffl, or GoiJJie Dry ; and by these two 
 words they mean a person of extraordinary sense, skill, and 
 cunning. Bry undoubtedly signifies a Druid, a wise man, a 
 prophet, a philosopher, and sometimes a magician in the 
 Gaelic : GoiffLe Dry, Bede's Coiffi, or primus pontificum, stands 
 for the principal Druid, or what such a person ought to be, 
 a man supremely wise and learned.'' 
 
 To do justice to this ingenious writer it should be observed 
 that he has previously endeavoured to shew that " the Tuisco 
 or Tuisto of Grermany was the same with the Teutates of 
 Gaul ; " and that " the Thor of the Celto-Scythians of Ger- 
 
THE DRUIDS IN lONA. 31 
 
 many," as he calls them, " was the Taranis of their neighbours 
 to the south," that is, the god of thunder. 
 
 There might be Druids in lona even after the arrival of 
 Columba. He was opposed by Broichan, who is called a 
 magician. Dr. Smith remarks, with respect to the sense of 
 the synonymous term in Gaelic, that this signifies a Druid. 
 But it is to be observed that Columba met with Broichan in 
 the Pictish territories, at the court of Brudi, near the river 
 Ness. But, although the Picts had undoubtedly priests of 
 their own false religion, it remains to be proved that this was 
 Druidical. 
 
 " Broichan had the merit, however," says Dr. Smith, " of 
 dealing in a more open and avowed manner than some of his 
 brethren. Odonellus (ii. 11) relates, that when Columba first 
 landed in lona, on Pentecost eve, some Druids who had been 
 there disguised themselves in the habit of monks, and 
 pretended they had come to that place to preach the Gospel, 
 with a request that he and his followers might betake them- 
 selves to some other place ; but that Columba immediately 
 discovered the imposture, and that they resigned the field to 
 him." 
 
 Before returning from this digression, I trust that the in- 
 quisitive reader will forgive me for inserting a singular proof 
 of the strong hold which ancient superstition takes of the 
 mind. Mr. Ferguson, minister of Moulin, who died about 
 twenty years ago, assured a friend, of whom I had my 
 information, that there was in his parish an old man, who, 
 although very regular in his devotions, never addressed the 
 Supreme Being by any other title than that of Arch-Druid ; 
 accounting every other derogatory to the divine majesty. 
 Notwithstanding the great difference between the Celtic and 
 Gothic modes of worship, it is singular that in Icelandic 
 Drutten, a term so nearly allied to Druid, should be the name 
 given to God as denoting his dominion. Shall we suppose 
 that this designation was transmitted to them from the 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Gauls, who left the nRme of the Chnbric Chersonese to that 
 country which in later ages has been called Jutland, that is, 
 the land of the Jutes or Goths ? I need not say that this 
 eountr}- is divided from Scandinavia only by the Baltic ; and 
 that it has itself been inhabited by Goths for more than two 
 thousand years. 
 
 The doctrine of the Culdees, as far as we may judge from 
 that of Columba, was at least comparatively pure. As he 
 was himself much given to the study of the holy scriptures, 
 he taught his disciples to confirm their doctrines by testi- 
 monies brought from this unpolluted fountain ; and declared 
 that only to be the divine counsel which he found there. 
 His followers, as we learn from Bede, would receive those 
 things only which are contained in the writings of the 
 prophets, evangelists, and apostles ; diligently observing the 
 works of piety and purity. Hence it has been said that " for 
 several generations, — with the errors which at that time 
 prevailed in the Church of Rome they seem not to have been 
 in the least tainted." 
 
 They observed a certain rule in their monasteries, composed, 
 as it is said, by Columba himself, and sometimes denominated 
 the Rule of lona. For a considerable time before this era, 
 many truly pious men, knowing their obligation to separate 
 from the world, had from human weakness interpreted the 
 divine precept in a sense which it was never meant to bear ; 
 and, if they did not retire singly to solitudes and caves, yet 
 viewed it as most subservient to the interests of religion to 
 form regular monastic societies. But their mode of life was 
 very different from that of the generality of those who have 
 been called monks in later ages. According to Bede, " after 
 the example of the venerable fathers, — they lived by the 
 labour of their hands." "When giving an account of Aidan, 
 who was one of them, he says : " He neither sought nor 
 regarded any of the things of this world. All the gifts 
 which were conferred on him by kings, or by the rich of this 
 
MATRIMONY AMONG THE CULDEES. 33 
 
 world, he immediately distributed with the greatest cheerful- 
 ness to the poor who came in his way. Si far was his mode 
 of living removed from the indolence of our time, that he 
 required of all his associates, whether clergy or laity, that 
 they should give themselves to meditation, either by reading 
 the Scriptures, or by being at pains to learn the psalmody." 
 
 We know, that, although their successors, in later ages, 
 lived together, and had some things in common, their wives 
 and children, or their nearest relations, after the deatli of 
 any of them, divided their property, and even claimed the 
 offerings which had been made at the altar. This is men- 
 tioned with regret by a Eomisli writer. But it shews that 
 they had not, like the monastic bodies of subsequent ages, 
 formed any ideas of aggrandizing their order, or of enriching 
 the particular monasteries belonging to it. 
 
 So far were they from reckoning the connubial relation 
 inconsistent with their character, that it seems to have been 
 held in honour. For, even in the later period of their 
 existence as a society, they, in some places at least, like the 
 priests under the law, succeeded by inheritance. From the 
 work last quoted, we learn that, in the church of St Andrews, 
 the Culdees came into office hereditarily. In Ireland, also, 
 where this body had great influence, there was a hereditary 
 succession in the bishopric of Armagh, for fifteen generations. 
 The Culdees at St Andrews, however, were not permitted, 
 after they had entered into this monastic establishment, to 
 keep their wives in their houses. But, perhaps, this ordi- 
 nance was not framed, till, through the increasing influence 
 of that system of superstition which " forbids to marry," 
 they were in so far forced to yield to the tide of popular pre- 
 judice in favour of celibacy. This is the more probable, as 
 Alexander Myln, prebendary and official of Dunkeld, says 
 that the Culdees who, " after the usage of the eastern church, 
 had wives, abstained from them when it came to their turn 
 to minister." 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Although it appears that they observed a certain institute, 
 yet, in the accounts given of them we cannot overlook this 
 remarkable distinction between them and those societies 
 which are properly called monastic, that they were not as- 
 sociated expressly for the purpose of observing this rule. 
 They might deem certain regulations necessary for the pre- 
 servation of order : but their great design was, by commu- 
 nicating instruction, to train up others for the work of the 
 ministry. Hence it has been justly observed, that they may 
 more properly be viewed as colleges, in which the various 
 branches of useful learning were taught, than as monasteries. 
 These societies, therefore, were in fact the seminaries of the 
 Church, both in North Britain and in Ireland. As the 
 presbyters ministered in holy things to those in their vicinity, 
 they were still training up others, and sending forth mission- 
 aries, wherever they had a call, or any prospect of success. 
 
GHAPTEE III. 
 
 Of the Ecclesiastical GovernTtunt of the Culdees. — TJie Account 
 given of this by Bede. — How explained by Bishop Lloyd. — 
 Of Sodora. — Whether a Bishop always resided at Hii. — 
 Usher's Testimony from the Annals of Ulster. — Qoodal's 
 reasoning on this Head. 
 
 Ix each college of the Culdees there were twelve brethren, 
 and one who was their Provost or Abbot. It has been 
 supposed that, as twelve priests accompanied Columba from 
 Ireland, and settled with him in lona, they afterwards 
 retained this number in imitation of the conduct of their 
 founder ; while it is by no means improbable that in this 
 circumstance he might allude to the apostolic college. The 
 meaning of a passage relating to this part of the subject, 
 which occurs in the extracts from the Eegister of St Andrews, 
 has undoubtedly been misapprehended. It is there said of 
 the Culdees that there had been in that church, trededm per 
 successionem carnalcm, " thirteen by carnal succession." This 
 has been understood as if it signified that, before the time 
 that this account was written, there had been thirteen 
 successions of Culdees at St Andrews, in hereditary descent. 
 But the meaning obviously is that, as the established number 
 in the College, according to the original institution by 
 Columba, was twelve, with their Abbot or Prior, the indivi- 
 duals succeeded their fathers, in the way of inheritance. 
 There is every reason to believe that this plan of hereditary 
 succession had been unknown, till the Culdees, like other 
 ecclesiastics, began to decline. 
 
 They chose their Abbot or President from among them- 
 selves. Bede informs us that " most of the preachers who, 
 during the reign of Oswald [A. 635, and downwards] came 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 from Scotland, were monks ; and that the monastery of Hii," 
 or lona, " had for a long time authority over almost all the 
 monasteries of the ISTorthern Scots, and over all those of the 
 Picts, and had pre-eminence in the government of their 
 people." 
 
 By some it has been urged, and certainly not without great 
 appearance of reason, that the government of these societies 
 of Culdees bore a very near resemblance to the Presbyterian 
 form. That there were some, who, in early times, were called 
 " Bishops of the Scots " cannot be denied. But it would be 
 the height of prejudice to object to the name, if rightly 
 interpreted. It is as scriptural as any other. It is most 
 evident, however, that these bishops, whatever they were, 
 cannot be viewed as diocesan bishops. 
 
 So far were they from possessing the exclusive right of 
 ordination, that it does' not appear that they were themselves 
 ordained by bishops. As far as our historical evidence 
 extends, they were not only chosen and sent forth, but 
 ordained by the College of Culdees at lona. These monks 
 seem to have been mostly presbyters. It may well be sup- 
 posed that they are the persons whom Bede designs Majores 
 natu Scottorum, when he says that King Oswald " sent to the 
 Elders of the Scots, amongst whom, during his banishment, 
 he had been baptised, that they might send him a bishop, by 
 whose doctrine and ministry the nation of Angles, which he 
 governed, might be instructed in the Christian faith." It is 
 natural to think that the application had been made to them, 
 by whom the bishop was sent. Now, the historian says that 
 Aidan was appointed, destinatus, from the island which is 
 called Hii. He afterwards relates that Fin an, who succeeded 
 Aidan, was appointed, destinatus, from the island and 
 monastery of Hii. Colman, who succeeded Finan, was also 
 sent from this monastery. 
 
 It cannot be supposed that the power referred to exclusively 
 belonged to the abbot, or that these bishops had their 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. n 
 
 authority from him singly. Cohiian expressly declares that 
 he received his episcopal honours, of what kind soever they 
 were, from the College of Elders. Defending his mode of 
 celebrating Easter, in the synod held at IStraneschalch, he 
 says : " The Easter which I keep I received from my Elders, 
 who sent me hither as Bishop ; which all our ancestors, men 
 beloved of God, are known to have celebrated in the same 
 manner." Here he ascribes his mission to Presbyters, 
 undoubtedly as including all the solemnities connected with it. 
 Had he been ordained by persons of a superior order he would 
 unquestionably have at least made some allusion to them; if not 
 with the view of adding to his own respectability, at least as 
 giving greater authority to the ritual for which he contended. 
 
 It must be admitted that, according to Bede's narrative, 
 there is something in the conduct of Einan which does not 
 seem entirely consonant to the view given of the ordination 
 at lona. Peada, prince of the Midland Angles, upon his 
 conversion to Christianity, having received four presbyters 
 from Einan, for the- instruction of his people ; one of these, 
 Diuma, was afterwards ordained by Einan to be bishop of 
 that nation. Whether this should be ascribed to some 
 greater attachment on the part of the Saxons to the model of 
 the Eoman church, I shall not presently inquira But unless 
 we suppose that Einan renounced the tenets of his mother 
 church we cannot hence conclude that he viewed the office 
 of a bishop as essentially distinct from that of a presbyter. 
 
 Whatever was the distinguishing character of the Bishops 
 of the Scots, or those sent from lona under this name, it is 
 evident from Bede that their authority was very different 
 from that of those called diocesan. " That island," he says, 
 " is always wont to have for its governor a Presbyter- Abbot, 
 to whose authority both the whole province, and even the 
 bishops themselves, by an unusual constitution, ought to be 
 subject; after the example of their first teacher, who was 
 not a bishop, but a presbyter and monk." 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Why does the venerable writer use the phrase, ordine in- 
 usitato, but because this plan of government was so diflerent 
 ■ from that of the Church of Eome, to which he adhered ? 
 Fi'om what is here said it might seem that these bishops had 
 been subject to the Presbyter-Abbot only. But if we 
 compare this with the language which he puts in the mouth 
 of Colman, it appears at least highly probable that the sub- 
 jection spoken of was due to the whole college, with the 
 abbot as their president. For it may reasonably be supposed 
 that this subjection would continue to be given to all those 
 by whom, as Colman expresses himself, the bishops were sent. 
 They must, at any rate, still have been subject to one, who, 
 according to the modern ideas of episcopacy, was inferior in 
 office. 
 
 Lloyd, Bishop of St Asaph, has strained every nerve to set 
 aside the force of the testimony from Bede. It may be pro- 
 per to examine his reasoning on this subject particularly ; as 
 it has been said by a learned writer of our own age, that the 
 bishop "has completely prostrated the adversaries of his 
 order, and demonstrated episcopacy to be coeval with Christi- 
 anity in these isles." 
 
 Because Bede sometimes speaks of " the provinces of the 
 Northern Picts," and " because it is familiar with him to call 
 a bishop's diocess by the name of a province,'' the writer 
 concludes that, therefore, " as far as one can judge by his 
 words, he meant nothing else, but that all the province or 
 diocess, which was under the Bishop of Hy, did then belong 
 to that monastery." But, in the first place, this is evidently 
 to beg the question. For he has produced no proper evidence 
 that there was a Bishop of Hii. The plural term, episcopi, 
 clearly implies that, whatever was the extent of the province, 
 it, according to the conviction of Bede, had more than one 
 bishop. To avoid the force of this obvious reply, on the 
 ground of his previous assumption that " there could be but 
 one bishop at a time," in " one province or diocess," he says. 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 39 
 
 " It might have been successively, and so I understand the 
 place." But, if the language of Bede has any meaning, it 
 must refer to a plurality of bishops living at one time. 
 Otherwise the climax is lost. Nay, the assertion is good for 
 nothing ; for, if the whole province was subject to this 
 Presbyter-Abbot, it needed no ghost to tell that the clergy 
 in it were also subject to him. 
 
 In the second place, this assertion contains one of the most 
 glaring fallacies that can well be imagined. — "He meant, — 
 that all the province or diocess, which was under the Bishop 
 of Hy, did then belong to that monastery." Could the Bishop 
 of St Asaph really believe that Bede meant this ? Could he 
 believe that Bede could not express his meaning more clear- 
 ly ? nay, that he said the very reverse of what he meant ? 
 Here there is such a gross change of terms as can scarcely 
 be paralleled. Bede speaks of a province ; therefore he meant 
 a diocese, several centuries before a diocese was known in our 
 country. He speaks of bishops in the plural ; and he could 
 refer only to one bishop at a time. He asserts, that " all the 
 province, and also the bishops themselves, ought to be sub- 
 ject." But, according to Lloyd, he could only mean that 
 the province was under the bishop, that is, was subject to him. 
 He directly inverts the idea of the original writer, and sub- 
 stitutes a new one of his own, as to territorial property ; — it 
 " did belong to." — But to whom did it, even in this sense, 
 belong ? To the Presbyter- Abbot ? No ; even this would be 
 yielding too much. It belonged to " that monastery." 
 
 The fact undoubtedly is, that Bede uses the term province, 
 not in an ecclesiastical, but in a civil sense ; in the same 
 sense in which, in the preceding part of the chapter, he 
 speaks of "the proAdnces of the Northern Picts," and of 
 " the province of the Bernicians :" and it appears most pro- 
 bable, that he here uses the term, in the singular, with the 
 same latitude as when he uses it in the plural, as denot- 
 ing the whole territory of these Picts. 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 The argument might, indeed, be carried farther. Did I 
 contend, that the phrase, omnis provincia, ought to be render- 
 ed, every province ; as the passage, according to this view, 
 would be completely disencumbered of the mighty "pro- 
 vince or diocess of Hy," this version might be urged with 
 considerable appearance of reason. It might be said, that 
 it has been thus translated by a writer who cannot be sus- 
 pected of any partiality in the cause ; that this use of the 
 Latin term is not only supported by the best authorities, but 
 is perhaps the most common ; that, in the present instance, 
 it is the most obvious signification ; that this gives a satisfac- 
 tory reason for the mention which is made of bishops, more 
 than one province being referred to by the ancient writer ; and 
 that omnis, in this sentence, should naturally be viewed as 
 having a retrospect to what he had said a little before, in the 
 same chapter, that " Columba came into Britain, to preach 
 the word of God in the provinces of the Northern Picts." 
 
 There is, indeed, every reason to think that the expression 
 ought to be understood with still greater latitude, as refer- 
 ring to what occurs in the preceding chapter. There, when 
 speaking of the observation of Easter, he had said, that 
 " after this manner the northern province of the Scots, and 
 the whole nation of the Picts, continued to observe Easter- 
 Sunday." Now, if we shall suppose, that by " the northern 
 province of the Scots," he means Argyleshire, we have at 
 least three provinces in North Britian referred to, including 
 the two under the Pictish dominion. In this sense, undoubt- 
 edly, he uses the phrase, provincia Scottorum, in the fifth 
 chapter of the same book, when giving an account of Os- 
 wald's desire to have a bishop from this province But, even 
 according to the concession of Gillan, the term is to be view- 
 ed as still more comprehensive. For, when Bede, in the 
 third chapter, speaks of the septentrionalis Scottorum provincia, 
 or northern province of the Scots, Gillan says, that by this 
 " he not only means the North of Ireland, but the western 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 41 
 
 Scottish islands, and those parts of Britain that were inha- 
 bited by the Scots." He apirees with Sir James Dalrymple, 
 in viewing these northern Scots of Ireland as under the juris- 
 diction of lona. 
 
 But if it. shall be urged, that the north of Ireland is meant 
 in the preceding extract from chapter third, because, a little 
 downward, he speaks of " the nations of the Scots, which 
 ialiabited the southern parts of the island of Ireland," as 
 having learned to observe Easter canonically ; I shall not be 
 contentious. Although this should be viewed as a province 
 in Ireland, it cannot be denied that it was subject to the 
 monastery of Hii. 
 
 As the learned prelate, however, had laid it down as a fixed 
 principle that there must have been a bishop of Hii, he 
 points out the very place of his residence. " The Bishop 
 of Hii," he says, " had his seat at SodcJra, in that island ; 
 and yet might have all the North-Picts in his diocess, at first, 
 as the Bishop of lindisfarn had all the Northumbrians. 
 And yet afterwards, when the North-Picts had more bishops, 
 he that dwelt there at Hii might have only the isles 
 to his diocess." As he has erected a diocess, and created a 
 bishop, where neither can be found in history, it was per- 
 fectly consistent, that he should also fix an episcopal seat for 
 him. The good bishop seems here as fast asleep as that 
 " dreaming monk," Hector Boece, whom he accuses of fol- 
 lowing Jeffrey of Monmouth, in " turning a cloak into a 
 man." He has, indeed, had less ground to go upon, than 
 had Boece in making a man of the word Amphibalus. Be- 
 cause, in later times, some liave been called " Bishops of 
 Sodor," or "of Sodor and Man," it has been imagined, that 
 the title nmst have had its origin from the name of a place. 
 Some have said, that this name was giving to a holm, or small 
 island, in the neighbourhood of Man, where they pretend 
 that the cathedral stood. Others, among whom is Bishop 
 Lloyd, have transferred it to lona. But there is no more 
 
HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 uvideiice, that there ever was a place of this name, than that 
 the place was thus denominated from the Greek word Soter, 
 as signifying the Saviour ; wliich vain idea was necessary to 
 complete the fable. 
 
 It is now well known, that the name Sodor, or the title So- 
 dorensis, originated from the designation given, by the Norwe- 
 gians, to one d.ivision of the islands in the neighbourhood of 
 Scotland, while they were under their dominion. They called 
 all those to the north of the point of Arduamurchan, in 
 Argyleshire, Xnrdereys, that is, the Northern Islands, and 
 those to the south of this point, Sudereys, that is, Southern 
 Islands ; the latter division including Arran, Bute, Cumra, 
 &o., and, among others, Man and lona. The bishop of this 
 jjrovince takes his title from the Southern Islands, because 
 these were reckoned the most important. 
 
 The good bishop is indeed much puzzled with Bede's more 
 inusitato. He first admits it in language abundantly strong : 
 " But whatever diocess they had, it is certain that the bishops 
 that sat there successively, till Bede's time, were all subject 
 to the abbot of that monastery." Then he tries to account 
 for it in this way, that in other places bishoprics preceded 
 the monasteries, but here the monastery preceded the bishop- 
 ric ; adding, that the Pictisli king and his people " gave him 
 the island in possession for the building of a monastery ; and 
 withal, for the maintenance of it, — the royalty of the neigh- 
 bouring isles ; six of which are mentioned by Buchanan, as 
 belonghig to the monastery." "And therefore," he says, 
 " though Columba found it necessary to have a bishop, and 
 was pleased to give him a seat in his island [that is, Sodor,] 
 and perhaps to put the other islands under his jurisdiction, 
 yet it is not strange that he thought lit to keep the royalty 
 still to himself and his successors." 
 
 But what is all this to the purpose ? Here we have another 
 sophism, an evident change of the terms, or rather, of the 
 subject. Bede's language evidently respects spiritual sub- 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 43 
 
 jection on the part of " the bishops themselves ;" and Lloyd 
 can devise no belter plan for getting rid of the difficulty, 
 than to understand the language as if it had been meant of 
 temporal subjection. I have already observed, that the ec- 
 clesiastial writer evidently uses the term province in a civil 
 sense; and as including not only the north of Ireland, but 
 most probably also the whole territory of the Northern Picts. 
 But did tins jurisdiction, which Lloyd denominates " the 
 royalty of the Abbots of Hii," include not only the north of 
 Ireland, but a great part of the Pictish dominion ? Has not 
 Dr. Lloyd himself circumscribed it within the compass of a few 
 adjacent islands ? 
 
 He finds himself, indeed, in a strange dilemma here ; and 
 seems at a loss to determine which side he ought to prefer. 
 He has previously aiiirmed, that, according to Bede, " all the 
 province or diocess, which was under the Bishop of Hii, did 
 ' then belong to that monastery." Now, either the royalty of 
 the abbot was confined to a few naked islands, almost unin- 
 habited ; and, according to this idea, the diocese of the bi- 
 shop was scarcely as large as a modern Hebridean parish ; 
 or the bishop " might have all the North-Picts in his dio- 
 cess ;" and what must have followed ? Nothing less than a 
 complete ecclesiastical dominion. For we must believe, that 
 the royalty of the abbot, and the spiritual jurisdiction of t-he 
 bishop, were co-extensive. Thus, in order to deprive the 
 abbot of any ecclesiastical power, the learned writer con- 
 fers on him at least half a kingdom in a temporal respect. 
 He seems willing to convert an abbot into a prince, rather than 
 that he should, in the slightest degree, infringe on the rights 
 of a bishop. He will leave royalty to shift for itself, if he 
 can only guard the episcopate. 
 
 But although, in this place, the Bishop of St Asaph seems 
 resolved to understand all the subjection, meant by Bede, 
 in a temporal sense, or in relation to the royalty ascribed to 
 the abbot ; as if conscious that he trode on very insecure 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 ground, he had previously endeavoured to provide himself 
 with a different footing. " If," says he, " those that were 
 ordained bishops of any diocess should afterwards come to 
 retire in their monasteries, as Colman did at Hy for some 
 time after his leaving York ; — in that case, there is reason 
 to believe that they lived under the ordinary government 
 in the monastery, as they did before they were made bishops.'' 
 
 Here the good bishop takes up very different ground. The 
 subjection to the royalty, or temporal jurisdiction of the ab- 
 bot, or monastery, is transformed into subjection to the mo- 
 nastic rule. For he is so much nonplussed by the subjection 
 to which Bede refers, that he is at a loss whether to call it 
 temporal or spiritual ; or, in other words, whether to view 
 the supremacy of the abbot as territorial or conventual. 
 He, howeVer, takes both in ; wisely judging, perhaps, that 
 if he was wrong as to the one, he must be right as to the 
 other. But even this supposition cannot avail him. For, 
 whatever was the nature of the subjection which the bishops 
 gave, it was given by the whole province. That it was not, 
 therefore, subjection to the monastic institute, must necessa- 
 rily be admitted ; unless it be said, that all the inhabitants of 
 " the pro^'ince of the Northern Picts " subjected themselves 
 to the rule of Columba, or, in other words, became monks. 
 
 But, in order to prove that Columba " acknowledged the 
 epi.scopal order superior to his own order of Presbyter," Lloyd 
 further asserts, that " Columba did acknowledge that bishops 
 were necessary for the ordaining of others into the ministry." 
 The first proof is : " It appears — there was always one in his 
 monastery, as Bishop Usher tells us out of the Ulster An- 
 nals, Prim. p. 701." Usher's own words, in the passage re- 
 ferred to, are : ' " The Ulster Annals teach us, that even that 
 small island had not only an abbot, but also a bishop.'' 
 This is somewhat different from there being " always one in 
 his [Columba's] monastery." Usher, however, does not quote 
 the words of the Annals, but immediately subjoins, in the 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 45 
 
 same sentence ; — " From which [Annals] it may perhaps be 
 worth while to learn the first series of Abbots." He then adds 
 a list of ten in succession, giving various notices concerning 
 some of them. Would it not have been fully as natural to 
 have given a list of the pretended bishops, if he could have 
 done it ? But, although " superior to Abbot- Presbyters," it 
 is not a little singular that antiquity has thrown a veil over 
 their names. 
 
 The occasion on which Archbishop Usher refers to the 
 Annals of Ulster, as proving that " this small island had not 
 only an Abbot, but a Bishop," particularly deserves our 
 attention. It is when he wishes to correct what he considers 
 as a mistake in Notker, who had said that " the Abbot of 
 the monastery of lona was viewed as the Primate of all the 
 Hibernian Bishops." The good Primate of Ireland, with all 
 his candour, could not easily digest this doctrine. . 
 
 It must forcibly strike the mind of his reader, as very un- 
 accountable, that, though he gives the names of ten abbots, 
 or what he calls " the first series," he does not mention one 
 bishop. It naturally occurs, that there must undoubtedly 
 be some reason for this silence ; either, that the archbishop 
 found no names there, or that he had ground to doubt 
 whether he could view the persons as properly bishops. 
 Under this impression, I cast my eye on the " Extracts from 
 the Annals of Ulster," which Mr. Pinkerton has appended to 
 his "Enquiry," and met with the only passage, to which, it 
 would seem, the learned Primate could possibly have re- 
 ferred. The whole proof is contained in these words : A. 
 " 711. Coide, Bishop of Hii, deceases." 
 
 Besides the ten Abbots of Hii mentioned by Usher, there 
 were, according to these extracts, during the lapse of about 
 three centuries, other nine, who are expressly designed Ab- 
 bots, ten called Coarhs, and one denominated " Heir of Co- 
 lumb-cille." Johnstone, in his Extracts from the same 
 Annals, gives the names of two abbots not appearing in Mr. 
 
 4 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Pinkerton's. But not another, besides Coide, is mentioned 
 as bishop. 
 
 In Colgan's list, as given from Innes's MS. Collections, we 
 find twenty-six successors of Columba, in the course of two 
 hundred and sixty-three years ; and besides Ceudei, who is 
 evidently the same with Coide, only one of these Abbots has 
 the title of Bishop. This is Fergnan, surnamed the Briton, the 
 third in this list ; the same person with Fergnaus, who also 
 holds the third place in Usher's. But Usher takes no notice 
 of his being a bishop ; and Smith, who, in his Chronicle, calls 
 him Fergna, gives him no other designation than that of 
 Abbot. His name does not appear in the extracts from the 
 Annals of Ulster. Smith also mentions Coide under the 
 name of " St Caide or Caidan," but merely as Abbot of Hij, 
 
 To the article respecting Coide, Johnstone afSxes the fol- 
 lowing note : " The Abbots of Zona, Derry, and Dunkeld, 
 are frequently stiled Bishops." This remark seems to be 
 well-founded, from what follows in the Annals : A. " 723. 
 Faolau M'Dorbene, Abbot of loua, was succeeded in the pri- 
 macy by Killin-fada.'' Conchubran, an Irishman, who wrote 
 the life of the female saint Monenna, about the middle of 
 the twelfth century, calls Columcille, or Columba, "Arch- 
 bishop of Scotland ; " though he must have known that, as 
 •Bede says, he was merely " Presbyter and Abbot." We are 
 at no loss to conceive, why, in later times, the title of Bishop 
 was sometimes given to the Abbots of such celebrated mo- 
 nasteries. In an earlier period, this title could not be sup- 
 posed to add anything to the dignity of one to whom " bishops 
 themselves were subject." But afterwards, when episcopacy 
 extended its powers, and made far higher pretensions, it may 
 easily be imagined, that those, who adhered to the Columban 
 institute, paid this compliment to the prejudices of the times, 
 from the idea that it would add to the respectability of their 
 monastic presidents; especially as they considered them 
 fully entitled to it, from the primacy which they held. 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 47 
 
 It ought also to be observed, that not one of the bishops 
 mentioned, in the lists referred to, can be viewed as supply- 
 ing the friends of the order with an instance in point. For 
 each of them was " Abbot of Hij," as well as bishop. Whether 
 the title had been conferred on account of any mission, from 
 which they had returned, as did the predecessor of Aidan, 
 and Colman, I shall not pretend to determine : but not one 
 of them is designed " Bishop of Hii ; " all their relation to 
 this island being marked by the term Abbot. It cannot 
 reasonably be supposed, that, because one had been pre- 
 viously sent on a mission in an episcopal character, that this, 
 in the event of his returning to Hii, should preclude him 
 from being eligible to the office of Abbot. He certainly 
 must have had an equal claim with any of his brethren. 
 But the thing to be proved is, that " there was always" a 
 bishop " in this monastery," besides the abbot, for discharg- 
 ing those ecclesiastical duties that did not belong to the 
 latter. It must, indeed, also be proved, that he was " Bishop 
 of Hy ; " for otherwise this diocese must be deemed, if not 
 " a monkish," at least a modern " dream." 
 
 The only thing besides, which has a shadow of proof on 
 this subject, is mentioned by Goodal. But it scarcely merits 
 a moment's consideration. " A bishop, called Adulphus My- 
 iensis ecclesiae episcopics, subscribes the canons of the Council 
 of Calcuith, A. D. dcclxxxv., where the learned are of 
 opinion, that, instead of Myiensis, it ought to be read Hyiensis 
 ecclesiae." But if there be no better proof, that there was 
 always a Bishop of Hii, than a supposed misnomer in a single 
 list of members of a synod which met more than a thousand 
 years ago, it is surely time to give iip the argument. It 
 would be fully as natural to suppose, that this was the 
 subscription of the Bishop of Mayo, in Ireland. For it ap- 
 pears that Mayo was accounted a bishopric before this time. 
 Bede observes, that, "in the language of the Scots," i.e. 
 Irish, it was " named Mageo ; " and that in his time it was 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 " usually called Muigeo." Usher says, " we commonly name 
 it Maio." He at the same time observes, that, in the Roman 
 Provinciale it is designed Mageo ; and that the last bishop 
 of this see, A. 1559, is called Magonensis Upiscopus. Mayen- 
 sis, however, is also used as the designation of the county. 
 
 Goodal seems to reckon it a sufficient reply to all the reason- 
 ing from the language of Bede, with respect to the authority 
 of this abbot, that " Adamnanus, who himself was Abbot of 
 Hii, tells us of Columba, the first abbot, that, having once 
 called up a bishop, whom he at first took to be only a priest, 
 to assist him at the consecration of the Eucharist, upon 
 discovering his character, he desired him to make use of the 
 privilege of his order in breaking the bread alone. 'We 
 now know,' says Columba, ' that you are a bishop ; why then 
 have you hitherto endeavoured to conceal yourself, and 
 hindered us from treating you with due respect and venera- 
 tion ? ' " 
 
 But this is undoubtedly of little weight, when opposed to 
 the strong testimony of Bede : especially as it rests on the 
 solitary assertion of a very credulous writer, whose work 
 almost entirely consists of miracles said to have been wrought 
 by the saint, of revelations made to him, or visions seen by 
 him. From the manner in which Adamnan relates this part 
 of the history, it appears that Columba discovered the bishop's 
 character miraculously, or by some supernatural impulse. 
 Over this Goodal prudently draws a veil ; lest, perhaps, he 
 should raise a laugh, at the expense of his countryman, for 
 laying claim, even in so early an age, to the wonderful 
 faculty of the second-sight. For, indeed, what is here 
 ascribed to Columba looks very like this. " The holy man," 
 says his biographer, " therefore approaching to the altar, and 
 suddenly casting a prying look on his [the bishop's] face, thus 
 addresses him ; ' Christ bless thee, brother. Do thou alone, 
 as being a bishop, break this bread after the episcopal mode. 
 Now we know that thou art a bishop," &c. 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 49 
 
 There must, indeed, be something very extraordinary in 
 the episcopal office, that a miracle was wrought in order 
 to make it known ; not to say that this presbyter, amidst 
 all his veneration, addresses the bishop with sufficient 
 familiarity. 
 
 Adamnan, we know, strained every nerve to reduce the 
 monks of Hii to catholic obedience ; and might therefore 
 deem it necessary to make their founder, Columba, speak 
 that language which was most grateful to the Church of 
 Rome. Such pious frauds have been. It is not improbable, 
 however, that this story may have been interpolated by some 
 monk in a later age. At any rate, all that can be inferred 
 from this solitary proof, is, not that Columba did not claim 
 an ecclesiastical jurisdiction over " bishops themselves," but 
 that he paid this respect to a stranger, who had come from 
 a distance, and did not belong to the province over which he 
 presided. That he was a stranger is undeniable ; for Adam - 
 nan calls him, de JVuminensium provincia proselytus. This, 
 as it is noted in the margin, is certainly an error for Momoni- 
 ensium. The same word is also written Muminensium, and 
 refers to the province of Munster, in Ireland, whence, it is 
 most probable, this stranger came. 
 
 There is great reason, indeed, for viewing this whole story 
 as a mere legend ; as it rests on the 'ground of its being 
 supposed that two presbyters were necessary for consecrating 
 the Eucharist. For this idea, however, there does not seem 
 to be the slightest foundation, from ecclesiastical history. 
 This privilege was denied to deacons. " St Hilary assures 
 us there could be no sacrifice, [such was the language of the 
 times], or consecration of the Eucharist, without a presbyter. 
 And St Jerome says the same, That presbyters were the only 
 persons whose prayers consecrated bread and wine into the 
 body and blood of Christ." 
 
 It may be added, that, if we could suppose this account 
 to be true, it would clearly shew that, notwithstanding all 
 
so HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 the strong assertions which have been made on this head, no 
 bishop, during the age of Columba, usually resided at lona. 
 Thus it proves rather more than the friends of diocesan epis- 
 copacy wish, as it destroys their own argument. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Account of the Ecclesiastical Government of the Culclees conti- 
 nued. — Of the Mission of Bishop Aiclan to the Northum- 
 hrians. — Mistranslations in the modern English Version of 
 Bcdc. — Of the Seniores at lona. — Whether the Term denoted 
 Bishops, or Presbyters ? — Whether the Culdean Government 
 resembled that of a modern University ? — Of Gillan's reason- 
 iTig. — If the Episcopal Missionaries to Northumbria were 
 amenable to the College of lona ? 
 
 Lloyd proceeds, in his attempt to prove that the Culdees 
 admitted a difference as to office between bishops and 
 presbyters, by referring to Bede's account of the mission of 
 Aidan to the Northumbrians. One, whose name is said to 
 have been Gorman, had been sent to them some time before. 
 But, from the austerity of his manners, not being acceptable 
 to them, he returned to his monastery at Hii. Here, "having 
 in a council of the seniors given an account of his ill 
 reception," says Llyod, "Aidan being then present and 
 discoursing well of the matter, all the seniors pitched upon 
 him, and judging him worthy to be a bishop, they decreed 
 that he ought to be sent ; it follows that so they ordained 
 him, and sent him." But the conclusion which he deduces 
 from this account is truly curious. "Then at least there 
 were present two bishops for Aidan's ordination ; and if the 
 see of Dunkeld was then founded, as old writers tell us, the 
 bishop of that place might make a third : or there might be 
 some other, of whom Bede had no occasion to tell us ; for he 
 could little think that ever it would come to be a question, 
 whether Aidan were ordained by bishops or by presbyters." 
 
 This is certainly as commodious a method of securing a 
 quorum of bishops for canonical ordination as ever was 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 devised. An appeal is made on one side of a question to a 
 passage in ancient history, in order to prove that there vyas 
 ordination merely by presbyters. On the other side, it is 
 inferred from the passage, although it makes not the least 
 mention of the presence of bishops, that there must have 
 been at least tvv'o, if not three, present ; — because, forsooth, 
 Aidan could not be regularly ordained without them. But 
 how does Bede overlook these superior, and indispensably 
 necessary, members of the council ? For a very sufficient 
 reason. The good man never once dreamed that in future 
 ages any one would be so foolish as to suppose that a person 
 would be ordained to the episcopal office, or to any clerical 
 office, without the imposition of the hands of bishops. That 
 very historian who has told us, in as express terms as human 
 language could supply, that " the whole province, and even 
 the very bishops," were subject to this Presbyter-Abbot, 
 could not imagine such an absurdity, as that it would be 
 inferred from his words that the power could possibly 
 originate where the subjection was due. Although he asserts 
 that it was " after an unusual manner," or " quite out of the 
 common order," that bishops should be subject to a presby- 
 ter ; how could it occur to him that any one would imagine 
 that their ordination might possibly be somewhat of the same 
 description ? 
 
 In the English version of Bede's history, printed A. 1723, 
 this passage is, in two instauces, rendered in such a way as 
 must tend to mislead the mere English reader. It is said 
 that, on the return of the former missionary, they "in a 
 great council seriously debated what was to be done." From 
 the language used, one would naturally suppose that this had 
 been a national council, called for the purpose ; or perhaps 
 something more than a mere national council, as including 
 delegates from the British, Irish, and Saxon churches; a 
 council in which bishops could hardly be wanting. But this 
 is a gross mistranslation, whether from design or not, I do 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES.. 53 
 
 not pretend to determine. It is surprising, howeA^er, that any 
 one who had ever read a sentence of Latin should find a 
 great council here. Bede merely says : " They begun, trac- 
 tatuni magnum in Consilio — habere, to treat fully," or " to 
 have much deliberation in the Council as to what should be 
 done." And what was this Consilium ? It appears to have 
 been merely the ordinary conventus of the presbyters or 
 seniors. King Alfred accordingly renders it, in his Anglo- 
 Saxon version, gemote, i.e. meeting. 
 
 Stapleton, the old translator of Bede, although warmly 
 attached to the Church of Rome, has rendered the passage in 
 a very different manner : — " He returned into his countre, 
 and in the assemble of the elders he made relation, how that 
 in teaching he could do the people no good to the which he 
 was sent, for as much as they were folkes that might not be 
 reclaymed, of a hard capacite, and fierce nature. Then the 
 elders (as they say) began in counsaile to treate at long what 
 were best to be done," &c. 
 
 There is another oversight in the modern version. " He 
 [Aidan] being found to be endued with singular discretion, 
 which is the mother of other virtues, and accordingly being 
 ordained, they sent him to their friend King Oswald to 
 preach." But the passage literally is : " Having heard this, 
 the faces and eyes of all who sat there were turned to him ; 
 they diligently weighed what he had said, and determined 
 that he was worthy of the episcopal office, and that he should 
 be sent to instruct the unbelieving and the illiterate, it being 
 proved that he was super-eminently endowed with the gift of 
 discretion, which is the mother of virtues : and thus ordain- 
 ing him, they sent him to preach." Nothing can be more 
 clear than that, according to Bede, the very same persons 
 who found him worthy of the episcopate, both ordained and 
 sent him. And who are these ? Undoubtedly, if there be any 
 coherence in the language of the venerable historian, they 
 were the all who sat there, or who constituted that conventual 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 meeting which has been magnified into a " great council.'' 
 For there is not the slightest indication of any change of 
 persons. Nay, they were the very same who had sent his 
 predecessor Gorman, and to whom he at this time returned, 
 and reported his want of success in the ministry. Having 
 received his mission from them, he, although clothed with 
 episcopal honours, considers himself as still subject to their 
 authority. He, therefore, like a faithful messenger returning 
 to those who had sent him, gives an account, both of his ill 
 reception and of the causes of it. As far as appears from the 
 narrative this council was held, not with any immediate 
 design of appointing a successor, but merely for receiving that 
 report from their former missionary, which it was his duty 
 to give, and which it belonged to them, as his judges, to 
 receive. 
 
 The old version gives no other view of the sense. " Al 
 that were at the assemble, looking vpon Aidan, debated dili- 
 gently his saying, and concluded that he above the rest was 
 worthy of that charge and bishopricke, and that he shoulde 
 be sent to instruct these vnlearned paynims. For he was 
 tried to be chiefely garnished with the grace of discretion, the 
 mother of all vertues. Thus making him bishop, they sent 
 him forthe to preach." 
 
 Thus, it undeniably appears, from the connection of the 
 history, that those who sat there were the Majores natu, or 
 Seniores, to whom King Oswald had made application ; the 
 very same persons who had sent Gorman, who received the 
 report of his mission, who passed a judgment on his conduct 
 in approving of what was said by Aidan concerning it, who 
 determined or decreed that Aidan was worthy of the episco- 
 pate, who ordained and who sent him. And who were these 
 persons ? Let the Bishop of St Asaph answer the question. 
 They were the " Senior Monks," as he designs them in one 
 place, or "a council of the Seniors," as he calls them in 
 another ; carefully distinguishing them from bishops, two of 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. SS 
 
 whom, he thinks, must have been " present for Aidan's ordi- 
 nation ; " although he is so very reasonable, that he will be 
 satisfied if we give him but one, for he says, " If more could 
 not be had, one might do it in case of necessity." But, as 
 we have no vestige of proof from the record, that so much as 
 one bishop was present, if all this was done by " a council of 
 Seniors," or Presbyters, how can the inference be avoided 
 that Aidan received presbyterial ordination ? 
 
 Gillan seems fully aware of the consequence. He, there- 
 fore, takes different ground. He will not, with Lloyd, hazard 
 the determination of the question on the bare possibility of 
 the presence of three, of two, or of a single bishop. He 
 invests all the Seniors with the episcopal dignity. " Oswald," 
 he says, " earnestly desiring the conversion of his subjects, 
 wrote to the Scottish bishops (designed here by Bede Majores 
 natu, and in the 5th Ch. Sentences, the very word by which 
 Tertullian designs bishopSj Apolog. c. 39) entreating that a 
 bishop, Antistes, might be sent to instruct his subjects." 
 Concerning the predecessor of Aidan, he adds that he " made 
 a report of his mission in a synod of the bishops and clergy, 
 by whom Aidanus was appointed his successor." 
 
 Thus the friends of episcopacy contradict each other, as to 
 the very meaning of the terms used by the ancient historian. 
 The writer last quoted can scarcely agree with himself. For, 
 in the course of two sentences, he gives two significations to 
 the same word. In the first he says that it is the bishops 
 who " are designed here — Seniores ; " in the second, he 
 enlarges the sense so as to include " the bishops and clergy." 
 That the place referred to was the island of Hii there can be 
 no doubt. Lloyd observes that here there could be but " one 
 bishop at a time," as having charge of the province. But Gillan, 
 in the first instance at least, finds as many bishops as there were 
 seniors. This sense of the word he attempts to confirm by 
 the authority of Tertullian, who, he says, designs bishops in 
 this manner. But he has chosen one of the most unfavour- 
 
S6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 able passages for the cause of episcopacy that he could have 
 found in the book. Speaking of the ministry of the gospel, 
 and of the exercise of discipline, TertuUian says : " Certain 
 approved seniors preside, being admitted to this honour, not 
 from the influence of money, but from character." His 
 commentator Pamelius, although a bigoted papist, never 
 thought of driving matters so far as our modern writer. For 
 he thus explains the passage : " But least this should be 
 believed to be a tumultuous assemby, these, he says, preside, 
 who by all the Greeks are called Presbyters, but by us 
 Seniors, not all, but those who are approved by the testimony 
 of all." 
 
 The term was used in the same sense in the Cyprianic age. 
 Hence Firmilian, an African bishop, in an epistle addressed 
 to Cyprian, speaking of the necessity of preserving unity in 
 doctrine, especially where there was a multitude of prophets, 
 or public teachers, says : " Wherefore it is found necessary 
 among us, that we, the seniors, and the presidents or bishops, 
 should annually meet together, for putting those things in 
 order which are committed to our care ; that, if any matters 
 are more important, they should be regulated by common 
 counsel," &c. The same Pamelius, as he supposes that this 
 epistle had been translated by Cyprian from Greek into Latin, 
 says : " It appears to me that what is in Greek Presbyters, 
 has been here rendered Seniors, in the same manner as the 
 name President is substituted for Bishop ; which, as it is still 
 used by Cyprian, frequently occurs in this epistle." 
 
 It is singular, that, in this very epistle, Firmilian also ap- 
 plies the other designation used by Bede, to the rulers of the 
 church. As used by him, it undoubtedly includes both the 
 seniores and the praepositi ; and shews that the church, in 
 his time, had not entertained an idea of excluding Presbyters 
 from the right of ordaining, any more than from that of 
 dispensing baptism. Speaking of heretics, he says : " They 
 can possess neither power nor grace, since all power and grace 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 57 
 
 are placed in the church, where the Majores natu, the seniors, 
 preside, who possess the power both of baptizing, and of the 
 imposition of hands and of ordination." 
 
 Gillan clearly perceived that the same persons are said 
 to judge Aidan to be worthy of being made a bishop, to ap- 
 point him, to ordain him, and to send him to preach the gospel 
 in Northnmbria. He therefore found it necessary to give 
 a new signification to Majores natu and Seniores. But, 
 conscious, perhaps, that this would not stand the test of ex- 
 amination, he endeavours to secure a retreat in the use of 
 the term ordained, as if it must necessarily denote the gift of 
 an office superior to that of a presbyter. " Now," says he, 
 " what can be the meaning of his being thought worthy of the 
 office of a bishop, and his being ordained ? Certainly he was 
 a presbyter before he was a monk of Hii, and a member of 
 the synod, and spoke and reasoned, and made a great figure 
 in it." But what assurance have we of this ? Bishop Lloyd 
 shews that many monks were laymen. Bede himself admits 
 that of the many who daily came from the country of the 
 Scots, into the provinces of the Angles over which Oswald 
 reigned, and entered the monasteries, only some were pres- 
 byters. He seems to say, that they all preached or acted as 
 catechists ; but that those only baptized who had received 
 the sacerdotal office. Having observed, that they instructed 
 the Angles in regular discipline, he adds : " For they were 
 for the most part monks who came to preach. Bishop Aidan 
 himself was a monk," &c. 
 
 As he had already distinguished those wlio had the sacer- 
 dotal office from such as were merely monks, there is great 
 rea,son to suppose that he means here to say, that Aidan had 
 been a mere monk before his ordination as bishop. 
 
 His speaking and reasoning, in what is called the Synod, 
 will not prove that he was a teaching Presbyter. He had 
 this right, as being a member of the college. His " making 
 a great figure " on this occasion proves nothing. For it ap- 
 
S8 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 pears to have been the first time that he made any figure ; 
 and that, before their meeting, they liad never viewed his 
 gifts as transcending those of his fellows, or once thought of 
 sending him on a mission. 
 
 Having considered every material exception to the import- 
 ant testimony of Bede, with respect to the unusual mode of 
 government observed at luna, I shall only further observe, 
 that it must appear to every one, who will be at the trouble 
 carefully and candidly to examine his testimony, that it is 
 not to be viewed as an incidental remark, in reference to the 
 territorial rights of the abbot or monastery ; but that, as he 
 introduces it when speaking of the mission of Aidan, he evi- 
 dently keeps it in his eye in the whole accoimt which he gives 
 of this mission. It is unquestionably meant as the key by 
 which we are to interpret all his singular modes of expres- 
 sion on this subject. 
 
 We have seen, that his modern English translator has used 
 considerable liberties with the text. l-3ut he had so much 
 candour as to acknowledge his dissatisfaction with the at- 
 tempts which had been made to invalidate the testimony 
 with respect to the " unusual order." " This," he says, " the 
 learned Primate Usher contradicts, and urges from the Ulster 
 Aimals his keeping a bishop always in his monastery ; 
 and his successor Adamnanus tells us, that he paid submis- 
 sion to a certain prelate upon breaking bread at the altar. 
 Adamnan. in vit. Columhi apud Canisii Antiqu. Tom. 5. Yet 
 this proves nothing against what Bede says." 
 
 Pennant gives a similar opinion. " In answer to this," he 
 says, " Archbishop Usher advances, that the power of the 
 abbot of lona was only local ; and extended only to the bishop 
 who resided there. — But notwithstanding this, the vene- 
 rable Bede seems to be a stronger authority, than the Ulster 
 Annals quoted by the archbishop, wliich pretend no more 
 than that a bishop had always resided at lona [i.e. according 
 to Usher's inference from them], without even an attempt 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE CULDEES. 59 
 
 to refute the positive assertion of the most respectable author 
 we have (relating to church matters) in those primitive times." 
 
 But this is not all. I have said, that Bede still keeps this 
 point, of the peculiarity of the ecclesiastical government at 
 lona, in his eye, when giving an account of the mission to 
 the Angles. What he says, in the fifth chapter of his third 
 book, concerning the choice, mission, and ordination of 
 Aidan, in the meeting of the Seniors, has been particularly 
 considered; and also his testimony, in the chapter imme- 
 diately preceding, concerning the more inudtato. We must 
 allow the ancient writer to be the best interpreter of his own 
 language. Having asserted, that the " bishops themselves " 
 were subject to the monastery of Hij, he immediately pro- 
 ceeds more fully to shew the reason of this ; — that they derived 
 all their authority from this monastery. It is in the third 
 chapter, that he enters on the subject of Aidan's mission. 
 Here, after relating that, in consequence of his settlement at 
 Lindisfarne, many of the Scots entered this province, preach- 
 ed the word with great zeal, and administered baptism, 
 those, to wit, who were admitted to the rank of priests ; he sub- 
 joins, that churches were erected, and lands appropriated for 
 establishing monasteries. " For they were chiefly monks," he 
 says, "who came to preach. Bishop Aidan himself was a 
 monk, forasmuch as he was sent from the island which is called 
 Hii ; the monastery of which for a long time held the supre- 
 macy among almost all the monasteries of the Northern Scots, 
 and those of all the Picts, and presided in the government of 
 their people." In Alfred's Anglo-Saxon version, it is Ealdor- 
 dom and heanesse onfeng. We see in what light this excel- 
 lent prince understood the language of the historian. " It 
 received the principality and exaltation." 
 
 This sentence supplies us with an incontestable proof of 
 the sense in which we are to understand the unusual subjec- 
 tion mentioned in the following chapter. It is to be under- 
 stood, as given, not to the Presbyter- Abbot exclusively, but 
 
6o HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 to the Abbot in conjunction with the Seniors. For the supre- 
 macy is, in the third chapter, ascribed to the Monastery. The 
 last clause of the sentence fully determines the nature of the 
 subjection. It could not be temporal, or referring to territo- 
 rial right. For the monastery of Hii not only held the su- 
 premacy amongst the monasteries, but " presided in the go- 
 vernment of their people," i.e. not the inhabitants of these 
 monasteries, but the subjects of the Scottish and Pictish 
 thrones. Their jurisdiction, of course, must have been solely 
 ecclesiastical. 
 
 Stapleton could have no other view of the passage. For 
 he thus translates it : " The house of his religion was no small 
 time the head house of all the monasteries of the northern 
 Scottes and of abbyes of all the Kedshankes, [the term by 
 which he translates pidormn,] and had the soueraintie in 
 ruling of their people." 
 
 It has been urged, that we can conclude nothing, from 
 this unusual authority, against the establishment of episco- 
 pacy in Scotland, because the government of Oxford is vested 
 in the university, exclusively of the bishop who resides 
 there. But the cases are by no means parallel. For, 1. The 
 government of the whole province was vested in the abbot 
 or college of monks. It has been said indeed, that the kings 
 of England " might have extended the power of the univer- 
 sity " of Oxford " through the whole diocess, had they pleased, 
 and that it would not have been a suppressing of the order 
 of bishops." But, not to .say that such a co-ordinate power 
 would have been extremely galling to the episcopate, it has 
 been proved that the power of the monastery extended far 
 beyond the limits which Bishop Lloyd has assigned to the 
 pretended diocese of Hii. 2. The power itself is totally 
 different. Although the Bishop of Oxford be subject to the 
 university in civil matters, as well as the other inhabitants 
 of that city ; what estimate would he form of the pretensions 
 of that learned body, were they to claim a right of preced- 
 
BISHOPS AMONG THE CULDEES. 6i 
 
 ence, regendis poptdis, in governing all the people of his 
 diocese ; and, as a proof of the nature of the government, the 
 same which Bede gives, of sending forth missionaries to teach, 
 to baptize, and to plant churches ? The bishop, I apprehend, 
 would rather be disposed to view this as a virtual " sup- 
 pressing of the order." 
 
 The supposition has been otherwise stated with respect to 
 an university. It has been said : " When a bishop is head 
 of a college, in any of the universities, (which has frequently 
 happened) he must be subject to the jurisdiction of the 
 Vice-chancellor, though only a priest, and perhaps one of 
 his own clergy." In reply, it has been properly enquired : 
 "Were the bishops of Lindisfairn no otherwise subject to 
 the monastery of Icolmkill, than the head of a college in any 
 of the universities, becoming afterwards a bishop, must be 
 subject to the jurisdiction of the Vice-chancellor, who may 
 be a priest in his own diocess ? Were they not ordained and 
 sent by the monastery to be bishops of that kingdom, and 
 even then subject to the monastery ? The cases must, in- 
 deed, be viewed as totally dissimilar ; unless it can be shewn, 
 that the head of a college may be " sent, ordained, and 
 consecrated to be a bishop of any diocese in England," and 
 yet " continue subject to the university " from which he was 
 sent. 
 
 It had been observed, in the vindication of Sir James 
 Dalrymple's Collections, that the bishops sent to Lindisfarne 
 could not " expect the ordinary concurrence of the abbot and 
 college, because of the distance;" that they brought ecclesi- 
 astics with them from Hii, and that others came afterwards, 
 to assist them in the conversion of the Saxons; and that 
 those who left their bishoprics among the Saxons returned to 
 Hii. Gillan attempts to turn aside the force of these 
 observations by saying that " the Abbot's commands might 
 have been transmitted more easily and safely from Hii to 
 Holy Island, than from thence to the north of Ireland, if we 
 
 5 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 consider the boisterous sea, and the uncertainty of wind and 
 waves ; " and by asking, with respect to the teachers, 
 "Whence could they have got them but from Hii ?" and as 
 to their retreat, " Whither should they go rather than to 
 their own monastery ? " But he seems in this instance to 
 pay little regard to the history of the times ; and entirely to 
 overlook the intrepid spirit of the early inhabitants of the 
 western islands and maritime coast, who were accustomed to 
 venture to sea in such vessels as would now be deemed 
 scarcely sufficient for crossing a river. We may well suppose 
 that the intercourse by land from Hii to North umbria was 
 frequently interrupted by the wars between the Picts and 
 Scots, or between the latter and the Cumbrian Britons. We 
 know that, in the year 642, which falls within the thirty 
 years allotted to the mission to Lindisfarne, Donald Brec, 
 King of Dalriada, or of the Scots, was slain in battle by 
 Hoan, or Owen, King of Cumbria. Now the missionaries 
 from Hii could not go by land without passing through the 
 Cumbrian territory, unless they had taken a very circuitous 
 course. 
 
 From the poverty of our materials relating to this dark 
 and distant period, it cannot reasonably be supposed that 
 every difficulty which an ingenious mind may suggest can be 
 fully obviated. But there seems to be sufficient ground for 
 concluding that the missionaries sent to Lindisfarne were, 
 even in the character of public teachers, amenable to the 
 college at lona. If they were not, they were completely 
 independent : for they did not acknowledge subjection to the 
 successors of Augustine, bishop, or archbishop, of Canterbury. 
 Is it natural to imagine that the abbot and monks of lona, 
 who were so jealous of their superiority in other respects, 
 would consent to send so many of their clergy into Northum- 
 bria, if they were from that moment released from all 
 subjection, unless they chose again to submit to the mere 
 monastic rule ? It appears that Oswald, partly from early 
 
CULDEAN GOVERNMENT. 63 
 
 prejudice, as being himself educated at Hii, and partly 
 perhaps from political motives, did not wish that the clergy 
 in his kingdom should have any connection with a see that 
 depended on a foreign authority. 
 
 In another point of view, it is hardly credible that the 
 college at Hii would renounce all authority over these 
 missionaries. When King Oswald applied to them for a 
 bishop, it was not to preside over a church already organized, 
 but to plant a church among a people, who, as the learned 
 writer acknowledges, were "in a state of paganism." Now, 
 has it been usual in any church, whether of the episcopalian 
 or presbyterian form, that those who received a mission to 
 preach the gospel to the heathen should be henceforth 
 viewed as quite independent of the authority of those who 
 sent them ? Besides, their being supplied with co-adjutors in 
 the ministry from lona must, by all candid enquirers, be 
 considered as a proof of their continued dependence on that 
 monastery. In a word, although we should plead nothing 
 from the return of several of the bishops, the report which 
 they gave of their conduct on their return to that very 
 conventus Seniorum by which they had been sent must 
 certainly be viewed as an incontestable evidence of their 
 continued subjection, not as monks, but as missionaries.- For 
 the elders in their meeting did not merely receive such a 
 report, but proceeded to judge of the conduct of the person, 
 evidently claiming a right to inflict censure, if they judged it 
 necessary. 
 
 We have one instance, at any rate, of the censure of 
 reprehension, not only expressed by one member of this 
 conventus, but evidently approved by all the rest. It is 
 worthy of observation, indeed, that when the first bishop who 
 had been sent to Lindisfarne returned on account of his want 
 of success, and related this to the college of Hii, they acted 
 precisely in such a manner as we would suppose persons to 
 do who viewed themselves as having an inspection of Lindis- 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 fame. We have no evidence from Bede that there was 
 either any complaint made by Oswald against the missionary, 
 whose name, it is said, was Gorman, or any application from 
 Oswald for a successor. The Seniors seem to have held a 
 council immediately on Gorman's return, and had much 
 deliberation, or reasoning, as to what should be done, the 
 result of which was, that they sent Aidan to Lindisfarne. 
 Nothing can be more evident than that they acted as persons 
 who were authorized to supply this vacancy. 
 
 The same writer asserts that " the Scots and Britons at the 
 coming of Augustine into Britain, and for a long time 
 thereafter, differed in nothing from the Church of Eome, but 
 only in the observation of Easter, and a few rites and 
 ceremonies." He afterwards admits that, according to Bede, 
 Augustine denmnded that they should " preach the word of 
 God together with him, i.a own him as their archbishop, and 
 consequently the Bishop of Rome as the Patriarch of the 
 western church : for the Pope had not as yet claimed the 
 supremacy over the whole Gatholic Church. He knew they 
 embraced the same faith as himself." 
 
 Here we discern the true spirit of those old episcopalians, 
 with whom the writer was connected. The attachment of 
 many of them to Rome was far stronger than to any class of 
 Protestants who did not acknowledge the divine right of 
 episcopacy. But was it nothing for the " Scots and Britons " 
 to receive a foreigner imposed on them in a character which 
 they had never recognised, by an Italian priest whose claims 
 they had never learned to acknowledge ? Be it so, that the 
 Bishop of Rome had not yet assumed the title of Universal ; 
 was it a matter in which faith was nowise concerned, to 
 withstand the workings of "the mystery of iniquity," to 
 oppose " the Man of sin " in every step that he took towards 
 his exaltation ? This writer's idea of " the faith of the 
 saints," whatever he might think of their "patience," is 
 certainly very different from that of John the Divine. 
 
ROMANISTS AND CULDEES. 65 
 
 Augustine held the synod referred to in the year 603. Before 
 this time, towards the close of the preceding century, there 
 had been a violent contest between the Bishop of Constanti- 
 nople and the Bishop of Eome, with respect to the claim to 
 this imposing title : and it was only three years after the 
 meeting of this synod, or in the year 606, that the tyrant 
 Phocas, by an imperial edict, gave it to the Bishop of Eome, 
 settling the supremacy on him and his successors. If it was 
 not unpardonable presumption in such obscure men as the 
 clergy of " the Britons and Scots " to pretend to judge of a 
 question of this nature ; if they ever meant to oppose the 
 encroachments of the great usurper, surely there was no 
 time to be lost. 
 
 But whatever the warm adherents of aia exiled and popish 
 family, in this country, might think of the conduct of our 
 ancestors ; or what inference soever they might deduce from 
 the language of Bede ; we have a very diiTerent testimony 
 from the pen of a celebrated Lutheran of another country, 
 who may be viewed as an impartial judge on this subject, 
 tmless we suppose that he, as well as Sir James Dalrymple, 
 was blinded by his sincere attachment to the Protestant 
 cause. " The ancient Britons and Scots," he says, " persisted 
 long in the maintenance of their religious liberty; and 
 neither the threats nor promises of the legates of Eome 
 could engage them to submit to the decrees and authority 
 of the ambitious pontif, as appears manifestly from the 
 testimony of Bede." 
 
 Gillan seems to view it as no inconsiderable concession 
 which he makes to the ancient " Britons and Scots,'' when 
 he admits that the adherents of Eome did not " think them 
 hereticks." But the Britons and Scots treated them as such, 
 and therefore refused to have any fellowship with them ; as 
 may be afterwards demonstrated. 
 
 It may be added, that, what judgment soever the Eomanists 
 formed of the Britons, the latter had no reason to think fa- 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 vourably of them. Let us hear the evidence of one, who was 
 himself an archbishop and a warm friend of episcopacy, 
 concerning Augustine. " Whilest he strove to conform the 
 British churches to the Eomane in rites ecclesiastic, and to 
 have himself acknowledged for the only Archbishop of Britain, 
 he did cast the church into a sea of troubles. After divers 
 conferences, and much pains taken by him to perswade the 
 Britons into conformity, when he could not prevail, he made 
 offer, that, if they would yield to minister baptisme, and ob- 
 serve Easter according to the Eomane manner, and be assist- 
 ing to him in reforming the Saxons, for all other things they 
 should be left to their ancient customs. But they refusing 
 to make any alteration, he fell a threatening, and said. That 
 they who would not have peace with their brethren, should 
 finde warre with their enemies. This falling out, as he fore- 
 told (for Ed elf rid, King of Northumberland, invading them 
 with a strong army, slew at one time 1200 monks that were 
 assembled to pray for the safety of their countrymen) made 
 Augustine to be suspected of the murder, and did purchace 
 him a great deal of hatred : whether he foreknew the practice 
 or not, is uncertain, but shortly after the murder of these 
 monks, he himself died." 
 
 The monks referred to were chiefly those of Bangor, in 
 Wales. Their abbot Dinoth was sacrificed with them. Bede 
 represents this calamity as the effect of the prophecy deli- 
 vered by the pious Augustine. But there is every reason to 
 believe that the prediction was founded on a predetermined 
 plan. As there had been a previous conference with these 
 monks. Archbishop Parker, speaking of what Bede relates 
 concerning Augustine's prediction, as if the war had been a 
 divine judgment in completion of it, says : " It is more 
 probable that he, having taken counsel with King Ethelbert, 
 not only knew of the war, but was himself the cause of it. 
 For he lived in the greatest familiarity with that king, at 
 whose persuasion and instigation Edelfrid brought this de- 
 
THE CULDEES AND ST AUGUSTINE. 67 
 
 struction on the Britons. It is affirmed, indeed, that in the 
 first conference concerning these rites, Augustine, when he 
 saw that the monlvs would not be persuaded, uttered liis 
 threatening : hence it is not improbable, that war was pre- 
 pared against the Britons, if they should not comply in the 
 second meeting. Some also assert, that Augustine met the 
 kings at Caer-leon, when prepared for that battle." 
 
 Later popish writers, in order to exculpate Augustine, have 
 attempted to shew that he was dead before this battle was 
 fought : and, as we now have the Latin of Bede's history, it 
 would seem that this worthy writer had said so. But the proof 
 is evidently an interpolation. For there is not a word on this 
 subject in the Saxon version ; whence there is reason to con- 
 clude, that, in the time of Alfred the Great, by whom this ver- 
 sion was made, this apology for the Eoman missionary had not 
 been devised. The language of Bede, indeed, shews how far he 
 was bUnded by his zeal for conformity to Eome. "And thus,'' 
 he says, " was the prediction of the holy pontif Augustine ful- 
 filled, though he had himself been long before removed to the 
 heavenly kingdom, that these perfidious men might feel the 
 vengeance of temporal destruction, because they had despised 
 the counsels of eternal salvation offered to them." It is 
 said by Amandus Xierixiensis, a friar Minorite, apparently of 
 Xeres in Spain, that " this war was raised against the Britons 
 on account of their disobedience to St Augustine ; because the 
 Saxons, who had been converted to Christianity, were resolved 
 to subject the Britons to his authority." 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 Continuation of the Account of the Ecclesiastical Government 
 of the Culdees. — Bishop Lloyd's View of the Ordination of 
 Finan. — Of that of Caiman. — Bedc's Account of the Ordina- 
 tion of Aidan. — Of the Episcopate of Cedd. — Of the Con- 
 version of the Saxons hy Scots. — Testimony of the Saxon 
 Chronicle. 
 
 I HAVE attentively considered all the principal exceptions 
 which have been made, not only to the argument from Bede's 
 assertion with respect to the government of Hii, but to that 
 from the account which he has given of the designation, 
 ordination, and mission of Aidan. His successor Finan had 
 no higher authority. But it is not surprising, that the friends 
 of episcopacy, after using so much liberty with the testimony 
 of the ancient historian, should exibit a similar claim with 
 respect to the appointment of Finan. This has been done by 
 Bishop Lloyd in the following language : " After Aidan 's 
 death, Finan ' succeeded him in his bishopric, and in his stead 
 received the degree of episcopacy,' saith Bede, again using the 
 same expression, meaning (I suppose) that he received a 
 degree higher than what he had before when he was priest." 
 
 Supposition is often of signal use, when there is a deficiency 
 of evidence. There is obviously no foundation for the suppo- 
 sition which is here made. In neither of the passages referred 
 to, does Bede insinuate that he meant any such thing. His 
 language is : " But Finan succeeded him in the episcopate ; 
 and to this he was appointed from Hii, an island and mo- 
 nastery of the Scots." "Bishop Aidan being dead, Finan 
 in his stead received the degree of bishopric, being ordained 
 and sent by the Scots." When Bede says, that Finan " was 
 appointed to this from Hii — a monastery of the Scots," he 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 69 
 
 undoubtedly ineaus that he received all that was included in 
 his destination, or connected with it, from the college there, 
 from the very persons whom he elsewhere denominates Se- 
 niors. He received no other " degree of episcopacy," as far 
 as we can learn from Bede, than what consisted in an ordina- 
 tion aud mission by these presbyters. It appears, indeed, that 
 he had no other ordination, or consecration, than Aidan had 
 before him. 
 
 I need scarcely add, that Lloyd makes the same attempt 
 as to Colman, who succeeded Finan, saying, from Bede, that 
 he "was a bishop of Scotland;" and that "the Scots sent 
 him bishop to Lindisfarne." But all that can be proved, is, 
 that Colman received a mission from the monks of lona. 
 
 The mode in which the venerable writer expresses himself 
 concerning the mission of Aidan, wlio was a great favourite 
 with him, may, I think, fairly be viewed as a key to all that 
 he elsewhere says on the subject of these missions. His words, 
 from their very place, claim peculiar attention. For they 
 constitute the link between the account he has previously 
 given of the appointment of Aidan, nay, of the peculiar 
 model of ecclesiastical government at Hii, and the more parti- 
 cular narrative that he proceeds to give, both of the circum- 
 stances which led to the nomination of Aidan, and of those 
 which attended it. Having described the unusual government 
 at Hii, he says : " From this island, therefore, from the college 
 of these monks, was Aidan sent to the province of the Angles, 
 who were to be initiated into the Christain faith, having 
 received the degree of the episcopate. At which time 
 Segenius presided over this monastery, as Abbot and Pres- 
 byter." 
 
 If ever a writer, friendly to episcopacy, as Bede certainly 
 was, had occasion to guard his language, as far as he could 
 do it consistently with truth, this was the place. Having, a' 
 few sentences before, described the pecuKarity of the govern- 
 ment, having said that the head of this college was not a 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 bishop, but a presbyter ; if Bede knew that, iKjtwithstaudiiig 
 all the ordinations mentioned were by bishops, it was scarcely 
 possible for him to avoid giving this caveat to his reader. 
 But his whole language is so laid, as to appear a designed 
 and formal confirmation of what he had said with respect to 
 their singular administration. " Therefore," says he, on the 
 ground of this very peculiarity, Aidan, whatever authority he 
 had, received it not from bishops, but from " the college of 
 these monks." Can his language be reasonably subjected to 
 any other interpretation ? But, does not Bede say, that Aidan 
 "received the degree of episcopacy?" Yes; but, if there 
 be any sense or connection in his language, he must have 
 meant, that it was such episcopacy as presbylers could confer ; 
 an episcopacy, in conferring which none had any hand, who 
 enjoyed a higher order than Segenius. Else why does he 
 add, " At which time, Segenius, abbot and presbyter, pre- 
 sided over this monastery ?" It would, certainly, have been 
 far more natural to have told what bishops joined in confer- 
 ring this degree. 
 
 Bishop Lloyd has been at considerable pains to prove, that 
 all those, who were called bishops among the Saxons, received 
 episcopal ordination. I do not see how it can fairly be de- 
 nied, that, in one instance, the language of Bede can admit 
 of no other interpretation. Having mentioned, that Cedd 
 the presbyter had been sent to preach the word to the East- 
 Saxons, he says, that '' Bishop Finan, seeing his success in 
 the work of the gospel, and having called to him two other 
 bishops for the ministry of ordination, made him bishop 
 over the nation of the East-Saxons :" adding, that he, accepto 
 gradu episcopatus, " having received the degree of episcopacy, 
 returned to the province; and, majore, auctoritate, with 
 greater authority, fulfilled the work which he had begun, 
 erected churches in different places, ordained presbyters and 
 deacons, who might assist him in the word of faith, and in 
 the ministry of baptism." 
 
THE CULDEES AND ORDINATION. 71 
 
 But, though the accuracy of this statement be admitted, it 
 will by no means prove, that the episcopal mode of ordination 
 was received in the northern part of Britain. This cannot be 
 believed, in direct opposition to that e\'ideuce from facts which 
 has been already exhibited. How then, may it be said, can 
 we account for the difference as to the mode of ordination in 
 the two countries ? The difficulty may, at least partly, be 
 solved, by supposing that the Church of Kome had greater 
 influence among the Saxons than in North-Britain. About 
 half-a-century before the ordination of Cedd, Augustine had 
 been sent to Britain by Pope Gregory, for the purpose of sub- 
 jecting it more effectually to his usurped domination. He 
 had expressly ordained Mellitus to preach the gospel to the 
 East-Saxons. 
 
 It is evident, that Augustine was extremely zealous for the 
 episcopal dignity ; for, before his death, he ordained Laurence 
 as his successor, " lest upon his death," we are told, " the state 
 of the church, as yet so unsettled, might begin to falter if it 
 should be destitute of a pastor, though but for one hour : hi 
 which he followed the example of the first pastor of the 
 Church, the most blessed prince of the apostles, Peter, who, 
 having founded the Church of Christ at Eome, is said to have 
 consecrated Clement his assistant in preaching the gospel, 
 and at the same time his successor." According to Bede^ 
 indeed, Augustine had the dignity of an archbishop, and 
 conferred the same on Laurence ; although this is disputed 
 by some writers of the episcopal persuasion, who assert that 
 there was no such title in the western church at that time. 
 
 We also learn from Bede that " King Ethelbert built the 
 church of St Paul, in the city of London, where Mellitus and 
 his successors were to have their episcopal see." Thus every 
 thing was cast, as far as possible, into the Eoman mould. 
 
 Although the East-Saxons made a profession of the faith 
 for some time, they apostatised, and expelled Melhtus. It 
 was to the very same people that Pinan afterwards sent 
 
HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Gedd : and it seems highly probable that these Saxons, 
 having been formerly accustomed to the greater pomp of that 
 episcopacy which had been introduced by Augustine, might, 
 upon their return to the profession of Christianity, refuse 
 that submission to Cedd which they had formerly gi\'en to 
 Mellitus ; and might urge the necessity of his receiving that 
 ordination which alone they had been taught to consider' as 
 canonical. Now, though we have seen that Finan himself 
 had only that more humble ordination which was usually 
 conferred in the island of lona, he might judge it expedient, 
 in the appointment of a successor to Mellitus, so far to 
 comply with the prejudices of the people to whom he was 
 sent as to ordain him by the imposition of the hands of the 
 bishops. But, though he might deem such a compliance 
 expedient, there is no satisfactory evidence that he viewed 
 the office of bishop as essentially different from that of a 
 presbyter. For, had he done so, he would have denied the 
 validity of his own orders ; and he could never pretend to 
 take any share in conferring on anotlier a power which he did 
 not himself possess. Besides, it is admitted by Lloyd that 
 when Bede says that Cedd was ordained by the Scots, we 
 must understand the passage as intimating that the bishops 
 whom Finan called in to assist him in ordination were also 
 Scots. If so, they must have had the same ordination with 
 Finan, that is, ordination by the presbyterial college of lona. 
 Here, surely, there could be no canonical transmission of the 
 episcopal dignity. It would appear, therefore, that Finan 
 viewed the difference as lying more in name than in anything 
 else ; as this designation, from the influence of prejudice, was 
 reckoned more honorable than that of Presbyter. 
 
 It is true, indeed, that Bede speaks of Cedd as deriving 
 greater authority from his episcopal ordination, and as 
 ordaining presbyters and deacons in consequence of it. But 
 it may naturally enough be supposed that the ecclesiastical 
 historian expresses himself according to his own prejudices. 
 
THE CULDEES AND ORDINATION. 73 
 
 and the general sentiments of the age in which he wrote. 
 
 Lloyd I'eprusents the great distinction between bishops and 
 presbyters, even in the period referred to, as lying in the 
 right of ordination ; as if this had constituted the chief part 
 of their work. But the humble monks of Hii had a very 
 different view of matters. They considered preaching as the 
 principal work of a bishop. Hence, according to Bede, Colman 
 " was appointed to the preaching of the Word to the nation 
 of the Angles." 
 
 It is admitted by Lloyd, that " if the Scots were governed 
 only by presbyters, then (Jedd was made a bishop by pres- 
 byters ; which is all," he subjoins, " that our adversaries 
 would have. But what if Cedd was ordained by no other 
 than bishops : Then Bede's saying, any one was ordained by 
 the Scots, will not argue that he was ordained by Scottish 
 presbyters ; nay, it will argue the contrary, unless our adver- 
 saries can bring at least one instance of a Scottish ordination 
 by presbyters." Because Bede says that Cedd was " ordained 
 by the Scots," referring to his ordination, mentioned above, 
 by bishops of that nation, he deduces this general conclusion, 
 that always when we read of one being ordained by the Scots, 
 we are bound to believe that the persons who conferred 
 ordination were diocesan bishops. This is, indeed, in the 
 boldest manner, to infer a universal conclusion from parti- 
 cular premises. I do not say that it can be justly denied 
 that this is Bede's meaning in the passage referred to : but I 
 must reject the inference. For, although a historian in one 
 instance uses a phrase in a different sense from that in which 
 it is commonly used by him, we are not bound to understand 
 it everywhere else in direct contrariety to the connection. 
 Although Bede says that " the venerable bishop Cedd was, 
 ordinatus a Scottis, ordained by the Scots," this is something 
 very different from what, as we have already seen, he asserts 
 concerning Aidan, Finan, Colman, and others, who are 
 not only said to have been "ordained by the Scots," but 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 to have received all the ordiiiati<in they ever had before they 
 left Hii ; nay, to have been ordained and sent by Presbyters. 
 
 It ought also to be observed that Bede, when speaking of 
 the episcopate, describes it only by the term gradus, and not 
 by any one expression of difference of ofRce or order. Now, 
 it is well known that many learned men, who have opposed 
 diocesan episcopacy, have admitted that the term bishop was 
 very early used in the cliurch, as denoting a distinction with 
 respect to degree, while the office was held to be essentially 
 the same. In what sense this distinction has been made may 
 be afterwards explained. 
 
 It deserves also to be mentioned tliat, how little soever 
 some now think of Scottish orders, it is evident, from the 
 testimony of the most ancient and most respectable historian 
 of South-Britain, that by means of Scottish missionaries, or 
 those whom they had instructed or ordained, not only the 
 Northumbrians, but the Middle-Angles, the Mercians, and 
 East-Saxons, all the way to the river Thames, that is, the 
 inhabitants of by far the greatest part of the country now 
 called England, were converted to Christianity. It is equally 
 evident that for some time they acknowledged subjection to 
 the ecclesiastical government of the Scots ; and that the only 
 reason why the latter lost their influence was that their 
 missionaries chose rather to give up their charges than to 
 submit to the prevailing influence of the Church of Eome, to 
 which the Saxons of the West and of Kent had subjected 
 themselves. 
 
 The Saxon Chronicle, under the year 560, supplies us with 
 an additional proof of the nature of the ecclesiastical govern- 
 ment of lona, in perfect consonancy to the account given of 
 it by Bede, a proof which, notwithstanding the attempts that 
 have been made to invalidate it, appears absolutely irre- 
 fragable. I shall give the sense -of the passage as literally 
 as possible. " Columba, Presbyter, came to the Picts, and 
 converted them to the faith of Christ, those, I say, who live 
 
CONVERSION OF SAXONS BY SCOTS. 75 
 
 near the northern moors; and their king gave them that 
 island which is commonly called li. In it, as it is reported, 
 there are live hides [of land], on which Columba erected a 
 monastery ; and he himself resided there as abbot thirty-two 
 years, where he also died when seventy years of age. This 
 place is still held by his successors. The Southern Picts, long 
 before this time, had been baptised by Bishop Ninian, who 
 was trained up at Eome. His church and monastery are at 
 Whiterne, consecrated in honour of St Martin, where he rests 
 with many other holy men. Thenceforth there ought to be 
 always in li an Abbot, but no Bishop ; and to him ought all 
 the Scottish Bishops to be subject ; for this reason, that Co- 
 lumba was an Abbot, not a Bishop." 
 
 This proof is so strong and distinct, as scarcely to need 
 illustration. Bishop Lloyd discovers great anxiety to over- 
 throw it : but, to every candid reader, his attempts must 
 appear extremly feeble. He supposes, that from the " words 
 of Bede,'' (which we have formerly considered) " not rightly 
 understood," this note has been " inserted into the later copies 
 of the Saxon Chronicle." This, however, forcibly reminds one 
 of the Socinian mode of reasoning. It is well known, that, 
 when writers of this class are much puzzled with any passage 
 of scripture, which opposes their system, they raise the cry of 
 interpolation. 
 
 It might justly be asserted, that, here there is so great a 
 difference, both in the mode of expression, and as to some 
 circumstances mentioned, that no room is left for supposing 
 that the annalist copied from Bede. But, although the 
 bishop's conjecture were well founded, it would not at all 
 invalidate the evidence. Let us even suppose for a moment 
 that this passage has been inserted some time after the year 
 850, as he imagines ; was this too late to know the model of 
 government at lona ? Had not many of her delegates officiated 
 in England, in the two preceding centuries. If Bede had 
 expressed himself inaccurately, had not abundance of time 
 
y6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 elapsed, for enabling later writers to guard against a similar 
 mistake ? Whether was a writer, let us say, a century after 
 the death of Bade, or Lloyd, a thousand years after him, 
 best qualiiied to understand Bede's meaning ? If this in- 
 sertion was made so late, as by this time episcopacy had 
 gained far more strength, is it not natural to think that a 
 writer, immediately attached to the Church of Rome, would 
 be so much the more on his guard as to the language which 
 he used ? 
 
 But what the Bishop of St Asaph at first only supposes, he 
 a little downwards roundly asserts. " These words of the 
 Saxon Chronicle,'' he says, " A. 560, were all put in by a 
 later hand. For the old Saxon Chronicle has nothing of 
 Columba in that year." What he means by " the old Saxon 
 Chronic'Jer' I cannot easily conjecture. He could not refer 
 to Wheeloc's edition, A. 1644. The learned Bishop Gibson, 
 indeed, who published his in the year 1692, informs us in his 
 preface, that Wheeloc had given his copy from two very 
 imperfect MSS., both evidently written by the same hand, 
 which contained merely fragments of the genuine Chronicle. 
 Gibson's edition, from which I have quoted, was given to the 
 public, only as the result of the most accurate investigation 
 of the best MSS. In this work he had the assistance of the 
 very learned Hickes, the first Saxon scholar that this country 
 has produced. But even Wheeloc gives the controverted 
 passage. Lloyd must therefore refer to some imperfect MS., 
 containing merely an abstract. 
 
 He pretends that this passage must be an insertion, made 
 " some time after the year 850," from what is said '' concern- 
 ing the Picts, that they dwelt at that time in the North 
 Moores ;" as '• it was about that year that the Picts were con- 
 quered by the Scots, and till then they continued in their old 
 habitation." I need scarcely say, that the idea of the Picts 
 being expelled by the Scots is now almost universally viewed 
 in the same light in which the history of the government 
 
CONVERSIOxN OF SAXONS BY SCOTS. Tj 
 
 of the Culdees appears to the bishop, as "a iiumkish dream." 
 This is, indeed, the proper distincliou of the Northern Picts 
 in the earliest period of their history. The hmguage might, 
 perhaps, he more properly translated, " near the northern 
 mountains." The term occurs frequently in this sense in 
 Alfred's translation of Bede ; as. In liemjum monmn ; in 
 excelsis montibus; lib. iv. c. 27. Gibson lias improperly 
 rendered it by 'paluiJcs, as if it signified marshes ; in which 
 sense it is also used. They are said to live " near the high 
 mountains," because they are separated from the Southern 
 I'icts by the Grampians : and this is the very description of 
 those Picts who were more immediately subject to the college 
 of lona. 
 
 It is evident that the writer, unless he meant to act as a 
 base intei-polator, must have lived before the date assigned. 
 For he speaks of the monastery of Hii as still retaining its 
 dignity and power. Nor can it be reasonably supposed that 
 any subsequent writer would have made such an attempt ; 
 as he could have no end to serve by it, and the forgery must 
 soon have been discovered. 
 
 I shall only add that Lloyd takes no notice of the different 
 account which the Chronicler gives of the ecclesiastical 
 government of the Southei'n Picts. For the contrast would 
 have enfeebled, if it had not overthrown, his objection. The 
 ancient annalist evidently knew well what lie was writing. 
 But observe the opposition stated. " In Hii there must be 
 always an Abbot, not a Bishop." He seems to give the ^■ery 
 ground of the difference in what he says of Ninian. He "had 
 his education at Piome." 
 
 Henry of Huntingdon, a writer of high respectability who 
 flourished about the year 1140, has given a similar testimony. 
 His language so nearly resembles that of Bede that it may 
 perhaps be said that he has transcribed from him. But it 
 can hardly be supposed that a writer of his description would 
 implicitly receive anything merely on tlie testimony of 
 
 6 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 another. It would appear that he had informed himself 
 concerning the truth of the statement given by Bede ; as, 
 after speaking of Columba, he says : " Whose successors, 
 imitating his example, have made a conspicuous figure.*' Nor 
 did he live too late to receive accurate information on this 
 subject. For in his time the disputes between the Bishop of 
 St Andrews and the Guldees must have made so much noise 
 that we can scarcely suppose they could be unknown to him. 
 There were still Abbots of Hii in his time ; and he speaks as 
 if they had still maintained their claim, however much their 
 power had declined. 
 
 John of Fordun, one of our most ancient historians, says, 
 that, before the coming of I'alladius, " the Scots had, as 
 teachers of the faitli, and administrators of the sacraments, 
 only presbyters and monks, following the custom of the pri- 
 miti\'e church." Lloyd is very angry with Fordun for this 
 assertion. He roundly calls him "a dreaming monk;" and 
 sarcastically says, that he " was pleased to discover this for 
 the honour of his order no doubt." Sir George Mackenzie, 
 however, has taken notice of the bishop's mistake in this 
 instance; observing, that Fordun was "a Presbyter, not a 
 Monk, as St Asaph calls him." Lloyd is disposed to disregard 
 the whole of what is here asserted, on the ground, as would 
 eeeni, that the writer was in an error in supposing that I'al- 
 ladius visited the Scots of Britain, because, he says, there were 
 no Scots at that time. But it has been seen that there is 
 a high degree of probable evidence, that Palladius resided 
 for some time in the northern jmrt of our island, and that he 
 died there. 
 
 It is a singular circumstance, that, however much later 
 writers have affected to despise the testimony of Fordun with 
 respect to the Culdees, the Canons of St Andrews did not 
 hesitate to avail themselves of it, when it was subservient to 
 their credit in the meantime, though at the expense of giving 
 a severe blow to episcopacy in an early age. As there had 
 
"BISHOP OF THE SCOTS." 79 
 
 been a dispute, at a meeting of parliament in tlie reign of 
 James I., with respect to precedency between the priors of »St 
 Andrews and Kelso ; the king having heard the argnuients 
 on both sides, determined it in favour of the former on this 
 principle, that he was entitled to priority in rank, wliose mo- 
 nastery was prior as to foundation. "We liave a proof of 
 this," adds Torduu, " from St Coluniba, who is represented 
 as arch-abbot of all Ireland, and wlio was held in su(;li pre- 
 eminence among the inhabitants, tliat he is said to have 
 confirmed and consecrated all the Irisli Bishops of his time." 
 The whole of this chapter, not excepting the passage last 
 mentioned, has been emboded in the llegister of St Andrews. 
 Lloyd pays as little regard to the assertion of Major, and 
 treats with still greater contempt tliat of T.oece, who has 
 said, that the Culdees " chose, by common ^-ote among them- 
 selves, a chief priest, who had power in things belonging to 
 (xod ; and that, for many years after, he was called Bishop of 
 the Scots, as it is delivered in our annals." Elsewhere he 
 says, that before the time of Talladius " the people, by their 
 suffrages, chose bishops from the monks and Culdees." 
 Lloyd endeavours to set aside the testimony of Bocce, by 
 recurring to what is commonly admitted, that he is a writer 
 entitled to very little credit. But how slender soever the 
 credibility of any writer, his testimony is generally regarded, 
 when it is opposed to the honour of the society to whicli he 
 belongs ; because, in this case, we conclude, that nothing but 
 full conviction of the truth could have extorted such a testi- 
 mony. The natural inference, then, from this assertion, is 
 that as Boece, in other instances, appears abundantly zealous 
 for the interests of the Church of Kome, he wouhl not have 
 ventured such an assertion, had he not known that, in his 
 time, the trutli of it was generally admitted, Had he been a 
 presbyterian, his testimony would have been liable to excep- 
 tion. But his zeal for episcojiacy cannot be doubted by any 
 one wlio has looked into his work on the Lives of the Bishops 
 
8o HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 of Morthlac and Aberdeen ; a work expressly wiitten in 
 consequence of his attachment to Bishop Elphinston. Now, 
 what temptation could a writer, who rigidly adhered to the 
 whole hierarchy of the Church of Eome, have for asserting 
 what he liad reason to disbelieve, at the expense of the honour 
 of that chureli of which he was a member ? Others, it may 
 be said, had done it before him. But this invalidates the 
 objection from his want of credibility as an historian in other 
 respects. He retained the assertion, because he saw no good 
 ground for rejecting it as unfounded. 
 
 In the Breviary of Aberdeen, which was written before 
 Boece's Histor}', we have nearly the same account. There it 
 is said, that before the time of Palladius, the Scots had " for 
 teachers of the faith, and ministers of the sacraments, pres- 
 byters and monks ; following only the rite and custom of the 
 primitive church." Had it been supposed that there was any 
 ground for doubting what is here asserted, how would it have 
 obtained admission into the very first book printed in our 
 country, as containing the liturgy of the cliurch ? 
 
 Martine, even while he asserts the antiquity of bishops in 
 Scotland, pays great respect to the memory of the Culdees. 
 This appears from a quotation which he makes in his RcUquinc. 
 " To prove," he says, " that we had bishops in this kingdonie 
 very long since, even from near the time of our conversion to 
 the faith, whom the Culdees elected, I shall set down a famous 
 testimouie out of the MS. of the bishops and archbishops of 
 St Andrews, in Latin, in the Life of William AVishart, bishop 
 there. It is this : Quando ecclesia Scotica crescere bona fide, 
 et in bona fruge adolescere coepit, Culdei semen evangelii 
 mirum in modum multiplicatum cernentes, ex suo corpore 
 episcopum crearunt, qui nullae certae sedi alligatus fuit, circa 
 annum conversionis 62, i.e. reparatae salutis humanae 270. 
 Cum vero unicus, qui sedem habere praecipuam incipiebat 
 Sodorae in Argadia, non sufiiceret, ut opinabantur, tunc plures 
 ex eoriini Culdeorum corpore episcopi sunt- creati : Nee hoo 
 
"BISHOP OF THE SCOTS." 
 
 satis erat, quia postea ab eleemosynis ad certos ainiuos census 
 ecclesiastici transivere, turn episcopatus crescere, Abbatiae 
 fuiidari et donationibus ditari, dignitas etiam et honor, a 
 putativa ilia sede apostolica, augeri a regibus optimatibusque 
 et populo in admirationem liaberi coeperunt ; tunc omnia 
 pessuni ire. ^"erum Culdei episcopum e sno corpore eligendi 
 potestateni iu Scotia semper habebant, donee translatum fuit 
 ab iis jus illud ad clerum, quod primum in electione Sanctan- 
 dreani Episcopi Willielmi Wishart abrogatuni fuit anno 1271, 
 aut eo circa." 
 
 The following things are adn^itted as facts by this ancient 
 writer : 1. That the seed of the word greatly increased by 
 means of the preaching of the Culdees. 2. That they elected 
 one, from among themselves, to be bishop over them. 3. That 
 this bishop had no fixed diocese. When it is said that he had 
 his seat at Sodor, in Argyleshire, there is evidently a reference 
 to lona, where it has been erroneously supposed that the 
 cathedral of Sodor was erected. 4. The Culdees are represent- 
 ed as the judges of the supposed necessity of an increase of 
 the number of bishops. For opindbantur must refer to them, 
 in the same manner as cernentes. 5. It is admitted that the 
 Scottish bishops were at first supported merely by free gifts. 
 6. That the Culdees retained the exercise of their right of 
 choosing the bishops, till they were deprived of it at the time 
 of Wishart's election. 
 
 It is vain to say, that Fordun, and the other writers last 
 mentioned, lived too late to know anything certain as to the 
 original "overnment of the Culdees. When we find them 
 exhibiting a testimony in favour of a model directly opposed 
 to their own, we may be assured that this is not done wan- 
 tonly. In this case, though we knew of no early records to 
 which they could have had access, we would be bound to 
 suppose, that it was from such documents that they had 
 formed their judgment. How many chartularies and annals 
 might these writers have seen, which may have all perished 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 since their time ! But if we find that these later writers give 
 substantially the same testimony with others of a far earlier 
 date, who are of undoubted credit, especially if there has been 
 a succession of these ; we are under a necessity of concluding, 
 that they acted both an honest and a judicious part, and of 
 admitting their testimony, as at least of the nature of cor- 
 roborative evidence. 
 
 Before leaving this important branch of our subject, it may 
 be proper to take notice of what has been advanced by Good- 
 al ; whose account of the Culdees, according to Mr Pinkerton, 
 is " the best yet given." He is at great pains to shew, that, 
 in a very early period, there were in Scotland a considerable 
 number of diocesan bishops living at the same time. In order 
 to prove this, he refers to two passages in Bede, which we 
 have not yet considered. 
 
 "Bede," he says, "gives us a letter from Laurence Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, directed to the bishops and abbots 
 throughout all Scotland in the year 604; Hist. ii. 4." From 
 the confidence with which this is brought forward, I was 
 inclined to suspect that I n:ight be mistaken in my preceding 
 conclusions; but, on looking into it, I found, not without 
 some degree of surprise, that it has no relation to the point 
 in hand. The letter, indeed, bears this address : " To the lords 
 our dearest brethren, the bishops, or abbots, through all Scot- 
 land." But the only judgment we can form, favouralile to 
 this writer's integrity, is, that he had not read the clia]:)ter 
 that contains the letter to which he refers. For Bede, speaking 
 of Laurence, says : " He not only watched over the church, 
 which was newly gathered from among the Angles, but also 
 over the ancient inhabitants of Britain ; and even exercised a 
 pastoral solicitude with respect to the Scots who inhabit Ire- 
 land, the island nearest to Great Britain." 
 
 He refers to another letter, but not more happily. " Bede," 
 he says, " has preserved to us a letter from Pope John in the 
 year 640, directed to five Scottish Bishops, and si.x Presbyters 
 
GOODAL'S TESTIMONY. 83 
 
 by name, and one of these Segenus, Abbot of Hii, about the 
 observation of Easter, and about Pehigianism, Hist. ii. 19." 
 
 This letter is addressed, indeed, Dilectissimis et sanotissimis 
 Tomiano, Cohmibano, Cromano, Dinnao, et Baithano Episcopis, 
 Croniano, Ernianoqne, Laistrano, Scellano, et Segeno Presby- 
 teris ; Sarano, ceterisque Doctoribus sen Al )batibus Scottis; 
 &c. But Bede evidently uses the term Scuttis here, in the 
 very same sense as in the passage last quoted. Acconlingly, 
 Smith observes in his notes, that Tumianus was Archbishop 
 of Armagh, Diunaus, Bishop of Connor, Baithauus, of Clon- 
 macnois ; Cronan, Abbot of Koscree, and Segenus, of Hii. 
 " The seats and titles of the rest," he adds, " 1 liax-e not dis- 
 covered." Thus, three, at least, of the bishops were Irisli. 
 This is admitted by Archbisliop Usher, and by the Bishop of 
 St Asaph. 
 
 Gillan claims a right to conclude, that, " because they con- 
 fess they cannot find the sees of the other two bishops, they 
 at least had their bishoprics in Scotland, especially " as it is 
 granted, " that Segianus the priest was the same with Scgeiiius, 
 Abbot of Icolmldll." But it must be obvious, that the pre- 
 sumption lies entirely on the other side ; — that, because three 
 of these bishops were Irish, the rest were so. is^othing can 
 be inferred from the circumstance of Segianus being joined 
 with them. For it cannot be denied, that the connection of 
 Hii with Ireland was not less than with Xorth-Britain. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Of the principal Seats of the Culdees. — Of Abernethy. — Anti- 
 quity of this foundation. — Of St Bridget. — Whether Aber- 
 nethy ims a Bishopric ? — Of the University here. — Of the 
 CoUerjiate Church. — Property of the Abbey given to that of 
 Aberbrothoc. — Controversy on tins head. — Temixral Lords 
 of Abernethy. 
 
 The seats of the Culdees now claim our attention. They 
 had monasteries, or cells, in a variety of places in Scotland ; 
 some of which afterwards became episcopal sees. Lloyd, 
 indeed, and other writers on the same side of the question, 
 wish it to be believed, that, wherever there was a bishopric, 
 the Culdee Abbot, and his monks, can only be viewed as the 
 dean and chapter of the diocese. With this view, it is as- 
 serted, that we do not find them at St Andrews, " till it had 
 been many years the see of a diocesan bishop.'' But it is 
 certain that, before the name of St Andrews was known, and 
 before the erection of any place of worship there, Abernethy 
 was a principal seat of the Culdees. 
 
 High antiquity has been ascribed to this religious founda- 
 tion. The Pictish Chronicle carries it back to the third year 
 of Nethan I., or A. 458. But, as this erection is made coeval 
 with the time when St Bridget flourished, it is evidently 
 antedated when ascribed to Nethan I., King of the Picts. 
 Por, it would appear, that she died about the year 520. That 
 a monastery had been erected here about the year 600, there 
 seems to be no good reason to doubt. Fordun says, that it 
 was founded by Garnard, the son of Dompnach, who began to 
 reign A. 587. But, according to the Eegister of St Andrews, 
 the honour of this foundation belongs to Nethan, Naitan, or 
 JSTectan, II., who succeeded (^iarnard A. 598. The last account 
 
CHURCH OF ABERNETHY. 85 
 
 seems preferable to that of Fordun ; ou this ground, that it 
 may easily be conceived that, in the Pictish Chronicle, the 
 one Nethan might be substituted for the other. As it seems 
 probable that the place was denominated from a prince of 
 this name, especially as Abernethyn occurs in ancient writings ; 
 may it not be supposed, that, in later times, without any in- 
 tentional fraud, the Pictish sovereign, who iirst erected a 
 religious house here, might be confounded with his predecessor 
 of the same name, who had founded the town, or honoured it 
 as a royal residence ? 
 
 As we learn from Bede, that ISTethan, the third Pictish 
 prince of this name, desired architects from the Angles of 
 ISrorthumberland for building a church of stone, Mr. Pinker- 
 ton hesitates whether this ought not to be accounted the 
 epoch of the foundation of Abernethy. He adds, however : 
 " But perhaps a wooden fabric might have been reared by 
 Nethan II." The latter is certainly the most plausible idea : 
 for we can scarcely suppose, that, in so rude a period, a Pict- 
 ish king would propose to build a church of stone in a place 
 which had not previously acquired great celebrity as a religi- 
 ous foundation. 
 
 After giving an account of the foundation here, Fordun 
 says : " Afterwards St Patrick there introduced St Bridget, 
 with her nine virgins, into Scotland, as we learn from a cer- 
 tain chronicle of the church of Abernethy : and he gave to 
 God, and to the blessed Mary, and to St Bridget and her 
 virgins, all the lands and tithes, which the prior and canons 
 have enjoyed from an early period, These nine virgins died 
 within five years, and were interred on the north side of the 
 said church." 
 
 Our historian, Leslie, seems to think that it was the same 
 Bridget who has been so much celebrated both by the Irish 
 and by the Scots. " St Bridget," he says, " was held in such 
 veneration by Scots, Picts, Britons, English, and Irish, that 
 you may see more temples erected to God in memory of her, 
 
HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 among all these nations, than to any other saint. The Irish 
 contend that they have her holy body at Down, where that of 
 St Patrick their apostle is also preserved. Our countrymen 
 claim the same honour to themselves ; believing that they 
 rightly worship it in the college of Canons at Abernethy." 
 His language is materially the same with that of Boece. 
 
 Camerarius is at great pains to shew that the Bri<lget, w-ho 
 was contemporary with St Patrick, was a native of Xorth 
 Britain. His principal proof is, that by so many writeis she 
 is designed Scufn., or a Sc(_ctish woman. This, however, from 
 the period in which they wrote, is of no weight ; as no can- 
 did person can doubt that, Ijy foreign writers, the term was, 
 in the middle ages, most generally applied to the inhabitants 
 of Ireland. The idea of St Patrick introducing St Brido-et 
 at Abernethy, must therefore be rejected as a fable. 
 
 It is not quite improljaljle, howe\-er, that our ancestors 
 might have a St Bridget of their own. The Irish, indeed, 
 not without reason, charge our historians with such a w^ant 
 of moral honesty, that they could not secure their very saints 
 against depredation. But the learned and candid Fsher 
 seems to think that our writers had confounded the Irish 
 Bridget with another of the same name, of a later age, who, 
 it is said, was educated at Duukeld. Speaking of the account 
 given by Boece of Kentigeru, and Columba having resided 
 for some time there, he shews that here there is evidently 
 a gross anachronism; and that the story must regard 
 another Columba, of whom we read in the life of St Cuth- 
 bert, Bishop of Lindisfarue, borrowed from what he calls 
 the Histories of the Irish. There it is said, " St Columba, 
 first bishop in Dunkeld, took Cutbbert when a boy, and kept 
 and educated him for some time, together with a certain girl 
 of the name of Bridget, of Irish extract. The age of Cuth- 
 bert," he adds, "indicates that this must have taken place 
 soon after the year 640; and this Bridget apparently was 
 that companion of St ilonenna ; and this Columba, the ■ 
 
ST BRIDGET. 87 
 
 liishop, who, as we read, became celebrated in Scotland after 
 the death of ]\Ionenna." 
 
 A ray of light, however faint, is thrown on this story, by 
 what Bede relates concerning- Ciithbert. He resided for 
 some time, he says, with Trnmwine, designed Bishop of Aber- 
 corn. Now, as we know that, in conseqnence of the inroads 
 of ihe I'icts, Trnn^wiue fonnd himself \inder the necessity of 
 removing to "Whitby, in England ; if we can credit the his- 
 tory refen-ed to by Usher, it may be supposed that Cnthbert 
 fonnd a retreat at Umikeld. 
 
 It has been said, that " at Abernethy there is a very an- 
 cient church, which was built in an age that is beyond me- 
 mory ;" and that, while " its origin defies conjecture, it was 
 certainly dedicated to St Bridget, by the command of the 
 zealous Xectan." 
 
 That a saint of this name, whoever she was, had the honour 
 of this dedication, can hardly be doubted; this being as- 
 serted in the Pictish Chronicle, formerly quoted, — a monu- 
 ment of antiquity, the credibility of which has scarcely been 
 called in question. Although, as we have seen, the founda- 
 tion of the church is antedated, by the substitution of one 
 Xethau for another, this does not seem to be a sufficient 
 ground for rejecting the evidence of this record with respect 
 to the patroness, any more than for totally disregarding what 
 is said as to the foundation. 
 
 It is evidently to this valuable chronicle that Camden re- 
 fers, in what he says of Abernethy. I shall give his words 
 as quoted by Sir James Balfour : " Or ever the river Ern 
 hath joyned his waters with Tay in one streame, so that now 
 Tay is become more spatious, he looketh upe a little to Aber- 
 neth, seatted at the feete of the Ocellian montanis, anciently 
 the royall seate of the Picts, and a weill peopled citey, which, 
 as we read in ane ancient fragment, Nectane King of the 
 Picts gaue unto God and St Briege, vntill the day of doome, 
 togider with the bounds thereof, which lay from a stone in 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Abertrent to a stone neigh to Carfull (I wold rather reid 
 Carpull), and from thence als far as to Ethan." 
 
 Carpull is now written and pronounced Carpow, the name 
 still given to a gentleman's seat here. Hence we may have 
 some notion of the former extent of Abernethy, now reduced 
 to a poor village. Carpow is about a mile east from the pre- 
 sent town. The situation of Ethan, called Athan in the Pict- 
 ish Chronicle, seems to be now unknown. The limits men- 
 tioned in this extract, may indeed denote only the extent of 
 the territory annexed to Abernethy. Eut, according to tra- 
 dition, the vestiges of streets and buildings have been dis- 
 covered a great way to the east of the present town. 
 
 "We have seen, that Fordun refers to the Chronicle of Aber- 
 nethy. Innes also quotes the book of Paisley, as attesting 
 the existence of the same chronicle. But it has not been 
 seen for several centuries. "We are, therefore, as much at a 
 loss as to the age of the celel:)rated round tower, still stand- 
 ing at Abernethy, as we are with respect to its use. It seems 
 most probable, that it had been built at the same time with 
 the church by those architects who were employed by 
 Nethan, when he resolved to erect a fabric of stone. The 
 conjecture, now pretty generally adopted, is that these 
 singular structures were meant for penitentiaries, though 
 others view them as belfries. 
 
 Boece pretends that Abernethy was a bishopric, and 
 indeed a sort of metropolitan see. For he says that Kenneth, 
 the son of Alpiu, " transferred to Kilrymont the pontiilcal 
 seat of the Picts, which had been long at Abernethy ; the 
 latter being destroyed by fire and sword." The learned and 
 ingenious editor of the last edition of Sibbald's History of 
 Fife has made some remarks on this subject which deserve to 
 be transcribed. 
 
 " Of the pretended bishopric of Abernethy," he says, " no 
 traces are to be found in the registers of monasteries, or the 
 earlier annalists; nor does there appear to have been any 
 
ABERNETHY A BISHOPRIC? 89 
 
 episcopal see, properly so calleil, north of the Foith, before 
 the erection of tlie bishopric of St Andrews in the 9tli 
 century. It may be supposed that when the Cnldees were 
 accustouied to elect bishops, who had no fixed diocese, but 
 exei'cised tlieir functions wherever they came, Abernethy may 
 Ikuc been the favourite residence of some of them. It was an 
 ecclesiastical establishment perhaps as early as the beginning 
 of the seventh century, and appears to have been a school 
 for such learning as then obtained among the clergy. These 
 circumstances might induce some of the bishops to reside 
 there, and give them an influence over the clergy educated 
 under their inspection, which tradition has magnified into a 
 supremacy over all the churches of I'ictland. That there 
 were bishops among the Cnldees in I'ictland, we cannot 
 doubt, though they were certainly (except in what immedi- 
 ately regarded the epiiscopal function) inferior in influence 
 and power to the Abbot of lona." 
 
 Such was the strength of the Culdeau establishment at 
 Abernethy, and so independent was it of any episcopal 
 authority, that it subsisted long at this place after St Andrews 
 became the seat of a bishopric. " It appears," as Sir James 
 Dalrymple remarks, " that it still subsisted as a religious 
 house in the reign of King ilalcolm the third, from a charter 
 f)f Ethelradus his son, of the church of Ardmore to the 
 Keldees, where amongst the witnesses is Berhcadli Rector 
 Sclwlariim de Abernethy et corum coctibus totiiis universitatis 
 tune de Abernethy ; and, even after the establishment of the 
 popish orders there was a collegiate church here." 
 
 We learn from Forduu that Abernethy was converted into 
 a priory of canons regular, A. 1273. Forbes, in his Treatise 
 on Tithes, says that " a collegiate church was founded here 
 by the Earl of Angus." It has been supposed that this 
 assertion regards Archibald Earl of Angus, Lord of Abernethy, 
 who gave the town a charter of privileges, Aug. 13th, A. 1476; 
 and justly remarked that this '.' Earl might be a benefactor to 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 the collegiate church, or restore it to a better state than it 
 had been in for some time before ; and on that account might 
 be said to have founded it." But the collegiate church was 
 undoubtedly erected long before. Sir James Balfour, though 
 he has not mentioned his authority, lias the fcjllowiug notice 
 in his IMS. Collections: "Aberiiethy, a collegiate churclie, 
 wherein eight prebends, foundit by Hen. Lord Abernethy." 
 This seems to be the same ]ierson who is designed Hinirii-us 
 de Alernyti miles, as witness to a charter granted by Henry 
 Bald, goldsmith in Perth, to the abbey of Scone. He lived in 
 the reign of William the Lion : for this prince gives a 
 coutii'iuatiou of the charter referred to. 
 
 Fordun, who wrote about the year IS??, as he dedicates 
 his Clironicle to Cardinal AVardlaw, tlien Bishop of Clasgow, 
 calls Abernethy a " collegiate church." Lid we understand 
 his language in its strictest sense, it might seem to signify 
 that it \vas so from the first. But most probably he meant 
 notliing more, than that Garnard " founded and built " the 
 house which, at the time when lie wrote, was commonly 
 designed "tlie collegiate cliurch of Abernethy." Forbes 
 indeed has said tliat collegiate churches began to be built 
 after King Alexander the Third's time, when the erecting of 
 monasteries was discouraged by the Popes usurping the right 
 of patronage. But, from what we have already seen, it must 
 be evident tliat this remark can apply oidy to their more 
 fi-equent erection. 
 
 The Culdees, it would appear, manifested the same assi- 
 duity in the instruction of youth at Abernethy, as at lona. 
 They had most probably been engaged in this arduous and 
 important work from the very foundation of the church 
 there. From what has been already quoted, with lespect to 
 Berbeadh, the rector of the schools at this place, it is evident 
 that they had been in a fiourisliing state in the time of 
 Malcolm Can more. They were then entitled to the honour- 
 able designation of a university. We may reasonably sujipose 
 
ABERBROTHOC AND ABERNETHY. 91 
 
 that the members of this society continued to teach here till 
 the time of the erection of the priory of canons regular ; 
 when this office would, in all, probability, be claimed by them, 
 for the increase of their own influence, and the diminution of 
 that of the Culdees. 
 
 William the Lion, having built the noble abbey of Aber- 
 brothoc, manifested his peculiar attachment to this erection 
 by very liberal endowments. Among other donations, he 
 gave to this abbey the church of Abernethy, with its chapels, 
 lands, tithes, and oblations of every kind. This is evident 
 from the ^'ery charter of erection. 
 
 "While " the church of Abernethy, with its peitinents, viz. 
 the chapels of Dron, Dunbulc, and Errol, with the land of 
 Belach, aud of Petinlouer, and the half of all the tithes 
 proceeding from the property of the Abbot of Al)ernethy," 
 are conferred as "a free, pure, and perpetual alnigift," on the 
 abbot and monks of Aberbrothoc ; the other moiety of these 
 tithes, it is said, hahebunt Keledci, the Culdees shall possess. 
 The tithes also from the lands suliject to the authority of the 
 Abbot, as ]\Iugdrum, &c., which they were wont to enjoy, are 
 reserved for them. Although in the charter of icnunciation, 
 Laurence de Abernethy calls this dominium his, he admits 
 that these tithes presently " do belong, and always had 
 belonged, to the Culdees." 
 
 William must have granted this charter of donation 
 between the years 1189 and 1199 ; for one of the witnesses is 
 Hugh, the King's Chancellor. This was Hugh of Roxburgh, 
 who died A. 1199, a year after he had been advanced to the 
 Bishopric of Glasgow. 
 
 Simon, Bishop of Dunblane, granted a charter confirming 
 this gift to the Abbey of Aberbrothoc, " at the petition of 
 King William." In this, he mentions only one " moiety of 
 the tithes arising from the money belonging to the Abbot of 
 Abernethy.'' A similar confirmation, and in the same terms, 
 was given by Jonathan, his successor ; and also by Abraham, 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Bishop of Dunblane, who was elected about the year 1220. 
 As Jonathan was bishop. before 1198, and this gift is confirmed 
 by Simon his predecessor ; perhaps we may venture to date it 
 as early as 1190. 
 
 This donation, as might well be imagined, was keenly op- 
 posed by the suffering party. The controversy was carried 
 on for a long tijue, perhaps nearly thirty years, by the Prior 
 and Uuldees, both before King William, and in the ecclesias- 
 tical court at Dunblane. One determination of the Bishop 
 was not sutiicient to quasli it. The Kegister of Aberbrothoc 
 contains two different decisions in this cause. As it appears 
 that tlie first decision of Abraham was resisted by the 
 Culdees, he entered on the second with more solemnity. For 
 the sentence bears, that this contidversy, which had been 
 long agitated, Ijoth in the king's court, and in that of the 
 bishop, was now finally settled " in his presence, and in his 
 court, many noblemen having been appointed on the part of 
 his Lord the King, for the purpose of hearing the cause.'' 
 Among these was Brice, his majesty's chief justice, who 
 afii-xes his name as a witness. Both parties agreed to submit 
 to this sentence, and swore that they should never do any- 
 thing to contravene it. 
 
 A few years, as would seem, after this decision, a different 
 system was adopted with respect to the church of Aljernethy. 
 There was a partial restoration of the possessions which had 
 been alienated in favour of the convent of Aberbrothoc. 
 This appears from the deed in the register of this convent 
 entitled, Ordinacio Jadictim delegatorum siqocr ecdesia, de 
 Abirnethy. It contains a good deal of curious information 
 with respect to the ecclesiastical state of that age. 
 
 From this ^'aluable paper we learn that letters had been 
 addressed by Pope Gregory to AV. and G. Bishops of Glasgow 
 and Dunkeld ; in consequence of a representation made to 
 him, by the Bishop of Dunblane, of the deplorable state of his 
 see. The names corresponding to these initials are, William, 
 
THE RESCRIPT OF THE POPE. 93 
 
 consecrated Bishop of Glasgow, A. 12o;l, and Galfrid, of 
 Dimkeld. They were contemporary with Gregory IX., who 
 was elected to the papacy in the year 1227. His rescript is 
 dated in the eleventh year of the pontificate, or A. 1238 ; as 
 near as we can infer from other dates, abont forty years after 
 the donation, made by King William, of the church of Aber- 
 nethy to the Abbey of Aberbrothoc. 
 
 In this rescript, the Pope narrates the information which 
 he had received from the Bishop of Dunblane; that his*, 
 bishopric, in consequence of its having been, olim, some con- 
 siderable time ago, vacant for more than a century, its pro- 
 perty had been greatly dilapidated by secular persons ; and 
 that, though in process of time several' bishops had been suc- 
 cessively appointed, yet, from their simplicity or inattention, 
 not only that part of the episcopal domains had not been 
 reclaimed, but the remainder had been almost entirely alie- 
 nated and wasted ; whence, no fit person could be induced 
 to take the charge of this diocese, so that, for ten years, it 
 had been destitute of a pastor. 
 
 The Pope, therefore, appoints the two bishops, to whom 
 his rescript is addressed, in conjunction with their brethren 
 of St Andrews and Brechin, to make the necessary provision 
 for that bishop who had been appointed, in consequence of 
 their expectation that by this means the diocese might " be 
 able to respire from the lake of misery." It is added, that the 
 bishop, who had been nominated, found the see so desolate, 
 that " he had not a place in the cathedral church where he 
 might lay his head ; that there was no college [of canons] 
 there ; but that in the church itself, which was unroofed, a 
 certain rural chaplain celebrated divine service ; and that 
 the rents of the bishop were so slender, as scarcely to suffice 
 for his maintenance for one half of the year." 
 
 Gregory therefore requires them " to repair to the cathe- 
 dral itself ; and, if they found matters to be as they had been 
 represented to him, to assign to the bishop the fourth part 
 
 7 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 of the tithes of all the parish churches in the diocese, if this 
 could be done without causing great offence ; that at their 
 determination, and that of other upright men, he might re- 
 ceive a competency for his own sustenance, and appropriate 
 a sufficient portion for the dean and canons, whom the Pope 
 willed and commanded them to appoint." He adds, that, 
 " if this could not be done, the fourth part of the tithes of 
 all the churches, which were detained by secular persons, 
 being assigned to the bishop, they should transfer the epis- 
 copal seat to the monastery of canons regular of St John, in 
 the same diocese ; power being granted to the canons of 
 said monastery to elect bishops in future, when the see should 
 fall vacant." 
 
 In consequence of this papal rescript, these delegates, 
 " having frequently convened all who had the right of patron- 
 age within the diocese of Dunblane, and the charge of 
 attending to the increase of divine service there," at length 
 concluded, that a partial restoration of the possessions, at- 
 tached to the church of Abernethy, was necessary to the sup- 
 port of this see. Therefore, " with the advice of prudent 
 men, they determined, between the Bishop of Dunblane on 
 the one part, and the abbot and convent of Arbroath on the 
 other, that the whole right, which the said abbot and con- 
 vent had to the altarage of Abernethy, with the lands of 
 Peteulouer, and of Belach, and with all their other just perti- 
 nents, should be ceded by them to the jurisdiction and dis- 
 posal of the Bishop of Dunblane, and his successors; the 
 monks of Arbroath retaining the moiety of the land of Be- 
 lach, with all its pertinents, and all the teind-sheaves, which 
 pertain to the said church of Abernethy ; and, in like man- 
 ner, all the rights and emoluments arising to them from the 
 chapels of that church. The Bishop of Dunblane, and his 
 successors, are laid under an obligation to provide from the 
 profits of the foresaid altarage, that the said church of Aber- 
 nethy be honourably served ; that they shall take the charge 
 
THE DIOCESE OF DUNBLANE. 95 
 
 of all burdens in relation to the bishop and his officials ; and 
 that he shall provide from the profits of said altarage, a vicar 
 in tiie cathedral church of Dunblane, in name of the abbot and 
 convent of Aberbrothoo, who, by his ministry, shall supply 
 their place in this church, so that the church of Abernethy, 
 for his [the bishop's] greater liberty, and for the protection 
 of its liberty, shall be for ever held as a prebend and canonry 
 of the church of Dunblane : and that the Abbot of Aber- 
 brothoo shall be installed as canon in the same church, a 
 proper place of residence being allotted to him among the 
 canons of said chnrch." 
 
 It thus appears, that the means formerly used, for the de- 
 pression of the Culdees at Abernethy, had, in co-operation 
 with other circnmstances, threatened the dissolution of that 
 diocese to which it belonged. Their adversaries were, there- 
 fore, in so far reduced to the necessity of retracing their 
 steps. 
 
 As in the charter of donation, by King "\\'illiam, and also 
 in that of Laurence de Abernethy, the abbot of this place is 
 still mentioned in such a way as to suggest this idea, that the 
 old frame of the monastery was not as yet completely dis- 
 solved ; it does not appear that even the last decision of 
 Bishop Abraham had this effect. There is no evidence that 
 the Culdees were, in consequence of this determination, de- 
 prived of the moiety of tithes, reserved to them by King 
 "\Mlliam, as arising from the property of the abbot ; nor per- 
 haps of those which they received from Mugdrum, &c. — For 
 the tithes mentioned, as contested in the bishop's court, were 
 due from Petkarry, Petyman, Malcarny, I'ethorny, Peth- 
 wnegus, and Galthanim. 
 
 There seems to have been at Abernethy, at least the form 
 of a Culdean monastery, till it completely merged in the regu- 
 lar canonry, in the year 1273, or about eighty years after 
 the dilapidation of its revenues. I am inclined to think, that 
 a considerable time before the Culdees were obliged to give 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 place to the canons, and probably some time during the 
 reign of William, after the alienation of great part of their 
 revenues, their religious establishment had been subjected to 
 a nominal degradation, from an abbey to a priory. For, 
 whereas in the charter of King William, and in the confirma- 
 tions by Bishops Simon, Jonathan, and Abraham, the superior 
 of the Culdees is called an Abbot ; in the two sentences of 
 the latter he is only termed Prior. 
 
 Alexander IL, who died A. 1249, confirms to the abbey of 
 Aberbrothoc, the church of Moniekyn [now Monikie], the 
 church of Gutheryn [Guthrie], and the church of Abirnethyn ; 
 with the chapels, lands, tithes, and offerings of every kind. 
 This must be understood, it would seem, according to the 
 limitations fixed by the delegates appointed by Pope Gre- 
 gory. 
 
 During the same reign, Matildis, Countess of Angus, gave, 
 as an almsgift, to the Abbey of Arbroath, the whole land lying 
 on the south side of the church of Monifod, i.e. Monifieth, 
 which the Culdees held during the life of her father. 
 
 When we consider the high life of Abernethy, as a seat of 
 learning, it may seem surprising that, in this respect, so little 
 notice is taken of it, in our ancient records, after the reign of 
 Malcolm Canmore. In how different a light must its religious 
 men have been viewed in that early period, when we find not 
 only Berbeadh the rector of the university, but " Nesse and 
 Cormac, the sons of Makbeath, and Malnechte, the son of 
 Beelham, priests of Abernethy, and Malbryde another 
 priest, and Thuadel, and Augustine a priest of the Culdees," 
 called to attest a charter of Edelred, the son of Malcolm, 
 along with his brothers Alexander and David, afterwards 
 king of Scotland, and Gonstantine Earl of Fife ; a charter 
 granted, not to their own monastery, but to that of Lochleven ! 
 One might naturally suppose, that their rector, at least, 
 would frequently appear as a witness in the deeds of succeed- 
 ing ages. But neither from the Eegister of Scone, though 
 
ABERNETHY AND ABERBROTHOC. 97 
 
 this place was in the vicinity, nor in that of St Andrews, 
 tliough the metropolitan seat, does it appear that one of the 
 priests of Abernethy was accounted worthy to be enrolled as 
 attesting a single deed. As Abernethy belonged to the dio- 
 cese of Dunblane, had we the records of this bishopric, we 
 might find some further vestiges of its ecclesiastical history. 
 But Keith has observed : " The writs of this see have been so 
 neglected, or perhaps wilfully destroyed, that no light can be 
 got from thence to guide us aright ih making up " even " the 
 list of its ancient bishops." It was, however, undoubtedly 
 the wish of the canons recrular, who had obtained the 
 superiority at the episcopal seats and in the monasteries, to 
 keep the Culdees in the shade as much as possible. I am 
 therefore inclined to think that they would not be acceptable 
 visitors to those who had strained every nerve to eject them 
 from their ancient possessions ; while we may also suppose 
 that they would themselves have little pleasure in the society 
 of men whom they must of necessity have viewed as success- 
 ful rivals. 
 
 In the first sentence of Abraham, Bishop of Dunblane, 
 Michael persona de Ahirnythy, and Magister Willielmus de 
 Abirnytliy, are named as witnesses. 
 
 The provost of the collegiate church of Abernethy is 
 mentioned with respect in a charter granted by Archibald, 
 Earl of Angus, A. 1476, to the burgh of Abernethy, which 
 was to be held of him as superior, agreeably to a charter 
 which had been granted to him and his successors by "James, 
 King of Scots, of recent memory." He, who was at this time 
 Fraepositus ecclesice coUegiatem de Abernethice, is designed 
 Venerabilis Vir Johannes Frizell, i.e. Frazer. But we must 
 certainly view him as one of the canons regular. 
 
 From the larger Register of Aberbrothoc, or that contain- 
 ing the Assedations, which in Macfarlane's MSS. is given as 
 the second volume, we find that, A. 1328, Wilham, Bishop of 
 St Andrews, in consequence of a visitation held at that abbey. 
 
98 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 grants, with the consent of the monks there, to their abbot 
 Bernard, wlio had been elected to the bishopric of Sodor, the 
 use of all, frudus garbales, the teind-sheavef! of the church of 
 Abernethy, with the chapel of Dron for seven years, in order 
 to indemnify him for his expenses in the support of the 
 monastery during his incumbency there. 
 
 It also contains a protestation, in name of the abbot and 
 convent of Aberbrothoc, against James Bonar of Pbossy, before 
 the lords of council, A. 1483, for claiming the tithes of 
 Dumbolg of Abernethy, as if they had been heritable pro- 
 perty. 
 
 David, Abbot of Arbroath, A. 1490, grants to John Eamsay 
 of Kilgour, to his spouse, and to his sons, James and Colin, 
 " for the term of Eleven years, the tcind-shcmrs of the church 
 of Abernethy, in the diocese of Dunblane, of the chapel of 
 Dron, and of that piece of land commonly called the Bellauth 
 [f. Bellaucli] on condition of the payment of £21.3 6s. 8d. 
 Scots money, annually, to him and his successors." 
 
 The same tithes were afterwards given, A. 1501, to Eobert 
 Arnot and Peter Carmichael, for the term of thirteen years, 
 for 360 marks Scots, to be paid annually. 
 
 History has not been equally silent with respect to the 
 temporal superiors of this place. Besides Henry of Abernethy, 
 already mentioned, we meet with different persons, who have 
 a similar designation, and who seem to have been of the same 
 family. Orme ch Ahernethi is one of the witnesses to a 
 charter of William the Lion, concerning a resignation, on the 
 part of the king, of Nar, one of the vassals of the Abbot of 
 Scone. By the way it may be observed that, as many of the 
 old Pictish race may be supposed to have settled about 
 Abernethy, their ancient capital, it is highly probable that 
 this family was Pictish. Orm was a designation common 
 among the ancient Goths, whether Norwegians, Danes, or 
 Angles, which at length passed into a surname. This, the 
 learned Worm informs us, was the origin of his family name. 
 
THE LORDS OF ABERNETHY. 99 
 
 " Laurentius de Abernethi, son of Oriii," says Keith, " gave 
 Corbie, called also Birkhill, from a park of birks [birches] 
 surrounding' the house, to this monastery [of Balnierinacli] ; 
 and in his charter is expressed the reason of his donation, viz. 
 Because Queen Eniergarda dying otio. Id Februarij, anno 
 1233, and being buried in the church of Balmerinach, ante 
 magmnn altare, had by her testament left him 200 merks 
 sterling." 
 
 The same Laurence de Abirnet attests a charter of Alex- 
 ander IT., granting to the Abbot of Scone the wood of Kel- 
 camsy for a forest. He is also one of the witnesses to a 
 charter granted by Roger de Quenci, Earl of Winchester, 
 constable of Scotland, confirming the donation of "William 
 de Len, also called de Lyn, to the Abbot and Canons of Scone. 
 This may have been about the year 1231. The name of 
 Reginald de Abernethy also occurs. 
 
 " I have seen," says Nisbet, " a charter of Hugh de Aber- 
 nethy, of the lands of Owrebenchery to William de Pedereth, 
 exonerating him and his heirs from making any appearance in 
 his court for these lands. This charter was granted in the 
 reign of Alexander III. and the seal thereto appended was 
 entire, haviug a lion rampart bruised with a ribbon. In the 
 reign of Robert I. Alexander de Abernethi/, Dominus de eodem 
 (Sir Robert Sibbald's History of Fife), left behind him three 
 daughters, coheirs ; Margaret, married to John Stewart, Earl 
 of Angus, who got with her the barony of Abernethy ; Helen 
 to ISTorman de Lindsay of Crawford, who got with her the 
 barony of Balinbreich ; and the third daughter, Mary, was 
 wife to Andrew Leslie of Rothes, who with her got the 
 barony of Downy in Angus. These three daughters were the 
 mothers of three great families. Earls of Angus, Rothes, and 
 Crawford, who have been in use to marshal the arms of 
 Abernethy, as before blazoned, with their own." 
 
 But though Nisbet quotes Sibbald as his authority, he 
 differs from him. For, according to Sibbald, Mary was the 
 
loo HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 second daughter, heiress of Balnibrieeh, and married to 
 Norman de Lesly. The third, he says, "was married to 
 Lindesay de Craufurd, who got with her the barony of 
 Downie." It may be added, that William de Abernethy is 
 nrentioned by Prynne, vol. iii. p. 663. 
 
 The ancient seal of the College of Abernethy has been 
 found within these few years. I have been favoured with the 
 following account of it, from the records of the Literary and 
 Antiquarian Society of Perth. 
 
 " The matrix in brass, or instrument for making easts of 
 the common seal of the old collegiate church of Abernethy, 
 was found in the year 1789, in a garden in Enniskillen, in 
 the county of Fermanagh, in Ireland. It is now in the 
 possesion of the Honourable James Drummond of Perth. 
 
 " Obverse. A shield of Arms. In a shield. Gules ; a lion 
 rampant, surmounted with bend dexter, argent. Legend, S. 
 Commune Collegii De Aiernethe. 
 
 " I'everse. An abbess (probably representing St Bridget) 
 in a vail, holding a crosier in her right hand; and at her 
 right side is a small figure of a bull, deer, or such other 
 animal. Legend, In JDomo Dd Amhulavimus Cum Concencu." 
 
OHAl'TEE Vir. 
 
 Monastery of Gulches at Lochlevin. — Of St Serf. — Donations. — 
 Library. — Foundation at DunJccld. — Eeliques of Coluniba 
 transported thither. — Of the Primacy ascribed to it. — Tlie 
 Memory of Columba long held in Veneration there — Monastic 
 Seal. — Culdees at St Andrews. — Of Begulus. — Of Gonstan- 
 tine. — Endowments of the Priory. — If originally the seat of 
 a Bishop ? 
 
 Beudi Y., son of Derili, King of the Picts, about the year 
 700, bestowed the island of Lochlevin on St Serf, and the 
 Culdees residing there, and serving God. St Serf, or, as his 
 name is given in Latin, Servanus, was, if we may credit Wyn- 
 town, the Prior of Lochlevin, contemporary with Adamnan, 
 Abbot of loua. Although not himself educated in that 
 island ; in consequence of a visit from Adamnan, he seems to 
 have adopted the Coluniban rule. Por Wyntown says, that 
 Serf 
 
 Arywyd at Inclieketh 
 
 The ile between Kyngorne and Letli, 
 Of Ycolnikil the Abbot than 
 Saynt Adaman, tlie haly man, 
 Come til hyme thare, and fermly 
 Mad spyrytuale band of cumpany, 
 And tretyd hym to ouni in Fyfe, 
 The tyme to dryve onre hys lyfe. 
 
 CronyUl, B. V. ch. 12. mr. 1162, &e. 
 
 In consequence of this band of cumpany, or bond of fellow- 
 ship, between Adamnan and him, his followers lived as Cul- 
 dees, and have still been distinguished by this denomination. 
 This priory, in an early period, was enriched by liberal 
 donations. " Successive kings,'' says a writer who has paid 
 considerable attention to this subject, "Macbeth, Malcolm 
 
102 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 III., and Edgar, and his brother Ethelred, with the bishops 
 Maldaw and Modoch, were all studious to endow the Culdees 
 of Lochlevin. Macbeth gave the Culdees the lands of Kirk- 
 ness, and also the village of Bolgy. Malcolm III., and his 
 pious queen, granted them the town and lands of Balcliristie. 
 Erom Edgar they got Pitnemokin. Ethelred gave them the 
 lands of Adniore. j\Ialduin, the bishop of St Andrews, 
 granted them the church of Sconie ; and from Fothald, the 
 Bishop of St Andrews, they got the church of Hurkendorach. 
 lieg. of St Andrews. David I. granted to the monks of Dun- 
 fernilin, ' Balcliristie cum suis rectis divisis, excepta rectitudine 
 quam Keledei habere debent.' ]\IS. Charters, 104. A 
 dispute ensued between the prior and canons of St Andrews, 
 who came in the place of the Culdees, and the monks of 
 Uunfermlin, about their respective rights to Balcliristie. 
 King William determined, that the monks of Dunfermlin 
 should have Balchristie, subject to the rights which the Cul- 
 dees had in it, during the reign of David I. Dalrymple's 
 Coll. p. 283." 
 
 The writer of the register of the Priory of St Andrews has 
 transcribed, from an old volume, " written" he says, " in the 
 language of the Scots," the memorials concerning the rents 
 and duties, payable from lands, churches, and otherwise, and 
 the donations made to the church of St Servanus in the isle 
 of Lochlevin. He professes to have done this, without the 
 prolixity of the original, in order to prevent all vain and vex- 
 atious contentions in future times. 
 
 When this transcript was made is uncertain. As far as we 
 may judge from the intention specified, it must have been 
 during the existence of the Ciddees; and, most probably, 
 soon after the institution of canons regular at St Andrews, 
 and the grant made of Lochlevin to them by David I. The 
 deed immediately preceding in the Piegister is dated A. 1276. 
 But we can determine nothing from this ; as, in these regis- 
 ters, little regard is paid to the order of time. Some of the 
 
THE LIBRARY AT LOCHLEVIN. 103 
 
 chartiilaries woxild seem to have been iirst formed by stitching 
 together the loose parchments belonging to a monastery, 
 withont any attention to arrangement. When these were 
 afterwards transcribed, the transcript was made according to 
 the order in which they had been originally thrown together. 
 
 These memorials were published by Gillan, as an appendix 
 to his remarks on Sir James Dalrymple's Collections; and 
 afterwards by Crawfnrd, who affixed them to his Lives of 
 Officers of State, No. HI., with the addition of the deed en- 
 titled Peramhidatio. His copy, he says, was taken from the 
 chartulary " belonging to the honourable family of I'anmure." 
 Mr Pinkerton has compendized tliis account in the appendix 
 to the first volume of his Enquiry, pp. 467 — 469 ; where he 
 also gives the contents of the Large Itegister of St Andrews, 
 from a ]MS. in the Harleian Library, No. 4828. The copy 
 g■i^'en is from the Register of St Andrews, undoubtedly the 
 smaller one, which has a place among the late learned ]\Iae- 
 farlane's ilSS. To these papers I shall subjoin an extract 
 from the same register, giving an account of the donation 
 of the village of Bolgyne, by Macbeth, to the Culdees. 
 
 Kellach, it would appear, was Bishop of St Andrews before 
 the year 893. Sir James Balfour says, tliat he had seen a 
 deed of this bishop, addressed to the religious Culdees of 
 Lochlevin. But he has given no particular account of it. 
 Makhiin, who was bishop about the year 1034, gave them the 
 lands of Markinch. 
 
 None of our writers seem to have adverted to a singular 
 and valuable relique of bibliography, with which the ancient 
 record above referred to supplies us. This is a list of the 
 books found in the Culdean Priory of Lochlevin, at the time 
 that it was given up to the canons regular, or about the year 
 1150. This catalogue is valuable; not, indeed, on account of 
 its extent : nor as containing the names of any works which 
 have since perished, and thus exciting the vain regret of the 
 antiquary, or of the collector: nor' as giving us any high 
 
I04 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 idea of the literary acquirements of tliese pious recluses ; but 
 as being perhaps unique in its kind, in the history of our 
 country, and as exhibiting a fair state of the literature of the 
 age. The list may also be viewed as furnishing a tolerably 
 just specimen of the ancient conventual liararies. For, if we 
 except those of lona, Abernethy, Dunkeld, and St Andrews ; 
 considering the great antiquity of the establishment at Loch- 
 levin, we may reasonably suppose that the library there 
 would be as well stored as that of any other priory in that 
 early age. 
 
 It is undeniable that there was a monastery of Culdees at 
 Dunkeld long before it became an episcopal see. Alexander 
 Myln, a Canon of Dunkeld, afterwards Abbot of Cambus- 
 kenneth, and last of all first president of the Court of Session 
 after its erection A. 1532, wrote an account of the lives of 
 the bishops of this see, still extant among the MSS. in the 
 Ad\-ocates' Library. He says that Constantine, King of the 
 ricts, " from his devotion for St Columba, at that time patron 
 of the whole kingdom, founded and endowed an illustrious 
 monastery" here, "about the year 729; two hundred and 
 twenty-six, or, as some say, two hundred and forty years 
 after the building of the church of Abernethy." Others 
 ctirry down this event to the year 815. "In this monastery," 
 Myln subjoins, " he placed those religious men called Kel- 
 dees, having wives according to the custom of the oriental 
 church, from whom they abstained, while they ministered in 
 courses." 
 
 According to this writer, there was no bishop of Dunkeld 
 before the reign of David I., about the year 1169 ; that is, 
 more than four hundred years after the erection of the 
 Culdee monastery. Goodall, however, shews that Cormac 
 was bishop here in the days of Alexander I. In the charter 
 of erection of this bishopric by David, there is an express 
 exception of the rights that belonged to the abbey, exceptis 
 rcctitudinibus quae ad Ahbatiam de Dunkdden pertinent. This 
 
THE BISHOPRIC OF DUNKELD. 105 
 
 not only proves, as Sir James Dalryniple has observed, " that 
 there has been an Abbaeie at Dunkeld before the erection of 
 the bishopric," but that they " continued separate for some 
 time, till the Keldees were chased out." Even Gregory, 
 Bishop of Dunkeld, subscribes as a witness to this exception 
 in favour of the abbey, over which he had formerly presided 
 as abbot. 
 
 Mr. Pinkerton has referred to a remarkable passage, 
 occurring in the most ancient and authentic records of 
 Ireland, which seems to pro\'e that the supreme ecclesiastical 
 government remained attachetl to the Culdees, even after the 
 accession of the Scottish princes to the Pictish throne. 
 " Tighernac," he says, " and the Annals of Ulster furnish us 
 with a bishop of Piktland much earlier [than 909, when 
 Kellach is said to have been made Bishop of St Andrews ]; 
 for at the year 864, they say, Tuahal Mac Artgusa, Arch- 
 iisJiop of Fortren, and Abbot of Bun C'allen, dormivit ; ' Tuahal, 
 son of Artgus, Archbishop of Piktlaud, and Abbot of Dunkeld, 
 died." This would lead us to suspect that after Hyona was 
 destroyed by the Danes [A. 801], or after its power over the 
 Piktish churches ceased, the Abbot of Dunkeld [a Culdee] was 
 for a time regarded as supreme of the Piktish church. Certain 
 it is that St Andrews had no title to be regarded as supreme 
 church in Piktland, till erected into a bishopric." 
 
 Nearly the same idea is adopted by another writer. Hav- 
 ing mentioned the dissolution of the monastery of Zona, in 
 consequence of the barbarity of the Danish pirates, he says, 
 that Dunkeld became the repository of the reliques of 
 St Columba, adding : " A religious house was here built, upon 
 the same system as the original establishment, at Zona. Zn 
 it, a bishop resided ; over it, an abbot ruled. From the epoch 
 of 848, the church of Dunkeld appears to have formed the 
 primacy of Scotland for several ages, till it was supplanted, 
 in its turn, by St Andrews." ZZe then quotes the passage 
 from the Annals of Ulster concerning the Archbishop of 
 
io6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Tortren, subjoining : " The annalist merely means to speak of 
 the primate by the florid expression of archbishop. Under 
 the year 872, the same annals state the death of Tlavertach 
 M'Murtach, the primate of Dunkeld." 
 
 It is of no consequence in regard to the point under 
 consideration, whether lurastach, the Abbot of Hii, carried 
 the reliqiies of Columba to Dunkeld or not. This theory 
 rests on the ground of a supposed error in the Ulster Annals, 
 as if Ireland had been put for Scotland. The general idea 
 seems well-founded, that Dunkeld was viewed as a second 
 Zona. But it remains to be proved that, in this early period, 
 there was a bishop, as well as an abbot, residing here. The 
 only thing which seems to be offered in proof of this is the 
 passage in the Annals of Ulster, quoted as under the year 
 865 [leg. 864], when we have an account of the death of 
 Tuathal, Archbishop of Fortren and Abbot of Dunkeld. 
 From what has been quoted above from the same work, this 
 Tuathal seems to be viewed as " primate of Dunkeld." But 
 with this it is not easy to reconcile what is said a few pages 
 downwards : " The Ulster Annals, under the year 864, speak 
 magnificently of the death of Tuathal, the Archbishop of 
 Fortren, or Aberuethy.'' 
 
 Could we for a moment suppose Fortren to mean the town 
 of Aberuethy (an idea not only different from that which has 
 always been hitherto entertained, but not easily reconcileable 
 with any of the notices concerning it in these annals), it must 
 necessarily follow that this person could not be also the 
 bishop connected with the monastery of Dunkeld ; for he 
 must have resided here, for " performing the functions of his 
 office. We have no evidence, therefore, that this Archbishop 
 of Fortren was any other than the Abbot of Dunkeld. 
 
 The remarks made by Jlr Pinkerton have a great degree of 
 verisimilitude. "The Abbot of Hyona," he says, "h^^^ 
 such supreme power over the Piktish churches, certainly 
 would not allow of any bishop's see, as the title was superior 
 
THE BISHOPRIC OF DUNKELD. 107 
 
 to his own, and [he who bore it] could not be coutrouled by 
 him. Abernethy and Dunkeld were but abbacies, even in 
 the eleventh century, long after St Andrews was a bishopric. 
 Indeed, all our writers, ancient and modern, concur that St 
 Andrews was the most ancient bishopric north of Clyde and 
 Forth." 
 
 The author of Caledonia admits that Kellach, Bishop of 
 St Andrews, " was the first bishop of any determinate see." 
 When speaking of Tuathal, he finds it necessary to under- 
 stand the language of the Ulster Annals figuratively ; observ- 
 ing, as has been seen, that " the annalist merely means to 
 speak of the primate, by the florid expression of archbishop." 
 For he adds that, " in opposition to the claims of the register 
 of St Andrews — Dunkeld long held the primacy of the 
 united kingdom," i.e. of the Scots and Picts. Now, was this 
 primate in fact a different person from the abbot ? If so, the 
 very foundation of the primacy ascribed to him is destroyed, 
 and all analogy between Dunkeld and lona obliterated. 
 "VMiy did the primacy belong to Dunkeld ? Because, says the 
 learned writer, " a religious house was here built, upon the 
 same system as the original establishment at lona." But 
 who was primate in lona ? Was it any nameless bishop, who 
 has been supposed to reside there for certain functions that 
 no one but himself could perform ? We have not been able 
 to discover a single vestige of such a character. And can 
 even those, who believe that an ecclesiastic of this description 
 did reside there, merely because, according to their system, it 
 ought to have been so, satisfy themselves that he was so 
 completely the principal person in lona, that the primacy 
 centered in him, rather than in the abbot at the head of the 
 Culdean college. 
 
 The only reasonable idea we can form is, that the Abbot of 
 Dunkeld was called archbishop and primate, as holding the 
 honours formerly conceded by universal consent to the Abbot 
 of lona. The author of Caledonia says that " the first bishop 
 
io8 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 of Dunkeld who came out conspicuously on the stage of life 
 was Cormac, who appeared under Alexander ' I. Yet it is 
 certain that there were bishops at Dunkeld before the earlj 
 age of Cormac." But how can this be certain, when there is 
 no evidence, save of that suppositious kind which we have 
 already considered ? We can form no other conclusion, than 
 that Cormac " was the first bishop who came out conspicu- 
 ously," because he was the first who had been appointed to 
 the episcopal office distinctly from the abbot, and as super- 
 seding his extensive authority. 
 
 From the faint vestiges of the history of these dark ages, 
 it is evident that, even after the suppression of the Culdean 
 establishment at Dunkeld, the memory of the Culdees was 
 higlily venerated there. This appears from various circum- 
 stances. Their successors still acknowledged Columba as 
 their patron saint ; and not only acknowledged him in this 
 character, but ascribed a miraculous virtue to his reliques. 
 
 So late as towards the close of the fifteenth century. Bishop 
 Livingston instituted a chaplaiury, in honour of Columba as 
 patron, at the altar of St. ilartin, in the collegiate church of 
 St Giles of Edinburgh. George Brown, one of his successors, 
 seems to have consecrated a bell to the memory of the patron 
 saint, and to have baptized it with his name. 
 
 Myln informs us that, "as in the year 1500, a most fatal 
 pestilence raged throughout Scotland, and, according to the 
 common report, the city of Dunkeld alone still continued 
 uninjured; through the merits of its patron Columba, Bishop 
 Brown ordered a great mass to be said at the great altar, at 
 his own expense, in honour of their patron. At the end of 
 the year, as the city, and the greater part of the surrounding 
 country remained unaffected by the pestilence, he ordered 
 that this inass should be perpetuated, and that ten pounds 
 should be appropriated annually for this purpose. That 
 those who celebrated this mass might bfe enabled to do it 
 with due honour, and at the same time without fatigue, he 
 
ATTACHMENT TO COLUMBA. 109 
 
 cliose seven vicars of the choir, who were to liave a stipend 
 of ten pounds. The service was to he honourahly performed 
 at seven altars of the church not yet founded, viz., those of 
 the Saints Jlartin, Nicholas, Andrew the Apostle, of the 
 Innocents, of All Saints, of Stephen the Protomartyr, and of 
 John Baptist. Each of these vicars was, one day in the 
 week, to celebrate mass in his turn as hitherto, at the second 
 bell for matins ; that devout ecclesiastics, seculars given to 
 good works, and travellers, niiglit joyfully assemble." 
 
 " Some," he elsewhere says, " in his ecclesiastical lands of 
 Capeth, he visited, while labouring under the pestilence, and 
 caused the sacraments of the church to be administered to 
 them." The dreadful disease resisting this application, as 
 would seem, the good bishop had recourse to another, and 
 a more powerful, remedy. "But on a subsequent day he 
 made holy water, in which he washed a bone of the blessed 
 Columba, and sent it by his chancellor to be drunk by the 
 patients. Many receiving this were completely cured. But 
 one stubborn fellow replied to the chancellor : ' Why does 
 the bishop send us water to drink ? I would rather he would 
 send me his best beverage.' He, however, with all the rest 
 who rejected the water of St Columba, died of the plague, 
 and were buried in one tomb below the said cemetery." 
 
 It may be viewed as a further proof of the great attach- 
 ment still retained to Columba at Dunkeld, that so many of 
 the bishops, most probably at their own desire, were interred 
 in that island which bore his name, as having been conse- 
 crated to him. This is the island called Inch-Cohn, or St 
 Columba's Inch. We learn from Myln that a bishop of the 
 name of Pdchard was buried in the church here A. 1173, or 
 1174; Pdchard de Praebenda, A. 1210; John Archdeacon of 
 Lothian, A. 1214 ; another of the same name, designed John 
 of Leicester, is also mentioned, but viewed by Keith as the 
 same person ; Gilbert, A. 1236 ; Eichard, the chancellor, who 
 died A. 1250. According to Myln, A, 1272, the heart of 
 
no HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Eicliard of Iiiverkeitliing was interred in the choir of St 
 Columba's church in this island, although his body was buried 
 at Dunkeld ; and James Livingston, A. 1482-3. Galfrid, who 
 died A. 1249, was buried in the old church of the convent at 
 Dunkeld, dedicated to Columba. 
 
 To these observations we may add that, long after the 
 extinction of the Culdees here, the monastic seal continued to 
 exhibit the image of Columba as the patron saint. 
 
 The Culdean establishment at St Andrews next demands 
 onr attention. It is pretended by our ancient chroniclers, 
 tliat Coustautius having wasted the city of Pati-as, rather 
 Fatrac, Gr. Jiar^peiu in Achaia, where the reliques of St 
 Andrew were kept, Itegulus was warned in a vision to take 
 some of these, and carry them with him to a region towards 
 the west, situated in the utmost parts of the earth ; that he 
 accordingly did so, and, after being long tossed at sea, was at 
 length driven into a bay near the place where St Andrews 
 now stands. According to some accounts, this took place 
 about the year 365 ; while others make it somewhat later. 
 In this quarter, we are told, Eegnlus lived devoutly, with his 
 companions, in cells, for thirty-two years, occasionally tra- 
 velling through the country, and building several churches. 
 Three arc particularly mentioned in the extracts from the 
 Large Kegister. One, it is said, was at Fortevioth, one at 
 Jlouechata, afterwards called Monichi, and another, beyond 
 the Month, at Doldanha, in later times denominated 
 Chondrohedalion. Hungus, son of Fergoso, King of the Picts, 
 is represented as patronising PiCgulus and his companion, and 
 as having given them some lands as a perpetual almsgift. 
 
 The Large Register of St Andrews, which contained this 
 account, has disappeared for more than a century. The 
 extracts, made from it, are however preserved in a IIS. in the 
 Harlein Library, ISTo. 4628. They have been published by 
 Mr Pinkerton, in the Addenda to his Enquiry. 
 
 The whole story, with respect to Eegulus, lias, it must be 
 
REGARDING REGULUS. iii 
 
 acknowledged, greatly the air of a mere legend. It was very 
 probably framed by the monks, after Kilrymont became the 
 chief seat of ecclesiastical power, in order to give it more 
 celebrity, and to wean the multitude from their attachment 
 to religions places which had in fact a more eavly foundation : 
 particularly from lona, Abernethy, and Uunkeld. The very 
 name of the Pictish prince, to whom the patronage of Eegu- 
 1ns is ascribed, seems to betray the imposture. "He was 
 fabricated," says Mr Pinkerton, " because a Hungus had 
 founded St Andrews about 825 ; and its priests wanted to 
 pass Eegulns for its founder in the fourth century." 
 
 This legend may be viewed as having more connexion with 
 the history of the Culdees than what appears at first sight. 
 Two circumstances suggest this idea. The first is, the con- 
 formity of the mode of life, attributed to Pegnlus and his 
 companions, to that of the Cnldees. They are described as 
 living in cells, and as planting churches, just as the monks of 
 lona did. The second is still more strilcing. The very 
 territory, said to have been given by an early prince of the 
 Picts, of the name of Hungus, to Eegulus and his brethren, 
 and, as we know from history, actually given for a religious 
 purpose, several centuries afterwards, seems unaccountably to 
 pass into the hands of the Culdees. It is even recognised as 
 theirs, without any kind of dispute, at the very time that 
 their adversaries were abridging their power, and depriving 
 them of their possessions. Now, if there ever was such 
 a person as Eegulus, he might, like St Servanus and others, be 
 an associate of Columba, or of some of his followers. For, 
 in this instance, little stress can be laid on the chronology of 
 the Eegister, or of our early writers. With respect to the 
 precious relic[ues of an Apostle, it is well known that the 
 monks did not always need to go as far as to Patras for them. 
 I am strongly inclined to suspect, that these had never been 
 heard of at Kilrymont, till a noise had been made about tlie 
 xeliques of Columba at Dunkeld. Myhi, as we have seen. 
 
112 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 asserts, with great appearance of truth, that Columba, the 
 patron saint of Dunkeld, was acknowledged in the same 
 character through the whole kingdom. It was therefore 
 necessary that Eegulus, who introduced the reliques of the 
 apostle Andrew, to whom the saint of lona must of course 
 give place, should have a prior date. 
 
 According to the extracts from the Large Eegister, Hnngus, 
 king of the Picts, came to Kilrymont, and, perambulating 
 great part of that place, presented it to God, and St Andrew, 
 for the erection of churches and oratories. That such a gift 
 was made by Hungus, is in the highest degree probable. For 
 it appears indisputable, that, about the year 825, he founded 
 a church at Kilrymont ; which henceforth received the name 
 of the Apostle to whom it was dedicated. Sibbald views this 
 gift of the Pictish king as meant for the benefit of the Cul- 
 dees. But we have more direct evidence. For, as Martine 
 speaks of Baronia Gahdaiorum infra Cursum Apri, or " the 
 Barony of the Culdees below the Boar's Eaik," the extracts 
 bear, that this was given by King Hungus to St Eule. Yet 
 we learn, from the same source of information, that this tract 
 was afterwards taken from the Culdees ; and given, first to 
 the Bishop, and then to the Prior and Canons Eegular of St 
 Andrews : " so that," as Sir James Dalrymple observes, " this 
 place appeareth to have been one of the ancient seats of the 
 Culdees." 
 
 In the tenth century, such was their celebrity at St 
 Andrews, that King Constantino III. took up his residence 
 among them, and A. 943, died a member of their society ; or, 
 as Wyntown says, abbot of their monastery. 
 
 Nyne liundyr wyutyr and aucht yliere, 
 Qulien gayne all Donaldis dayis were, 
 Heddis sowne cald Constantiue 
 Kyug wes tliretty yhere : and syne 
 Kyug he sessyd i'or to be, 
 And in Sanct Andrewys a Kyldi. 
 
THE CULDEES AT ST ANDREWS. 113 
 
 It is also believed that an Irish king attached himself to 
 this religious body. For we learn from the Ulster Annals, 
 that, A. 1033, Hugh Mao Flavertai O'Nell, King of Ailech, 
 and heir of Ireland, post penitentiam morf. in St Andrewes 
 ccd. He has also been designed " King of A'cliath." 
 
 The Culdees at St Andrews seem to have had considerable 
 endowments. But it is not easy to form an accurate judg- 
 ment as to the extent of these, by reason of the mistakes of 
 copyists with respect to the names of places, as well as the 
 change of these names in the lapse of ages ; and also, because 
 we cannot certainly distinguish between the original posses- 
 sions of the Culdees, and those lands, which, in the way of 
 superadded donation, were given to their successors the 
 canons regular. Another difficulty arises from the impossibili- 
 ty of determining, whether certain lands' belonged to the Cul- 
 dees of Lochlevin, or to those of St Andrews. After the ex- 
 clusion of this religious order, though there was a priory 
 of canons regular at Lochlevin, distinct from that at St 
 Andrews, the former evidently depended, in some way, on 
 the latter : and some modes of expression occasionally occur 
 in ancient deeds, which rather induce the idea, that, during 
 the power of the Culdean establishments, the priory of St 
 Andrews was dependent on that of Lochlevin. 
 
 Sibbald, having given an account of the lands which were 
 held by the Culdees of Lochlevin, says: "Besides these 
 mentioned above, the excerpts of the Eegister show, that 
 there were other lands in this shire [of Fife, which] belonged 
 to them. Terrae quas tenent Keledei, Islinkel, Kinnadin 
 Fihe, Kinnadin Egu, Lethin, Kerin, Kerner, Kynninis Eath- 
 matgallum, Syreis, Baletoch, Kaletuise, Ba: eocherthin, Peth- 
 kenin, Kingorg." 
 
 By these he undoubtedly means the lands which belonged 
 to the Culdees of St Andrews. Some of them are particu- 
 larly mentioned, as their property, in the small Eegister ; as 
 Kinkel, which was confirmed to them by a charter of Mai- 
 
114 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 colm IV. It is probably the same place which is elsewhere 
 called Kinakelle. Kynniuis is frequently mentioned ; and 
 the lands of Lethin are, in a variety of places, specified as 
 still the property of the Ouldees, Quas Kdedci habent. Syi'eis 
 is undoubtedly the town of Ceres, Pethkenin the Petkenin of 
 the Register. Kerner may be Kernes; and Kingorg the 
 same with Chiudargog. 
 
 In order to shew that the Guldean priory at St Andrews 
 "formed originally the residence of a bishop,'' it has been 
 observed, that, " under the year 872, the Ulster Annals state 
 the death of Bishop Colman, the Abbot of St Andrews." 
 This is not in the extracts given by Mr Pinkerton, thougli it 
 occurs in Johnstone's: and even the latter gives it with evi- 
 dent hesitation. His extract is in these words : " Bishop 
 Coleman, the Abbot of Androis (f. St Andrews) died." At 
 any rate, it must be viewed merely as complimentary lan- 
 guage ; or, as the Author of Caledonia observes, concerning 
 Tuathal, when designed Archbishop, as "a tiorid expression." 
 Besides, this writer has himself ascribed the foundation of 
 the bishopric of St Andrews, to Grig, who did not begin to 
 reign till the year 883. It may be added that, thoiigh Keith 
 has given from different writers no fewer than seven lists of 
 the Bishops of St Andrews, the name of Colman does not 
 appear in one of them. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 Of tlw Ciddecs of Brechin. — Whether they merely constituted 
 the UpiscojMl Chapter ? — 0/ those at Dunblane. — Of the sup- 
 posed Fotmdation at Muthel. — Of that of Mniilmuslc. — Cid- 
 dees at Portmoah. — Seone. — KirlMldy. — Ciolruns. — Mailros. 
 
 That Brechin was at an early age a distinguished seat of 
 the Culdees, appears from what we find in the Pictish 
 Chronicle : " This is he who gave the great city of Brechin to 
 the Lord." In this manner does the ancient writer point out 
 our Scottish king Kenneth, commonly reckoned the third of 
 tliat name, who began to reign in the year 970. 
 
 In a work lately published it is said : " That there was a 
 bishop established among the Culdees at Brechin, before the 
 erection of the bishopric hy David I., is certain from his 
 charter of erection, which was granted Episcopo, et KcUedcix, 
 in ecelesia de Breichen. Dalrymple's Coll. p. 219. [leg. 240."] 
 But, undoubtedly^ the mode of expression used pro^'es 
 nothing more than that from this time there was a bishop 
 here. When David granted a charter, erecting Brechin into 
 a bishopric, it may naturally be supposed that he had 
 previously fixed on one to fill this station ; and that he gave 
 him the title, as was frequently done, before his actual 
 instalment. At any rate, from an ancient charter, granted 
 before the erection of the bishopric, it may be presumed that 
 the Culdees here had only an abbot among them. For I will 
 not carry the matter so far as Sir James Dalrymple does, 
 who, in the very passage referred to, reasons thus : " In the 
 charter of Balchristin, — amongst the witnesses is Leodus 
 Abbas de Breichen ; which is a clear evidence that at tliat 
 time Brechin was not erected into a bishopric, and that Leod 
 was abbot there." 
 
ii6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 " At Brechin," says our industrious and learned antiquary, 
 Goodall, "the Culdees continued yet much longer," than they 
 had done at Dunblane, " to be the dean and chapter. Bricius, 
 their prior, is a witness to some of Turpin's charters ; and 
 after him Prior Mallebride attests divers cliarters by the 
 Bishops Turpin, Ealph, Hugh, and Gregory. The designation 
 given him by the bishops is Prior Kdcdeorum nostrorum, 
 ' Prior of our Culdees,' or ' Prior of Brechin ;' and sometimes 
 only Prior. The Culdees, like other chapters of episcopal 
 sees, gave confirmations of charters granted by their bishops, 
 some of which are still extant," &c. 
 
 From what is here said, one would naturally conclude that 
 it appeared from ancient writs that the prior and Culdees 
 formally constituted the chapter of Brechin ; and of course, 
 that the Prior was the Dean. But this was not the case. 
 To what dependence soever on the bishop the Culdees may 
 have been reduced, it is evident that they had not been 
 absolutely cast into the mould of a mere chapter. Tor, in 
 the charter of Pialph, Bishop of Brechin, De Procurationilus, 
 besides the designations, Gregorio Arckidiacono, and Maiheo 
 Dci-.ano de Brechyn, distinct mention is made of Mallebride as 
 Priore Kekdcoriom de Brech. This Matthew is, in another 
 charter of the same Ralph, designed Decano nostro ; and in 
 one of Turpin, Matluo Becano de Breehyn. 
 
 In Turpin's charter. Be Bccim.a Betis, the witnesses are thus 
 mentioned: Rur/one Bjm Sti Andrce, Bricio Briore Keledeorum 
 de Brix/i., W. Archid. Sti Andree, et Matussale Becano, Andrea 
 CaiMllano, et Matheo Sacrista ecclde de Brecliyn, et insuper 
 Gillebryd Oomite de Angus, et Bovenald Ahhe de Brech. 
 According to the construction, this Matussal was at this time 
 Dean, while Matthew, afterwards advanced to this dignity, 
 was only Sacrist. This must have been before the year 
 1187; for in this year Hugh, Bishop of St Andrews, died. 
 Here, and in several other instances, the Prior of the Culdees 
 takes place of the Dean. 
 
THE CULDEES AT BRECHIN. 117 
 
 All that can fairly be inferred from the language of these 
 deeds, is, that the bishops here were willing that the Culdees 
 should retain their ancient right of election, in conjunction 
 with others. For, even in both the charters given by Goodall, 
 the Prior and Culdees, though introduced as having a seat in 
 the chapter, are expressly distinguished frona the rest of the 
 members : Prior, et Keledei, ceteriqioe cle Gapitulo Brechynensis 
 ecdesiae. In several others, their prior is mentioned as 
 peculiarly' as if he had no connection with the chapter. The 
 bishop, therefore, must have used the phrase, Keledeorum 
 nostrorum, "our Culdees," not as if they had formally 
 constituted his chapter, hut because they were the Culdees 
 residing within liis diocese, and connected with this see. 
 
 Maitland has fallen into a series of blunders, when 
 speaking of the abbey of Trinitarian or Mathurine monks 
 here ; which, he says, " probably, by its antiquity, owes its 
 erection to King David L, who established the bishop's see 
 in this place." His proof is: "For about the year 1178, 
 Dovenaldus, Abbot of Brechin, granted to the Abbot of 
 Aberbrothocke, Terram de Ballege le Grand, whicli King 
 Alexander confirmed by charter; and, anno 1219, I find one 
 John to have been Abbot of Brechin." There could be no 
 IMathurines or Eed Friars at Brechin A. 1178 ; for this order 
 was instituted during the papacy of Innocent III, who was 
 not elected till the year 1198. This Dovenaldus of whom he 
 speaks was evidently a layman. His name occurs in several 
 charters. In that to which Maitland must have referred, 
 the land is denominated BaUgille grand, and the donor, 
 Dcntenaldus Alhe de Brediyn. In the charter of confirmation 
 immediately following the name is Bouenaldus Ail. There 
 can be no doubt that Abb or Abbe was his surname. We 
 have seen him conjoined in a preceding extract with the Earl 
 of Angus ; and they are evidently distinguished from the 
 clergy mentioned before. In the charter immediately 
 preceding that concerning Balegilk grand, Morgund Abbe 
 
ii8 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 confirms the gift of fewel from his forest, which his father, 
 John Abbe, had made to the abbey of Arbroath; which 
 confirmation his father, and his paternal uncle, and his 
 brother John, attest. The father of John had been Malis, 
 who was proprietor of the forest of Edale, most probably 
 what is now written Edzel, the name of a parish not far from 
 Brechin, whence one of the principal branches of the family 
 of Lindsay took its title. This appears from a charter of 
 confirmation by King William, in which the donor is de- 
 signed Johannes Abbas iilius Malisii. This is probably the 
 origin of the surname of Abbot, which still exists in Angus. 
 
 The names of two Culdees are recorded in a charter granted 
 by Turpin, in which he gives some lands in the village of 
 Strucatherach, i.e. Strickathrow. Besides Brice, Prior of 
 Brechin, mention is made of Gillesali Kelde, and Machalen 
 Kelde. 
 
 Concerning the foundation at Dunblane, I scarcely need 
 any other testimony than that of Keith, who was so zealous 
 for the rights of episcopacy. " Formerly," he says, " there 
 was a convent of Culdees here, and continued so to be, even 
 after the erection of the bishopric, which owes its foundation 
 to King David II. towards the end of his reign. St Blaan 
 was superior of this convent in the time of King Kenneth III., 
 and from him the see derived its name \_Britan. Sancta\." 
 
 Here there is undoubtedly a mistake. Keith must have 
 meant to speak of David I., who erected Dunblane into a 
 bishopric, ilr Chalmers says that " St Blaan was the patron, 
 as he was the chief of this religious establishment " of Culdees ; 
 " being a bishop here about 1000 A.D." He refers to Keith's 
 Catalogue, p. 100. But Keith has not mentioned St Blaan 
 as a bishop, and still less as bishop of Dunblane. He could 
 not, indeed, consistently do so ; as he says that St Pjlaan 
 lived in the reign of Kenneth III. ; whereas the bishopric 
 owed its foundation to David I., who did not begin to reisn 
 till the year 1124. In the Aberdeen Breviary he is said to 
 
THE CULDEES AT DUNBLANE. 119 
 
 have been consecrated to the episcopal office ; but no mention 
 is made of Dunblane, nor of any other place of residence. 
 Camerarius makes him bishop of Sodor ; adding that the city 
 of Dunblane in Scotland received its name from him. Lesley 
 also speaks of him as a bishop, but takes no notice of his see. 
 It has been supposed that there was also a Uuldee 
 establishment at Muthil. " We find," says Crawfnrd, " the 
 Abbots and Priors of the (Juldees at Brechin, Muthill, 
 Dunkeld, and Abernethy, all frequently witnesses to the 
 deeds or grants of the bishops : and getting chui'ches or 
 tithes from them, together with the Gitrae Aniviarum." On 
 the supposition that such an establishment subsisted at 
 Muthil, perhaps it could only be viewed as a cell belonging 
 to the monastery of Dunblane. (J-oodall observes that 
 Michael, parson of Muthil. and Macbeath his chaplain, are 
 conjunct witnesses with Malpol, whom he seems to view as 
 Prior of the Culdees at Dunblane. They attest a confirmfition 
 by "William, Bishop of Dunblane, of the " gift of the church 
 of Kincardine to the monks of Canibuslcenneth, to be seen in 
 their charter, fol. 80." But from the inscription of a charter, 
 quoted by Crawfurd, Llalpol appears as " Prior of the Culdees 
 of Muthil " Carta Simonis Episcojd Dunhlanen. Monialibus 
 cle North-BervAcl,-, Ecclesiae dc Logy-Athnj. Tcdibus, Malpol 
 Prior Kdedeiorum de Methyl, ct Michael, et Malcolmo, Kchdeis 
 de Methyl. The quotation is certainly inaccurate. The 
 charter, he says, is in the Earl of Marehmont's family 
 archives. But I have no opportunity to examine it. On 
 looking, however, into the charter referred to by Goodall, I 
 find the witnesses thus designed : Archidiacono lonatha, 
 capellaneo meo, that is, chaplain to W. Bishop of Dunblane ; 
 Cormac Malpol, priore Kddeorum persona de Mothell, Michaele 
 et eius capiellano Mackbeth, &c. As Crawfurd has given such 
 Latin as even monks would not have written, I strongly 
 suspect that, in the Marchmont charter, Malpol must be de- 
 signed as here; and that Crawfurd has left out the word ^ersoma 
 
I2Q HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 between Keledciorum, and, according to his orthography, de 
 Mdhyl. If so, the only proof, as far as I have observed, of 
 a Culdee establishment at Muthil, falls to the ground. 
 
 This charter was granted towards the close of the twelfth 
 century. Before the Eeforniation Muthil was the residence 
 of the Dean of Dunblane. 
 
 The power of the Culdees was also considerable in that 
 diocese, of which the see was originally at Mortlach, but 
 afterwards, in the reign of David I., translated to Aberdeen. 
 For, notwithstanding the great additions made to this 
 episcopate on occasion of the change of its seat, bishop Nectan 
 did not prevail in his attempt to expel the Culdees. They 
 still continued at least at Jloniniusk. We learn from the 
 Chartulary of Aberdeen that " Edward, successor to Nectan, 
 was the fii'st bishop who instituted canons at Aberdeen, by 
 the authority of the apostolic seat." Hence Sir James 
 Dalrymple concludes " that no sort of churchmen but the 
 Culdees can be supposed to be established there before that 
 time : n(n-," he says, " needed churchmen to be expelled by 
 papal authority, to make way for the Chanoins, if they had 
 been of the Romish institution. It is certain," he adds, " that 
 the Culdees were at Monyumsk, in the diocese of Aberdeen, 
 which afterwards became a popish priorie." 
 
 ilalcolm II., A. 1010, having defeated the Danes at 
 Mortlach, soon after founded a religious establishment there, 
 in token of gratitude for his victory. Some of our writers 
 call this a bishopric; others view it as only a religious 
 house, which became the residence of a bishop. Sir James 
 Dalrymple has given the deed of foundation from the 
 Chartulaiy of Aberdeen. But by some writers this deed is 
 considered as a monkish forgery. I shall give it, in a note, 
 as extracted from the Chartulary itself / where it appears 
 with some slight variations as to orthography. 
 
 ' Malcoliuus Rex Scotorum omnibus prohis lioininibus suis, tani clevicis 
 quam laicis, saluteni : Sciatis me dedissse, et hac cliarta mea confirmasse, Deo 
 
THE CULDEES AT MONYMUSK. 121 
 
 How soon after the foiuidiitioii at Mortlacli the Cuklees 
 were settled at IMoniniusk, we cannot pretend to determine. 
 It is certain, however, that they were here about a centnry 
 after, dnring the episcopate of Robert of St Andrews. Their 
 most liberal donor was uudoubtetlly Gilchrist, Earl of Mar, 
 who li^'ed during the reign of William the Lion. His 
 donations will be more particularly mentioned when we come 
 to consider the suppression of this order : and his charter will 
 be found in the Appendix, extracted from the register of St 
 Andrews. 
 
 The same lands were afterwaitls confirmed to them by 
 another Earl of ilar, of the name of Duncan. It is evident 
 that he was later than Gilchrist. For he assigns, as one 
 reason of the donation, his desire of the prosperity of his lord 
 King Alexander. This was the second of the name, the son 
 of William, who is referred to as deceased : for he speaks of 
 his granting this donation " for the soul of his lord King 
 William." But Gilchrist, in his charter, expresses his wish 
 " for the safety and prosperity of his lord King William, and 
 of all who are dear to him." This Duncan designs himself 
 
 et Beate Marie et omnibus .Sanctis, et episcopo Beyn de Movthelacli, eoclesiam 
 de llortlielach, ut ibidem construatiir sedes e})iscopalis, cum terris meis de 
 Morthelach, ecclesiam de Cloveth cum terra, ecclesi.-im de Dulmetli cum ti'rra, 
 ita libere sicut eas tenui, et in puram et perjietuam elemosiuam. Teste meipso 
 apud Forfare octavo die mensis Octoliris, anno regni meo sexto. Registr. 
 Aberdon. Fol. 47. 
 
 It does not seem to have been ol)sei'ved by our ecclesiastical writers that 
 this Cloveth in Mar is counted among our monastic establishments. Pope 
 Adrian, in a bull of confirmation granted by him to Edward, wljo was bishop 
 of Aberdeen in the reign of David I. , speaks of both Cloveth and Mortlach as 
 monasteries. — Monastorium de Cloveth, villam et Monasterium de Murthlach, 
 cum quinque ecclesiis et teixis eisdem pertinentibus. This seems strongly tu 
 confirm the idea that Mortlach had at first been only a religious house. Boece 
 says that this Edward was the first who instituted canons regular in the 
 church of Aberdeen. Eduardus vcro primus omnium regularis vitae viros 
 (quos vocauit Canonieos) veluti confratres ad diuina cum saeellanis exequenda 
 primus omnium in Aberdonen. ecclesia instituit. Aberdon. Episc. Vit. Eol. 
 3 b. 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 the son of Morgrund ; and there is a codicil to this deed by 
 WilUam, Earl of Mar, the son of Duncan, and of conrse the 
 grandson of Morgrund, addressed to Peter, who was bishop of 
 Aberdeen from the year 1247 to 1256. This Morgrund 
 seems to have been the son of Gilchrist. He is undoubtedly 
 tlie same person to whom William the Lion granted the 
 renewal of the investiture of the Earldom of ilar. This 
 curious deed is given by Selden, from a charter in his 
 possessiou. It is dated A. 1171, at liindho-p £ur7imiithae, 
 apparently some place in the south of Scotland. Morgund, 
 as the name is here given, is called the son of G-illocIierus. 
 There can be no reason to doubt that this is the same person; 
 and that the name had been written in this manner by some 
 southern scribe, to whom Gilchrist was nob familiar, and writ- 
 ten by the ear ; or that in the original deed there may be 
 that abbreviation on the latter part of the name which is 
 common in ancient manuscripts. 
 
 The first deed of confirmation, by John, Bishop of Aber- 
 deen, is indeed said to be granted ad presentationevi et pcti- 
 tionem Gilchrist Comifis. Xow, John was not elected till the 
 year 1200, that is twenty-nine years after Morgrund succeeded 
 to Gilchrist. But it would seem that the language merely 
 refers to the presentation, by his son Morgrund, of the deed 
 of donation formerly made by Gilchrist; or perhaps the 
 episcopal confirmation had still been withheld on account of 
 some demur. 
 
 The donation of Duncan is confirmed by a charter issued 
 by Alexander II. Duncan also gave them the lands of 
 Kindrouth, formerly a parish by itself, but now annexed to 
 Crathy ; of Auchatandregan, and of Alien, apparently Ellon. 
 This donation is confirmed by the deed of Gilbert, who was • 
 chosen Bishop of Aberdeen A. 1228, and died A. 1238. 
 
 Nor were the Earls of Mar the only benefactors to the 
 Culdees at Monimusk. Colin, designed Hostiarius, or Burionrd, 
 confirms to them the possession of the lands of Lorthel, or 
 
THE CULDEES AT MONYMUSK. 123 
 
 rather Lochel. This is repeated by PhiHp de Moute. Thomas, 
 whose designation is given more fully, as he is called 
 Jfusfiarius Begis, gave them the church of Afford, or Alford, 
 with all its pertinents, and certain duties from Feodarg, and 
 some other places specified. Eoger, Earl of Kuchan, gave 
 them annually certain duties out of the lands of Feodarg, 
 after the example of his grandfather Garnach. Although in 
 some of these deeds the name of Culdees does not appear, but 
 only that of Canons, we certainly know that the Culdees 
 still continued there. For they are expressly mentioned 
 under this name by William, who was elected Bishop of 
 Aberdeen A. 1345, and died A. 1351. In the charters of 
 Thomas Hostiarius and Itoger, Earl of Buchan, they are 
 designed by their ancient name. It might appear, indeed, 
 that both Culdees and Canons Eegular had for a long time 
 held distinct establishments at Monimusk. For Pope Inno- 
 cent I v., who came to the pontifical chair A. 1242, grants 
 confirmations of the lands given to the prior and convent of 
 ilonimusk, designing them, Ordinis Sandi Aucfu.ttini. Yet 
 John, elected to the bishopric of Aberdeen A. 1351, in his 
 deed of confirmation of the Charter of Gilchrist, expressly 
 mentions the Culdees as living at Monimusk. I am inclined, 
 however, to think that there is either a mistake in the 
 language of the papal bull ; or, that the pope did not wish 
 formally to recognise a society which did not claim his 
 patronage. 
 
 They had also an estabhshment at Portmoak, in the 
 vicinity of Lochlevin. A religious house was founded here, 
 some time in the ninth century, by Eogash, king of the Picts, 
 as Spotiswood denominates him, that is Huiigus, most 
 probably the second of his name. This writer says that it 
 was consecrated to the Virgin Mary. But this may have 
 been a secondary consecration in a later age. 
 
 There was a similar foimdation at Dunfermline. Of this 
 the following account has been given by a writer of great 
 
124 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 research : " Thii splendid abbey of Dunfermliu owed its 
 inconsiderable foundation to Malcolm Ceanniore ; its comple- 
 tion to Alexander I. ; and its reform to David I. The mo- 
 nastery of Dunfermlin was dedicated, like the other Culdean 
 establishments, to the Holy Trinity. Here the Culdees, with 
 their abbot, discharged their usual duties, during several 
 reigns ; and iJavid I., who lived much with Henry I. of 
 England, upon his accession introduced among the Celtic 
 Culdees thirteen English monks from Canterbury." Spotis- 
 wood mentions that this place " was formerly governed by a 
 prior : for Eadmerus, speaking of the messengers that were 
 
 sent by King Alexander [L] in the year 1120, to 
 
 Eadulph, Archbishop of Canterbury, for procuring Eadmer to 
 be liishop of St Andrews, says, Horiiin unus qvidem monachus, 
 et Prior ecc/edae Dimfeir/wlinae, Petrus nomine.'' He con- 
 jectures that "it was then an hospital;" especially as it is 
 designed in some old manuscripts, Monn^feriwjn de monte 
 infirmorum. " Hut it is evident that this is merely a monkish 
 play upon the name of the place; like Mons rosnrum, for 
 Montrose, properly Munross. As Gaelic Dim denotes a hill, 
 and ^ar crooked ; it might afford a tolerable foundation for 
 monkish ingenuity. The fact seems to be, that it continued 
 as a priory till the time of David I., who, A. 1124, raised it 
 to the dignity of an abbey. He wished, perhaps, by giving 
 greater honour to the place, to reconcile the Culdees to the 
 introduction of his English monks. 
 
 It has been supposed, with great appearance of reason, 
 " that when the fatal stone was transferred by Kenneth, the 
 son of Alpin, from Argyle to Scone, a religious house would 
 be established at this ancient metropolis : " and asserted, on 
 certain grounds, that "a Culdean church was here dedicated, 
 in the earliest times, to the Holy Trinity, like other Culdean 
 establishments. There can be no doubt that there was such 
 an establishment before the reign of Alexander I. For in a 
 charter of his, A. 1115, by which its form was changed, it is 
 
THE CULDEES AT CULROSS. 125 
 
 described as "a church dedicated in honour of the Holy 
 Trinity." And iii the Chronicle of Mailros, under this year, 
 it is said : " The church of Scone is delivered up to Canons." 
 
 " Some have conjectured," as we learn from J\Iartine, " that 
 there was a company and colledge of" Culdees "at Kirkcaldie, 
 which, they say, was, and should be, called Kirhculdee, and 
 that the old name was Gella Ciddcorum. It has been also 
 said that the place was named Kil-celedie, which was changed 
 during the Scoto-Saxon period to Kirl-caledie.'' 
 
 Brudi, son of Derili, King of the Picts, according to 
 Wyntown, about the year 700, " founded a religious house at 
 Culross." Several circumstances induce us to view this as a 
 Culdean establishment. It is natural to think that it would 
 be similar to that which, as we have already seen, the same 
 prince founded at Lochlevin. It was to this place that St 
 Serf retired ; and here he resided for many years, as we learn 
 from Wyntoun : 
 
 And oure the wattyr, of purpos, 
 Of Forth he passed til Culros : 
 Thare he begowth to red a grownd, 
 Quhare that he thowcht a kyrk to found. 
 
 From Culross he passed to Lochlevin, where he remained 
 for several years. He afterwards returned to Culross, where 
 
 He yhald wyth giid devotj'owne 
 Hys cors til hallowed sepulture, 
 And hys saule til the Creature. 
 
 CronyUl, B.V. ch. 12. ver. 1178. 1333. 
 
 As we have had occasion to take notice of the religious 
 association between him and Adamnan, it is most probable 
 that he conformed to the Columban rule here, as well as at 
 Lochlevin ; and that the church erected at Culross which 
 bore his name was on the same establishment. 
 
 It may be observed, however, that the Breviary of Aber- 
 deen takes notice of two saints of this name; the one a 
 
 9 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Scotsman, contemporary with Palladius, who made him a 
 bishop ; the other, a foreigner, who was distinguished by 
 many miracles, in the time of Abbot Adamnan. The latter 
 is said to have resided in the island Petmook. This is un- 
 doubtedly meant for Portmoak, which, from its vicinity, has 
 in various instances been confounded with the island of Loch- 
 levin, called St Serfs Isle, where he in fact resided, and 
 which was afterwards dedicated to him. 
 
 It has not generally been observed, that Mailros has a 
 ■claim to be reckoned one of the ancient seats of the Culdees, 
 the most ancient indeed on the main land. " The name," we 
 are told, " is supposed to be Gaelic, compounded of AIuU and 
 Eoss, ' a bare promontory,' remarkably descriptive of a little 
 peninsula about a mile to the east " of the modern village 
 ■" formed by the windings of Tweed, which is still called Old 
 Melrose, and famous for its ancient monastery, one of the 
 first seats of the religious Culdees in this country." It is 
 afterwards subjoined : " The monastery of Old Melrose was 
 probably founded about the end of the sixth century. Bede 
 gives us an account of its situation on the bank of the Tweed, 
 .and likewise of its abbots. This place was a famous nursery 
 for learned and religious men, and probably continued till 
 the other one at the present Melrose was founded by King 
 David." 
 
 "Old Melros," says a lively and celebrated tourist, "is 
 now reduced to a single house, on a lofty promontory, pen- 
 insulated by the Tweed : a most beautiful scene ; the banks 
 lofty, and wooded, varied with perpendicular rocks, jutting 
 like buttresses from top to bottom. This was the site of the 
 antient abbey of Culdees, mentioned by Bede to have existed 
 in 664, in the reign of the Saxon Oswy. This place was as 
 •celebrated for the austerities of Dricthelmus, as ever Finehal 
 was for those of St Godric. The first was restored to life 
 after being dead an entire night. During that space, he 
 passed through purgatory and hell, had the beatific vision 
 
ST AIDAN AT MAILROS. 127 
 
 and got very near to the confines of heaven. His angeUc 
 guide gave him an useful lesson on the efficacy of prayer, 
 alms, fasting, and particularly, masses of holy men ; infallible 
 means to relieve the souls of friends and relations from the 
 place of torment." 
 
 The account given above of the establishment of Culdees 
 at Mailros, corresponds with the general tradition of the 
 country. It is also supported by the character of the person 
 to whom the foundation of this religious house has been with 
 great probability ascribed. This is the celebrated Aidan. 
 Bede, indeed, has not expressly said, that it was founded by 
 him. But, speaking of Eata, under the year 664, he says, 
 that he " was abbot of the monastery which is called Mail- 
 ros." This Eata, he adds, " was one of the twelve yovmg 
 disciples of Aidan, of the nation of the Angles, whom he 
 received, when he entered on an episcopate, to be instructed 
 in Christ." Now, from the general tenor of his history, it 
 appears that, before the mission of Aidan, there were no 
 monasteries in that quarter. Eata was succeeded by Boisil, 
 " a priest," says Bede, " distinguished for his virtues, and of a 
 prophetic spirit." Upon his death the celebrated St Guthbert 
 was made abbot. After living many years at ]\Iailros, he was 
 made bishop of Lindisfarne. Aedilwald was abbot, A. 696. 
 He was afterwards bishop of Lindisfarne ; and was one of 
 Bede's contemporaries. In the Chronicle of Mailros, he is 
 denominated Ethelvvald. 
 
 Aidan himself, we certainly know, was a Culdee; and 
 hence we might conclude, that he would prefer this establish- 
 ment to every other. But the language of Bede incidentally 
 affords a clear proof that he did so. When we read of the 
 " twelve disciples of Aidan," or " young men" committed to 
 his charge, no doubt can remain, that he meant to instruct 
 them according to the rule of lona ; as he adhered to the very 
 number which had the sanction of Columba, himself re- 
 presenting the abbot as their head. 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 "This place," says Milne, "was a famous nursery for learned 
 and religious men, who were filled with zeal for propagating 
 the Christian religion, particularly among their neighbours 
 the Pagan Saxons." 
 
 "This convent," he subjoins," has been inclosed with a 
 stone wall, reaching from the south corner of the Tweed to 
 the west corner of it, where the neck of land is narrower ; the 
 foundations of the wall are still to be seen. At the entrance 
 to the convent, about the middle of this wall, there has been 
 an house, built likely for the porters, called yet the Eedhouse. 
 The place where the chapel stood is still called the Chapel- 
 know, and places on Tweed at this place still retain their 
 names from the monks there, as the Haly-wheel, [i.e. holy- 
 whirlpool, or eddy] and the Monk-ford. I do not think there 
 has been any great building about it ; for, as Bede acquaints 
 us, their churches then were all of oak, and thatched with 
 reeds.'' 
 
 Speaking of Colmsly, he says : " There has been a chapel 
 here, the ruins of which are yet to be seen : It has been de- 
 dicated to Columba, abbot of Hii, from whence the place 
 seems to take its name, as it is likewise called Cellmuir, from 
 the chapel in the muir." 
 
 ISTennius," he elsewhere remarks, " a British historian, who 
 lived, as some say, in the year 620, — or rather, as the Bishop 
 of Carlisle places him, anno 853, — speaks of the noble and 
 great monastery of Melrose, which was ruined likely then 
 after the destruction of the churches and monasteries by the 
 Pagan Danes, who burnt the churches and houses wherever 
 they came.'' But although Milne here quotes Sir James 
 Dalrymple's Collections, he takes no notice of what the 
 author has justly observed, that the passage referred to in 
 Nennius is " a manifest interpolation." This he proves, from 
 its being said that " Wedale is a village now subject to the 
 Bishop of St Andrews ;" whereas there was no bishop of this 
 designation when Nennius wrote. 
 
ST AIDAN AT MAILROS. 129 
 
 In this interpolated passage, it is pretended, that Arthur 
 obtained a signal victory over the Pagans of this district,, by 
 means of a cross consecrated at Jerusalem. " The fragments 
 of this cross," it is said, " are still held in great veneration at 
 Wedale." — Cujus fractae adhuc apud Wedale in magn'a ven- 
 eratione servatur. Wedale, Anglice : Vallis doloris, Latine : 
 Wedale est villa in Provincia Lodonesie, nunc vero juries epis- 
 copi sancti Andreae Scotiae, VI. milliaria ab occidentali 
 parte, ab illo quondam nobili et eximio Monasterio de Meil- 
 ros. Gale, vol. i. 114. 
 
 Sir James conjectures, that "this interpolation has been 
 made before the last erection of the abbacie of Melross, and 
 after the time of William the Conquerer, and Malcolm the 
 Tliird." When Wedale is spoken of as a village, that of Stow 
 is undoubtedly referred to; for Milne uses both terms as 
 applied to the same place, p. 65. But Wedale, in its larger 
 signification, has been applied to the valley itself. Stow, ac- 
 cording to the sense of the word in Anglo-Saxon, might sig- 
 nify the place or village of Wedale. Different places in Eng- 
 land are thus denominated; and the term enters into the 
 composition of the names of others, as Walthamstow, &c. 
 
 " The monastery of Melrose," Mr Piukerton says, " was 
 apparently ruined by the Danes about the year 800, if not 
 by Kenneth III. about 850. Chron. Pict. It remained in 
 ruins till refounded by David I. 1136." The latter part of 
 this account receives confirmation from the silence of the 
 Chronicle of Mailros, as to any abbots, or even monks, belong- 
 ing to this monastery, during the period referred to : and 
 still more, from the express language of Simeon of Durham. 
 He relates that Aldwin, Turgot, and some others leaving the 
 monastery of Girwy, " came to what was formerly the 
 monastery of Mailross, but then a solitude ; and being delight- 
 ed with the retirement of that place, began to serve Christ 
 there. But when Malcolm King of Scots, to whom this place 
 belonged, was informed that they had taken up their 
 
I30 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 residence there, he subjected them to great injuries and 
 persecutions, because, observing the rule of the gospel, they 
 would not swear fealty to him. In the meantime the 
 venerable bishop Walcher, by letters and precepts, desired, 
 admonished, and adjured them " to return to Girwy, having 
 threatened to excommunicate them " in the presence of the 
 most sacred body of St Cuthbert, if they did not return to 
 live under this saint." They at length obeyed : " being more 
 afraid of excommunication than of the wrath of the king, 
 which threatened them with death.'' 
 
 From the Chronicle of Mailros, it appears that this Wal- 
 cher, who was bishop of Durham, was killed A. 1080, that is, 
 fifty-six years before the foundation of the new monastery. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of the Monasteries of Crusay and Oronsay. — Of Govan ; — A her- 
 corn ; — Inchcolm ; — Tyninghavi ; — Aberlady ; — and Gold- 
 ingham. — Of the First Missionaries to the Orkney Islands. — 
 Churches and Clmpels dedicated to Oolumha. 
 
 Besides these places, a variety of others might be mentioned. 
 In Crusay, and Oronsay, two of the western isles, monasteries 
 were founded by Cokimba, which, like other Culdean 
 establishments, were at length given to the canons regular. 
 The isle of Oronsay " is adorned," says Martin, " with a 
 church, chappel, and monastery. They were built by the 
 famoiis St Columba, to whom the church is dedicated. 
 There is an altar in this church, and there has been a modern 
 crucifix on it, in which several precious stones were fixed. 
 The most valuable of these is now in the custody of Mack-Duftie, 
 in black liaimused village, and it is used as a catholicon for 
 diseases." Pennant views it as more probable that the 
 monastery was founded " by one of the lords of the isles, who 
 fixed here a priory of canons regular of Augustine, dependent 
 on the Abbey of Holyrood, in Edinburgh." But the settle- 
 ment of canons regular here, in a late age, so far from being 
 a proof that this monastery was not .originally peopled by 
 Culdees, is a strong presumption that it was. 
 
 In the Statistical Account, this monastery is given to a 
 different order of monks; although I suspect, erroneously. 
 " There was," it is said of Colonsay, " a monastery of Cister- 
 cians in this island. Their abbey stood in Colonsay, and its 
 priory in Oronsay. The remains of the abbey were, with 
 Gothic barbarity, torn asunder not many years ago, and the 
 stones put into a new building. The walls of the priory are 
 still standing, and, next to Icolnikill, is one of the finest 
 religious monuments of antiquity in the Hebrides. 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Dr Smith has observed, that " Adamnan, besides the chief 
 monastery of lona, mentions several more in the Western 
 Isles ; such as that of Achaluing, in Ethica ; Himba, or Hinba, 
 and Elen-naomh ; also Kill-Diun, or Dimha, at Lochava or 
 Lochow.'' 
 
 According to Colgan, Columba founded the monastery of 
 Govan on the Clyde. But the accounts of this foundation 
 vary so much, that no certain judgment can be formed. 
 " The church of Govan," it is said by another writer, " ap- 
 pears to have been originally mortified by King David I. to 
 the church of St Mungo at Glasgow. The deed of mortifica- 
 tion is entered in the chartulary of Glasgow." Fordun gives 
 an account quite different from both these ; but such as 
 shews the conviction of his age that this was a very ancient 
 foundation. "Contemporary with St Columba," he says, "was 
 St Constantine, King of Cornwall, who, having renounced an 
 earthly kingdom, began to fight under the heavenly King, 
 and came to Scotland with St Columba, and preached the 
 faith to the Scots and Picts. He founded a monastery of 
 brethren near Clyde, over whom he presided as abbot. He 
 converted the whole country of Kintyre, where he himself 
 suffered martyrdom for the faith, and received burial in his 
 own monastery at Govan." 
 
 It has also been said that Columba and his successors 
 extended their jurisdiction over the monastery of Abercorn. 
 This monastery, we are told " was one of the most ancient in 
 Scotland." It is several times mentioned by Bede, though 
 he gives no particular account of it. Towards the end of the 
 seventh century it was the residence of a bishop Triumvin. 
 At this period the territory of the Northumbrians extended 
 to the Frith of Forth ; but in the year 648, Aegfrid their 
 king was defeated and slain by the Picts, on which Triumvin 
 left Abercorn ; and from that time it is uncertain whether 
 the monastery continued, as there seems to be nothing 
 recorded in history with respect to it. To this old religious 
 
THE BARONY OF ABERLADY. 133 
 
 establishment we must refer the names of many places, such 
 as Priestinch, St Serf's Law, Priest's Folly, &c. 
 
 "About the year 1170 a dispute arose concerning the 
 patronage of the church of Abercorn, between John Avenale, 
 or Avonale, Lord of Abercorn, and Richard, second Bishop of 
 Dunkeld. The latter succeeded, as was to be expected in 
 these times of increasing church power. In the year 1460, 
 the whole lands belonging to the Bishop of Dunkeld on the 
 south side of the Forth, consisting of Abercorn, Craniond, 
 Preston, and Aberlady, were erected into one barony, to be 
 called the barony of Aberlady." 
 
 It seems highly probable that the monks here were 
 Culdees. As the lands of Abercorn, with those of Cramond, 
 belonged to the bishopric of Dunkeld, originally a Culdean 
 establishment, we may reasonably conjecture that they were 
 an early donation, made perhaps because the same rule was 
 observed here as at Dunkeld; especially as the church of 
 Cramond was dedicated to Columba. A charter, dated A. 
 1478, contains the grant of a sum " to be levied from different 
 tenements in Edinburgh, the Canongate, and Leith, for the 
 support of a chaplain, divina celebranti et in perpetuum cele- 
 hraturo annuatim, at the parochial altar of St Columba, 
 situated within the parish church of St Columba of Nether 
 Crawmond." This opinion gains strength from the probabi- 
 lity that this monastery was founded by Oswald, King of 
 ISTorthumbria, who, as he had received his education among 
 the Culdees, still retained the warmest attachment to the 
 society. 
 
 There is reason to think that some of the Orkney Islands 
 were subdued to the Christain faith by the Culdean mission- 
 aries. We learn from Adamnan, that while Columba resided 
 at the court of Brudi, King of the Picts, there was at the 
 same time there the regidus, or petty prince of the Orkneys. 
 Columba, knowing that Cormac, one of his disciples, with 
 some of his companions, had been searching for some island 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 as a place of religious retirement, solicited Brudi, that, if 
 Connac should land in any of these islands he would earnestly 
 recommend him to the protection of this prince, lest any 
 violence should be done to him or his associates in his 
 territories. Adamnan adds, in the style of writing common in 
 his time, that "the saint said this, because he foreknew in spirit, 
 that after some months the same Cormac would go to the 
 Orkneys ; which accordingly took place afterwards : and, in 
 consequence of the recommendation of the holy man, Cormac 
 was delivered from imminent danger of death in these 
 regions. 
 
 Although we have no subsequent accounts of the success of 
 these missionaries, there is ground to conclude, from collateral 
 evidence, that they settled in some of these islands. For 
 Wallace, in his account of the Orkneys, has supplied us with 
 an authentic record of Thomas, Bishop of the Orkneys, dated 
 A. 1403, which throws considerable light on this subject. In 
 this " we are told," as Mr. Pinkerton has observed, " that 
 when the JSTorwegians conquered the Orkneys they found 
 them possessed, duabus nationibus, scilicet Peti et Pape, by 
 two nations, the Pets and Papas." The reasoning of this 
 learned inquirer on this subject is so convincing that I shall 
 make no apology for transcribing it. 
 
 " The first of these nations," he says, " was palpably the 
 Pikts, called Pets by the Scandinavians, as Saxo's Petia, or 
 Piktland, and the name Petland fiord for Piktland frith, in 
 Icelandic writings may witness. The Papas, by the usual 
 confusion of long tradition here called a nation, were clearly 
 the Irish papas or priests, long the sole clergy in the Pikish 
 domains ; and who, speaking a different language from the 
 Pikts, were by the Norwegian settlers regarded, not as a 
 distinct profession only, but as remains of a different nation. 
 Thus Arius Frodi [De Islandia, p. 11], who wrote about 1070, 
 tells us that the Norwegians who colonized Iceland found 
 there Irish papas, who were driven out, but left their Irish 
 
THE CULDEES IN ORKNEY. 135 
 
 books, baecr Irscar, beliind them. Fapey, one of the Orkneys, 
 in all likelihood derives its name from being a chief residence 
 of the Papas." 
 
 Barry adopts the same theory, adding : " There are several 
 places hero which still retain the name of Papay or Paplay, 
 which, when viewed with attention, seem to have something 
 strikingly pecnliar. They are all in a retired situation, 
 distinguished for the richness of iheir soil and the variety of 
 their natural productions. When all these circumstances are 
 considered, along with some venerable ruins which some of 
 them contain, we are almost compelled to believe that they 
 once were the abode of men of that sacred character." 
 
 There are other more minute circumstances which confirm 
 the idea that these islands were formerly inhabited by the 
 ^ followers of Columba. The church of Burness, in the island 
 of Sanday, was dedicated to St Colm. In the foundation of 
 the cathedral church of Orkney, confirmed by Cardinal 
 Beaton, on the application of Lord Eobert Stewart, Bishop of 
 Orkney, A. 1544, the sub-chantor. Sir Matthew Strange, is 
 designed prebendary of St Colm. He also subscribes tlie 
 deed as prehcndarius Sancti Oolumbae. Malcolm Halero, 
 another of the witnesses, is designed, archidiaconus Zdlandiae, 
 ac prgbendariae [prebendarius ?] Scmdac Trinitafis. 
 
 It is not certain, however, that this church was dedicated 
 to the apostle of lona. For, as a learned writer has observed^ 
 "Keith has another St Colm, a bishop and confessor, in 
 Scotland, A.D. 1000, under the 6th of June." He subjoins : 
 " In Dempster's Menologia, under the 6th of June, there is 
 ' Kirkue Colmi Oread, apostoli ; ' and in Dempster's Nomen- 
 clature of Scottish writers, there is ' St Colmus Epis. Oread. 
 1010 A.D.' The St Colni's Kirk, in the isle of Sanday, in 
 Orkney, was, perhaps, named from this St Colm, who was 
 the apostle of the Orkneys, at the end of the tenth century.'' 
 Canierarius mentions, under the sixth of June, Columba, 
 confessor and presbyter. He views the island called Inch- 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 colme, in the Frith of Forth, as named from him ; hut says 
 that he was "a diiferent person from Columba, the holy- 
 abbot." 
 
 The writer lately quoted, who has paid so much attention 
 to the antiquities of Scotland, justly remarks : " The numbers, 
 and distances of the churches which were dedicated to 
 Columba, are proofs in confirmation of Bede, and Adamnan, 
 and Innes, of the extent of his authority, and of the influence 
 of his name. There are Kilcolmkill, the oldest church, and 
 burying ground, in Morven ; Kilcolmkill, in South Cantire ; 
 Kilcolmkill, in Mull ; Kilcolmkill, in Isla-Island ; Kilcolm- 
 kill, on the north-west of the same isle ; Kilcolmkill, in 
 North-Uist ; Kilcolmkill, in Benbecula ; Kilcolmkill, in Skye ; 
 Kilcolmkill, in Sutherland ; Colmkill, in Lana-k; there are 
 Columbkill-isle, in Loch Erisport, in Lewis ; Columbkill Isle, 
 in Loch Columkill, whereon there are the remains of a 
 monastery, dedicated to St Columba ; Inch Colm, in the 
 Frith of Forth, on which a monastery was founded by 
 Alexander I., A.D. 112,3, and dedicated to St Columba ; Eilean 
 Colm, a small island in Tongue parish ; there was formerly 
 St Colm's Kirk in the island of Sanday, in Orkney. There is 
 St Colm's Isle in the Minch, on the south-east of Lewis, 
 which, with St Mary's Isle, and some other Isles, are called 
 the Shiant Isles; and, in (laelic, Eihanan Sheanta, which 
 means the blessed or consecrated islands. The parish church 
 of Lonmay, in Aberdeenshire, was dedicated to St Columba. 
 There is the parish of Kirkcolm, in Wigtonshire. In the 
 parish of Caerlaverock, there was a chapel dedicated to St 
 Columba ; to him was dedicated one of the chaplainries which 
 was attached to the Cathedral of Moray," &c. "We have 
 formerly mentioned the chapel at Colms-lee, from the name 
 of Columba abbreviated, and Anglo-Saxon leag, a iield, 
 pasture, or h&. 
 
 It appears that this saint was held in great veneration at 
 Kilwinning also ; where there was a monastery of peculiar 
 
CHURCHES DEDICATED TO COLUMBA. 137 
 
 celebrity in times of popery. It was not founded, indeed, till 
 the year 1140, when the power of the Culdees was on the 
 wane ; and it was possessed by monks of the Tyronesian 
 order, who were brought from Kelso. But there are still 
 vestiges of the regard that was here paid to Columba. " The 
 fairs," we are told, " in all the towns and villages connected 
 with the monastery, were named after some particular saint, 
 who was afterwards accounted the protector, or particular 
 saint of the place; such as, St Anthony, St Colm or Columba, 
 St Maigaret, St Bride or Bridget. The days on which these 
 fairs are held are still called after the saint whose name they 
 bear ; as Colm's day, Margaret's day," &c. 
 
 ]\Iartin mentions more churches in the Lewis islands as 
 dedicated to Columba. Besides " St Columkil, in the island 
 of that name: — St Collum in Ey, St Colluni in Garten;" also 
 St Columbus's [Columba's] Chapel, in Harries. He gives a 
 particular proof of the strong attachment of the inhabitants 
 of Benbecula to the memory of Columba. "There is a stone," 
 he says, "set up near a mile to the south of Columbus's 
 church, about eight feet high, and two feet broad. It is called 
 by the natives the Bowing-stone ; for when the inhabitants 
 had the first sight of the church, they set up this stone, and 
 there bowed and said the Lord's prayer." 
 
 There was also a chapel dedicated to Columba in the isle 
 of Troda, which lies within half-a-league of the northernmost 
 point of Skye, called Hunish. In Hadda-Chuan, also, that is, 
 Hadda of the ocean, which is about two leagues distant from 
 Huuish-point, there is another chapel dedicated to the same 
 saint. " It has an altar in the east end ; and there is a blue 
 stone of a round form on it, which is always moist. It is an 
 ordinary custom, when any of the fishermen are detained in 
 the isle by contrary winds, to wash the blue stone with water 
 all round, expecting thereby to procure a favourable Avind, 
 which the credulous tenant, living in the isle, says never fails, 
 especially if a stranger wash the stone. The stone is likewise 
 
138 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 applied to the sides of people troubled with stitches, and they 
 say it is effectual for that purpose. And so great is the 
 regard that they have for this stone, that they swear decisive 
 oaths on it." 
 
 "Kirkubrith, in Galloway," says Hay, "belonged to the 
 monastery of men in lona." 
 
 Sir James Dalryniple has given a charter of Willianr the 
 Lion, in which he makes a donation of several churches and 
 chapels in Galloway, belonging to the monastery of lona, to 
 the canons of Holyrood-house. Those mentioned are, the 
 churches of Kirchecormach, of St Andrew, of Balenecros, 
 and of Clieleton. Whether Kirchecormach he an error for 
 Kircuthbert, I shall not pretend to determine. Different 
 saints of the name of Cormac appear in the Scottish calendar. 
 But there was a church, dedicated to Cuthhert, in Kirkcud- 
 bright ; and another, also within the burgh, called St 
 Andrew's Kirk, which seems to be the second mentioned in 
 the charter. 
 
 It does not appear that this alienation was immediately 
 directed against the Culdees. For the Cluniac monks seem 
 to have been previously settled here : and it has been said 
 that these churches were taken from them, because, accord- 
 ing to their constitutions, they were not permitted to perform 
 the functions of a curate. If, however, William had been as 
 partial to the Culdees as to the canons regular, he could 
 easily have found priests of the former description to supply 
 these charges, without alienating, from the abbey of Icolm- 
 kill, churches which had been so manj' ages under its juris- 
 diction. 
 
 Perhaps we ought also to reckon the abbe}' of Inchcolm, 
 an island in the Frith of Forth, as a Cnldean settlement. 
 This abbey, indeed, was founded by Alexander I., about the 
 year 1123 ; and the religious men, whom he placed in it, were 
 canons regular. But it was dedicated to St Columba, Abbot of 
 lona, and had been formerly possessed by one of his followers 
 
THE ABBEY OF INCHCOLM. 139 
 
 Veneration for the memory of Columba is assigned, by our 
 writers, as the very reason of the royal foundation. It is 
 said that the king, when attempting to cross at the Queen's 
 Ferry, being overtal'Cen by a violent storm from the south, 
 urged the mariners to run into the isle Aemouia ; where at 
 that time lived a certain hermit, who, devoted to the service 
 of St Golumba, diligently attended to the duties of religion, 
 contenting himself with such slender support as he could 
 derive from the milk of one cow, and from the shell-fishes on 
 the sea-shore. The king and his company, being confined 
 here for three days by the storm, were supported by these 
 means ; and because, from his youth, he was attached to 
 St Columba, and had vowed to him, when in danger of perish- 
 ing by the storm, that, if he arrived safely at this island, he 
 would erect some monument worthy of his memory, he after- 
 wards founded and endowed the abbey here. 
 
 Kentigerii, or St Mungo, wlio had been viewed as the 
 founder of the s_e of Glasgow, might with propriety be num- 
 bered among those who adorned the name of Culdee ; as, for 
 many years, he was the disciple of St Servanus, at Culross. 
 The famous Baldred, or Balthere, was the disciple of Kentigeru. 
 He inhabited a cell in Tyningham, in Haddiugtonshire, where 
 a monastery was afterwards erected. This was burnt by 
 Anlaf, King of Northumbria, A. 941. Two arches of elegant 
 Saxon architecture, the sole remains of the ancient church, 
 give additional beauty to the lawn whicli surrounds the seat 
 of the Earl of Haddington. 
 
 Baldred, according to Simeon of Durham, died in the year 
 606-7. Three places contended for the honour of retahung 
 his dust, — Aldham, Tyningham, and Preston. Aldham is the 
 same with Whitekirk. In the account of lands belonging to 
 the abbey of Holyrood-house, "the barony of Aldhannie, 
 alias ^Miitkirk," is mentioned. In Latin it was denominated 
 Album Faniuii, and Alba Capella. This place was greatly 
 celebrated in times of popery. Hither many pilgrin)ages 
 
I40 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 were made. It was under pretence of a pious expedition to 
 Whitekirk, in order to perform a vow which she had 
 made for the safety of her son, that the queen-mother cozened 
 Crichton the Chancellor, and carried off James II., in a chest, 
 to Stirling. 
 
 Such was the credulity of these times, that it was believed 
 that the body of the saint w-as in all these places : and this, 
 of course, afforded an irrefragable proof of the doctrine of 
 transubstantiation. Camerarius gravely says, that, " for the 
 termination of the dispute between these parochial churches, 
 it was at length effected, by the prayers of the saint himself, 
 (for nothing is impossible with God,) that each of them should 
 enjoy this treasure." Major asserts the doctrine, as supported 
 by this fact. 
 
 The Breviary of Aberdeen contains some particulars with 
 respect to Baldred, which I have not met with anywhere 
 else. 
 
 " This suffragan of Saint Kentigern," it is said, " flourished 
 in Tothian, in virtues and in illustrious miracles. Being 
 eminently devout, he renounced all worldly pomp, and, fol- 
 lowing the example of John the Divine, resided in solitary 
 places, and betook himself to the islands of the sea. Among 
 these, he had recourse to one called Bass, where he led a life 
 without all question contemplative and strict, in which, 
 for many years, he held up to remembrance the most blessed 
 Kentigern, his instructor, in the constant contemplation of the 
 sanctity of his conduct. 
 
 In this work, we find a miracle ascribed to the worthy 
 Baldred, that must have rendered him an estimable acqui- 
 sition to a people living on a rocky coast. "There was a 
 great rock between the said island [the Bass] and the adja- 
 cent land, which remained fixed in the middle of the passage, 
 unmoved by all the force of the waves, giving the greatest 
 hinderance to navigation, and often causing shipwrecks. The 
 blessed Baldred, moved by piety, ordered that he should be 
 
THE ABBEY OF ABERLADY. 141 
 
 placed on this rock. This being done, at his nod the rock 
 was immediately lifted up, and, like a ship driven by a 
 favourable breeze, proceeded to the nearest shore, and hence- 
 forth remained in the same place, as a memorial of this 
 miracle, and is to this day called St Baldred's coble or 
 cock-boat." 
 
 Here a different account is also given of the ubiquity of 
 the saint's body. We are informed that the inhabitants of 
 the three parishes which were under his charge, as soon as 
 they knew of his death, assembled in three different troops 
 at Aldhame, where he breathed his last, severally begging 
 his body. But, as they could not agree among themselves, 
 they, by the advice of a certain old man, left the body un- 
 buried, and all separately betook themselves to prayer, that 
 God himself, of his grace, would be pleased to signify which 
 of these churches was to have the body of the saint, ilorn- 
 ing being come, a thing took place that has not often had a 
 parallel. They, being all assembled, as before, in their dif- 
 ferent troops, found three bodies, perfectly alike, and all pre- 
 pared with equal pomp for interment. Each of the companies, 
 of course, departed well pleased ; and each parish erected a 
 monument over that body of the saint which had fallen to 
 its share. 
 
 It has been conjectured that the Culdees had a seat at or 
 near Aberlady, in the same county. " There are still visible," 
 it is said, " the vestiges of a small chapel on the north-west 
 corner of the churchyard." The same account is given by 
 Mr Chalmers. " There appears to have been here," he says, 
 " in early times, an establishment of the Culdees : And Kil- 
 spindie, the place of their settlement, near the village of 
 Aberlady, on the north-west, is supposed to have derived its 
 name from the Culdees ; Cil-ys-pen-du signifying, in the 
 British speech, the cell of the black heads ; and the word is 
 pronounced Kilyspendy. The cell of the Culdees near Aber- 
 lady was, no doubt, connected with the Culdee monastery of 
 
 10 
 
142 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES, 
 
 Dunkeld. When David I. established the bishopric of Dun- 
 keld, he conferred on the bishop of this diocese Kilspindie 
 and Aberlady, with their lands adjacent, the advowson of 
 the church, and its tithes and other rights." 
 
 Coldinghani has also been numbered among the original 
 seats of the (Jiildees. " Certainly," says the learned Selden, 
 referring to the language of Bede, " I cannot but suspect that, 
 in C'oludi urhs, the name of the ancient Culdees lies hid, or is 
 more obscurely exhibited ; as having been ennobled, above 
 other places, by the residence of a greater number of this 
 society, or perhaps by their more solemn convention." 
 
 This was undoubtedly the most ancient nunnery in North 
 Britain. It is supposed that it was founded during the reign 
 of Oswald, who died A. 643. In the year 670 it was under 
 the government of Ebba, who was not less distinguished by 
 hur virtues, than by her royal descent. 
 
 It does not appear, however, that any stress can be laid on 
 the name, as indicating that this was originally a seat of the 
 Culdees ; for in this case, according to analogy, the initial 
 syllable would most probably have been Kil or Oil. But 
 there seems to be as little ground for asserting that " the 
 prefix is plainly from the Saxon Col-cUn, the Cold vale." Nor 
 does this etymon derive much support from what is added : 
 " This kirktowu is the Urhs Ooldona [1. Coldcma] of Bede, 
 saith CHbson, in his Explicatio nominujn locorum, subjoined to 
 his Saxon Chronicle. The coincidence is decisive, as Coldana, 
 and Coldene, or dean, are the same in substance." This is not 
 precisely what Gibson says. Explaining the name Coludesburh, 
 which occurs in the Chronicle, he says : " Urhs Coldana, et 
 Coludi urhs, Bed." If Coldana is used by Bede, I have not 
 been so fortunate as to find the place. Coludi ttrhs occurs in 
 three places. By Alfred it is rendered, as in the Saxon 
 Chronicle, Coludes Uirh. The phrase, Coldana, et Coludi, 
 appears in the margin of Ptolemy, among the AequipoUentia; 
 and to this Gibson might possilTy refer. But the KoXa^io of 
 
o 
 
 THE ABBEY OF COLDINGHAM. 143 
 
 Ptolemy could never be viewed by our Scottish topographer 
 as the same with the modern Coldingham ; as he has himself 
 placed it in Lanarkshire. Cohidi, or Goludes, must be viewed 
 as the original name of Coldingham ; and surely there is no 
 great resemblance between either of these and Col-den. 
 Although " between the church and the sea there is a place 
 called Cold-mill," it will not prove that the monastery was 
 designed from the bleakness of its situation. If it stood there 
 in the Saxon period, it was most probably denominated 
 Coludes mylii. 
 
 While Ebba resided here, " there was in the same monas- 
 tery," as we are informed by Bede, " a man of the Scottish 
 race, called Adamnan, who led a life entirely devoted to God 
 in continence and prayer, so that he never tasted food except 
 on the Lord's day and on Thursday ; frequently spending the 
 whole night m prayer." He, we are told, informed the abbess 
 of a revelation which had been made to him, that the judgment 
 of God was shortly to come on the monastery, because of 
 their corruptions. It was afterwards consumed by fire. 
 
 The name of this devotee is another circumstance on which 
 Selden rests his supposition. The hypothesis, indeed, is not 
 liable to the charge of anachronism. For that Adamnan who 
 is here mentioned resided at Coldingham between the years 
 671 and 679, when the monastery was burnt. He, who had 
 the same name, was this very year made Abbot of Hij, and 
 died A. 703. As we learn from Bede, that many of the 
 inhabitants of Coldingham, among whom was his co-presbyter 
 Aedgils, left it on account of that destruction; Adamnan 
 might be one of these ; and, being a Scotsman, might go to 
 Hij, where he had most probably received his education. The 
 austerity of his life might point him out as the most proper 
 person for filling the vacancy at Hij. 
 
 This Adamnan has by Camerarius been called Abbot of 
 Coldingham. But although there were monks as well as 
 nuns there, in this early age, the Abbess, like Hilda at Whitby, 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 seems to have had the supreme authority. Other writers call 
 him a monk ; and this seems to have heen the only character 
 which he had at Coldingham. But although he had received 
 no higher designation, even from writers of an earlier age, 
 it would not amount to a proof that, after he retired from 
 this place, he had not been advanced to greater dignity. 
 Bede, indeed, does not say that Adamnan, Abbot of Hij, was 
 the same person. But his silence on this head affords no 
 evidence that he was not, but rather the contrary. Trithe- 
 mius, Usher, and Smith, view him as a different person. 
 Bale, Possevin, and others, consider him as the same. 
 
 It may be added, that the celebrated Ebba, mentioned 
 above, must have had her education among the Culdees. 
 She was the daughter of Edilfrid, king of North umbria, who 
 being slain in battle, was succeeded by Edwin, king of the 
 Deiri. In consequence of his succession, Ebba and her 
 seven brothers were either exiled, or found it,, most safe to 
 betake themselves to Scotland. The illustrious Oswald, 
 afterwards king of ISTorthumbria, was one of them. It was 
 in consequence of his education among the Culdees, as we 
 have seen, that he afterwards applied to the elders of the 
 Scots for a spiritual instructor to his subjects. 
 
 According to the Aberdeen Breviary, she and her brothers, 
 while in a state of exile, were received and kindly nourished 
 by Donald Brek, king of Scots. Fordun dates this event in 
 the reign of his father Eugenius IV. Bede seems uncertain 
 whether it was among the Scots or Picts that they received 
 protection. "Daring the life of Edwin," he says, " the sons 
 of Edilfrid, with a great company of noble youths, were in a 
 state of exile among the Scots or Picts, and were there in- 
 structed in the doctrine of the Scots, and received the grace 
 of baptism.'' 
 
 It is also said in the Breviary, as above referred to, that 
 Ebba was buried " in her own monastery, called Golludi." It 
 would also seem, that from her the promontory of St Abb's 
 
ABBESS EBBA. 145 
 
 Head derived its name. It is said that, when seeking refuge 
 in Scotland, she was driven in on some pai't of the coast near 
 this headland; and afterwards, when chosen abbess, that, 
 from gratitude for her preservation, she built a church or 
 chapel on the promontory, at her own expense. 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Of the Opposition of the Culdees to the Romish System. — Testi- 
 mony of Becle ; — of Con ; — of A Icuin ; — of Bromton ; — of 
 Auricular Confession ; — the Tonsure ; — Mode of Baptism ; 
 — The Reed Presenee ; — Idolatrous Worship. 
 
 It is evident, notwithstanding the partial accounts we have 
 of these remote transactions, that, from a very early period, 
 the Culdees vigorously opposed the errors, and resisted the 
 encroachments, of the Church of Eome. But even while the 
 more candid writers, who favoured or adhered to the Eomish 
 interest, mention this opposition ; such was their conviction 
 of the blameless character of the men, that they could not 
 withhold their praise. 
 
 Bede, when speaking of the difference between the Scottish 
 Church and the Church of Eome, as to the mode of observing 
 Easter, calls that of the latter " the canonical observation ; " 
 and says, that Oswald, king of the Angles, having applied ad 
 majores natu Scottorum, "to the Scottish elders," that they 
 might send him a bishop for the instruction of his people, 
 soon after "received bishop Aidan, a man of the greatest 
 meekness, piety and moderation, and animated with divine 
 zeal, although not entirely according to knowledge. For he 
 was accustomed to observe Easter Sunday after the manner 
 of his own nation, from the fourteenth to the twentieth moon. 
 For, after this mode, the northern province of the Scots, and 
 the whole Pictish nation, celebrated Easter ; persuading them- 
 selves that, in this mode of observation, they followed the 
 writings of that holy and praise-worthy father Anatolius : 
 which, whether it be true, every intelligent person can easily 
 discern." 
 
THE CULDEES AND ROMANISM. 147 
 
 Afterwards, speaking of Aidan, in reference to the same 
 diversity of celebration, he says : " But, during the life of 
 Aidan, this difference with respect to Easter was patiently 
 endured by all ; as they were fully sensible that, although he 
 could not observe Easter in a way contrai'y to the custom of 
 those who sent him, he nevertheless laboured, that all the 
 works of faith, piety, and love, should be diligently practised 
 according to the custom common to all saints : for which 
 cause he was deservedly beloved of all, even those who dif- 
 fered from him in sentiment with regard to Easter ; and was 
 held in veneration, not only by persons of inferior rank, but 
 also by the bishops themselves, by Honorius, Bishop of Can- 
 terbury, and Felix, Bishop of the East Angles." 
 
 Goodall labours to overthrow this proof of the indepen- 
 dence of the Scottish Church ; but in a veiy unfair manner. 
 " If enquiry be made," he says, " upon what foundation all 
 these things are asserted, there will nothing be found but 
 ignorance or fable. For it is a strange inference, that, because 
 the Scots in old times observed the feast of Easter by 
 another cycle than that which the Church of Kome had 
 adopted, therefore they entertained the same opinions with 
 the modern Presbyterians, who utterly condemn any celebra- 
 tion of that festival as highly superstitious." But, who has 
 asserted that the Culdees " entertained the same opinions with 
 the modern Presbyterians," as to the observation of festival 
 days ? The question is not if they adhered to some rites, for 
 which the modern Presbyterians can discern no authority 
 from the word of God. For it is admitted that a variety of 
 human inventions had been too generally introduced long 
 before the age of Columba. Nor is it of consequence to 
 inquire from whom our forefathers originally received such 
 rites ? But the proper question is, — Ought not their rigid 
 adherence to their own modes, in what way soever they had 
 been introduced, to be viewed as a clear proof of their inde- 
 pendence as a church ; and particularly, of their refusing to 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 give any subjection to the usurped authority of the Church 
 of Eome ? 
 
 " Whereas it has been alledged and maintained," says 
 Goodall, " that the disputes which the Culdees had with some 
 bishops and canons, were, on account of differences about 
 religious tenets, it will appear, by examining into the 
 instances alledged, that it was not so, but merely such dis- 
 putes as the bishops and canons had pretty frequently ataong 
 themselves, about money, lands, and privileges." — " They 
 differed no more in religion from the rest of the Church of 
 Eome than Black Friars do from White.'' 
 
 That the Culdees had disputes about matters merely 
 secular, as well as those who formally adhered to the Church 
 of Eome, no reasonable person will deny. But it must be 
 observed that their disputes about these things, according to 
 all the accounts transmitted to us, were chiefly in later ages. 
 
 From the common influence of corruption, it is natural to 
 think that, as this was more generally diffused, especially in 
 consequence of the increase of the power of Eome, their zeal 
 would appear more ardent with respect to their secular 
 privileges, than as to those of a superior description. But it 
 will not follow that they never had any other grounds of 
 difference with the Church of Eome. The certainty of their 
 having disputes with respect to "money, land, and privileges," 
 will not destroy the evidence which we still have, that they 
 differed as to various points both of doctrine and worship. 
 
 There is another consideration, however, which more 
 especially demands our attention. , Although it were true 
 that latterly the Culdees had no disputes, save with respect 
 to " money, lands, and privileges," we could be at no loss to 
 perceive the reason of this. Their enemies knew that they 
 had a far more certain prospect of success by attacking them 
 on these points than merely by opposing their peculiarities. 
 They had every reason to fear that the Culdees, if allowed to 
 retain their temporal emoluments, especially as they were the 
 
THE TESTIMONY OF CON. 149 
 
 favourites of the vulgar, would fight it out with them to the 
 last. They, therefore, like men who had some portion of the 
 wisdom of the serpent at least, called in the aid of princes 
 and peers, of popes and bishops ; kiiowing that the arm of 
 power is au argument that cannot easily be answered. They 
 reduced the Culdees to the necessity of either disputing about 
 " money, lands, and privileges," or of depriving themselves of 
 the possibility of continuing their disputes on more important 
 grounds. They seem to have applied the same national 
 proverb to this refractory fraternity, which tradition ascribes 
 to the successors of the Culdees, at a later period, as practi- 
 cally applied to friars of every order, whether " black " or 
 " white : " " Ding doon the nests, and the rooks will flee 
 away." 
 
 Before proceeding to consider the proofs, yet extant, of 
 the difference between the Culdees and the Church of Eome, 
 as to particular points of faith or practice, it may be observed 
 that G-eorge Con, although a bigoted adherent to the interests 
 of this church, even since the Eeformation, has given them a 
 very honourable testimony. " Among the Culdees,'' he says, 
 " was seen that pure pattern of the Christian life, which, 
 withdrawn from the noise of the world and the society of 
 men, was wholly employed in the contemplation of heavenly 
 things : such as it appeared among the Egyptians, Greeks, 
 and Assyrians, during that and the following ages, in the lives 
 of those illustrious servants of God, who were called Anchor- 
 ites and Ascetics." 
 
 The celebrated Alcuin, who flourished in the eighth 
 century, nearly at the same time with Bede, in his epistle 
 addressed To the very learned Men and Fathers in the Province 
 of the Scots, appears as a witness that our countrymen did not 
 acknowledge auricular confession. " It is reported," he says, 
 " that none of the laity make confession to the priests." But, 
 although he argues against their sentiments, he gives the 
 following character of the men. " We hear many conmienda- 
 
ISO HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 tions of your wisdom and piety, both on account of the holy 
 lives of the monks, who, free from the bustle of worldly cares, 
 resign themselves to the service of God ; and of the religious 
 manners of the laity, who, in the midst of temporal occupa- 
 tions, continue to lead virtuous lives.'' 
 
 Although Bromton complains that Colman would not re- 
 nounce the sectof the Scots,yet he gives a very honourable testi- 
 mony to him, and to his predecessors, Aidan and Fiuan, as men 
 of wonderful sanctity, temperances, humility, and sj)irituality. 
 
 That they opposed auricular confession further appears 
 from what the famous St Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, says 
 concerning Malachy, Bishop of Armagh, in the twelfth 
 century : " He anew instituted the most salutary use of 
 confession." On this subject Toland has made the following 
 observations : " They rejected auricular confession, as well as 
 authoritative absolution ; and confessed to God alone, as 
 believing God alone could forgive sins : which made I know 
 not whom to exclaim most grievously against such, and to 
 say, ' that if they could conceal their sins from God, they 
 would no more confess them to him than to the priest' A 
 very shrewd egregious discovery ! but laughed at by the Irish 
 laity, who, notwithstanding their native simplicity, could 
 discern this sanctified trap laid for their private and public 
 liberty, with all the subtlety of hypocritical priests." 
 
 The Scottish clergy had received the ridiculous rite of the 
 tonsure. But it is no inconsiderable proof of their indepen- 
 dence on Eome, that it was not till the eighth century that 
 they could be prevailed on to adopt the Eoman mode; although 
 so early as the time of Augustine, the papal legates had 
 introduced the latter into Britain, and had persuaded the 
 Anglican clergy to receive it. This, indeed, appears to have 
 been one of the very important changes designed in their 
 legation. But the more frivolous the thing itself, which the 
 Romanists wished to impose on the clergy in Scotland, the 
 greater is the proof of their spirit of resistance. 
 
THEIR MODE OF BAPTISM. 151 
 
 It has been supposed, from the language of Bede, that, 
 "without the ceremonies used by the Eomanists, they 
 baptised in any water they came to." This is confirmed by 
 the complaint which Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 makes concerning the Irish Christians, who were taught by 
 Culdees. " Infants," he says, " are baptised by immersion, 
 without the consecrated chrism." 
 
 It has been inferred, from the language of Bernard, that 
 "confirmation was quite in disuse, if at all ever known," 
 among the Irish Culdees. For in his life of Malachy he says 
 that he " anew instituted the sacrament of confirmation." 
 
 They seem also to have opposed the doctrine of the real 
 presence. We read of Bishop Sedulius, who, about the 
 beginning of the eighth century, went to Home in company 
 with Fergustus or Fergus, a Pictish bishop. Sedulius is 
 claimed both by the Scots and by the Irish. He subscribes 
 himself, in a council held at Piome, A. 721, Brltanniae episcopus, 
 dc generc Scotortmi. But it is immaterial whether he belonged 
 to Scotland or to Ireland ; as the doctrines and forms of both 
 churches were so similar. He left a commentary on all the 
 epistles of Paul, which has been printed. On 1 Cor. xi. 24- 
 Do this in reincmbrance of me, he says: "He has left his 
 memorial to us, in the same manner as anyone, who was about 
 to go a great distance, should leave some pledge to him whom 
 he loved; that as often as he saw it he might be able to 
 recollect the benefits and the love of his friend." 
 
 The Culdees, it would appear, withstood the idolatrous 
 worship of the Eoman Church. " It is to be observed," says 
 Sir James Dalrymple, "that the conmion practice of the 
 Culdees was to dedicate their principal churches to the Holy 
 Trinitie, and not to the Blessed Virgin, or any Saint." "There 
 is a charter by JMalcolm IV. to the abbey of Dunkeld, in 
 which the church is designed that of the Holy Trinity." It 
 seems highly probable that the church of Brechin, which has 
 been generally viewed as a remnant of Pictish architecture, 
 
IS2 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 had a similar dedication ; as the principal market held there 
 is still called Trinity, by corruption, Tarnty Fair. 
 
 It is admitted, indeed, that this was their established 
 mode of dedication. " The monastery of Dunfermlin," says a 
 learned writer, in a passage formery quoted, " was dedicated, 
 like the other Culdean establishments, to the holy Trinity." 
 Speaking of Scone, he says : " A Culdean church was here 
 dedicated, in the earliest times, to the Holy Trinity, like 
 other Culdean monasteries." Spotiswood says that the abbey 
 of Scone was dedicated " to the Holy Trinity, and St Michael 
 the Archangel." But there can be no doubt that he is here 
 to be corrected from the more full and interesting account 
 given us by Sir James Dalrymple. He has, indeed, inserted, 
 from the Chartulary of Scone, the charter of Alexander I. 
 erecting the abbey. This bears that there was a church here, 
 formerly dedicated to the Holy Trinity. But a reason is 
 assigned for the change of the dedication, as well as of the 
 mode of service ; a reason perfectly consonant to the spirit of 
 the times. 
 
 The words are : " I, Alexander, by the grace of God King 
 of Scots, son of King Malcolm and Queen Margaret, and I, 
 Sibilla, Queen of Scots, daughter of Henry, King of England, 
 being disposed to decorate the house of God, to exalt his 
 habitation, give and deliver up the church, dedicated in 
 honour of the Holy Trinity, to God himself, and St Mary, and 
 St Michael, and St John, and St Laurence, and St Augustine." 
 It is added that it was "for extending and exalting the 
 worship and honour of God, that canons were introduced from 
 the church of St Oswalds, ad servimdum Deum canonice. 
 
 " Here," says Sir James, " is a new order of ecclesiastics, 
 and a new form of worship introduced, upon pretence of 
 enlarging and exalting the worship and honour of God, as if 
 it had not been established formerly in purity at Scone ; and 
 chanoins regular of St Austine, serving God by their profes- 
 sion, brought from the church of Oswalds in England, a place 
 
THE ABBEY OF SCONE. 153 
 
 famous for its religion ; as if the Scots and their predecessors 
 before this time, had not been servants of God after the right 
 rule, and their churches famous for professing the true reli- 
 gion ; or that they had not served God canonically, albeit 
 according to the canon of the holy scriptures, because not 
 according to the rule of St Austine." 
 
 This new erection seems to have taken place A. 1114, 
 or 1115 : and it was the first instance of the introduction 
 of canons into the Scottish church. For it was from 
 Scone that canons were brought to St Andrews, in the year 
 1140. 
 
 This exactly tallies with the account given of the Irish, 
 while under the religious direction of the Culdees. Toland 
 observes, that " in their public worship, they made an honour- 
 able mention of holy persons deceased ; offering a sacrifice 
 of thanksgiving for their exemplary life and death, but not by 
 way of propitiation for sins." For he says : " They neither 
 prayed to dead men, nor for them. And though naming 
 particiilar men on such occasions gave a handle for erecting 
 them afterwards into tutelary saints, yet at that time the 
 Irish were as far from addressing themselves to saints as to 
 angels. For they were persuaded, (to use the words of 
 Claudius), that, ' while we are in the present world, we may 
 help one another either by our prayers or by our counsels ; 
 but when we come before the tribunal of Christ, neither Job, 
 nor Daniel, nor Noah, can intercede for any one, but every 
 one must bear his own burden,' which is plain sense and 
 scripture. But that which is plain nonsense, and nowhere 
 authorised in scripture, I mean the service for the dead, the 
 Irish never practised till they were obliged to do it by the 
 council of Cashel, convoked by order of Henry the Second, 
 in the year 1172. And it is certain that nothing does more 
 contribute to harden the ignorant sort in a vicious course of 
 life, than this mummery ; when they observe such things 
 said and done at burials, with relation to their deceased pro- 
 
154 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 fligate companions, as may persuade them they are upon a 
 level with the best, for all their past wickedness." 
 
 Toland, when speaking of the Irish, says that Claudius was 
 " one of their most celebrated divines." He flourished in the 
 year 815, and is said to have been Bishop of Auxerre ; accord- 
 ing to others, of Turin. 
 
 Gillan has made an effort to prove that there was no 
 superstition in dedicating churches to saints. " If Sir James 
 [Dalryniple,]" he says, " will be at the pains to consult, but 
 very superficially, the writings of the ancient fathers and 
 ecclesiastic historians, he will find that no sooner did Constan- 
 tine encourage and embrace the Christian religion, but stately 
 churches were dedicated all the Christian world over to saints 
 and martyrs. And what superstition or idolatry can there 
 be in consecrating a church to the service and worship of 
 God alone, and calling it by the name of a saint, both to 
 preserve the memory of that saint, and to distinguish it from 
 other churclies ?" 
 
 But the learned writer has chosen a very unlucky fera for 
 the commencement of these dedications. Any one who con- 
 sults ancient writers, although superficially, if he does it coolly, 
 must see that, as "the mystery of iniquity" had been worldng 
 long before, it made very rapid advances from the time of 
 Constantine ; and that the power which he lent the churchy 
 and the pomp with which he surrounded her, proved her 
 greatest snares, and did more real injury to the interests of 
 religion than all the cruel persecutions of the heathen em- 
 perors had been able to effect. It has also been generally 
 acknowledged by protestant writers, that the dedication of 
 churches to saints and martyrs, however innocently meant 
 by pious Christians, was the great inlet to the worship of 
 demons, or departed men. 
 
 Although Bede has said, that " Ninian's episcopal seat was 
 distinguished by the name and church of St Martin the 
 Bishop," it does not follow that the cliurch was thus dedicated 
 
DEDICATION OF CHURCHES. 155 
 
 by Ninian himself. At any rate, Bede says, in the very same 
 place, that he had been regularly trained up at Rome. 
 
 Gillan adds, that " Sir James had been at needless trouble 
 to bring charters to prove that churches were dedicated to 
 the Blessed Trinity." Undoubtedly he has not. For, from 
 what we have already seen, it appears that the Romanists 
 were by no means satisfied with this kind of dedication. 
 Therefore they altered it, as not being sufficiently conducive 
 to the honour of the catholic church. 
 
 They were also enemies to the doctrines of works of 
 supererogation. " They were so far," says Tolaiid, " from pre- 
 tending to do more good than they were obliged [to do], much 
 less to superabound in merit for the benefit of others (but 
 such others as should purchase these superfluities of grace 
 from their executors the priests,) that they readily denied all 
 merit of their own ; and solely hoped for salvation from the 
 mercy of God, through faith in Jesus Christ : which faith, as 
 a living root, was to pi'oduce the fruit of good works, without 
 which it were barren or dead, and consequently useless : for, 
 as Claudius observes, from some other sage, ' The faithful 
 man does not live by righteousness, but the righteous n)an 
 by faith.' This excellent sentence, culled out of numberless 
 testimonies to the same purpose in the oldest writers, 
 comprehends at once and decides the whole controversy." 
 
 Sir James Dalrymple has understood a passage in an 
 ancient deed, respecting a dispute between the Culdees and the 
 canons of St Andrews, as proving that the former celebrated 
 divine ordinances in a manner different from that of the 
 Church of Rome. Goodall observes that he has misunderstood 
 the sense ; as the language merely signifies that inquiry was 
 to be made "if these Caldees had sung or said mass, while 
 they were not at liberty, sic ligati, as lying under ecclesiastical 
 censure." Goodall has undoubtedly given the genuine 
 meaning of the passage. 
 
 But there is a proof of this difference, as to the mode of 
 
iS6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 administering divine ordinances, which cannot easily be set 
 aside. In the Extracts from the Eegister of St Andrews, it is 
 said : " The Culdees celebrated their office, after their own 
 manner, in a certain very small corner of the church." This, 
 as Sir Eobert Sibbald remarks, " insinuates that their way of 
 performing the divine service differed from the Eoman way, 
 which at that time [in the reign of Alexander I.] came to be 
 followed by many of the other clergy." 
 
 They are represented in these extracts as having been, for 
 a long time, chargeable with this offensive conduct. " After 
 the death of any of the Culdees, their wives, or children, or 
 relations, appropriated the possessions which they had held, 
 and even the offerings made at the altar, at which they did 
 not serve. ISTor could this evil be cured till the time of King 
 Alexander [I.] of blessed memory, a great friend of the holy 
 Church of God." 
 
 Dr Ledwick, although he opposes the idea that the 
 Culdean constitution had any favourable aspect towards 
 presbytery, views this passage as a, clear proof of their resist- 
 ance to the Eomish innovations. " The Eegister of St 
 Andrews," he says, " informs us that the Culdees, relaxing in 
 discipline, were deprived of their possessions ; but King 
 Alexander restored them conditionally, that they should be 
 more attentive in attending divine service, which they 
 neglected, except when the king or bishop was present ; 
 performing, however, their own office in their own way in a 
 small corner of the church. This account is obscure, merely 
 because the truth is not related. For the registry acquaints 
 us, when Alexander began the reform in the church of St 
 Andrews, there was no one to serve at the altar of the blessed 
 apostle, St Andrew, or to celebrate mass. This shews that 
 the Culdees, who were settled there, paid no respect to these 
 holy relicks, or to the mass, but chose rather to forfeit their 
 church and property than desert their principles ; preferring 
 their ancient office with integrity of heart, in a corner, to the 
 
CULDEAN WORSHIP. 157 
 
 possession of the choir and its superstitious pageantry. Their 
 office was Gallican, and very different from the Roman. We 
 are sure it was not the mass, which Pope Gregory [Epist. 63. 
 1. 7.] confesses was the work of a private person, and not of 
 apostolic authority. The Anglo-Saxons accepted the Roman 
 office, but the British and Irish retained their primitive 
 forms." 
 
 This appears to be a just view of the narrative. For the 
 weight of the charge seems to rest here, that they did not 
 worship canonically. It is not asserted, that they did not 
 continue to perform divine service regularly. Their crime 
 was, that they performed it, not at the altar, but in a corner 
 of the church ; not with pomp, except when they were obliged 
 to conform on special occasions ; not after the Roman pattern, 
 but after their own manner. The character given to Alex- 
 ander also deserves our attention. He was " a great friend 
 of holy church ;" that is, according to the spirit of the writer, 
 he was zealous for the Romish rites, and warmly attached to 
 their keenest abettors. 
 
 The mode of expression used, as to the condition on which 
 the Culdees were to enjoy the privileges restored to them, 
 corresponds to the rest of the narration. It does not signify, 
 as it has been rendered : " on this express condition, that the 
 service of God should be restored in the church;" but, 
 " that in the church itself a proper form of divine service 
 should be constituted," or "set up." The religion, to be 
 framed for the service of God, is explained of service at the 
 altar of the blessed Apostle, and celebration of the mass, nay, 
 the celebration of it there, — at the altar, and in no other part 
 of the church. 
 
 Wyntown, like a good catholic, speaks as if there had been 
 no religion at all at St Andrews, before the blessed change 
 made by Alexander the First. 
 
 11 
 
iS8 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Saynt Aiulrewys cyte lie come til : 
 
 Thare in hys devotyoune 
 
 He ordanyd to be rr.lygyoione. 
 
 And stedfastly that to be done. — 
 
 Wyth consent of Dawy yliyng 
 
 Hys ayre, nest for to be kyng, 
 
 Hys brodyr, and Erie of Huntyngtown, 
 
 At Sanct Andrewys relicjyowne 
 
 Fra thine to be gave Ms gud will. 
 
 CronyHl, B. vii. u. 5. ver. 70. 
 
 It was to be at St Andrews fra tliine, that is, from thence- 
 forth. The term relygymonc, as used by Wyntown, seems 
 strictly to denote " a religious order," or " a religious foun- 
 dation for a monastic order." But it is evidently used to the 
 exclusion of the Culdees, as if they had been totally un- 
 worthy of so honourable a designation. 
 
 I have no doubt that their practical opposition to celibacy 
 was one great cause of the persecution carried on against 
 them, how much soever it might be veiled. As the Eoman 
 system gained ground, that bond, which the allwise God 
 instituted as honourable in men of all characters, came to be 
 reckoned quite inconsistent with the sanctity of the clergy. 
 
 "We have a pretty clear proof of this in Myln's Lives of the 
 Bishops of Dunkeld, formerly referred to. Speaking of the 
 Ouldees in the monastery of Dunkeld, he says : " They were 
 Teligious men, although they had wives, according to the 
 •custom of the oriental church ; but when it pleased the 
 aiipreme Moderator of the whole of Christendom, crescenteque 
 Principum d&votione et sanditate, and the devotion and 
 holiness Of princes being on the increase, David the holy 
 king, — having changed the monastery, erected it into a 
 ■cathedral church, and having rejected the Culdees, repudiatis 
 Kelledds, appointed a bishop and canons, and ordained the 
 monastery to be henceforth a secular college." Here a popish 
 writer plainly enough owns that the Culdees were repudiated 
 
CULDEES AND ROMISH AUTHORITY 159 
 
 by David, with the consent of the Pope ; because their living 
 in wedloclv was, in conseqixence of the increase of devotion, 
 deenaed unworthy of the sacred character. They were them- 
 selves divorced, because they would not agree to divorce 
 their wives. 
 
 The zealous friends of the Roman interest did not consider 
 the Guldees as properly brethren. Robert, formerly prior of 
 Scone, was elected Bishop of St Andrews about the year 
 1126. He chose rather to continue without the exercise of 
 his function, than to acknowledge the Guldees as his clergy. 
 "In liis church," says the Register of St Andrews, "he neither 
 had, nor inclined to have any power, till the Lord should 
 procure for him that society which he wished for divine 
 service. He had resolved not to associate himself to priests 
 of other churches, lest, differing in sentiment, the fabric might 
 be ruined ere it was well founded." It is in this manner that 
 the Guldees are spoken of. 
 
 Is it said that Robert was unwilling to acknowledge them 
 as his clergy, because they did not profess celibacy ? This, 
 so far from being an objection, is a confirmatiou of what we 
 mean to prove, — that the Guldees would not submit to the 
 Romish authority. Robert, indeed, was chosen bishop for the 
 express purpose of bringing the Scots to a closer conformity 
 with Rome. He was a native of England, and having been a 
 canon Sti Oswaldi de Nostellis, near Poiitrefact in that country, 
 was far more attached, than our countrymen, to the Romish 
 rites. 
 
 The celebrated St Bernard, formerly mentioned, describes 
 the Irish Christians, who were Guldees, as if they had been 
 wild beasts, because they did not comply with the Roman 
 innovations. In his life of Malachy, when relating that he 
 was made Bishop of Gonnor, he says that " he came not to 
 men, but to beasts, absolute barbarians, a stubborn, stiffnecked, 
 and ungovernable generation, and abominable ; Ghristians in 
 name, but in reality pagans." The grounds of this severe 
 
i6o HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 crimination immediately follow : " They neither pay tithes, 
 nor first-fruits, they do not enter into lawful marriage, [not 
 being married by the clergy,] they do not go to confession ; 
 no one can be found who applies for the prescription of pen- 
 ance, nor any one who will prescribe it." Elsewhere he says, 
 as we have formerly seen, that Malachy " anew introduced 
 the most salutary use of confession, and the sacrament of 
 confirmation." 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 The judgment of the adherents of Home concerning the Culdees. 
 — Of the Syiiod of Streoneshalch. — Of Colman and Adam- 
 nan. — Government not the only ground of difference with the 
 Romanists. — Charge hrought hy Richard of Hexham against 
 the Scots. — Character given of the Culdees iy Dr Henry. — 
 Of the Synod of Cealhythe. — Their Character as given ly 
 Gihhon. — Of Clemens, Samson, and Virgilius. — Speech of 
 Gilbert Murray. 
 
 This hostility between the Culdees and the Eomanists was 
 of a very ancient date. If, on some occasions, the warm 
 adherents of Eome seemed unwilling to fraternize with the 
 Culdees, they were only returning a compliment which had 
 been paid to themselves several centuries before. The dislike 
 was indeed mutual. Bede gives an extract of a letter from 
 Laurence, who succeeded Augustine, as Bishop of Canterbury, 
 A. 605, to the Scots, who inhabited Ireland, in which he says : 
 "When the see apostolic — sent us to these western parts to 
 preach to the pagan nations, and we happened to come into 
 this island, which is called Britain, we held both the Britons 
 and Scots in great esteem for sanctity before we knew them ; 
 believing that they conducted themselves according to the 
 custom of the universal church. But becoming acquainted 
 with the Britons, we thought that the Scots had been 
 better. We have, however, learned from Bishop Dagan, 
 who came into this aforesaid island, and from the abbot 
 Columban in France, that the Scots no way differ from the 
 Britons in their behaviour. For Bishop Dagan, coming to 
 us, not only refused to eat with us, but even to take his 
 repast in the same house in which we were entertained. This 
 Dagan, it is said, came from the monastery of Bangor, in Ire- 
 
i62 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 land, to be Bishop to the Scots. It is evident that he treated 
 the votaries of Eome, not excepting the Bishop of Canterbury 
 himself, as if they had been actually excommunicated. He 
 viewed them as men with whom he was not so much as to 
 eat; nay, as even communicating pollutioQ to the place 
 where they did eat. 
 
 Bede, afterwards speaking of Caedwal, King of the Britons, 
 who " bore the name and made a profession of Christianity," 
 when describing his hostility to the Angles, says : " 'Not did 
 he pay any respect to the Christian religion, which had newly 
 sprung up among them ; forasmuch as, even to this day, it is 
 customary with the Britons to view the faith and religion of 
 the Angles as of no account, and to hold no more communion 
 with them than with the heathen." 
 
 It is evident that the pertinacity of the Culdees greatly 
 piqued the Eomanists, who deemed it the highest presump- 
 tion in men, living in such distant regions, to pretend in any 
 thing to differ from those who pleaded the transmission of 
 the keys from the apostle Peter. At a synod, held at Streone- 
 shalch, now Whitby in England, A. 662, called for the pur- 
 pose of settling, the controversy about Easter, the Eoman 
 clergy urged the authority of Peter: but Bishop Colman, 
 and the Culdee presbyters, good simple men, reason as if the 
 authority of John the apostle had been of as much weight 
 as the other. Wilfrid, however, a Northumbrian abbot, who 
 "had gone to Eome to learn the ecclesiastical doctrine," 
 brought back with him, if he made no other acquirement, 
 the lofty tone of the mistress of nations. Thus he replies to 
 Colman : " As for you and your companions, beyond a doubt 
 you sin, if, having heard the decree of the apostolic see, yea 
 of the catholic church, and the same confirmed from the holy 
 scriptures, you refuse to obey it. For, although your fathers 
 were holy, do you think that their small number, in a corner 
 of the remotest island, is to be preferred to the catholic church 
 of Christ throughout the world ? " 
 
COLMAN AND ADAMNAN. 163 
 
 Notwithstanding the supposition with respect to the sanc- 
 tity of their predecessors, he seems not very willing to admit 
 it. For he had previously reminded them, in reference to 
 Columba and his followers, whose sanctity Colman had said 
 was confirmed by sign^ from heaven, that many in the day of 
 judgment should say to our Lord, that in his name they had 
 prophesied, &c., to whom he should reply, that he never knew 
 them. Although King Oswy decided in favour of Wilfrid, 
 Colman was not convinced,; but, "perceiving that his doc- 
 trine was rejected, and his sect (as Bede expresses it) despised, 
 he left his bishopric at Lindisfarne, and, having carried his 
 adherents with him, returned to Scotland. 
 
 We learn that this Wilfrid, afterwards being n^ade a bishop, 
 " by his doctrine introduced into the churches of the Angles 
 a great many rules of the catholic observance. Whence it 
 followed, that the catholic institution daily increasing, all the 
 Scots, who had resided among the Angles, either conforuied 
 to these, or returned to their own country." 
 
 About forty years after, another attempt was made to sub- 
 ject the Scots to the Koman authority with respect to Easter, 
 by a person of such respectability and estimation among 
 them, that, if any one could have prevailed, he must have 
 done it. This was no other than the celebrated Adamnan, 
 whose conversion, and attempts to proselytize his adherents, 
 are thus narrated by Bede : " Adamnan, presbyter and abbot 
 of the monks who were in the island of Hij, being sent 
 ambassador by the nation to Aldfrid, King of the Angles, and 
 having tarried for some time in that province, witnessed the 
 canonical rites of the church. Being earnestly admonished 
 by many, who were more learned, that he should not, with a 
 handful of adherents, and those situated in an extreme corner 
 of the world, presume to live in opposition to the universal 
 custom of the church, either in relation to the observation 
 of Easter, or any other decrees whatsoever : he changed his 
 mind, so that he most willingly preferred those things which 
 
i64 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 he had seen and heard in the churches of the Angles to the 
 custom which he and his people had observed. Returning 
 home, he was at pains to bring his own people who were in 
 Hij, or who were subject to that monastery, into that path of 
 truth, which he had himself become acquainted with, and 
 embraced with his whole heart. But he could not prevail 
 He then sailed to Ireland, and preaching to the people there, 
 and declaring, by modest exhortation, the lawful time of 
 Easter, reduced many of them, almost all, indeed, who were 
 free from the dominion of those of Hij, to the catholic unity." 
 
 Bede then informs us, that, returning from Ireland, where 
 he had canonically celebrated this festival, he made another 
 attempt at Hij ; " most earnestly recommending to his own 
 monastery the catholic observation of Easter ; not more 
 successfully, however, than before." But the good abbot died 
 before the return of this solemnity ; which the venerable 
 historian views as a very happy circumstance ; " the divine 
 goodness," he says, " so ordering it, that this man, who was a 
 great lover of peace and unity, should be snatched away to 
 eternal life, before he should be obliged, on the return of the 
 time of Easter, to engage in a far hotter contention with 
 those who were unwilling to follow him in the way of 
 truth." 
 
 With what warmth does this candid and worthy writer 
 express himself on a subject of so little importance ; as they 
 differed only as to the particular day on which this festival 
 should be celebrated ! But this trivial difference of the Scots 
 swelled into a crime, being viewed as gross disobedience to 
 the holy apostolic see. 
 
 "It appears," says Toland, "that as low as the 10th century, 
 the famous contest about the celebration of Easter, a question 
 in itself unnecessary and insignificant, was still kept on foot 
 in these islands ; as Usher judiciously observes out of the 
 anonymous writer of Chrysostom's Life." This is not stated 
 with sufficient accuracy : for the good bishop seemed to view 
 
DIFFERENCE OF GOVERNMENT. 165 
 
 the proof as extending only to the middle of the ninth 
 century. 
 
 The friends of episcopacy are anxious to have it believed, 
 that whatever difference the adherents of Rome had with the 
 Culdees, they had none with respect to the form of govern- 
 ment. Bede, when giving an account of the ordination of 
 Ceadda by Wini, with the assistance of two British bishops, 
 says, that, " except Wini, there was not then any bishop 
 canonically ordained in all Britain." This the learned Selden 
 understands, as referring to the mode of ordination at Hij by 
 presbyters. I confess that I cannot go so far as Selden : for 
 Bede seems especially to have in his eye what was denominated 
 the quarfadeciinan heresy. But we are not hence to conclude, 
 that the Romanists were satisfied with the ecclesiastical 
 government of the Scots. We meet with several vestiges of 
 the contrary. The fathers of the synod of Vernon in France, 
 A. 755, speak of those " bishops who wandered about, having 
 no parish ; neither," say they, " do we know what kind of 
 ordination they had." This has been understood of the Scots 
 bishops ; especially as express mention is made of them in 
 the second council of Cabilon, or Chalons, A. 813. "There 
 are," it is said in their Acts, " in certain places Scots, who 
 call themselves bishops, and contemning many, without the 
 licence of their lords or superiors, ordain presbyters and 
 deacons ; the ordination of whom, because, for the most part, 
 it falls into the Simonian heresy, and is subject to many 
 errors, we all, with one consent, decree, that it ought to be 
 invalidated by all possible means." 
 
 In hke manner we find, among the works of Peter of Blois, 
 a letter written about the year 1170, and attributed to 
 Richard, Archbishop of Canterbury, in which he complains 
 that "in these days certain false bishops of Ireland, or 
 pretending the barbarism of the Scottish language, although 
 they have received from no one imposition of hands, discharge 
 episcopal functions to the people." He enjoins all his clergy 
 
i66 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 that, throughout their dioceses, they should " take care to 
 prohibit the episcopal ministrations of all belonging to a 
 barbarous nation, or of uncertain ordination." 
 
 Bede testifies that the monastery of Kippon being given by 
 King Aldfrid to those " who followed the Scots," they, " being 
 left to their choice, would rather quit the place than receive 
 the catholic Easter, and other canonical rites, according to 
 the custom of the Eoman and apostolic church." It seems 
 highly probable, that, among " the other canonical rites," 
 there might be a reference to their peculiai' mode of ordina- 
 tion. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these marks of discrepancy between 
 the Culdees and the Church of Eome, it is surprising that 
 any, who call themselves Protestants, should not hesitate to 
 assert that the points in which they differed " did not at all 
 aff'ect the faith." AVhile the friends of the Eeformation, in 
 other countries, have manifested a laudable eagerness to shew 
 that, during the darkest ages of the anti-Christian dominion, 
 there were still some to " contend for the faith once delivered 
 to the saints," a mohes testium, in their successive generations 
 refusing to join with others, who, according to the language 
 of inspiration, " wondered after the beast ; " it is affecting to 
 observe that, among a people so highly distinguished as we 
 have been, any should be found, who are determined at all 
 events to affirm, that all the errors and corruptions of the 
 Church of Eome were greedily and universally adopted by 
 their ancestors as soon as they were introduced. 
 
 The account which we are able to give of the points in 
 which they diff'ered is indeed very imperfect. But when the 
 extreme difficulty of discovering the genuine doctrines of 
 those who opposed the Eomish innovations is considered, as 
 all the memorials of these passed through the hands of 
 prejudiced writers ; when we reflect on the gross falsifications 
 of history with respect to other witnesses for the truth, 
 especially the Waldenses and Albigenses, who have been 
 
CHARGE AGAINST THE SCOTS. 167 
 
 generally dressed up by popish historians, like those prepared 
 for an A lUo da Fe ; we rather have reason to wonder that so 
 many hint's have escaped from these writers, which throw 
 light on the true character of the Culdees. 
 
 It has been seen that they agreed with the ancient Britons 
 in faith. Xow, from the testimony of Bede, which, in this 
 instance, cannot reasonably be called in question, we learn 
 that the controversy about Easter was by no means the only 
 cause of discord between the Eomaus and them. For he says 
 that Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury, " by the order of a 
 synod of his nation, wrote an excellent book against the 
 error of the Britons, according to which error, as they do not 
 celebrate Easter in the proper time, they hold a great many 
 other things contrary to ecclesiastical purity and peace." 
 
 A charge, somewhat of a similar nature, is exhibited against 
 them in the Eegister of St Andrews. It is .there said, that 
 " those, who are called Culdees, lived more according to their 
 own opinion and the tradition of men, than according to the 
 statutes of the holy fathers." At first view, things might 
 here seem to be opposed, which are in themselves virtually 
 the same ; " the tradition of men," and " the statutes of the 
 holy fathers." But they are meant to be viewed as directly 
 contrary. For by " the tradition of men" we are to under- 
 stand that which was transmitted to them by their own 
 predecessors, as adhering to the Culdean doctrines and mode 
 of worship. To these they were so attached, because they 
 accounted them scriptural, that they would not, like the 
 votaries of Rome, implicitly receive what was imposed on them 
 as the doctrine of unerring fathers, many of whom had been 
 canonized as saints. 
 
 The crimination brought by Eichard of Hexham, against 
 our ancestors, has been keenly argued by former writers on 
 this subject. " The Scots," he says, " for a long time differing 
 from the Cis-alpine, nay, almost from the universal church, 
 seemed too much to favour the destestable memorv of Peter 
 
i68 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 of Lyons, and his apostasy : but, by the inspiration of divine 
 grace, they all unanimously received, with great veneration, 
 the mandate of Pope Innocent, and his legate.'' Sir James 
 Dalrymple had inferred from this passage, that the writer 
 meant to charge the Scots with attachment to the doctrine 
 of the Leonists or Waldenses, who strenuously opposed the 
 errors of the Church of Rome. Gillan has asserted that the 
 ancient writer refers only to the adherence of the Scots, for 
 about eight years, to the anti-pope Anacletus. But he does 
 not seem to have invalidated Sir James's observation, that it 
 cannot easily be conceived, that, if Eichard referred merely 
 to their adherence to the anti-pope, he would not only have 
 compared the Scots with the Leonists, condemned heretics, 
 but exhibited this charge against them exclusively ; as all the 
 French and English were equally attached to the schismatical 
 Anacletus. Here the ancient writer undoubtedly takes the 
 opportunity afforded by their present conduct, of giving vent 
 to an old grudge. 
 
 Gillan seems to triumph in the proof of the complete 
 subjection of the Scots, said to have been given by their 
 cordial reception of the legate. I am far from saying that 
 they were nowise subjected to the papal authority, even 
 before this time. But there are very different degrees of 
 subjection : and it is well known that it has been always 
 considered as a strong proof of the extreme reluctance of our 
 forefathers to submit to the claims of the Eoman see, that 
 we have not the slightest evidence that a legate had been 
 ever received in Scotland, or even sent thither, before this 
 time, A. 1125, when John of Crema ajipeared in this character. 
 It cannot be denied, that in a far earlier age, legates had been 
 sent to countries of less note; because it was known that 
 they would be made welcome. 
 
 But even the reception given to this deputy affords no 
 great proof of the strength of papal authority in this country. 
 He came no farther than to Roxburgh, which was long the 
 
DR HENRY ON THE CULDEES. 169 
 
 very border of the Scottish territory. Had he reckoned him- 
 self a welcome visitor, especially considering the novelty of 
 the thing, he would in all probability have ventured a little 
 farther. Prudence must have dictated this, in order more 
 firmly to establish that subjection which had hitherto been 
 refused. But this very principle seems to have suggested a 
 course directly the reverse. John of Crema was not certain 
 as to the ground he was treading on. It was as really debate- 
 able ground to him as ever it had been between the adverse 
 kint^doms. He therefore acted like a man who wished to 
 
 O 
 
 rest satisfied even with the semblance of subjection. 
 
 It is said, indeed, that " all unanimously received him with 
 great veneration." But it plainly appears from the narrative, 
 that we are to understand the all of the Scottish nation as 
 actino- merely by proxy. He was received, in the manner 
 described, by the priest-ridden David, and by a few of the 
 courtiers and bishops, who wished in all things to conform to 
 Rome. The legate seems wisely to have judged, that it was 
 not expedient to put the unanimity of the Scottish nation 
 fairly to the test. " I am sure," says Gillan, " the style is 
 high enough, rogando mandamus." But is this an argument 
 of any weight, in judging of papal pretensions ? Has it ever 
 been doubted, that it was still the policy of Rome to talk in a 
 lofty tone ; or suppposed, that we were to form an estimate 
 of the real power of the Vatican from the noise made by its 
 thunder ? 
 
 Here it may not be improper to subjoin the character given 
 of the Culdees by two late historians, each of them celebrated 
 in his line, both distinguished for industry and learning ; and 
 although antipodes in their views respecting religion, giving 
 a similar testimony on this subject. 
 
 " Ever since the violent disputes," says Dr Henry, " betweea 
 the Scots and English of the Roman comnmnion, about the 
 time of keeping Easter, and the retreat of the Scotch clergy 
 out of England, there had been a violent animosity between. 
 
I70 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 the churches of England and Scotland. This animosity was 
 very strong in this century, as appears from the fifth canon 
 of the council of Ceal-hythe, A.D. 816 ; which decrees, that 
 no Scotch priest shall be allowed to perform any duty of his 
 function in England. The Scots and Picts were instructed 
 and governed by their own clergy ; who, being educated at 
 home, and having little intercourse with foreign nations, 
 retained much of the plainness and simplicity of the primitive 
 times in their forms of worship. These clergy were called 
 Kuldees, both before and after this period : a name which 
 some derive from the two Latin words Oultores JDei, and 
 others from the Idlls or cells in which they lived. They were 
 a kind of presbyters, who lived in small societies, and 
 travelled over the neighbouring countries, preaching, and 
 administering the sacraments. In each of these cells there 
 was one who had some kind of superintendancy over the rest, 
 managed their affairs, and directed their missions; but 
 whether or not he enjoyed the title and authority of a bishop 
 in this period is not certainly known. The council of Ceal- 
 hythe seems to have suspected that he did not ; for the chief 
 reasons assigned by that council for refusing to keep com- 
 munion with these Scotch Culdees were, — That they had no 
 metropolitans amongst them, — paid little regard to other 
 orders, — and that the council did not know by whom they 
 were ordained, i.e. whether they were ordained by hishops or 
 not. The rectors or bishops of the several cells of Kuldees 
 were both chosen, and ordained, or consecrated, by the 
 members of these societies ; which was probably the very 
 thing with which the council of Ceal-hythe was dissatisfied. 
 When the cells or monasteries of Scotland came to be 
 enlarged, better built, and better endowed, they were long 
 after this possessed by these Kuldees or secular clergy, who 
 had the privilege of choosing the bishops in those places where 
 bishops' sees were established." 
 
 The other testimony referred to, is that of an elegant 
 
DAVID BUCHANAN ON THE CULDEES. 171 
 
 writer, who, although very sparing of his praise to ecclesiastics, 
 could not withhold the following tribute from the Culdees. It 
 is, indeed, given with that drawback which might be expected 
 from a writer of his principles. " lona," he says, " one of the 
 Hebrides, which was planted by the Irish monks, diifused 
 over the northern regions a doubtful ray of science and 
 superstition. This small, though not barren spot, lona, Hy, 
 or Columbkill, only two miles in length, and one mile in 
 breadth, has been distinguished, 1. By the monastery of St 
 Columba, founded A.l). 566 ; whose abbot exercised an 
 extraordinary jurisdiction over the bishops of Caledonia. 2. 
 By a classic library, which afforded some hopes of an entire 
 Livy ; and, 3. By the tombs of sixty kings, Scots, Irish, and 
 Norwegians, who reposed in holy ground." 
 
 It is not without sufficient grounds, that David Buchanan 
 has given the following testimony to the noble resistance 
 made by the Culdees to the Eoman corruptions. " About the 
 end of the seventh age, men from Scotland, given to ambition 
 and avarice, went frequently to Home for preferment in the 
 church ; and seeing it lay much that way then, they did 
 their best to advance the design of the Eomish party, wherein 
 all the skill of worldly men was employed, both in Eome and 
 among the Scots of that party. Many men went to and fro, 
 between Eome and Scotland, to bring the Scots to a full 
 obedience unto Eome, and conformity. By name, there was 
 one Boniface sent from Eome to Scotland, a main agent for 
 Eome in these affairs ; but he was opposed openly by several 
 of the Scots Culdees, or divines, namely, by Clemens and 
 Samson, who told him freely, ' That he, and those of his party, 
 studied to bring men to the subjection of the pope, and the 
 slavery of Eome, withdrawing them from obedience to Christ;' 
 and so, in plain terms, they reproached him and his assistants 
 with this, ' That they were corruptors of Christ's doctrine, 
 establishing a sovereignty in the Bishop of Eome, as the only 
 successor of the apostles, excluding other bishops ; that they 
 
172 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 used and commanded clerical tonsure; that they forbade 
 priests' marriage^ extolling celibacy ; that they caused prayers 
 to be made for the dead, and erected images in the churches;' 
 to be short, ' That they had introduced into the church many 
 tenets, rites, and ceremonies, unknown to the ancient and 
 pure times, yea, contrary to them.' For the which and the 
 like, the said Clemens, and those that were constant to the 
 truth with him, were excommunicated at Eome as heretics, as 
 you have in the third volume of the Cancels, although the 
 true reasons of their excommunication be not there set 
 down.'' 
 
 Petrie gives materially the same account. "Many did 
 preach and write against him [Pope Zachary] and his super- 
 stitions, as Adalbert, a Trench bishop, Samson, a Scot, Bishop 
 of Auxerre, and Virgilius, an Irishman, Bishop of Juvavia ; 
 as Nauclerus and Aventine do record. Boniface dilateth 
 them unto Pope Zachary ; and as Bern, Lutsenburg in Catal. 
 writeth, the Pope, in a synod at Eome, condemneth them, 
 depriveth them of their priesthood, and excommunicateth 
 them before they were heard ; and when they sought to be 
 heard, and plead their cause in a synod, Boniface denied 
 access unto them, and said, ' Excommunicated men should not 
 be admitted into a synod, nor have the benefit of the law.' — 
 One Clemens did reprove Boniface, 1. That he did so advance 
 the authority of the Eoman bishop, seeing all teachers are 
 equally successors of the apostles. 2. That he condemned the 
 marriage of priests. 3. That he did speak too much for the 
 monkish life. 4. That he appointed masses for the dead, and 
 other new rites unknown in the church heretofore. Avintin. 
 Annal. lib. 3. et JEpist. ZacJuir. ad Bonifac. in torn. 2. Condi." 
 
 Usher, in his Sylloge, has given a letter written by Boniface, 
 Archbishop of Mentz, to Pope Zachary, concerning Adalbert 
 and Clement. Of the latter he says : " But another heretic, 
 named Clement, contends against the catholic church, denies 
 the canons, and reproves the proceedings of the churches of 
 
CLEMENT AND SAMSON. 173 
 
 Christ, and refuses the explanations given by the holy fathers, 
 Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory. Contemning the rights of 
 synods, he expressly affirms that he can be a lawful Christian, 
 bishop after having two sons born to him iu adultery." He 
 is also charged with heretical doctrine as to the descent of 
 Christ intO' hell, and predestination. But it is evident that 
 his great heresy was, that he did not submit to the absolute 
 authority of the church, and the infallible decisions of the 
 fathers. When he is accused of having sons born to him in 
 adultery, all that can be meant is, that they were born to him 
 in marriage, a state not lawful for one in holy orders. He 
 acknowledged them as his sons, and vindicated his conduct. 
 Had he called them only nephews, and his wife a spiritual 
 sister, he might probably have escaped without any accusa- 
 tion. 
 
 Flacius Illyricus. in like manner, assigns the opposition of 
 Clement to the corruptions of Eome as the real reason of his 
 condemnation. Nor did his enemies stop here. He was 
 given over to the secular power, and devoted to the flames. 
 
 An ecclesiastical historian, who has been generally 
 celebrated, both for industry and for impartiality, gives the 
 following eulogy of him. " As to Clement, his character and 
 sentiments were maliciously misrepresented, since it appears, 
 by the best and most authentic accounts, that he was much 
 better acquainted with the doctrines and true principles of 
 Christianity than Boniface himself; and hence he is considered 
 by many as a confessor and sufferer for the truth in this 
 barbarous age." His learned translator adds this note. " The 
 great heresy of Clement seems to have been his preferring 
 the decisions of scripture to decrees of councils and the 
 opinions of the fathers, which he took the liberty to reject 
 when they were not conformable to the word of God." 
 
 Flacius gives a similar testimony concerning Samson. "The 
 intimate companion of Clement," he says, " Samson, a Scots- 
 man, was among those bishops who accused Boniface of being 
 
 12 
 
174 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 the fabricator of falsehoods, the troubler of peace and of the 
 Christian religion, and the corrupter of it both by word and 
 by writing. Although prepared to demonstrate his assertions 
 from the word of God, he was not admitted to a fair trial, but 
 excommunicated without being heard, &c. John of Mailros, 
 a Scotsman, and Cladius Clement, sprung from the same 
 nation, flourished at the same time. Concerning John of 
 Mailros, Antoninus relates that he displeased the Eonians, 
 because, adhering to the Greeks, he impugned the papal 
 dogmas.'' 
 
 Sir James Dalrymple has referred to a speech made by 
 Gilbert Murray, a young Scottish clerk, in the presence of a 
 cardinal, who acted as the Pope's legate, A. 1176. It is given 
 by Petrie from an old MS. Eegister of Dunkeld; and deserves 
 our attention, not only because of the honourable allusion 
 made to the clergy of lona, and the proof which it affords of 
 the general reception, in that early period, of the account 
 given of them by Bede as perfectly authentic ; but also as 
 demonstrating the high sense of independence that the church 
 of Scotland has always retained, and the conviction, which 
 then generally prevailed, of the obligations that the Church 
 of England lay under to her sister-church, how much soever 
 she might wish to forget them. 
 
 Malcolm, suruamed the Maiden, and his brother William, 
 having given homage to Henry I. for the lands which they 
 held in England, he thought of extending the claim of 
 subjection to the church. With this view, he and William, 
 King of Scotland, having met at Norham, with some of the 
 clergy, he urged that they should acknowledge the Archbishop 
 of York as their metropolitan. But at this time they prevailed 
 to get the business delayed. Next year, however, he renewed 
 his attempt. Hugo, Cardinal of St Angelo, having been sent 
 from Eome, summoned all the Scotch bishops to appear before 
 him in Northampton. When they were assembled there. 
 
GILBERT MURRAY'S REPLY. 175 
 
 with many of their clergy, he used a great deal of art to cajole 
 them into a compliance with the claims of the Archbishop of 
 York. The bishops, it is said, were silent, lest they should 
 offend the legate. But young Gilbert rose up, and made the 
 following address, as recorded in the register formerly 
 referred to. 
 
 " It is true, English nation, thou mightest have been noble, 
 and more noble than some other nations, if thou hadst not 
 craftily turned the power of thy nobility, and the strength 
 of thy fearful might, into the presumption of tyranny, and 
 thy knowledge of liberal science into the shifting glosses of 
 sophistry ; but thou disposest not thy purposes as if thou 
 wert led with reason, and being puffed up with thy strong 
 armies, and trusting in thy great wealth, thou attemptest, in 
 thy wretched ambition and lust of domineering, to bring 
 under thy jurisdiction thy neighbour provinces and nations, 
 more noble, I will not say, in multitude or power, but in 
 lineage and antiquity; unto whom, if thou wilt consider 
 ancient records, thou shouldst rather have been humbly 
 obedient, or at least, laying aside thy rancour, have reigned 
 together in perpetual love : and now with all wickedness of 
 pride that thou shewest, without any reason or law, but in 
 thy ambitious power, thou seekest to oppress thy mother the 
 Church of Scotland, w^hich from the beginning hath been 
 cathohque and free, and which brought thee, when thou wast 
 straying in the wilderness of heathenism, into the safe-guard 
 of the true faith, and way unto life, even unto Jesus Christ, 
 the author of eternal rest. She did wash thy kings, and 
 princes, and people, in the laver of holy baptism ; she taught 
 thee the commandments of God, and instructed thee in moral 
 duties ; she did accept many of thy nobles, and others of 
 meaner rank, when they were desirous to learn to read, and 
 gladly gave them daily entertainment without price, books 
 also to read, and instruction freely ; she did also appoint, 
 ordain, and consecrate thy bishops and priests ; by the space 
 
176 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 of thirty years and above, she maintained the primacy and 
 pontifical dignity within thee on the north side of Thames, as 
 Beda witnesseth. 
 
 " And now, I pray, what recompense renderest thou now 
 unto her, that hath bestowed so many benefits on thee ? is it 
 bondage ? or such as Judea rendered unto Christ, evil for 
 good ? It seemeth no other thing. Thou unkinde vine, how 
 art thou turned into bitterness ! We looked for grapes, and 
 thou bringest forth wilde grapes ; for judgment, and behold 
 iniquity and crying. If thou couldest do as thou wouldest, 
 thou wouldest draw thy mother the Church of Scotland, whom 
 thou shouldest honour with all reverence, into the basest 
 and most wretched bondage. Fie for shame ! what is more 
 base, when thou wilt do no good, to continue in doing wrong ? 
 Even the serpents will not do harm to their own, albeit they 
 cast forth to the hurt of others ; the vice of ingratitude hath 
 not so much moderation ; an ungrateful man doth wrack and 
 massacre himself, and he despiseth and minceth the benefits 
 for which he should be thankful, but multiplieth and en- 
 large th injuries. It was a true saying of Seneca, (I see) The 
 more some doe owe, they hate the more; a small debt maketh 
 a grievous enemy. What sayest thou, David ? it is true, 
 They rendered me evil for good, and hatred for my love. It 
 is a wretched thing (saith Gregory) to serve a lord, who 
 cannot be appeased with whatsoever obeysance. 
 
 "Therefore, thou Church of England, doest as becomes 
 thee not ; thou thinkest to carry what thou cravest, and to 
 take what is not granted. Seek what is just, if thou wilt 
 have pleasure in what thou seekest. And to the end I do 
 not weary others with my words, albeit I have no charge to 
 speak for the liberty of the Church of Scotland, and albeit 
 all the clergy of Scotland would think otherwise, yet I dissent 
 from subjecting her, and I do appeal unto the Apostohcal 
 Lord, unto whom immediately she is subject ; and if it were 
 needful for me to die in the cause, here I am ready to lay 
 
GILBERT MURRAY'S REPLY. 177 
 
 down my neck unto the sword. Nor do I think it expedient 
 to advise any more with my lords the prelates ; nor, if they 
 will do otherwise, do I consent unto them : for it is more 
 honest to deny quickly what is demanded unjustly, then 
 [i.e. than] to drive off time by delays, seeing he is the less 
 deceived, who is refused betimes." 
 
 The historian adds : " When Gilbert had so made an end, 
 some English, both prelates and nobles, commend the yong 
 clerk, that he had spoken so boldly for his nation, without 
 flattering, and not abashed at the gravity of such authority ; 
 but others, because he spoke contrary unto their minde, said, 
 A Scot is naturally violent, and In naso Scoti pijier. But 
 Roger, Archbishop of York, which principally had moved 
 this business, to bring the Church of Scotland into his see, 
 uttered a groan, and then with a merry countenance laid his 
 hand on Gilbert's head, saying, Sx tioa pharetra non exiit ilia 
 sagitta ; as if he had said, When ye stand in a good cause, do 
 not forethink what ye shall say, for in that hour it shall be 
 given unto you. This Gilbert was much respected at home 
 after that. And Pope Gelestin put an end unto this debate ; 
 for he sent his bull unto King William, granting that, neither 
 in ecclesiastical nor civil affairs, the nation should answer 
 unto any forain judge whatsoever, except onely unto the 
 Pope, or his legate specially constituted. So far in that 
 Register of Dunkel." 
 
 Archbishop Spotswood has certainly given a more natural 
 interpretation of these words. Ex tua pharetra, &c., " Mean- 
 ing," he says, " that he was set on to speak by some others of 
 greater note." Mackenzie, however, seems to be mistaken in 
 ascribing the other interpretation to the translator. "But 
 Mr Petrie," he says, " the ecclesiastical historian of the Pres- 
 byterian party, thinks, that by this expression the Archbishop 
 of York was against all set-forms." Petrie undoubtedly gives 
 this as the gloss of the chronicler. For he subjoins: "So 
 far in that Register." 
 
178 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 The appeal made by Murray to the Pope, may perhaps be 
 viewed as a proof that the Church of Scotland acknowledged 
 complete subjection to Eome. But this seems to have been 
 the first instance of an appeal being formally made to the 
 papal see. As it was the act of a single person, it is to be 
 observed, that even he had the highest sense of the liberty 
 and independence of his mother-church. He doubtless 
 thought that they were shut up to it, and considered it as 
 the least of two evils. From the power of England, from the 
 partiality of the papal legate, and, perhaps, from the disposi- 
 tion of others to submit, he saw that the only question was, 
 as to the form of their dependence ; and that it was better to 
 submit to a distant authority, than to one at hand, that would 
 intermeddle in every ecclesiastical matter; to an authority 
 by this time almost universally recognised, than to the newly- 
 invented claim of a sister-church, nay, of a see, that had 
 originally been supplied by missionaries from Scotland. He 
 must also have seen, that, by submitting to the see of York, 
 the Church of Scotland would inevitably be subjected to a 
 double yoke ; that see being itself completely under the 
 papal dominion. 
 
 This appeal, however reluctantly made, seems to have had 
 its full effect. For, although the legate was previously 
 devoted to the Fnglish interest, it is evident, that both he 
 and his master were so well pleased to have a formal 
 recognition of the papal authority in Scotland, that they 
 paid no further regard to the_ vamped-up pretensions of the 
 Church of England. 
 
 This Gilbert, it is said, was a son of the family of Moray, 
 or Murray, afterwards designed of Bothwell. His conduct 
 was so generally approved, that he was soon after made 
 Dean of Murray and great Chamberlain of Scotland. On 
 the death of Adam of Mailros, he was promoted to the 
 bishopric of Caithness. He died A. 1245, and was after- 
 wards canonized. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Of the Suppression of the Culdees. — 3feans employed for this 
 Purpose. — 27ieir Promotion to Pishoprics. — Increase of Ep)'''^- 
 copal Sees. — Preference given to Foreigners. — Introduction 
 of Canons Regular; — at St Andrews; — lochlevin ; — Bun- 
 held ; — Prechin. — Conrention hetween Pishop Malvoisin and 
 the Culdees of Monimusk. — Remarks on it. 
 
 Vaeious were the means employed for suppressing the Cul- 
 dees, who were viewed with so jealous an eye hy the votaries 
 of the papal chair, and who had all along presented so power- 
 ful a barrier to its influence. This was first attempted in an 
 artful manner. "It is observable," says Sir James Dalrymple 
 " that the Romish church did advance very warily, and by 
 slow steps, endeavouring to gain the Culdean abbots to their 
 partie, by promoting them to bishoprics to be erected, and by 
 preserving to the Culdees (possessed of parochial churches) 
 their benefices for their life-time, and making the suppression 
 of these churches in favours of the new-erected Romish 
 abbacies only to take place after the incumbent's death ; and 
 frequently these concessions bear the consent of the presbyter 
 or churchman incumbent, with the reservation of his own 
 right during life-time." 
 
 In the passage quoted, as well as in p. 286, Sir James 
 gives several proofs of the anne.vation of parish churches, 
 formerly occupied by Culdee presbyters, to the newly-erected 
 abbeys. 
 
 The learned Dr Ledwich gives a similar account. " It was 
 not easy to eradicate a reverence founded on solid piety, 
 exemplary charity, and superior learning; or to commit sudden 
 violence on characters where such qualities were found. 
 The Roman emissaries were therefore oblicred to exert all 
 
i8o HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 their cunning to remove these favourable prejudices, and 
 where force could not, seduction often prevailed. The al- 
 ternative of expulsion or acquiescence must ever strongly 
 operate on human imbecility : in a few instances the latter 
 was chosen : thus, about the year 1127, Gregory, Abbot of 
 the Culdean monastery of Dunkeld, and Andrew his successor, 
 were made bishops, the first of Dunkeld, the other of 
 Caithness. — The same policy was followed in Ireland. The 
 president of the Culdees was made preecentor; he was to 
 have the most honourable seat at table, and every respect 
 from his corps. Such little distinctions, while they flattered 
 and saved appearances, were fatal to the Culdees ; many 
 breaches were made in their rights, and at last, they lost all 
 their privileges, their old institute, and retained barely the 
 name of their pristine celebrity." 
 
 An increase of the number of the episcopal sees seems, 
 indeed, to have been one of the measures adopted for the 
 overthrow of the Culdean influence. The idea may excite a 
 smile from those who affect to speak contemptuously of this 
 religious body. But there can be no doubt that their influ- 
 ence, among the lower classes especially, had been great. 
 How much soever the testimony of Boece may be despised, 
 when he pretends to narrate the history of a very early period) 
 he certainly deserves attention, when speaking of things 
 almost within his own observation. " The name," he says, 
 " acquired such a degree of authority among the vulgar, that 
 all priests, almost to our own times, were commonly designed, 
 without distinction, Culdees, that is, worshippers of God." 
 X)avid I., who seems to have been determined to depress this 
 order, and who pursued a variety of measures which had this 
 tendency, added at least four bishoprics to those which had 
 been erected before his time ; and it is by no means impro- 
 bable, that this was one thing that he had in view iu 
 extending the power of the prelacy. 
 
 In connexion with this, I may add, that the description 
 
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE CULDEES. i8i 
 
 of the prelates invested, from this time forward, strongly 
 corroborates what has been said. Sir James Dalrymple has 
 made some observations on this head, which I shall give in 
 his own words. " Other methods perhaps were taken to 
 subvert the antient, and to introduce the Eomish religion into 
 this kingdom, viz. that used in England, to make the Saxons 
 depend entirely upon Eome for their conversion, and to 
 hinder conformity with the British Scots or Picts; that first 
 their bishops were chosen forreigners, at least of forreign 
 education. It is observed in Chr. Sax., that from Austine, 
 the first Archbishop of Canterbury, there was no Saxon 
 admitted to be archbishop there, till Brightwaldus anno 690 ; 
 and just so the Norman kings of England would not admit 
 of the Saxons to be bishops there, till the reign of Henry 
 the Second. Our Scots kings Alexander and David have 
 followed this patern, in choising Turgot, Eadmar, and Eobert 
 (instructed in the Eomish religion in England) to be Bishops 
 at St Andrews. John, Bishop of Glasgow, also appears to be 
 a forreigner, and probably educat at Tours in France, whence 
 he brought monks to Selkirk, and where he retired when he 
 was dissatisfied with the manners of the Scots. It is said 
 that he was consecrate by Pope Paschasius. It is plain that 
 Eobert, the first prior of St Andrews, was bred in England 
 with the prior of St Oswald's," &c. 
 
 But the great plan devised for the overthrow of the Cul- 
 dees, was the introduction of Canons Eegular. These had 
 been erected by a permanent order of the eleventh century. 
 Being patronised by the Pope, they were devoted to the 
 interests of the Church of Eome, and zealous for the extension 
 of the authority of their ghostly father. They acquired credit 
 with the superstitious, as having more appearance of sanctity 
 than the Culdee Presbyters ; especially as they lived in 
 celibacy, while the honest Culdees laid no claim to the gift of 
 continence. They affected far greater pomp in their worship. 
 No sooner were these canons introduced at St Andrews, than 
 
i82 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 matters assumed an appearance of what was deemed religion 
 in those days, which had been quite unknown before. Their 
 prior at St Andrews " wore, in all public meetings, and in 
 solemn services upon festival days, the pontifical ornaments, 
 viz. a mitre, gloves, ring, cross, crosier, and sandals or slippers, 
 as the bishops ; and in parliament had the precedence of all 
 abbots and priors." The very design of their introduction 
 into those places, where the Culdees had formerly had the 
 power, was the establishment of this species of religion ; — 'ut 
 in dicta ecclesia religio constitueretur. 
 
 Wyntown, when speaking of the zeal of David I., commonly 
 called the Saint, in furthering the injunctions of his brother 
 Alexander as to the establisliment of those canons, gives such 
 an account of the aspect of matters before, as if the country, 
 because of the more simple forms of worship, had been 
 absolutely in a state of heathenism. 
 
 All thus illuniynyd he tliys land 
 
 Wyth kyi'kis and abliays rycht pleasand, 
 
 And othir stedis of renowne, 
 
 Seculare, and of veligyowne, 
 
 That, or Malcolm hys fadyre 
 
 Had weddyd Sayut Margret his modyr, 
 
 Rwyd and sympil all tyme wes, 
 
 Bot lyk a blynd wild hethynes. 
 
 Cronylcil, B. vii. c. 6 v. 125. 
 
 In some instances, where canons regular were introduced, 
 the Culdees were tolerated, if they would not consent to live 
 according to the canonical rule. This was the case at Loch- 
 levin. St Serf's Isle, which formerly belonged to the Culdees, 
 was annexed to the priory of St Andrews, to the end that a 
 monastery of canons regular might be instituted there, with 
 the reservation; Et Keledei, qui ibidem inventi fuerint, si 
 regulariter vivere volueri[n]t, in pace cum eis, et sub eis, 
 maneant. Thus they were subjected to the canons. And it 
 is expressly required, in addition, that if they made resistance 
 they were to be expelled from the island. 
 
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE CULDEES. 183 
 
 It has been supposed that the Culdees were expelled from 
 Dunkeld as early as the year 1127, when David I. made 
 Gregory, who had been abbot of their monastery, bishop of 
 this see. David — mutato Monasterio, in ecclesiam cathe- 
 draleni erexit : et rcpudiatis Kdledeis, episcopiim et canonicos 
 instituit,, secularemque collegium in futurum esse ordinavit. 
 
 But Dalrymple concludes, with apparent reason, that they 
 continued there for some time after the erection of the 
 bishopric ; and that, " although the chanoins might get into 
 the cathedral, yet the Culdees did retain their other posses- 
 sions." In support of this opinion, he refers to what he calls 
 the large charter of David I. to the abbey of Dunfermline, 
 which contains an exception with respect to the rights 
 pertaining to the abbey of Dunkeld ; Exceptis rectitudinibus 
 quae ad Abbatiam de Dunkelden pertinent. 
 
 "We have formerly spoken of the change of the religious 
 foundation at Abernethy. The precise time of their suppres- 
 sion at Brechin cannot easily be determined. There is extant 
 a charter of "VYilliam the Lion, confirming one of David I. 
 This is addressed to the bishops and Culdees of Brechin; 
 Episcojjis d Keldeis in Ecdesia de Breichen. But it appears 
 that they had been superseded, or at least that canons had 
 been introduced into the chapter instead of them, before the 
 time of Eobert Bruce, or soon after he came to the throne. 
 For a charter, granted by Eobert, in the second year of his 
 reign, is addressed, Episcopo d Canonicis de Breichen. 
 
 William Malvoisin, Bishop of St Andrews, was a keen 
 adversary of the Culdees. This enmity might perhaps be 
 owing to his being educated abroad ; if he was not, as some 
 assert, a native of France. He had most probably resolved to 
 attempt the total extinction of this respectable society. But 
 before he would begin his great attack at St Andrews, he 
 seems to have deemed it most prudent to try his power at 
 Monimusk, which was within the bishopric of Aberdeen, and 
 subject to Malvoisin as metropolitan. He might be induced 
 
i84 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 to adopt this plan of procedure, partly from the remoteness of 
 the place, as being situated in the wilds of Mar. Here he 
 might have a more flattering prospect of success, in endea- 
 vouring to crush the power of the Culdees, than in a more 
 populous country, where their influence was greater. Besides, 
 if he failed here, his disgrace would be less, than if he had 
 been defeated in the very seat of his power. He might also 
 have a more plausible pretence for attempting their reduction 
 here ; because the seat of the bishopric having been changed^ 
 the Culdees might seem to have less ground for maintaining 
 their claim to elect the bishop. But, in all probability, his 
 most powerful excitement was, that, whereas the Culdees had 
 been gradually declining in most of their monasteries, here 
 they had received an accession of strengtli, as to both numbers 
 and wealth, in consequence of the liberal donations of some 
 of our nobles. 
 
 ISTotwithstanding the comparative obscurity of the place, 
 this part of their history is of considerable importance. For 
 it affords a striking display of the difficulties which their 
 adversaries met with in their warfare against them. It has 
 also been grossly misrepresented, and generally misunderstood. 
 It is, therefore, necessary to examine it with more attention 
 than it might otherwise seem to claim. 
 
 Sir James Dalrymple quotes an ancient writing, entitled, 
 Conventio inter Dominum Willielmum. Episcopum, Sancti 
 Andreas et Keldeos de Monymush ; in which it is conceded, he 
 says, " that they should live in communion after the manner 
 of the Keldees," and have one oratory, one refectory, and one 
 dormitory, " as they presently possessed it ;" the half carrucate 
 of land being secured to them, which they had from the 
 donation of Eobert, of good memory. Bishop of St Andrews ; 
 their ancient alms being also secured, and the offerings 
 which they, and their predecessors had, from the time of 
 Bishop Robert to the present day : " and that they sub- 
 mitted to the disposal of the B.[ishop] ; and that there 
 
BISHOP MALVOISIN AND THE CULDEES. 185 
 
 might be 12 Keldees there, and Britius the 13th, whom 
 
 they were to present to the bishop, that he might be their 
 
 niagister or prior : and after his dimission or decease, the 
 
 Keldees might choise three of their Con-keldees by common 
 
 consent, and present them to the bisliop or his successors, 
 
 who was to choise one out of the three to be prior or niagister 
 
 in all time coming; and that they sliould not exceed the 
 
 number formerly mentioned, nor substitute any person ; and 
 
 that they should resign, in favours of the bishop, the lands 
 
 which they got from Gilchrist, Earl of Marr, and claime no 
 
 right to them afterward, without the bishop's consent ; and 
 
 that the bishop and his successors were obliged to help and 
 
 maintain the Keldees as their own, with power to him to add 
 
 dew clauses, until this agreement was confirmed by the 
 
 K[ing]'s authority: and Magister Britius and Andraes did 
 
 swear to the agreement for themselves and the Culdees, and 
 
 the seals of the parties and delegates were appended. In 
 
 implement of this transaction, William Bishop of St Andrews, 
 
 with consent of his archdeacon and chapter, granted to the 
 
 Keldees a charter in the terms of the above agreement, with 
 
 some additions ; That the" oratory should be without a 
 
 cemetery, so that the bodies of the Keldees, and of the clergy, 
 
 or of the laics dv/elling with them, might receive ecclesiastical 
 
 sepulture in the cemetery of the pariochal church of Mony- 
 
 musk : " and that the prior was to swear fidelity to the 
 
 bishop ; the lands of Dulbechot and Fournathy, gifted by the 
 
 Earl of Marr, were to be resigned to the bishop ; and that, 
 
 when the bishop came to reside at ]\Ionymusk, the Keldees 
 
 should receive him with a solemn procession." 
 
 Hence Sir James argues, that Bishop Eobert, who was 
 elected to this see A. 1122, " was not able to subdue the 
 Culdees of Monymusk, but obliged to make an agreement 
 with them;" and that his successor, Malvoisin, who died 
 A. 1237, although he "encroached farther upon them," still 
 left them some of their peculiar privileges. 
 
i86 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 This deed of settlement was made in consequence of a 
 reference to the papal chair. Yet did the Bishop of St 
 Andrews, " in opposition to a solemn promise, suppress those 
 Culdees ; and place canons regular in their room at Mony- 
 musk, which became thenceforth a cell of the priory of St 
 Andrews." 
 
 Goodall has made several remarks on the inferences 
 deduced by Sir James Dalrymple from this deed. "The 
 chartulary," he observes, " has a notable piece of a sentence, 
 which Sir James has not given us ; for in the article about 
 the election of a prior, when a vacancy happened, 'the 
 Culdees were to elect three of their fellow Culdees, by 
 common consent, and present them to the bishop, or his 
 successor, who was to make choice of one of the three at his 
 will and pleasure, and that person was to swear fealty to the 
 bishop ' [here Sir James stops, but the chartulary proceeds] as 
 Founder of the Culdees' House." 
 
 I have examined the chartulary, and find that it contains 
 the words omitted by Sir James. If he withheld this clause, 
 because he viewed it as tending to overthrow his hypothesis, 
 undoubtedly it was not consistent with that candour which he 
 has almost uniformly manifested. But, in making the 
 quotation referred to, it does not appear that he transcribed 
 from the chartulary itself, but from the MS. " Collection of 
 Mr James Law of Bogis," to which he refers. Whether the 
 deed might not be so fully extracted in that collection, I 
 cannot pretend to say. 
 
 At any rate, Sir James has no reason for apprehension 
 from anything contained in this deed. ISTor had Goodall 
 sufBcient reason for adding: "So it is plain, the bishops 
 founded the convents of the Culdees, and the Culdees elected 
 the bishops, whenever they resided about the bishop's see ; 
 although not at places like Monymusk, where there was no 
 bishop." 
 
 The following remarks naturally occur from the tenor of 
 
REMARKS ON THE CONVENTION. 187 
 
 this deed and are of considerable importance in the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 1. An attempt had previously been made to change the 
 form of the institution at Monimusk. It appears that, after 
 the translation of the episcopal seat to Aberdeen, the bishops 
 had wished to reduce the convent to a mere hospital ; and 
 even to represent it as having never held any higher place. 
 Por the inscription of the deed, as it stands in the chartulary 
 of Aberdeen, is : Commissio impetrata per Dominum Episcopum 
 Sti Anclrcc contra desiruentes hospitalia, aut in aliam naturam 
 convertentcs, et specialiter ad reformand. hospitale sive Kildey 
 de Jlonymuske, et processus super eodem. It is perfectly clear, 
 from the very strain of the inscription, that the innovating 
 party wished to exhibit the Culdees as men worthy to be 
 classed with the destroyers of hospitals,because they attempted 
 to convert an hospital to another use than that which, as 
 they pretend, was originally designed by the founder. They 
 had even framed a new word for their purpose ; a word 
 which, as far as I have observed, occurs nowhere else. This 
 is Kildey, which they use as if it had been synonymus with 
 Hospitale. This was "a commission — for reforming the 
 Hospital or Kildey of Monymusk." We see in what sense 
 the Bishop of St Andrews might design himself the " Founder 
 of the Culdees' House," and pretend a right to require that 
 the prior should do homage to him in this character. He 
 might be called its Founder, in the same sense in which an 
 usurper, who has destroyed an ancient city, blotted out its 
 very name, and built a new one on its ruins, claims this title. 
 He had exerted himself to the utmost to change the nature 
 of the institution, and had tried to make the very language of 
 his country bend to his humour ; as if it had been possible, 
 by the mere witchery of a word, at once to deprive all his 
 contemporaries of the power of recollection ; or to persuade 
 them, that what had existed for centuries as a monastery, 
 had never been more than an hospital. 
 
HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 2. The limitation of their number on this occasion seems 
 to imply that they had previously been more numerous. It 
 is probable, indeed, that thirteen was the usual number in 
 one house. But, unless they had exceeded this number here, 
 or had different houses, we cannot easily conceive why they 
 should henceforth be restricted to one oratory, one refectory^ 
 and one dormitory. Why this limitation, if they had not 
 formerly enjoyed greater privileges ? As it is certain, that 
 Gilchrist, Earl of Mar, built a new monastery for them, it 
 would appear that they henceforth meant to occupy two 
 houses at Moniniusk. 
 
 3. We discern the reason of their being said to act as 
 canons. Before the change of the seat of the episcopate, 
 they, like the Culdees in other places, had the sole power of 
 electing the bishops. Since the translation of the see, canons 
 regular had been instituted at Aberdeen, to whom their rights 
 were transferred. The Culdees of Monimusk, however, 
 asserted their claim ; and seem either to have presented 
 themselves as electors at Aberdeen, or to have made an 
 election of their own. For the first article of the complaint, 
 as it had been stated to the ghostly father at Eome, and as it 
 is echoed back by him, is, that " certain Culdees, se canonicus 
 gerunt, carry themselves as if they were canons." This, 
 however, might rather apply to some who did not reside at 
 Monimusk ; because those residing there are designed qiddam 
 alii, " certain others." Finding that all right of taking any 
 part in the election was denied to them, on the pretence that 
 they were not canons ; whatever aversion they might have to 
 the change of their mode of life, they appear, at their own 
 hand, without consulting either bishop or pope, to have 
 erected themselves into a canonry. This, at least, is tlie 
 obvious sense of the second article of complaint, as it stands 
 in the chartidary of Aberdeen, unless it be viewed as the 
 language of exaggeration, used in order to call forth the 
 fulminations of the papal chair, because of their sacrileo-iou s 
 
THE CONVENTION. 189 
 
 intrusion. Quidam alii Aherdonensis Dioces. infra villarii de 
 Moniviuske pcrtinentem ad ipsmn quandam canoniam regular em> 
 eodem renitente, contra justitiam, construere non formidant, in 
 ecclesie sue prejudicium et gravamen. " Certain others of the 
 diocese of Aberdeen, in the village of Monimusk, belonging to 
 him [the Bishop of St Andrews], are not afraid iniquitously 
 to erect a certain regular canonry, notwithstanding his 
 opposition, to the prejudice of his church." 
 
 4. We have here a proof of the power, and at the same 
 time a strong presumption of the ancient right, of the Culdees. 
 From the interference of the Bishop of St Andrews, it is 
 evident that the Bishop of Aberdeen had found them too 
 strong for him. But even he, who seems in this instance to 
 have claimed the dignity of primate, found it necessary to 
 solicit the aid of the papal authority. 
 
 5. The manner in which the continued enjoyment of 
 certain dues is expressed, clearly shews, that they had been 
 long settled in that quarter. They are allowed to hold these, 
 libera et quiete, juxta quod ab antiquis teinporibus retro usque ad 
 hec tempera habuerint, "freely and peaceably, in the same 
 manner in which they have enjoyed them from ancient times 
 even to the present day." 
 
 6. There is pretty good reason for concluding from this 
 very deed, that the keen adherents to the Church of Kome 
 did not consider them as good Eomanists. We have already 
 adverted to the different charges exhibited against them. 
 They speak of them as men who were not actuated by a due 
 regard to the authority of their superiors, who were "not 
 afraid, contrary to justice, to erect a certain regular canonry." 
 If the charge be not exaggerated, this was undoubtedly a 
 bold step. The very term certain, quandajn canoniam, seems 
 to contain a proof that, even in this erection, the Culdees did 
 not strictly conform to the papal ideas of a canonry. 
 
 They are represented as non-duscripts, as a sort of anomalous 
 species, for which the Church of Eome, notwithstanding the 
 
 13 
 
I90 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 great compass of her religious nomenclature, could find no 
 proper designation. They are not even allowed the name of 
 monks, although observing the rule prescribed by one of the 
 saints in her own calendar. For it is said : Non licebit eisdem 
 Kildeis, vitam seu ordinem monachorum vel canonicorum 
 regulariuvi, sine consensu, ipsius Episcopi vel successorum, ibidem 
 profiteri in ■perpetuum. " It shall never be permitted to these 
 Keldees to profess, either the monastic order, or that of 
 canons regular, without the consent of the bishop, or of his 
 successors." They were Culdees, yet neither monks nor 
 canons regular. In what light then did the Church of Eome 
 view them, if neither as monks nor as canons ? 
 
 7. Taking it for granted that, according to the statement 
 given in the Register of Aberdeen, they did erect a " certain 
 regular canonry " at Monimusk ; as it appears that it was not 
 of such a description as to please the keen abettors of the 
 Eomish interest ; one thing highly offensive in the conduct of 
 the Culdees, was their proceeding to take this step without 
 the consent of the bishop. They had in former times claimed 
 a superiority over bishops, whom they viewed as deriving 
 their power from them. When, therefore, about to found a 
 monastery in any place, they did not think of asking the 
 sanction of those whom they had themselves invested with 
 ecclesiastical authority. Those of Monimusk retained their 
 old mode of procedure ; and thus showed that they were not 
 reduced to that canonical or implicit obedience, which was 
 now become the great test of sanctity. 
 
 8. There is great ground to think, that, in the agreement 
 with respect to one refectory, and one dormitory, more is 
 included than has yet been mentioned. We know that it was 
 a charge exhibited against the Culdees of St Andrews, that 
 their wives, children, and relations, claimed and made use of 
 the offerings presented at the altar as their own. May it 
 not be supposed, that, in the article with respect to one 
 refectory, &c., there is a secret thrust at some of the Culdees 
 
CULDEE AND CATHOLIC DIFFERENCES. 191 
 
 at Monimusk, who neither ate nor slept in the monastery, 
 but with their families in their own houses ? 
 
 It may seem unaccountable, that, while the papal delegates 
 allow the possession of a distinct oratory, refectory, and 
 dormitory to the Culdees, they should preclude them from 
 having any cemetery, save that which belonged to the parish 
 church of Monimusk. This exception might appear to have 
 proceeded from mere caprice, or from some strange perverse- 
 ness. But we have here, I apprehend, a striking instance of 
 their consciousness of the very high popularity of the Culdees. 
 The Bishop of St Andrews and his adherents knew that if 
 there was a distinct cemetery belonging to this society, that 
 of the parish, which the bishop considered as his, would be 
 unfrequented : and this one very considerable source of 
 emolument to his canonical friends would be dried up. Hence, 
 in the agreement, only the fourth part of the funeral oblations 
 is appropriated to the Culdees, though formerly they had the 
 whole. 
 
 This is illustrated by a prior convention between the 
 canons regular of St Andrews and the Culdees there, in the 
 time of Eoger, the predecessor of Malvoisin ; in which the 
 canons appropriate to themselves, besides other offerings, all 
 those made at the time of death, except when the Culdees 
 are to be interred; to whom a right is reserved of being 
 buried where they choose. If we can suppose that the same 
 oppression was carried on in this early period as in later 
 times, we need not wonder that the canons wished to secure 
 to themselves these mortuary gifts. Before the reformation, 
 the priest claimed, not only what was called the Corspresent, 
 but a cow, and the uppermost cloth which had covered the 
 deceased. 
 
 Goodall also says : " Another cause of quarrel was, that it 
 seems, by a pretended gift from the Earl of Mar, they had 
 possessed themselves of some lands that belonged to the 
 bishop, without his consent ; and by this deed of agreement. 
 
192 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 bound themselves not to do the like afterwards, either by 
 that earl's or any other man's gift." 
 
 The Culdees seem to have been doomed, like many worthy 
 men, not only to be oppressed by their contemporaries, but to 
 be traduced by those in succeeding ages, who, from their 
 profession, ought rather to have appeared as vindicators of 
 their character. It is evident that this quarrel was picked by 
 William Malvoisin, that he might have a pretext for ejecting 
 the Culdees. It was the good bishop who pretended a right, 
 which, there is reason to think, he could never have established 
 in any way but by the arm of power. The matter of dispute 
 is, in the deed of compromise, called " a certain canonry, or 
 canonical parish, belonging to him." This must have been 
 the church of Lorthel, with the lands annexed, tithes, &c. 
 For it is to this that the charter, granted by Gilchrist, ex- 
 pressly refers. Now, this gift was confirmed to the Culdees 
 by John Bishop of Aberdeen, in two distinct deeds. In 
 another, he confirmed to them the gift of the church of 
 Afford by the same earl. This John was elected about the 
 year 1200, perhaps somewhat earlier. 
 
 This was previous to the time of Malvoisin. For he was 
 not Bishop of St Andrews till the year 1202. He did not 
 enforce his claim on this "canonical parish," till nearly 
 twenty years after his instalment. Can it be at all imagined, 
 that neither he, nor his predecessor Eoger, would endeavour 
 to prevent all these confirmations, had they entertained the 
 idea that they had any rightful claim ? But the gifts of the 
 Earl of Mar seem to have been the great sources of the 
 temporal support of the Culdees ; and therefore, in order to 
 their suppression at Monimusk, these must be wrested from 
 them. 
 
 Spotiswood is chargeable with great inaccuracy, when 
 he says that Gilchrist, Earl of Mar, in the reign of William 
 the Lion, built at Monimusk " a priory for the canon-regulars 
 of St Andrews, after which the Culdees were turned out of 
 
THE MONYMUSK CULDEES OPPRESSED. 193 
 
 their possessions." Nothing can be more clear, from his 
 own charter, than that the earl was peculiarly attached to this 
 religious community. He expressly "grants and confirms 
 to God, and to the church of St Mary of Monimusk, et 
 Keledeis ihiclcm sermentibus et servituris, " and to the Culdees 
 serving, and to serve, there," the church and lands afterwards 
 specitied, "in perpetual alms to them, for the safety and 
 prosperity of his Lord King William, his son, and those who 
 were dear to him," &c. He adds : " I will, and enjoin, that 
 the foresaid Culdees shall possess the foresaid church, with 
 all its pertinents, as freely, and quietly, fully, and honour- 
 ably, in perpetual alms, as other canons, or monks, or other 
 reKgious men whatsoever, in the whole kingdom of Scotland 
 hold any church or alms, by the donation of baron or earl." 
 But, indeed, how can it for a moment be supposed that 
 Gilchrist built a priory here for canons regular ; when it is 
 well known that the very matter of controversy between the 
 Culdees and the Bishop of St Andrews, was the pretended 
 gift of lands to them by Gilchrist ? 
 
 Let it not be supposed, however, that Gilchrist was the 
 founder of the Culdean establishment at Monimusk, though 
 he built a monastery for them. For it is said, in the second 
 charter given by John Bishop of Aberdeen, that " G. Earl 
 of Mar, gave the church of Lorthel," &c., to his monastery, 
 which he constructed at Monimusk, in the church of St Mary, 
 in which the Culdees formerly were." While John confirms 
 to them the possession of this monastery, and the lands 
 connected with it, that they might hold it as any other 
 religious house did in Scotland ; he adds, that they shall " not 
 be subject to any other house, or do homage to any other than 
 to himself and his successors ; and that they shall give such 
 subjection as the other religious houses throughout Scotland, 
 constituted in episcopates, owe to their bishop." The first 
 clause might seem to secure them against the usurpations of 
 the canons regular ; and the second might be meant to guard 
 
194 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 against such high pretensions as, he knew, the Culdees had 
 formerly made. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, however, that John seems unwill- 
 ing to express himself entirely in the style of Gilchrist. The 
 bishop, who could be no stranger to the predilection of the 
 Court for canons, bears, as far as possible, to this side in his 
 language. Gilchrist speaks only of Culdees; John, of Ca- 
 nonici, qui Keledei dicuntur, of " canons, who are called 
 Culdees ; " and towards the close, he merely calls them, pre- 
 f ate Canonici, " the foresaid canons,'' dropping their proper 
 designation entirely. 
 
 It appears from the vestiges of ancient history which yet 
 remain, that a variety of means had been used for subduing 
 them at Monimusk. The first attempt, as we have seen, 
 was to reduce them to the rank of hospitallers. But, as they 
 persisted in contending for their rights, and were supported 
 by Gilchrist Earl of Mar, by Gartenach and Roger, Earls 
 of Buchan, and other men of rank : Malvoisin, how anxious 
 soever he was entirely to suppress the society, found it 
 necessary to compromise matters. He allowed them to live 
 according to their own rule, if they would acknowledge him 
 as their founder, and give up those lands which rendered 
 them too powerful. 
 
 This plan must have been long in contemplation. For the 
 Pope appointed arbiters in the thirteenth year of his pontifi- 
 cate; which corresponds to A. 1211, or 1212. But it does 
 not seem to have been observed, that this scheme was not 
 carried into effect till more than seven years after. This 
 appears from the ancient writing, which contains the Con- 
 vention. It would even seem that the papal bull was 
 expressed indefinitely, to be put in force, or not, as occasion 
 should require. For, in this, he specifies no names; but 
 merely nominates his " beloved sons, the Abbots of Mailros 
 and of Dryburgh, and the Archdeacon of Glasgow." Now, 
 one of the persons who acted was not in office at the time of 
 
TREATMENT OF THE CULDEES. 195 
 
 the appointment. Adam was elected Abbot of Mailros, A. 
 1219. As Eobert, Archdeacon of Glasgow, died A. 1222, it 
 is evident that the arbitration must have been made by them 
 between the years 1219 and 1222. 
 
 But even the business of the compromise did not subdue 
 the spirits of the Culdees. Disgusted at the humiliating re- 
 strictions to which they were subjected, some of them left 
 their monastery, and preferred living in other religious houses, 
 whether of their own description, or not, we cannot pretend 
 to determine, or perhaps acting as curates in parishes. For, 
 in the register we have a letter addressed by the Bishop of 
 St Andrews " to all abbots, priors, archdeacons, officials, and 
 all rectors of churches ; also to all his subjects, whether clergy 
 or laity, throughout his diocese." He begins as if he had 
 been as zealous for the strict observance of the Culdean rule, 
 as of that of the canons regular ; with great solemnity re- 
 minding those to whom he writes, that " it is certain that 
 those, who, under pretence of religion, have left the secular 
 habit, deprive themselves of any right to return to the world ; 
 and that he who presumes, by his own temerity, to depart 
 from any place of religion, deserves, like the dog returning to 
 his vomit, and the sow that has been washed to her wallow- 
 ing in the mire, to be had in abomination both by God and 
 by man." " Therefore," he adds, " moved by the just intreaty 
 of our beloved sons, the Prior and Culdees of Monimusk, we 
 require of you all, by these presents, that you presume not to 
 admit any of the brethren of the said place, who have as- 
 sumed the religious habit there, and have professed them- 
 selves, to reside among you, without the licence of the Prior 
 and Culdees, and letters of recommendation given to them ; 
 or to admit them to fellowship ; but rather that you hold 
 such an one as a heathen man and a publican, until, reduced 
 by repentance, he return to his proper residence and society, 
 to give satisfaction for his offences, and, according to the 
 institutions of their own rule, receive canonical discipline." 
 
196 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 This keen adversary of the Culdees died A. 1233, and was 
 succeeded by David, who continued in the see till the year 
 1250. There is a charter of his in the register, confirming 
 the grant of some lands to this priory. But it does not men- 
 tion the Culdees ; being addressed to " the prior of Monimusk, 
 and the canons there serving God, and to serve him for ever." 
 This designation, however, does not imply that by this time 
 they were canons regular. It might rather seem, that the 
 attempt was renewed to convert the priory into an hosjDital. 
 Tor the expressed design of the gift is, " for the sustentation 
 of the poor, and of pilgrims that flocked thither." The only 
 witness, whose name is mentioned, is Adam de Malkarviston, 
 undoubtedly the same who was provost of the Culdean church 
 of St Mary in the city of St Andrews, and who was cited to 
 Inverkeithing, A. 1250. 
 
 The register also contains posterior charters, granted in 
 favour of the church of Monimusk, by Adam, Gilbert, and 
 Teter, Bishops of Aberdeen. But in none of them are the 
 Culdees named. The phraseology is, " the canons residing 
 there." It does not appear that these were canons regular. 
 But the bishops use the name canons, as applicable to the 
 Culdees, because they professed to observe a religious rule ; 
 while they avoid the name which these monastics preferred, 
 as wishing it to be buried in oblivion. 
 
 We have also a rental of the priory of Monimusk for the 
 year 1260, which was about forty yeai's after the agreement 
 between the Culdees there and Malvoisin. Perhaps it must, 
 therefore, be viewed as giving the state of the priory, after it 
 had assumed more of the canonical form. 
 
 Goodall asserts, that " there is not one syllable of the first 
 article of that agreement which is given us by Sir James Dal- 
 rymple, p. 281, viz. "That the Culdees of Monimusk should 
 live in communion, after the manner of Culdees." But un- 
 doubtedly, this is at least taken for granted in the deed; 
 nay, it is the very thing conceded by the bishop on the terms 
 
DISPUTES AND DIFFERENCES. 197 
 
 there stipulated. They are acknowledged by the name of 
 Culdees ; they are to have a prior of their own, only so far 
 subject to the bishop, with respect to nomination, that a list 
 of three must be given in to him, that he may fix on one of 
 them ; and they are allowed their original number of twelve 
 monks beside the prior, and to have one oratory, one refec- 
 tory, and one dormitory. This is farther confirmed by the 
 circumstance, that, as has been seen, the same bishop, in 
 another deed, acknowledges their peculiar rule of life : as he 
 requires the wandering Culdees to " return to their own house 
 and companions;" and says, that they should receive canonical 
 discipline according to the institution of their own rule." 
 This strongly resembles an agreement on his part, " that they 
 should live in communion after the manner of Culdees." 
 
 Sir James Dalrymple, according to Goodall's estimation, 
 " has forgotten to give the main foundation of this contro- 
 ■ versy, which was, that these Culdees would needs be canons 
 regular, and would erect themselves into a canonry, not only 
 without the consent, but against the declared will of the 
 bishop their patron and founder." After the most attentive 
 examination of all the ancient writings I can find on the 
 subject, I do not perceive that there is any proper ground for 
 this assertion. The mistake has probably arisen from the 
 ambiguity of the term canon. By this time, in most of our 
 cathedrals, the chapter consisted of those ecclesiastics deno- 
 minated canons-regular, who generally followed the rule of 
 St Augustine. The Culdees claimed the right to act as the 
 chapter, or, in other words, to elect the bishop. On this 
 ground, as also because they observed a certain rule of their 
 own, they were frequently designed canons in a general sense. 
 But, while they asserted their ancient right to choose the 
 bishops, they manifested no inclination to renounce their 
 peculiar rule. 
 
 The complaint made by the Bishop of St Andrews properly 
 includes two charges, the one limited, the other general. The 
 
HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 first is, that, quidam se Canonicos gerunt, " certain " of the 
 Culdees " act as canons." There is nothing here which shews 
 that they " would needs be canons regular." Did they mean 
 to renounce their own rule for that of St Augustine or 
 Benedict ? No ; the obvious meaning is, that some of them 
 claimed that right to choose the bishop, which had formerly 
 belonged to their body, but was now transferred to the canons 
 regular of Aberdeen. The second is exhibited against them 
 all. They " were not afraid to erect themselves into a 
 canonry," as Goodall expresses it; or, as it should be rendered, 
 according to the chartulary of Aberdeen, " to erect a certain 
 regular canonry, notwithstanding the resistance of the bishop, 
 contrary to justice, and to the prejudice and grievance of his 
 church. Those of the second class are distinguished by their 
 place of residence. They are said to be " certain others, of 
 the diocese of Aberdeen, below the village of Monimusk 
 belonging to him." Both those who acted as canons, putting 
 themselves forward in the election of the bishop, as perhaps 
 residing at Aberdeen, or in its vicinity, and others who did 
 not, concurred in this erection. 
 
 There is, however, a variation, as to phraseology, between 
 the copy of this deed as given in the Chartulary of Aberdeen, 
 and that which we have in the Eegister of St Andrews. In 
 the former the phrase is, quandam canoniam regularem ; in 
 the latter, quandam canonicam parochiam. It can scarcely be 
 supposed, that this difference has been owing to the careless- 
 ness of a copyist. Or, if there has been an error in transcrib- 
 ing, it would be more natural to suppose that this was in the 
 Chartulary of Aberdeen, because the Bishop of St Andrews, 
 having managed this cause, would of course have the original 
 agreement. It may indeed be supposed, that the phrase, 
 canoniam regidarem, had been used in the original deed ; but 
 that, when it came to be examined by the bishop, he found 
 the assertion contrary to truth, and therefore made the 
 necessary alteration. For, to whatever cause the variation be 
 
RESULTS OF THE CONVENTION. 199 
 
 owing, it is obvious that the expression, " a certain regular 
 eanonry," was not applicable to the foundation at Monimusk. 
 It is in fact at war with all the rest of the deed. For, as the 
 bishop was eager to convert the Culdean monasteries into 
 regular canonries, he could have no scruple to comply with 
 those of this place, if they were willing to adopt the new 
 rule, on the ground of the restrictions which the deed of 
 agreement actually contains. Can it be conceived that, if 
 they wished to be canons regular, he would have constrained 
 them to retain the designations of Kelidei and Gon-Kelidei, 
 and their ancient rule and mode of discipline, as far as was 
 consistent with his modifications ? Or would he have added 
 these words ? Et in eledione Prions vel Magistri Kelideorum 
 ita fiet in pcrpetuinn. It is not said, that they were not to 
 become canons regular without the consent of their bishop ; 
 but that they were not to become Culdees, or canonical 
 brethren ; that is, none, though pretending to be Culdees by 
 succession, were to be received into their monastery without 
 his consent; nor were they ever to exceed the prescribed 
 number. Had they been any wise inclined to become 
 canons regular, the Bishop of St Andrews, if he acted in the 
 usual manner, instead of depriving them of the donations 
 made by the Earl of Mar, would most probably have added 
 to them. But, that they never testified any such inclination 
 is evident, not only from the tenor of this agreement, but 
 from a posterior deed formerly referred to, enjoining the 
 return of the fugitive Culdees. 
 
 It must at the same time be evident that the phrase, 
 canonicaTn pariochiam, is most consonant to the whole strain 
 of the agreement ; and may be viewed as the language that 
 Malvoisin had used in the complaint against the Culdees, 
 which he made to the Pope. There seems no good reason to 
 doubt that it refers to what had been done by Gilchrist, Earl 
 of Mar, who had built for them a new priory at Monimusk ; 
 to which, donavit coenohio suo quod construxit, he gave the 
 
200 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 church of Lorthel, properly Lochel, with its lands and 
 pertinents ; and the church of Innerochtin, now Strathdon, 
 with the same. 
 
 It is this which seems to be designed " a certain canonical 
 parish ; " and properly enough, because of the intention of 
 the donor, Earl Gilchrist, to support the Culdees by this 
 means. The bishop might have continued to connive at their 
 establishment, had they still been confined to their old priory. 
 But now, when they had got a new one built, with such ample 
 endowments, he thought it necessary to humble their pride. 
 He seems, indeed, to have been afraid that they might become 
 too powerful for him. He therefore takes the shortest 
 course, by complaining to the Holy Father at Eome that the 
 lands, which the Earl of Mar had given to them, were his 
 property. 
 
CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 Suppression of the Cidclces at St Andrews. — Preparatory Mea- 
 sures adopted with this view. — Their Controversy with the 
 Canons Regular as to St Mary's Church. — Remarks on Good- 
 all's Account of this. — State of the Culdees at lona. — Their 
 Suhjcction to the authority of Rome ; and Expulsion of those 
 who were refractory. — Of the Translation of the Reliques of 
 Adamnan, and of Columba. 
 
 Let us now attend to the means used for the suppression of 
 the Culdees at St Andrews. Before the introduction of canons 
 regular there, the bishops, it is admitted, were elected by the 
 Culdees. But we need not be surprised to find, that when 
 these canons were brought in by David I., the authority of 
 the Culdees was much diminished ; as this was one thing 
 specially designed in their introduction. Henceforth the 
 chapter consisted chiefly of canons ; while the Culdees were 
 merely permitted to form a part of it on certain conditions. 
 Their temporal emoluments were also greatly abridged. When 
 Eobert de Burgo had seized upon that part of the lands of 
 Kirkness in Fife, which had long been their property, the 
 king indeed enjoined restoration ; and it was undoubtedly 
 with his approbation that Constantine, Earl of Fife, and 
 Macbeth, Thane of Falkland, raised an army for the purpose 
 of resisting this oppressor. But although he so far preserved 
 appearances, as to repress measures of gross violence, it is 
 evident that he was determined to cast the religious societies 
 in Scotland into a new mould. 
 
 Even in the metropolitan see, it cost the labour of nearly 
 two centuries to accomplish the extinction of this society. 
 Here, as in other places, the great plan adopted was the 
 advancement of the canons regular. But, in subserviency to 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 this, a variety of steps were gradually taken, some of which 
 seem not to have been noticed by former writers on this 
 subject. 
 
 In the Eegister of St Andrews, we have the deed of 
 foundation of the priory of this place, by Bishop Robert, A. 
 1144. Besides all his other donations of lands, tithes, &c., he 
 gives all his books to this priory. Of the seven portions, 
 which belonged to the altar of St Andrews, he devotes two to 
 the canons regular, and one for an hospital. 
 
 This register also contains a deed of David I., authorising 
 the prior and canons of this new foundation to receive the 
 Culdees of Kilrymont among them as canons, with all their 
 possessions and revenues, if they be found willing to adopt 
 this character. If they refuse to comply, it is enjoined, that 
 the Culdees then living shall |^e permitted to retain their 
 possessions during their natural lives ; and that, on their 
 demise, canons shall be appointed to succeed them individu- 
 ally ; and that all their possessions shall thus successively be 
 converted to the perpetual use of this canonical priory. This 
 deed was enacted about the year 1150. 
 
 Bishop Robert, mentioned above, by another deed extends 
 his donations to the new priory. For he grants all the por- 
 tions of the offerings at the altar, without any restriction, 
 except the seventh, which belonged to the bishop. A similar 
 grant was made by Ernald, who filled the see a few years 
 after him, and renewed this grant. He assigns a reason for 
 the gift, which affords the fullest confirmation of what has 
 formerly been mentioned as one great cause of offence at the 
 conduct of the Culdees. " Every offering at the altar used 
 formerly to be divided into seven parts, which were held by 
 seven persons ; not living in common." He affirms that this 
 offering " ought not to be divided into parts, because com- 
 munity of living gives, in a certain sense, community to all 
 that is possessed." This Ernald was admitted to the see A. 
 1158. 
 
THE CULDEES AND CANONS REGULAR. 203 
 
 From the extracts from the Larger Register, it appears, 
 however, that the bishop does not here give a very accurate 
 statement of the appropriation of these portions, or one 
 favourable to the Culdees. The bishop had always one, and 
 the hospital another ; the other five belonged to the Culdees. 
 Sibbald thinks that they had always the care of the hospital, 
 and of attending on strangers. But all that certainly appears 
 from the passage, as he has himself translated it, is, that 
 "when there happened more than six to come, they were 
 wont to cast lots, who, whom, and how many, they should 
 receive and accommodate with themselves." He adds : " They 
 counted obedience, in the performance of these charitable 
 works, as good as sacrifice." These grants of the offerings to 
 the canons were confirmed by a charter of Malcolm IV. The 
 register contains another, by the same prince, confirming the 
 agreement made between the canonical priory of St Andrews, 
 and the Culdees of the same church, concerning the lands of 
 Stradkines and Lethin. 
 
 Richard, who succeeded to the episcopate in the year 1163, 
 gave to the canons regular the church of the Trinity at St 
 Andrews, with the lands of Kindargog. 
 
 By a rescript of Pope Adrian, A. 1156, it is enjoined, that 
 in case of a vacancy in the see of St Andrews, there shall 
 be no exercise " of craft or violence, but that the election 
 shall be made with their common consent, and according to 
 the determination of the sounder part of the brethren of 
 the priory." This is evidently pointed against the Culdees, 
 concerning whom it is ordained, in the sentence immediately 
 following, that, " upon their demise, their places shall be 
 supplied by canons regular." 
 
 We have an ordinance of Pope Lucius, dated A. 1183, 
 similar to that with respect to the Culdees of Monimusk; 
 prohibiting them to leave their monasteries without per- 
 mission from their prior, and discharging other religious 
 houses from granting them protection. 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 The canonical priory of St Andrews, while striving to 
 suppress the Culdees, was careful to strengthen its own 
 dependencies. Accordingly, we find Prior John, and his 
 convent, "because of the slender means belonging to their 
 priory of Lochlevin, formerly the property of the Culdees," 
 granting and confirming, with consent of the bishop and 
 chapter, to this priory, the whole barony of Kirkness, the 
 lauds of Admore and Eialie, Bolgin, Balcristin, Markinche, 
 Auchmotie, and the tithes of the church of Portmoak with 
 certain limitations. Some of the lands formerly mentioned, 
 as belonging to the priory of Lochlevin, are here omitted, 
 and others are mentioned. This deed is dated A. 1240. 
 
 A few years after this, the adverse parties mutually tried 
 their strength. This severe struggle seems to have hastened 
 the overthrow of the Culdees. I shall give an account of it 
 in the words of a writer who is not at all partial to them. 
 He has extracted it from an instrument taken in the church 
 of Inverkeithing, A. 1250, preserved in the Advocates' 
 Library. This is transcribed by Sir Eobert Sibbald. 
 
 "The prior and convent of St Andrews claimed the 
 precedency and superiority in the direction and management 
 of affairs in St Mary's church of St Andrews, which the 
 Culdees would not allow : for they maintained, and with a 
 good deal of reason too, that Mr Adam Malkirwistun, their 
 prior, was provost of St Mary's church, and that they them- 
 selves were the canons. The matter was appealed to the Pope 
 of Eome, and he delegated the priors of St Oswald and 
 Kyrkham in England, (who, being of another kingdom, it was 
 to be supposed, would deal the more impartially,)- to enquire 
 into the matter, and to determine according to justice. The 
 delegates found the Culdees in the wrong, and in the mean 
 time suspended them from their office; but delayed to 
 pronounce their final sentence, which they had appointed to 
 be done by Eobert, Abbot of Dunfermline, one of the Pope's 
 chaplains, and chancellor of Scotland, and [R] the treasurer 
 
REGARDING SIBBALD'S ACCOUxNT. 205 
 
 of Dunkeld, upon the 7th Novemher, 1250, whom they 
 ordained to entpire also, whether these Culdees, and their 
 vicars, had iu the mean time celebrated divine ordinances, 
 while they were thus under ecclesiastical censure : Et ad 
 inquirendum utrum divina celebraverint sic ligati. The Cul- 
 dees did not make their appearance at the day appointed : yet, 
 notwithstanding their contumacy, the delegates mildly enough 
 delayed the publication of the sentence till another time." 
 
 It may not be improper to make a few remarks on this 
 account. Goodall admits, at the outset, that the Culdees had 
 right on their side, at least in so far, as it would appear that 
 their prior was the provost, and that they were themselves 
 the canons of St Mary's church. But, towards the close, he 
 exhibits the charge of contumacy against them, almost in 
 the same terms with their enemies. His mode of expression 
 would also seem to bear, that their contumacy lay in not 
 appearing. But there is no evidence, in the original instru- 
 ment, whether the Culdees were present or not ; or that their 
 absence was viewed as the proof of that contumacy with 
 which they are charged. There is reason to believe, that the 
 resistance of that claim of precedency which they exhibited, 
 on the ground of their prior being provost of St Mary's, was 
 a plan laid by their enemies for their complete overthrow. 
 Although, as their last resource, they appealed to the Pope, it 
 is more than probable, that their enemies had so much 
 interest at the court of Rome as to procure the appointment 
 of judges, who had their minds completely prejudged before 
 they heard the cause. There is great reason for this suspicion 
 from the description of the persons. Goodall wishes it to 
 appear, that they had been broxight from " another kingdom," 
 under the impression that "they would deal the more 
 impartially." The very reverse is the natural supposition. 
 They, being strangers, could not at any rate be sufficiently 
 acquainted with the religious customs of the Scots. But they 
 had been brought from another kingdom, which was by this 
 
 14 
 
2o6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 time almost entirely cast into the Eoman mould, the clergy 
 of which were therefore of course prejudiced against the Cul- 
 dees. To appoint the prior of St Oswalds, indeed, as one of 
 the judges, was virtually to secure their condemnation. For 
 this priory had been long before noted for its zeal for the 
 Eomish innovations. We have seen, that, so early as the 
 year 1114, the canonry belonging to it was proposed as the 
 pattern of that reformation which appeared necessary to 
 Alexander L in regard to the service of God. When, there- 
 fore, he converted the ancient Culdean church at Scone into 
 an abbey, he applied to Adelwald, the prior of St Oswalds, 
 that he would send him canons from his monastery, and 
 obtained them. 
 
 This suspicion derives additional confirmation from the 
 severity of their determination. It might have been supposed 
 sufficient, in a question ostensibly about mere precedency, 
 especially where it is admitted that the Culdees had a good 
 deal of reason on their side, had the judges repelled their 
 claim of precedency as ill-founded. But let us observe their 
 decision. They not only gave the cause eigainst the Culdees, 
 but they suspended them, all those at least who were 
 engaged in the controversy, from all exercise of their office ; 
 that is, as appears from what follows, from all " celebration 
 of divine service." We are even left to suppose, that they 
 did so, till they should acknowledge the justice of a sentence 
 that deprived them of the. rights which they had possessed 
 for several centuries. Their enemies evidently wished to 
 exclude them from all public' ministration. As if this -had 
 not been enough, they meant, by their suspension, to lay a 
 trap for them. Tor they appoint enquiry to be made, whether, 
 they resumed to perform divine service after this interdict. 
 The papal delegates not only determined the original con- 
 troversy, apparently with the greatest injustice, against them ; 
 but wished to subject them to the dreaded fulminations of 
 the Holy See. 
 
REMARKS ON GOODALL'S ACCOUNT. 207 
 
 In the instrument referred to, they are not merely pro- 
 nonnced contumacious, in consequence, as would seem, of its 
 being proved by witnesses, that they had celebrated divine 
 ordinances during their suspension ; but, in the very sentence 
 of the two judges appointed by the Pope, merely in relation 
 to the dispute between them and the canons, they are 
 described as " certain persons who were disobedient and 
 rebellious against the church of St Mary," or " belonging to " 
 it. Or perhaps this may respect the friends and adherents of 
 these Culdees. 
 
 AVhen we attend to these circumstances, not to speak of 
 Goodall's glaring inconsistency, we see how little reason he 
 had for saying that " the delegates mildly enough delayed the 
 publication of the sentence till another time." From the 
 whole tenor of their conduct there is not the slightest ground 
 for ascribing any part of it to mildness. For both he and 
 Sir James Dalrymple have mistaken the sense of the language 
 used by these gentlemen. There were indeed two publications. 
 The first was that of the sentence given by the priors of St 
 Oswald and Kirkham, by which the Culdees were subjected to 
 suspension. This, it is said, the Abbot of Dunfermline, and 
 the treasurer of the church of Dunkeld, " solemnly published 
 on their proceeding to make inquiry, whether they had 
 celebrated divine ordinances, sic ligati." Having made this 
 publication, they then admitted witnesses, made out a record 
 of their evidence, and appointed a day to the parties, the 
 first Sabbath after the festival of St Andrew, for publishing 
 the evidence exhibited by these witnesses, in the church of 
 the preaching friars of Perth; and for proceeding further 
 against the Culdees referred to, " according to the form of the 
 papal mandate." Here was a second publication appointed, 
 which, we have no reason to doubt, would be carried into 
 effect. Where, then, is the proof of the mildness of these 
 inquisitors ? All that they delay is a present infliction of 
 " that penalty, which they might have justly inflicted," to the 
 
2o8 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 day of this last-mentioned publication. Whether they had 
 any papal authority for proceeding as far as excommunication, 
 I shall not pretend to say. 
 
 One thing is evident here. The adversaries of the Culdees, 
 who well knew their spirit, laid a snare for them. The two 
 priors appointed by the Pope suspended them for no other 
 reason, as far as we can discern, but for pertinaciously 
 adhering to their ancient rights; and at the same time 
 appointed their persecutors to watch them, to see whether 
 they would practically acknowledge the justice of this sentence 
 by submitting to it ; that, if they did not they might have a 
 ground for further procedure against them. When they 
 obtained a proof which they so earnestly desired against the 
 Culdees, they made a show of forbearance; not from any 
 good-will to them, but because they judged it necessary, after 
 having taken one strong step, not too hastily to proceed to 
 another. We have no accounts with respect to any sub- 
 sequent procedure in this cause. Fear might at length so 
 far operate on the Culdees as to produce their submission. 
 We learn that, when William Wishart was postulated to the 
 see of St Andrews, " at his election or postulation [A. 1272], 
 the ancient Culdees were not allowed to vote." 
 
 They had, indeed, been excluded from the election of 
 Gameline, as Keith also remarks, so early as the year 1255, 
 in which year Gameline appears as elect. The Chronicle of 
 Mailros says, that he was elected by " the prior and convent 
 of St Andrews." 
 
 Notwithstanding this exclusion, the Culdees " neglected to 
 make any appeal, till the year 1297, and then they sent their 
 provost or prior, William Cuming, to plead their cause at 
 Eome, before Pope Boniface VIIL; where they lost their plea 
 non tUendo jure suo, because they had suffered two former 
 elections to proceed without them, and entered their appeal 
 only against the third." 
 
 As it appears that these religious men were by no means 
 
REGARDING THEIR DEFEAT AT ROME. 209 
 
 indifferent with respect to their rights, we can account for 
 their listlessness, in this instance, in no other way, than by 
 concluding, that, from the spirit which was manifested in the 
 management of their cause, as narrated above, they had for 
 a long time viewed it as hopeless. Either from the more 
 sanguine temper of Cuming their prior, or from his supposed 
 interest, as it was a powerful name in that age, or from some 
 other circumstance now buried in oblivion, they had been 
 induced, after a silence of twenty-five years, to try the effect 
 of an appeal to Rome. But their cause, it would appear, 
 had been finally determined there long before. 
 
 It has been generally supposed that, from their defeat at 
 Rome, we are to date their extinction. But, from certain 
 articles in the Index to the Extracts from the Register of St 
 Andrews, Sir James Dalrymple concludes, that they con- 
 tinued in that city for some time after this. One article is, 
 Decisio contraversiae inter Keledeos et EpifirM'pwm de Juris- 
 dictione agri per Tliomam RanulpTium Guardionem citra mare 
 Scottorum, An. 1309. "This," he says, "behoved to be with 
 William Lamberton." He mentions another, of which if the 
 contents were known, it would throw much light on the 
 whole matter. This is, Petitio Keldeorum et suhjectio eorum 
 Episcopo Sa-ncti Andreae. This last has evidently been their 
 dirge. 
 
 Here it may not be improper to take a cursory view of 
 the state of their brethren at lona, for some centuries previ- 
 ous to the extinction of their monastery. 
 
 It is worthy of observation, that the decline of their pros- 
 perity, as well as of their respectability and influence, may 
 be dated from the sera of their submission to the encroach- 
 ments of Rome. As God had punished the apostacy of pro- 
 fessing Christians on the continent of Europe,, by letting loose 
 on them the barbarians of the north, he permitted the same 
 unrelenting instruments of his displeasure to desolate the 
 remote islands of the west. 
 
2IO HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 The ostensible grounds of controversy between the Culdees 
 and the Church of Eome, were in themselves trivial. It did 
 not signify on what day they began to celebrate a feast, 
 which had no divine authority in the Christian Church ; nor 
 in what manner they practised a tonsure, which had no better 
 origin than the blind superstition of the priests of heathen- 
 ism. The proper question was, whether any church or bishop 
 had a right to prescribe to all who bore the Christain name. 
 And although the Church of Eome, conjoining policy with 
 her power, attacked the Culdees more immediately on these 
 points, it has appeared, that the object she had in view 
 was far more extensive ; and that she was resolved to 
 accomplish either their total extinction, or their complete 
 subjugation. 
 
 Adamnan, in consequence of a visit which he made to the 
 monks of Girwy, when sent as ambassador from his nation 
 to Aldfrid, King of ISTorthumbria, had become a convert to 
 the Eomish rites ; and attempted, on his return, to introduce 
 them at lona. But, great as was their veneration for their 
 patriarch, they continued firm in their adherence to those 
 customs, which, as they believed, had been transmitted to 
 them from the apostles of Christ. Thirteen years after the 
 death of Adamnan, the Annals of Ulster take notice of an 
 event in the history of lona, which merits our particular 
 attention, as marking the commencement of the many 
 vicissitudes to which the Culdees were henceforth subjected. 
 " 716. Expulsio familiae lae trans Dorsum Britanniac, a 
 Nedano Eege. The expulsion of the family of Hij beyond 
 Drum-Albin, by King ISTectan." 
 
 The notices which have reached our times concerning 
 these dark ages are so slender, that it is not possible to as- 
 certain the causes of those facts which are barely narrated. 
 We can only form conjectures, from a comparison of what is 
 stated in the Annals of Ulster, and of the Quatuor Magistri, 
 in the Chronicon Pictorum, in the Martyrologies, and by 
 
ON THEIR EXPULSION. 211 
 
 Colgau. There can be little doubt, however, as to the cause 
 of this expulsion. Nectan, the third of the name, king of the 
 Picts, being convinced, as is said, by reading ecclesiastical 
 writers, of his own error, and that of his people, with respect 
 to Easter, resolved to embrace the catholic mode. But, " that 
 he might accomplish this with greater ease, and with more 
 authority, he wished for aid from the nation of the Angles. 
 He accordingly sent ambassadors to Ceolfrid, Abbot of Girwy, 
 requesting that he might write a hortatory letter to him, by 
 means of which he might be enabled to confute those who 
 presumed to observe Easter out of the proper time, and also 
 concerning the mode of tonsure by which the clergy ought 
 to be distinguished : informing him, that he was himself 
 pretty well instructed on these subjects." Nectan received 
 such a letter as he requested. In this Ceolfrid says, that by 
 him Adamnan had been convinced of his errors, but that he 
 was "not able to reduce to a better way the monks who 
 lived in the island. of Hij, over whom he presided as ruler." 
 When this letter was read and interpreted to Nectan, it is 
 said that he greatly rejoiced at the exhortation, gave thanks 
 to God, and protested before all present, that he, with all his 
 nation, would for ever henceforth observe this time of Easter ; 
 and decreed that the Roman mode should be received by all 
 the clergy in the kingdom. Here we have an early specimen 
 of Roman finesse. Bede also informs us, that, not long after 
 this, the monks of Hij, with the other monasteiies which were 
 subject to them, were, by the assistance of our Lord, reduced to 
 the " canonical observation of Easter and the tonsure." For, 
 in the year 716, the priest Ecgberht went from Northumbria 
 to Hij, and prevailed with them to submit to this change. 
 "These monks," he says, "by the instruction of Ecgberht, 
 received the catholic rites of life, under the Abbot Dunchad, 
 about eighty years after they had sent Aidan to preach to 
 the nation of the Angles." Ecgberht remained thirteen years 
 in the island, and died A. 729. 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Yet it seems unquestionable, that " the family of Hij were 
 expelled in the year 716." How shall we reconcile these 
 apparent contradictions ? May we not suppose, that the 
 excellent Bede, zealous as he was for conformity to the church 
 of Eome, was ashamed of the means employed at lona, and 
 therefore drew a vail over the expulsion itself, and the cir- 
 cumstances connected with it ? By comparing his account 
 of Ecgberht's visit to lona, and long residence there, with 
 what is said in the Annals of Ulster, it is evident that the 
 language of the latter cannot be understood of a total expul- 
 sion. It appears that, by the authority of Nectan, all the 
 refractory monks were expelled ; while those who submitted 
 to the innovations remained. But perhaps we may safely 
 infer, from the use of the term famiilia, that a great part, if 
 not the majority, were, removed. 
 
 I am inclined to think that, on the part of ISTectan, some 
 degree of policy had been blended with this severity. He 
 expelled the monks " across," or " beyond Drum-Albin," i.e. 
 beyond the Grampian mountains, apparently into the low 
 country, or that of the Southern Picts, of which Abernethy 
 was the capital. It is evident, that, about this time he had 
 formed the plan of adorning the religious foundation at 
 Abernethy, and perhaps of extending it. With this view, 
 when he wrote to Ceolfrid, for the purpose already explained, 
 he at the same time requested that he would send him archi- 
 tects to build a church in his nation after the Roman manner. 
 ISTow, as the refractory monks of lona were sent beyond 
 Drum-Albin, it is not improbable that he wished to increase 
 the religious establishment at Abernethy, and thus gradually 
 diminish the dependence of his people on lona, which lay at 
 such a distance from his capital, and at the very extremity of 
 his kingdom. He might at the same time hope, by a change 
 of situation, to wean them from their former prejudices ; and 
 especially by retaining them in or near his capital, and 
 immediately under his eye. 
 
ON THEIR EXPULSION. 213 
 
 It would appear, that Faolchuo, or Faolon, also called 
 Felim, had been elected Abbot of lona, after Dorbhen, A. 714. 
 But it may be supposed that, in consequence of the schism 
 with respect to the Eomish rites, he had been obliged to 
 resign his dignity to Duncha or Dunchad. For, in the 
 chronicle compiled by Dr Smith, it is said, under the year 
 716, when Dunchad died: "Faolchuo, who had resigned his 
 office to him, again resumes it." There is a slight difference 
 of two years between Dr Smith's Chronology and that of the 
 Ulster Annals as given by Usher, Pinkerton, and Johnstone ; 
 the former fixing the expulsion of the monks of Hij A. 714, 
 the same year in which Faolchuo had been elected, and two 
 years before his restoration. If we trust to the narrative 
 given by Bede, we may suppose the expulsion to have taken 
 place a year or two before the time mentioned in the Ulster 
 Annals. For we learn from him that ISTectan, on receiving 
 the letter from Ceolfrid, "immediately performed, by his 
 royal authority, what he had said. For forthwith, by public 
 proclamation, the circles of nineteen years were sent through- 
 out all the provinces of the Picts, to be transcribed, learned, 
 and observed, the erroneous revolutions of eighty-four years 
 being everywhere suppressed. All the ministers of the altar 
 and the monks had their heads shaved in the form of a 
 crown ; and the corrected nation rejoiced, as anew subjected 
 to the instruction of the most blessed Peter, the prince of the 
 apostles, and put under his patronage for protection." 
 
 He adds : " Not long after, those monks also of the Scottish 
 nation, who lived in the island of Hij, were reduced to the 
 canonical observation of Easter and the tonsure. For in the 
 year 716, Ecgberht was honourably received," &c. 
 
 From the Ulster Annals we learn that "the reliques of 
 Adamnan were transferred into Ireland," A. 726. This was 
 probably in consequence of the continuance of the schism, 
 and by those who had adhered to the ancient rites. For it 
 follows : " and the law renewed." This may signify that the 
 
214 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 law, or established custom received from their fathers, which 
 had been broken by the tyranny of Nectan, was renewed 
 among all those who at this time retired into Ireland. This 
 conjecture receives confirmation from what is said under the 
 year 729 : " The return of the reliques of Adaninan from 
 Ireland." This was the very year in which Ecgberht died : 
 and it appears probable that the adherents to the old system 
 flattered themselves that, in consequence of this event, they 
 might be restored to the peaceful enjoyment of their former 
 privileges in lona ; especially as tlieir persecutor Nectan, 
 who had been put in chains by Drust, A. 725, had died in the 
 year 727, that is, two years before the return of the reliques ; 
 unless we suppose that it was the same year, according to the 
 error ascribed to the chronology of Tighernac. 
 
 From this time the island of Hij seems to have enjoyed 
 tranquillity for more than sixty years. A. 793, all the 
 western isles were desolated by the Gentiles. Hij was burnt 
 by them, A. 801. They returned in 805, and "reduced the 
 family of Hij to sixty-four." Blathmac, the son of Flain, was 
 martyred in Hij by the Gentiles, A. 824. In 828, " Diarmaid, 
 Abbot of Hij, went into Scotland with Columcille's reliques:" 
 The same person, it is added, in the year 8.30, went into 
 Ireland with the same reliques. A. 848, Jurastach, Abbot of 
 Hij, "came into Ireland with Colum Cille's oathes, or sanctified 
 things." 
 
 It is evident that the reliques, venerated at lona, were no 
 longer reckoned safe there, by reason of the perpetual inroads 
 of the northern nations. But it is not easy to account for 
 their perpetual change of place. A learned writer supposes 
 that, when under the year 848, Jurastach " is said to have 
 brought Columcille's oaths, or sanctified things, into Ireland," 
 it is " mistakingly put for Scotland, into which they were 
 brought at this epoch." He apprehends that, in the year 
 849, they were deposited in a church built at Dunkeld by 
 Kenneth Macalpin in honour of Columba. 
 
RELIQUES OF COLUMBA. 215 
 
 The repetition in the Annals of Ulster gives great probability 
 to the idea, that there is a mistake as to the designation of 
 the country ; as these reliques are previously said to have 
 been carried into Ireland, A. 830. To this it must be added, 
 that, in the year 877, it is said : " The shrine of Colum Cille, 
 his oathes and reliques, brought into Ireland, for refuge from 
 the Gentiles," or " for fear of the Gals." If Jurastach actually 
 deposited these at Dunkeld, we must either suppose that they 
 were allowed to remain there only about twenty-eight years : 
 or that the writer of the Annals speaks of some other reliques, 
 which had been retained at Hij till this time, as a succession 
 of abbots was still kept up there. It seems certain, from 
 Innes's Old Chronicle, No. 3, that A. 849, Kenneth translated 
 the reliques of Columba to the church which he had erected. 
 But as Constantine, the son of Vergust, King of the Picts, 
 built the church of Dunkeld, A. 815, it is said, in Dr Smith's, 
 Chronicle, under the year 816, "St Dermit, Abbot of Hij, 
 goes to Albin with Columba's coffin or box (scrinium)." If 
 this event happened so early, it is probable that Diarmaid 
 had gone with them to Dunkeld ; as knowing that Constantine 
 had erected a church in honour of Columba. This agrees 
 with My In's account of the building of a church by Constantine; 
 although he dates the erection about the year 729. 
 
 At any rate, it is impossible to account for their being so 
 early transported into Ireland as A. 830. If we shall suppose 
 a mistake in the date of the Ulster Annals, as to the time of 
 their being brought into Scotland, and that they were really 
 deposited at Dunkeld A. 816, they may have remained there 
 for some time, and been afterwards removed ; because Ungus, 
 who succeeded Constantine, A. 819, founded Kilryinont, in 
 honour of Eegulus, and was determined to give it the pre- 
 eminence above Dunkeld. For, at this time, there does not 
 appear to have been any internal disturbance in Pictland, nor 
 any invasion from the northern barbarians, that could render 
 Dunkeld insecure. 
 
2i6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 If we may credit Colgan's Chronology, these relicjues could 
 not have been carried into Albin by Diarmaid later than the 
 year 816 ; for he says that in this year he died. But at what 
 time soever they were carried thither, it would appear that 
 they were soon transported into Ireland. If we admit the 
 idea, that they had been formerly deposited in Constantine's 
 church, whether in the year 816, or 828, we must suppose 
 that, in 848, or 849, they were only brought back by Jurastach 
 to the place which they had occupied before. As it is said 
 these reliques were carried to Ireland A. 877, or, according to 
 Smith, A. 875, " for refuge from the Gentiles ; " some light 
 may be thrown on this by comparing it with what is said in 
 the same Annals, under the year 865. "Anlaiv and his 
 nobilitie went to Fortren," i.e. Pictland, " together with the 
 foreigners of Ireland and Scotland; and spoiled all the 
 Cruthens," or Picts, " and brought their hostages with them." 
 This Anlaiv, or Olave, was leader of the Danes and IS'orwegi- 
 ans who had taken up their residence in Ireland. He invaded 
 Pictland a second time, A. 870. In the year 874, the Picts 
 were defeated, with great slaughter, by the black Gals. He 
 remained a whole year in Pictland. Thus in about a year, or 
 at farthest three years, after this last defeat of the Picts, the 
 reliques of Columba seem to have been removed to Ireland, 
 as at that time in a state of greater tranquillity than Pictland. 
 For this was a very disastrous reign to the Picts. It is 
 evident, however, from what we have formerly seen, that the 
 monks of Dunkeld still boasted the possession of at least one 
 precious wonder-working bone of the saint. 
 
 ISTotwithstanding the great decline of power, there continued 
 to be monks, if not abbots, of Hij at least till the year 1203, 
 when, it is said, " Ceallach built a monastery, in opposition to 
 the learned of the place ; upon which the clergy of the north 
 of Ireland held a meeting ; after which they came to Hi, and 
 demolished the monastery of Ceallach." It is probable that 
 this was erected for the reception of one of the Romish orders 
 
THE MONASTERY OF CEALLACH. 217 
 
 of religious men ; as it was opposed not only by the Irish 
 clergy, but by " the learned of the place." 
 
CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 Of the Library at lona. — Account given of it hy Pennant, from 
 Boece. — Causes assigned for its Destruction ; — Devastations 
 hy the Danes ; — ly Edward I. ; — hy the Reformers ; — hy 
 Cromwell ; — during the period of Persecution. — Books, for- 
 merly helonging to it, said to he still extant. — The Culdees 
 preserved till about the Time that the Lollards appeared. — Of 
 the Reformation in Scotland, ivhether hy Bishops ? — Of those 
 called Superintendents. 
 
 Not a little has been said with respect to the Library at 
 lona. But, besides having to regret the loss of this very 
 ancient collection, we have not even the slender consolation 
 of certainly knowing what was its fate. It is more than 
 probable, however, that, like other monnments of antiquity 
 which have fallen a sacrifice to the depredations of time, its 
 value has been considerably overrated. 
 
 " The public," says Pennant, " was greatly interested in 
 the preservation of this place, for it was the repository of 
 most of the antient Scotch records. The library here must 
 also have been invaluable, if we can depend upon Boethius, 
 who asserts that Fergus the II., assisting Alaric the Goth in 
 the sacking of Eome, brought away, as share of the plunder, a 
 chest of books, which he presented to the monastery of lona. 
 Aneas Sylvius (afterwards Pope Pius II.) intended, when he 
 was in Scotland, to have visited the library, in search of the 
 lost books of Livy, but was prevented by the death of the 
 king, James I. A small parcel of them were, in 1525, brought 
 to Aberdeen, and great pains were taken to unfold them, but, 
 through age and the tenderness of the parchment, little could 
 be read ; but from what the learned were able to make out, 
 the work appeared by the style to have rather been a fragment 
 of Sallust than of Livy." 
 
THE LIBRARY AT lONA. 219 
 
 But the account given by Boece is clogged with difficulties. 
 1. It is said that, besides the chest of books, there fell to the 
 share of Fergus sacra qucdam vasa, " certain sacred vessels," 
 which he also brought with him. Now, Boece himself has 
 told us what we know from other sources, that the Goths 
 respected the sacred edifices. Alaric gave a peremptory- 
 order, that all the consecrated vessels belonging to St Peter 
 should be transported, without damage or delay, to his church. 
 But, although these only are mentioned,' in consequence of 
 their being found by the soldiers under the care of an aged 
 virgin ; it is most probable that this prince would show the 
 same regard to all other vessels consecrated to the purposes 
 of religion. 
 
 2. This account involves a gross anachronism. Fergus 
 must have made his donation to the monastery of lona about 
 a hundred and sixty years before the foundation-stone of it 
 was laid. For Boece says that Alaric sacked Rome A. 412. 
 Now, Columba did not land in lona till the year 563, or as 
 some say, 565. Here, we are told, Fergus employed approved 
 scribes, for reducing the manuscripts to the form of books, 
 several ages, as would seem, before the art of writing was 
 known in the country. 
 
 3. The same writer elsewhere says that, although Fergus 
 had appointed lona to be a repository for the public records, 
 yet Alexander I., on account of the great difficulty of the 
 access to lona, had caused our annals to be transferred to the 
 priory of Restennet, in Angus. Maitland has observed that 
 hence it was evident, that in Boece's time there could be no 
 records at lona; and, therefore, that he could not get his 
 
 Veremundus from this island. 
 
 As Boece mentions our annals only, it may be said, that 
 he did not refer to the ancient classical works, which 
 Alexander might not think of demanding from the monks 
 of lona. 
 
 It might even be supposed, that Maitland had not sufficient 
 
220 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 ground for charging Boece with self-contradiction, as to our 
 annals ; as some of them, notwithstanding the requisition 
 made by Alexander I., might ha\'e been retain fd at lona, 
 being concealed by the monks, or afterwards procured by 
 them from other quarters ; of which circumstance Boece 
 might be informed, when he made more particular inquiry 
 with the view of writing his history. But it cannot be 
 denied, that, by refeiring to works unknown to all our 
 historians, as to those of Cornelius Hibernicus, Veremund, and 
 Campbell, of whose writings, nay, of whose existence, we can 
 discover no other vestiges, he has greatly injured the credi- 
 bility of his whole story with respect to the communications 
 from lona. The most favourable opinion which can possibly 
 be formed of the conduct of Boece, and it is very little to 
 his credit indeed, is, that he had destroyed the manuscripts 
 which he had used, that his own history might be in greater 
 request. This, as we learn from Gordon of Stralogh, was the 
 tradition which, when a young man, he had heard at 
 Aberdeen. 
 
 Nov can it at all be believed, that the classical MSS. were 
 brought from Rome by Fergus. There is little probability 
 indeed that Fergus ever was at Rome ; and still less, that an 
 Irish prince, in that early age, would encumber himself, 
 during his military labours, with a chest of books, written in a 
 language to which, we may reasonably suppose, he was an 
 entire stranger. 
 
 It must be admitted, however, that from a writer, who has 
 frequently substituted fable for history, credit is sometimes 
 withheld, even when he may have a just claim to it. This 
 may have been the fate of Boece, in the instance before us. 
 It must be acknowledged, that he does not, as Pennant says, 
 assert that these books were brought from Rome by Fergus. 
 He only gives it as a tradition, or report ; Ferunt, &c. Besides, 
 there is a considerable appearance of integrity in his account 
 of the transmission and examination of these works. He 
 
THE LIBRARY AT lONA. 221 
 
 claims no merit in the discovery. All the honour that he 
 claims, is the partial execution of a plan previously formed 
 by a person warmly attached to the interests of literature, 
 who had come to this country as papal legate, not a century 
 before the time Boece wrote. If a foreigner, holding such a 
 distinguished place, entertained the design of making a visit 
 to lona, for the express purpose of inspecting the library 
 there, it must have been well known, and highly gratifying 
 to our countrymen. Nor could the memory of this design 
 have perished in so short a time among those who had any 
 regard to learning ; especially as it was frustrated by a cala- 
 mitous event that so deeply interested e^■ery friend to his 
 country. Even Boece, therefore, would not have ventured 
 such an assertion, had he not been assured of the fact. 
 
 He also says, that it was in consequence of the great cele- 
 brity of these books, preserved in lona, that he was so anxi- 
 ous to examine " what they were, and what they treated of." 
 He assumes nothing to himself, in the account whicli he gives 
 of their transmission. On the contrary, he owns that the re- 
 ligious men of lona did not comply with his request, till after 
 the third application ; and this chiefly by the good ofBces of 
 the noble and learned Campbell, his majesty's treasurer. 
 Boece published his history while Campbell was alive; and can 
 it be supposed, that he would have introduced a man of his 
 respectability as a witness to a gross falsehood, liable also to 
 contradiction from all the monks at lona ? His history was 
 piibUshed, indeed', little more than a year after the time 
 assigned as the date of the receipt of these books. He had 
 even exposed himself to recrimination from these monks, if 
 there was any ground for it; as he ascribes the deplorable 
 state of the manuscripts rather to the carelessness of their 
 guardians than to the waste of time. A reflection of this 
 kind might well be supposed to excite I'esprii du corps. 
 
 Having mentioned the lost books of Livy as the great cle- 
 sideratum, had the story been entirely a fabrication, it would 
 
 15 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 have been as easy for him to have said, that the fragments 
 which he examined indicated the style of this author, as to 
 have ascribed them to Sallust ; and more natural, as giving 
 greater importance to his pretended investigation. 
 
 It also deserves observation, that Boece speaks of these 
 manuscripts as inspected while in his custody by a variety 
 of learned men ; and candidly confesses, that it could not be 
 determined whether they had been written in Scotland or 
 brought from abroad, being written after the Eoman mode, 
 as they treated of Eoman affairs. " This only,'' he says, 
 " appeared to the judgment of all who saw them, that they 
 savoured more of the style of Sallust than of Livy." Had he 
 never received these manuscripts, or had he shewed them to 
 none of his literary friends, would he ever have hazarded 
 such a declaration ? 
 
 It may be added, that, while the learned Usher scouts the 
 idea of their being brought from Rome by Fergus, he admits 
 the narrative of Boece, as far as it regards these fragments. 
 Gibbon also, a ■ writer abundantly fastidious as to evidence, 
 has no hesitation in saying, that lona was " distinguished 
 by a classic library, which aflbrded some hopes of an entire 
 Livy." 
 
 " There can be no doubt," it has been said of late, " but 
 tlie iisaiiy learned men that flourished at I, had the classics 
 among them, and nil the books on divinity and sciences these 
 ages could afford. It can be as little doubted, that, like 
 other societies of learned men, they committed their own 
 works to writing, as well as the transactions of their country- 
 men." With respect to classic works, however, it must be re- 
 gretted, that we have no better proof than conjecture besides 
 what may be supposed to arise from the testimony of Boece. 
 I am rather inclined to think, that their collection of theo- 
 logical works was never very extensive; because, in early ages 
 at least, the religious members df this seminary were chiefly 
 devoted to the reading and transcribing of the scriptures, and 
 
THE LIBRARY AT lONA. 223 
 
 of sacred hymns. Coliuuba spent much of his time in writ- 
 ing. He employed his disciples in the same manner ; and 
 was at pains that they should transcribe with the greatest 
 accuracy. Dr Smith, speaking of his successors, says : " How 
 well they studied the languages, appears from the excellent 
 Latin of Cumin, and of Adamnan, who discovers also his 
 knowledge of Greek and Hebrew ; and wrote a geography 
 of the Holy Land." This work Bede not only ascribes to 
 Adamnan, but highly commends. "The same person," he 
 says, " wrote a book concerning the holy places, most useful 
 to many readers. He received his information from Arcu- 
 ulphus, a Trench bishop, who had gone to Jerusalem to visit 
 the holy places ; and who, having surveyed all the Land of 
 Promise, travelled to Damascus, .Constantinople, Alexandria, 
 and many islands, and returning home by sea, was, by a violent 
 storm, brought to the western coast of Britain. After many 
 accidents, coming to Adamnan, the servant of Christ above 
 mentioned, as he appeared to be learned in the scriptures, 
 and well acquainted with the holy places, he was most readily 
 received, and attentively listened to by him ; so that what 
 things soever he had seen in these places worthy of remem- 
 brance he forthwith committed to writing. Thus, he com- 
 posed a work very useful, and especially to those who, being 
 far removed from these places where the patriarchs and 
 apostles dwelt, know nothing more of them than what they 
 learn by reading." Bede then proceeds to give some extracts 
 from this work, which occupy two chapters. The work itself 
 is extant in Mabillion's Collections. 
 
 Many works, both in Latin and in Irish, are said to have 
 been written by Columba, himself; and among these, the 
 life of the patron saint of Ireland. The life of C<jlumba, we 
 are told, was written, in Irish metre, by his cousin, disciple, 
 and successor, Baithan, who was also canonized. To Abbot 
 Cumin several writings are ascribed, beside the life of 
 Columba, published by Mr Pinkerton, and referred to above. 
 
224 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 which was undoubtedly his work. Of these, of the writings 
 of Adamnan, and of other Abbots who succeeded him, there 
 is every reason to believe that copies would be carefully 
 preserved in the monastery. Men, who were so much 
 devoted to writing, would strain every nerve to increase the 
 number of their books. 
 
 "What then," may it be inquired, "has become of this 
 library ? How can it be accounted for that it should entirely 
 disappear ? " This has been primarily ascribed to the inroads 
 of the Danes. These were frequent and fatal. The monas- 
 tery of lona was burnt by them, A. 797; a second time, 801 ; 
 and it was de.stroyed by fire in the year 1069. A. 805, the 
 family of lona, to the number of sixty-eight, was destroyed 
 by the pirates of that nation; and in 985 they rifled the 
 monastery, and killed the abbot, with fifteen of his disciples. 
 " If the barbarians," it has been said, " had the library in 
 their power, no doubt they would destroy it." According to 
 the information of Pennant, it would appear, that, perhaps, 
 while the Norwegian princes were sovereigns of the isles, 
 they judged it proper to carry some of the more valuable 
 MSS. to a place of security in their own country. " I am 
 informed," he says, " that numbers of the records of the 
 Hebrides were preserved at Drontheim, till they were 
 destroyed by the great fire that happened in that city, either 
 in the last or present century." This, however, might take 
 place after the cession of the Hebrides ; for, by the treaty 
 made on this occasion, " the patronage of the bishoj)ric of 
 Sodor was reserved to the Archbishop of Drontheim in 
 Norway." 
 
 The learned Torffaeus does not seem to have been so well 
 informed, with respect to the depredations made by his 
 countrymen in the island of lona, as might have been 
 expected. He says, that in the year 1210, a squadron of 
 piratical ships, to the number of twelve^ under Birkibein and 
 Bagli, taking advantage of the intestine divisions of the 
 
THE LIBRARY AT ICOLMKILL. 225 
 
 princes of the Hebudae, committed many depredations in 
 this quarter, and phuidered the Holy Island, or that of St 
 Columha, which, till that time, had never been subjected to 
 any injury from the Norwegians, as being protected by its 
 sanctity. He asserts this, as attested by all their annals. 
 The facts formerly quoted, however, rest on the combined 
 testimony of the Annals of Ulster, and of the Irish martyr- 
 ologists. 
 
 Bishop Nicholson, speaking of the library at Icolmkill, says : 
 " Our King Edward the First, having claimed the sovereignty 
 of Scotland, made a most miserable havock of the histories 
 and laws of that kingdom ; hoping that, in a very short time, 
 nothing should be found in all that country, but what 
 carry'd an English name and face." 
 
 " The second great loss of the Scotch records," according 
 to his mode of enumeration, "happen'd upon the mighty 
 turn of the Reformation; when the monks, flying to Rome, 
 carry'd with them the register-books, and other ancient 
 treasure of their respective monasteries." "At the Refor- 
 mation," says another writer, "the MSS. of I were in part 
 carried to the Scotch colleges of Doway, or to Rome, at least 
 the chartularies, and such as were esteemed most valuable by 
 the monks. The college of Ratisbon has also been mentioned 
 as possessing part of this spoil. But, from all that I have 
 been able to learn from such of our countrymen as have 
 resided, or been trained up, in the Scotch colleges on the 
 Continent, it would appear, that there has been far less 
 ground for this assertion than has been generally imagined. 
 If an accurate search were made, by such travellers as really 
 possessed a literary character, and took an interest in the 
 ancient history of our country, more perhaps might be 
 discovered among the treasures of the Vatican than any 
 where else. 
 
 The indiscreet zeal of the Reformers has also with too much, 
 reason, been viewed as a principal cause of the destruction of 
 
226 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 this library. " The register and records of the island," 
 according to Pennant, "all written on parchment, and 
 probably other more antique and valuable remains, were all 
 destroyed by that worse than Gothic synod, which at the 
 Eeformation declared war against all science." He might 
 perhaps allude to the act of the convention of estates, A. 1561, 
 " passed at desire of the church, fox demolishing all the abbeys 
 of monks and friars, and for suppressing whatsomever monu- 
 ments of idolatrie were remaining in the realm, the execution 
 whereof in the west parts was committed to the Earls Arran, 
 Argile, and Glencarne." In consequence of this appointment, 
 " ensued a pitiful vastation of churches and church-buildings 
 throughout all the parts of the realm ; for every man made 
 bold to put out his hand, (the meaner sort imitating the 
 greater, and those who were in authority). They litled all 
 churches indifferently, making spoil of everything they 
 found. — The very sepulchres of the dead were not spared, but 
 digged, ript up, and sacrilegiously violated. Bibliothecks 
 destroyed, the volumes of the fathers, councells, and other 
 books of humane learning, with the registers of the church, 
 cast into the streets, afterwards gathered in heaps, and 
 consumed with fire." Could we give full credit to this 
 account, who could read it without regretting, that men, 
 whose intentions were good, should act with as little discrim- 
 ination, as if they had reckoned learning inimical to religion, 
 or proposed, as their pattern, the sentence of the Saracen 
 caliph with respect to the inestimable library of Alexandria i 
 But it can scarcely be supposed, that any of the nobility or 
 ministry would give their sanction to the destruction of 
 libraries. What happened in this way must be attributed 
 to the unbridled licentiousness of the ignorant rabble, when 
 once let loose. Spotswood himself views it in this light. 
 For he subjoins : " But popular fury, once armed, maketh no 
 difference ; nor doth it any thing with advice and judgment." 
 With respect to the library of Zona, " it is said that some of 
 
CROMWELL AND THE lONA LIBRARY. 227 
 
 the ilSS, were carried to Inveraray, and that a Duke of 
 Montague found some of them in the shops there, used as 
 snuff paper." This traditionary account most probably 
 respects the time referred to in the sentence immediately 
 subjoined : " If any of them were in the library of the family 
 of Argyll, the persecution that family underwent, in the time 
 of Charles II., accounts for none beina; there now." What is 
 here said receives considerable support from a circumstance 
 mentioned by Sacheverell, in relation to a book which had 
 certainly been brought from lona. " The dean of the isles, 
 Mr John Frazer, an honest episcopal minister, told me his 
 father, who liad been dean of the Isles, left him a book with 
 above 300 inscriptions," taken from the monuments of lona, 
 "which he had lent to the late Earl of Argile, a man of 
 incomparable sense, and great curiosity ; and doubts they 
 are all lost by that great man's alllictious." 
 
 "With respect to tmr ancient I'egisters in general, Eishop 
 Xicolson says : " The third, and killing blow was given them 
 by Oliver Cromwel ; who brought most of the poor remains 
 that were left into England ; and they likewise were mostly 
 lost in their return by sea." It is probable that he alludes 
 to those of the monastery of lona, in common witli others. 
 Whether Cromwell actually sent to lona, with an intention 
 to cari-y off any gleanings that might be found there in his 
 time, we cannot determine. But it will afterwards appear, 
 that his usurpation has been viewed as at least the accidental 
 cause of the destruction of a considerable portion of its 
 precious remains. 
 
 Whether it was owing to the depredations of the Danes 
 or to the indifference of the Culdees of lona to the works of 
 the fathers, it is not easy to determine; but the fact seems 
 well authenticated, that, in the ninth century, the only book 
 of this description which they had, was one of the writings 
 of Chrysostom. The anonymous author of the life of this 
 father gives the following account. "Certain clergymen. 
 
228 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 who, from among those who inhabit the extremities of the 
 world, coming, upon the account of some ecclesiastical tradi- 
 tions, but particularly the observation and exact calculation 
 of Easter, to the royal city [of Constantinople] did wait 
 upon the patriarch who at that time resided therein. This 
 was Methodius, a man famous in the days of our ancestors • 
 by whom being question'd from what place, and on what 
 occasion, they had travelled thither ? they answer'd, that 
 they came from the Schools of the Ocean ; and withall they 
 clearly explain'd to him the occasion of coming from their 
 own country. — He demanding, by what traditions of the 
 fathers and doctors they govern'd themselves ? they said that 
 they had one onely book of the father Chrysostom, from 
 whence they happen'd clearly to learn the faith, and the 
 exact observation of the commands ; affirming, that they 
 daily reap'd great advantage by this piece, which was very 
 agreeable and acceptable to all, being handed about from 
 one to another, and diligently transcrib'd ; insomuch that 
 there was no city, as they said, nor any of their clans, or 
 territories, that remained void of so great and important 
 a benefit." 
 
 A few books have been mentioned, by different writers, 
 within the last century, or a little farther back, some of 
 which may have once formed part of the library at lona. 
 
 In the account of the island of Mull, which is separated 
 from lona only by a narrow sound, it is said : " Since the 
 Eeformation, the parish has produced none eminent for 
 learning, if we except the Beatons of Pennicross, who were 
 doctors of physic. The family is now extinct : but they are 
 still spoken of in the country with admiration for their skill 
 in physic. It is said that one of them was sent for to attend 
 one of the kings of Scotland. They had a large folio MS. 
 in Gaelic, treating on physic, which was left with a woman, 
 the heiress of the Beatons, and seen by some now living; 
 but what became of it, the incumbent, after all his inquiries, 
 
BOOKS SAID TO BE STILL EXTANT. 229 
 
 could not find. It is perhaps lost, as the heirs of this woman 
 are quite illiterate." 
 
 In this monastery particular attention seems to have been 
 paid to the science of medicine. '■' The 011a Ileach, and 011a 
 Muileach," says Dr Smith, " tlie ancient and famous line 
 of physicians in Hay and in Mull must no doubt have derived 
 their first knowledge from this semhiary. I had from Major 
 Maclachlan, in the neighbouring island of Luing, a MS. in 
 the Irish character and language, on the subject of medicine 
 and surgery, which appeared, fiom being compared with 
 Astle's specimens, to have been of a most remote antiquity : 
 and it is likely that it was written by some of the learned 
 men in Zona." 
 
 " Of what has been written at lona," says Mr M'Nicol, 
 " I have heard, in particular, of a translation of St Augustine 
 Be. C'ivitate Bei, and a Treatise in Physic, which is very old 
 The former was. in the possesion of the late Mr Archibald 
 Lambie, minister of Kilmartine, in Argyleshire ; and the 
 latter was preserved in the Advocates' library at Edinburgh, 
 where, no doubt, it is still to be seen.'' 
 
 Many copies of the Life of Columba seem to have been 
 dispersed through the islands, in the vernacular tongue. 
 " The Life of Columbi/s," Martin says, " written in tlie Irish 
 character, is in the custody of John Mack-Mel, in the isle of 
 Barry ; another copy of it is kept by Mack-Donald of Ben- 
 becula." 
 
 ""We are informed by Mr. Lloyd," says Dr Macpherson, 
 " that there is still in the Bodleian library at Oxford, an Irish 
 manuscript, entituled Tlu Works of Cohtmhcille, in verse, con- 
 taining some account of the author's life, together with his 
 prophecies and exhortations to princes. 
 
 " The same industrious writer observes, that there is in the 
 library of Trinity College at Dublin, some other most curious 
 and wonderfully ancient manuscript, containing the four 
 gospels, and a variety of other matters. The manuscript is 
 
230 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 called Th& Book of Columb-cille, and thought to have been 
 written by Columba's own hand. Flann, King of Ireland, 
 ordered a very costly cover to be given this book. On a 
 silver cross, which makes a part of that cover, is still to be 
 seen an Irish inscription, of which the literal meaning is, 
 ' The prayer and blessing of Columb-cille to Flann the son of 
 Mailsheachnail, King of Ireland, who made this cover : and, 
 should the manuscript be of no greater antiquity than the 
 reign of that prince, it must be about nine hundred years 
 old.' This story, however," Dr Macpherson adds, "carries 
 with it a great degree of improbability ; and it is more than 
 probable that this Book of Columh-cille arose from the pious 
 fraud of a much later age." 
 
 I shall conclude this meagre account of a library once so 
 famous, with the latest notices which I have met with on the 
 subject. They occur in a posthumous work of the late 
 learned Dr Walker of the University of Edinburgh. " All 
 that I could learn of its fate," he says, " was, that the re- 
 formers came so suddenly upon Icolumbkill, that the in- 
 habitants had time to carry little or nothing away. Some of 
 the books and papers, however, were conveyed to the castle 
 of Cairnburg, belonging to the chief of the Macleans, and 
 then judged impregnable. Here they remained till a siege, 
 in the time of Cromwell, when they were mostly destroyed 
 by fire. Some of them, however, still escaped, of which I 
 got notice of one manuscript, and saw an old gentleman in 
 whose hands it had been for some time ; but found, after 
 hunting it through three or four islands, that the last leaves 
 of it, as it was unhappily vellum, had fallen a sacrifice for 
 measures to a taylor. It was a Latin translation of an 
 Arabian work on physic." 
 
 From what we have formerly seen, " it is plain," as Sir 
 James Dalrymple has observed, " that the Culdees continued 
 till the beginning of the fourteenth century." In this cen- 
 tury, he adds, " Eenatus Lolardus appeared in France, and 
 
THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 231 
 
 Wicklif in England. — The Lolards appeared in this kingdom 
 under the government of K. 1). of Albany ; and shortly there- 
 after James Resby and PanI Craw were burnt for maintain- 
 ing these doctrines. In the reigns of James the Third and 
 Fourth, great numbers of them appeared in Kyle and Cunning- 
 ham ; and the first beginning of the Reformation of religion 
 was embraced in these districts." 
 
 Here we have a singular proof of the providence of God 
 in preserving the truth in our native country, even during 
 the time that the Man of Sin was reigning with absolute 
 authority over the other nations of Europe; and in transmitt- 
 ing some of its most important articles at least, nearly to the 
 time of its breaking forth with renewed lustre at the Reforma- 
 tion. It would be inconsistent with the design of this 
 inquiry, to enter into any discussion with respect to the 
 scriptural warrant for the presbyterian form of government. 
 But it cannot reasonably be supposed that the memory of 
 the Culdees had, even in the sixteenth century, completely 
 perished in a country, in which, only two centuries before, 
 they had been contending for their ancient rights, not merely 
 in opposition to the whole power of the primacy, but to the 
 additional support of papal authority ; and where they seem 
 to have constituted the majority of the ordinary pastors, till 
 within a short time of their overthrow. Althougli we have 
 no written documents concerning them as a body, later than 
 the beginning of the thirteentli century, it is by no means 
 improbable, that individuals, trained up by them, or adhering 
 to their principles, continued to discharge the pastoral duties, 
 especially in those places which were more remote from the 
 episcopal seats. 
 
 It is no inconsiderable confirmation of the accounts given 
 of them by our later writers, before the Reformation, how 
 much soever some affect to despise their testimony ; and no 
 contemptible proof of the strong bias that was in the mind 
 of the nation in opposition to prelacy ; that, as soon as they 
 
232 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 had the power in their hands, they preferred a form of govern- 
 ment nearly allied to that ascribed to the Culdees. 
 
 It has been asserted, indeed, by the friends of the hierarchy, 
 that the government adopted by our Scottish reformers was 
 not presbyterian but episcopalian. The ground of this asser- 
 tion is the appointment of those ministers who were de- 
 nominated Superintendents. It cannot be denied, that a 
 greater degree of power was given to those office-bearers than 
 to ordinary pastors. But those by whom they were appointed 
 had no idea of any distinction of office ; and even the power, 
 entrusted to them was so limited, that they appear in a 
 \evj different light from those usually denominated Bishops. 
 Such, indeed, were the limitations to which they were sub- 
 jected, and the services required, that any one who chiefly 
 sought his ease, or wished to sacrifice to ambition, might, with 
 respect to this pre-eminence, have said, with a safe conscience, 
 Nolo episcojMri.. They were elected by the people who were 
 to be committed to their charge. For although one, in the 
 first choice, was previously nominated by the lords of secret 
 council, his edict was regularly served ; and not only were all 
 the people at liberty to object to his instalment, but " ques- 
 tion was moved to the haill multitude, if there was ony uther 
 quhome they wuld put m elcdioun with the said" person. 
 In case of a vacancy, it is ordained, that " the cheefe towne 
 within the province, to wit, the ministers, elders, and deacons, 
 with the magistrate and councell of the same towne, shall 
 nominate, and by publick edicts proclaime, as well to the 
 Superintendents, as to two or three provinces, next adjacent, 
 two or three of the most learned and godly ministers within 
 the whole realme, that from amongst them one with publick 
 consent may be elected and appointed to the office." 
 
 They were to be strictly tried by th,e ordinary pastors, as 
 to their learning, prudence, piety, and character ; to be set 
 apart by them, and the Superintendents, where any had been 
 appointed ; and severally subjected to the censure and correc- 
 
THE SUPERINTENDENTS. 233 
 
 tion of the ministry and elders of the whole province. They 
 were equally subject to deposition with the ordinary pastors. 
 Each of theui had a particular congregation especially under 
 his charge. He was required to preach thrice every week. 
 He was not to remain more than three or four months in his 
 principal residence ; but to visit the pro^'ince for eight or 
 nine months in the year. He was prohibited to reside more 
 than three weeks in any one place during this visitation. 
 
 Our reformers did not admit of any ordination of the 
 Superintendents, as tliis would have implied investiture with 
 an office different from that of the ordinary pastor. Therefore 
 they say : " Other ceremonies then [than] sharp examination, 
 approbation of the ministers and superintendents, with the 
 publicke consent of the elders and people, we cannot allow." 
 Their office, at any rate, was meant to be njerely temporary. 
 To some, this idea may appear as the interpretation of a later 
 age, when, it may be supposed, the notion of presbyterian 
 parity had gained more ground. But let us attend to the 
 declaration of those very men who first recommended, and 
 who digested, the plan with respect to the choice of superin- 
 tendents. " We consider," tliey say, " that, if the ministers 
 whom God hath endowed with his singular graces amongst 
 us, should be appointed to severall places, there to make their 
 contiuuall residence, then the greatest part of the realme 
 should be destitute of all doctrine ; which should not onely 
 be the occasion of great murmur, but also be dangerous to 
 the salvation of many. Antl therefore we have thought it a 
 thing most expedient at this time, that from the whole number 
 of godly and learned men, now presently in this realm, be 
 selected ten or twelve, (for in so many provinces we have 
 divided the whole,) to whom charge and commandment 
 should be given to plant and erect kirkes, to set, order, and 
 appoint ministers as the former order prescribes, to the 
 countries that shall be appointed to their care whore none 
 are now," &c. 
 
234 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 Although this measure was adopted merely as a matter of 
 temporary expediency, because of the great scarcity of re- 
 formed pastors, that no part of tlie church might be altogether 
 neglected ; they thought it better that several provinces 
 should be vacant, than that any should be appointed who 
 were unfit for so important a trust. Accordingly, although 
 ten or twelve superintendents were, as we have seen, judged 
 necessary, no more than five were ever appointed. 
 
 This plan, in another point of view, was very different from 
 that of prelacy. For, as Calderwood observes, " in this head 
 of superintendents, we have no degrees of superior or iuferior, 
 provincial or general superintendents, but all of one rank, 
 without subordination of some to others; which is otherwayes 
 in the hierarchic of the prelats, where we have bishops, arch- 
 bishops, primats, and patriarches." 
 
 Such is the resemblance between these superintendents 
 and the first bishops of Scotland, and also as to the mode of 
 appointment, that one might almost suppose thac our re- 
 formers had taken the college of lona for their model. Both 
 were chosen out of the common body. Both were subject 
 to the authority of the presbyters or seniors. We have not 
 the slightest proof of ordination by any claiming superiority 
 of office. They were equally teaching bishops. The principal 
 design of the appointment of both, was the planting of 
 churches, or, as it is expressed in the First Book of Discipline, 
 " the establishment of the kirke ;" neither being suffered to 
 live, as our reformers say, " as your idle bishops have done." 
 They were not distinguished from others, under any pretence 
 of divine authority, but by man, merely for expediency. 
 Thus the superintendents are described only as one class of 
 preachers. Hence the compilers of the Book of Discipline 
 say: "We have thought good to signifye to your honours such 
 reasons as moved us to make difference betwixt preachers at 
 this time." Although, during several successive reigns, the 
 crown still endeavoured to restore the hierarchy which had 
 
THE CROWN AND THE HIERARCHY. 235 
 
 existed before the Reformation, it was still keenly opposed ; 
 and on every opportunity which the body of the nation had 
 of expressing their inclinations, a national, (may I not say ?) 
 an hereditary, antipathy to this form of government was 
 unequivocally manifested. 
 
CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Objections considered. — The supposed Biconsistency of the Monks 
 of lona sending Bishops, or Improhalility of their being 
 applied to for such a Mission, if unfriendly to the Order ; — 
 Tlie Ouldees said to have been merely the Episcopal Chapter 
 of the Diocese in which they resided. — Assserted, that there 
 lucre never any Ouldees at Zona, or within the Terj'itories of 
 the ancient Scots ; and that they made their first Appearance 
 at St Andrews. 
 
 In the progress of this investigation, I have considered the 
 principal exceptions to the arguments brought to prove, that 
 the ecclesiastical power, established at lona, bore a striking 
 analogy to the presbyterian form. Before leaving the sub- 
 ject, it may be necessary to advert to some of the objections 
 that have been made to this hypothesis. 
 
 1. It may seem a powerful objection to this scheme, that, 
 when application was made, on different occasions, by the 
 Saxon princes to the monastery of lona, for bishops, those 
 who resided there had no scruple to ordain and give a mission 
 to pastors of this description. On the other hand, it may 
 appear inconceivable, that " the English would, once and 
 again, have concurred so heartily with those who wanted to 
 abolish the episcopal order in Scotland, while they still kept 
 it up among themselves.'' 
 
 So little weight is there in the last part of this objection, 
 that it scarcely merits a reply. Those who made application 
 to the seniors at lona were principally concerned about the 
 preaching of the word of faith ; and it may naturally be 
 supposed, that, in the hrst instance at least, they scarcely 
 passed a thought about the form of ecclesiastical government. 
 With the same propriety might it be argued, that they 
 
& 
 
 THE OBJECTIOxNS CONSIDERED. 237 
 
 would not have applied to those who were schisniatical as to 
 the mode of observing Easter ; because the Augles, when they 
 submitted to the authority of Eome, viewed the Scottish 
 clergy in this light. By the use of the appellation English, 
 an ignorant reader might be led to suppose that the corre- 
 spondence had been maintained even after this became the 
 general designation of the inhabitants of South-Britain. But 
 the intercourse with lona was long previous to this time ; and 
 was maintained only for about thirty years. The influence 
 of Home at length so far prevailed, that none were received 
 from this island who refused submission to papal authority. 
 Of this we have a striking proof from t])e conduct of 
 Wilfrid, a Saxon monk, who carried on the debate with 
 CJolman, l]ishop of Lindisfarne, about the time of observing 
 Easter. Bede merely says, that King Alchfrid sent' the 
 presbyter ^^'ilfl■id to the King of France, who caused him to 
 be consecrateil a bishop. But the good man was, perhaps, 
 ashamed of the real cause of this mission. Wilfrid was so 
 violent, that he would not submit to Scottish ordination. 
 William of ]\Ialmesbury speaks it fairly out : " But he per- 
 sisted in refusing to be ordained by Scottish bishops, or by 
 those whom the Scots had ordained, because the apostolical 
 see scorned to have any fellowship with them." 
 
 The other branch of the objection deserves more attention. 
 No pastor can have any reasonable prejudice merely against 
 the name of Bishop. For it is of scriptural authority ; and 
 was originally given, in common with that of Presbyter, or 
 Elder, to all who were overseers of the flock. Our excellent 
 translators were well assured that there was a number of 
 Elders in the church of Ephesus ; and that not only the 
 Apostle Paul gave them all, without exception, the designation 
 of Bishops, but that " the Holy Ghost had made " them all 
 " bishops." But here carnal policy prevailed over conviction. 
 They could not but know, that if they translated the term 
 fTTw/coxas, as they did everywhere else, in its proper sense, as 
 
 16 
 
238 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 being the very origin of our word bishop, they would give a 
 fatal stab to the divine right of episcopacy ; and therefore, 
 according to the dictates of worldly prudence, they substituted 
 overseers. 
 
 The objection is solely to the abuse of the name. In early 
 ages, such was the piety of the ministers of religion, such 
 tlieir humility, that no idea of pomp was attached to this 
 designation. This was eminently the character of " the 
 family of Hij": and they could scarcely form the apprehension 
 that one of their own number, merely because he received the 
 name of Bishop, would lord it over his fellows who had 
 conferred on him this character. For, after the most 
 impartial investigation of this subject of which I am capable, 
 I have not found a shadow of proof that any of those sent 
 forth as bishops from that island were ordained by such as 
 claimed a dignity superior to that of presbyter. 
 
 1. I am much disposed, indeed, to think that all the 
 difference which they, in a more early age at least, admitted 
 between presbyter and bishop, was, that they conferred the 
 latter title on those only who were delegated to a particular 
 charge, as to that of planting a church among the Angles, or 
 who were to have a pastoral relation to a certain people ; 
 wlierc'as the presbyters, although they by themselves dispensed 
 ordiuauccs in tiie vicinity of their monastery, or assisted the 
 bishop o;i his mission in preaching and baptising, were viewed 
 merely as preachers at large, without having any such 
 pastoral relation. 
 
 Bede uses the terms Bishop and Priest, with respect to 
 what was transacted at lona, as if they admitted of no 
 difference of signification as to office. When speaking of that 
 bishop who had been sent to King Oswald, but, meeting with 
 no success, returned home, he with the same breath gives 
 him both designations; using both the term Antistes, and 
 Sacerdos : and the import of both, nay, the great dignity of 
 his office, is made to lie in this, that he was a preacher. It 
 
THE OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 239 
 
 was in his room that Aidau was sent. It is indeed said, that 
 he deserved to be made a bishop, and that he was ordained. 
 But, besides the circumstance of his being ordained by the 
 convcntus sentorum, it may be difficult to prove, as we have 
 formerly observed, that he was a preacher before. As it is 
 admitted, that in these monasteries there were laymen, can 
 it be shewn that Aidan was any thing more before his 
 ordination as a bishop ? 
 
 2. There is undoubted evidence, that, in these early times, 
 the term bishop was used in a sense very different from that 
 attached to it afterwards. Of this the most ample proof 
 might be brought from the general history of Christendom. 
 But I shall confine myself to that of our own islands. Ninian 
 is called a bishop by Bede; and he probably received the 
 title during his life. He says that the Southern Picts were 
 converted "by the preaching of Nynias," as he gives his 
 name, " the most renowned bishop, who had been instructed 
 at Eome in the faith and mysteries of truth, whose episcopal 
 see, of the invocation of St Martin the bishop, and stately 
 church, the nation of the Angles is now possessed of." This 
 place was not within the Pictish territories, as Mr Pinkerton 
 shows in his Enquiry, but among the Cumraig Britons. 
 Ninian receives the same designation from Alcuin, Boece, 
 Leslie, and a variety of writers. Yet he seems to have been 
 no more a bishop than was Columba. Nor could Bede use 
 the term in that canonical sense which was become common 
 in his own time. For he afterwards says : " Pecthelm is 
 Bishop of Candida Casa, or Whitliern, which, in consequence 
 of the increase of the number of tlie faithful, has been lately 
 added to the list of episcopal sees, and had him for its first 
 prelate." In the ilS. History of Durham, under the year 
 664, and long after the age of Ninian, it is expressly said : 
 " Candida Casa as yet had no bishop." William of Malmes- 
 bury also, in his account of the bishops of this see, although, 
 after Alcuin, he calls Ninian a bishop, using the term in its 
 
240 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 loose and general sense, says that, " towards the end of Bede's 
 life, Pethelm was made the first bishop ; " that is, as Selden 
 explains it, "according to the canonical ideas of the episcopacy 
 then generally received throughout Christendom." 
 
 The character of the Irish bishops, in early times, may 
 assist us in judging of the rank of those who were ordained at 
 lona ; especially as Columba, who was not a bishop, but an 
 abbot and presbyter, is designed not only "primate of the 
 Scots and Picts," but " primate of all the Irish bishops." Till 
 the year 1152, they seem to have been properly Clior-cpiscopi, 
 or Eural Bishops. In ]\Ieath alone there were fourteen 
 bishoprics ; in Dublin thirteen. Their number, it is supposed, 
 might amount to above three hundred. They, in the same 
 manner with the Scottish and Pictish bishops, exercised their 
 functions at large, as they had opportunity. " That Bishop 
 in Ireland," says Toland, " did, in the fifth or sixth centuries 
 (for example) signify a distinct order of men, by whom alone 
 presbyters cou'd be ordained, and without which kind of 
 ordination their ministry was invalid ; this I absolutely deny ; 
 as I do that those bishops were Diocesan Bishops, when 
 nothing is plainer, than that most of 'em had no bishopricks 
 at all in our modern sense ; not to speak of those numerous 
 bishops frequently going out of Ireland, not call'd to bishop- 
 ricks abroad, and many of 'em never preferr'd there." 
 
 We have a similar account of the Irish bishops in that rare 
 and curious work, the Monasticon Hibernicum. " It is to be 
 observ'd," says the author, "that Colman having been a bishop 
 in England, was no sooner settled at Inisbohnde, but that 
 place became a bishoprick ; so that St Colman, who had before 
 been called Bishop of Lindisfarn, was afterwards stil'd Bishop 
 of Inisbotinde ; and the same saint going afterwards to ilayo, 
 that place was likewise a bishoprick, which was united to 
 that of Inisbofinde : so certain it is that formerly, in the 
 British islands, bishopricks were not regulated and settled, 
 but the bishops were movable, without being confined to any 
 
THE OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 241 
 
 certain diocese. This is the reason that, in the first ages, we 
 find so many bishops in Ireland; for in St Patrick's days 
 there were three hundred and fifty at one and the same time, 
 though, as Colgan owns, there were never near so many 
 bishopricks in Ireland. It is very likely, that, when the 
 ancient historians speak of so great a number of bishopricks 
 in Ireland, they only meant those abbies in which these 
 moving or titular bishops were abbots ; and those houses, that 
 were so numerous, ceas'd to be bishopricks the very moment 
 the' titular bishops and abbots happen'd to die or to shift 
 their monasteries." 
 
 3. We have formerly seen that the Abbots of Hij, because 
 of their great authority and extensive influence, were some- 
 times called Bishops. Besides the proofs already mentioned, 
 it may be observed that, for this very reason, in relation to 
 that monastery, the terms Abbas and Spiscopus seem to have 
 been used as synonymous. Hence Sigibert speaks of " Adam- 
 annus, the presbyter and abbot of the Scots." As the prelacy 
 gained ground, the rage for multiplying bishops, in preceding 
 times, also increased. On this principle, as would seem, 
 Spotswood includes both Columba and Adamnan in his Hst 
 of the early bishops of Scotland, appended to his history. 
 According to Fordun, Regulus was only an abbot. The 
 Register of St Andrews, however, makes him a bishop. 
 
 4. During several centuries, none of those who were called 
 bishops in Scotland had dioceses. Hence, in ancient deeds, 
 they are simply designed Upiscopi, or Episcopi Scotorum. The 
 latter title was that taken by the Bishop of St Andrews so 
 late as the year 1188 ; as appears by the seals of Robert, 
 Ernald, and Richard. No satisfactory reason can be assigned 
 for this loose mode of designation, but that none of these 
 bishops had a fixed charge. It is admitted that "it was 
 altogether consistent with the universal practice of the church 
 in the earliest ages to consecrate bishops who did not enjoy 
 distinct jurisdiction." There seem to have been no regular 
 
 ft 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES- 
 
 dioceses in Scotland before the beginning of the twelfth 
 century. The foundation of diocesan episcopacy was indeed 
 laid in the erection of the bishopric of St Andrews. In this 
 erection we may perceive the traces of a plan for changing 
 the whole form of ecclesiastical government, as it had hitherto 
 been exercised within the Pictish dominion. This seems to 
 be the true meaning of two passages in ancient writings to 
 which the attention of the public has formerly been called on 
 this subject. Mr Pinkerton has justly denominated one of 
 them " a very singular passage." It occurs in the register of 
 the priory of St Andrews, in relation to Grig, the Gregi iry of 
 our historians. " He first gave freedom to the Scottish church, 
 which till that time was in servitude, by the constitution and 
 custom of the Picts." " This surely refers," says Mr Pinkerton, 
 " to the subjection of the Pikish clmrches to Hyona ; from 
 which they were delivered by erecting St Andrews into a 
 bishopric. Our clergy, in gratitude, gave much fabulous 
 praise to Grig, as was their custom in such cases ; and say 
 that he conquered Ireland, and most of England." 
 
 Kow, the foundation of this lionourable ascription to Grig 
 was his erection of St Andrews into a bishopric. For, according 
 to Fordun and Wyntouu, Kellach, who seems to have been 
 the first bishop of this see, lived in the time of Grig, who 
 began to reign about the year 883. The same honour is given 
 to this prince in the Elegiac Chronicle. 
 
 Qui dedit Ecclesiae libertates Scoticanae, 
 Quae sub Pictoruni lege redacta fuit. 
 
 The erection of this bishopric might be viewed, by those in 
 the interest of Eome, as the emancipation of the Scottish 
 church ; especially as St Andrews seems to have been directly 
 opposed to the monastery of Dunkeld, which had been erected 
 in imitation of that at lona, and as its substitute in respect of 
 power. One thing, as we have formerly seen, which renders 
 this highly probable is, that Tuathal is called both "Archbishop 
 
THE OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 243 
 
 of Fortren," and " Abbot of Dunkeld." It must be admitted, 
 however, that, so far as the transactions of Grig are explained 
 by Fordun, this conld not be the only thing implied. Por he 
 says, that he " gave liberty to the persons of ecclesiastics," 
 apparently meaning that he delivered them from the cognisance 
 of civil judicatures. But his language may include both. For 
 he clearly distinguishes between the church and the persons 
 of her ministers. " He gave," says the historian, " with the 
 consent of the nobility, perpetual liberty both to the Church 
 of God and to ecclesiastical persons ; which was confirmed by 
 Pope John YIII." 
 
 There is another passage, which deserves more particular 
 attention. It occurs in the more modern History of Durham, 
 in the account given of Turgot, prior of that see, who was 
 made Bishop of St Andrews. " In these days," it is said, "all 
 the right of the Culdees throughout the whole kingdom of 
 Scotland, passed into the bishopric of St Andrews." He was 
 consecrated by Thomas, Archbishop of York, in the year 
 1109. Sir James Dalrymple makes no further use of this 
 passage, than to oppose the idea of the Culdees having ceased 
 to exist from this time. But there is no evidence that this 
 was the idea of the original writer. Nothing is here asserted 
 which might lead us to conclude that they were even im- 
 mediately deprived of their revenues, that is, of the temporal 
 rights which they enjoyed. Tliis could not be meant ; for 
 their privation in this respect was gradual. The learned 
 Selden seems justly to view the term Jus as denoting the 
 right, which they had long claimed and exercised, of electing 
 and ordaining bishops, without the interference of any others 
 in order to their consecration. Had the writer meant to speak 
 of their temporal rights, or even of the privileges attached to 
 particular priories, he would most probably have used a 
 different term. At any rate, had these been in his eye, he 
 would have spoken of rights in the plural, as referring to the 
 whole extent of their property. But when he speaks of " the 
 
244 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 right of the Culdees throughout the whole kingdom of Scot- 
 land," it is evident that he must refer to one distinguishing 
 privilege, belonging to them as a body, by virtue of which 
 their jurisdiction had no limit, save that of the kingdom itself. 
 And what could this be but the right of choosing, without 
 any conge d'elire from the sovereign, and of ordaining, without 
 any consecration from a superior order of clergy, those who 
 were called bishops in a general sense, or bishops of Scotland, 
 as exercising their authority somewhat in the same unlimited 
 way in which the Culdees exercised theirs ? 
 
 This right is said trandre, to pass, which, " with lawyers," as 
 Selden observes, " denotes the legal transference of a right or 
 dominion, so that it entirely belongs to the person to whom it 
 is thus transferred. The Bishop of St Asaph conjectures that 
 " it might be the right of confirming tlie elections of all the 
 bishops in Scotland. This had been done by them" [the 
 Culdees], he says, " as being the priuiat's dean and chapter ; 
 but was now taken from them, and performed by the primat 
 himself. For this interpretation I think there is ground 
 enough in the account that a Culdee of St Andrews hath 
 given of the foundation of his church; where he says that the 
 archbishoprick of all Scotland belongs to that city, and that 
 no bishop in Scotland ought to be ordained without the 
 consent of the Seniors of that place." 
 
 Here the learned prelate finds himself under the necessity 
 of conceding to the Culdees a very extraordinary power. But 
 this power must originally have centered in the monastery of 
 lona. This monastery, then, must have been to all intents 
 the primacy of Scotland, of the country, at least, which has 
 now received this name. This power must have belonged to 
 the college, as the chapter, if it must be so. But who was 
 the primate ? No bishop, from all that we have seen ; but 
 the abbot himself. Thus the Bishop of St Asaph finds it 
 necessary to admit, however reluctantly, what he elsewhere 
 tries to set aside, the testimony of Bede with respect to the 
 
RIGHTS OF THE CULDEES. 245 
 
 subjection of "all the province, and even of the bishops 
 themselves, in an unusual manner," to this abbot. Even 
 after he has made an iucfi'ectnal attempt to shew that the 
 province referred to l)y the ancient writer could signify only 
 a single diocese ; he inadvertently gives up the point in 
 controversy, making all the bishops in Scotland to be at least 
 so far subject to the Culdees, that they had the "right of 
 confirming their elections." 
 
 It should also be observed that he supposes not only a 
 transition as to the power, but a very important change with 
 respect to the exercise of it. This right formerly belonged 
 to the Kdedei, to them as a body, or at least to their college. 
 But at this time it " was taken from them, and the act of 
 confirmation peiiormed," — by wliom ? by the dean and 
 chapter, in correspondence to their supposed rank before ? 
 nay, but " by the primat himself." Here we have the admis- 
 sion of a change, from something which strikingly resembles 
 presbytery, to the very acme of prelacy. All the right of the 
 Culdees, " throughout the whole kingdom of Scotland," 
 although at this time they were very numerous, is transferred 
 to a single person. 
 
 But the bishop's attachment to prelacy has, in this instance, 
 carried him farther than he was warranted to go, according 
 to the authority to which he refers. For his " Culdee of St 
 Andrews " does not attribute this right to " the primat 
 himself ; " but says that " no bishop in Scotland ought to be 
 ordained without the council of the seniors of that place." 
 l^ow, to whom does the Culdee give the name of seniors ? 
 Undoubtedly to his own brethren. For, as we have seen 
 from Bede, this is the very designation that had all along 
 been given to the members of the College of lona. This 
 seems indeed to be admitted by Bishop Lloyd. Sir James 
 Dalrymple carries it farther with respect to the bishopric of 
 Glasgow. For in I'ope Alexander the Third's bull to the 
 dean and chapter of that see it is said that, " in the electing 
 
246 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 of the bishop, they must have consensus religiosorum virorum 
 civitatis, which must be meant of the laicks ; and it's like also 
 the laicks had the same share in the settling the Culdees, 
 who were their pastors." I question, however, if in that age, 
 the term religiosus was extended to any laics, save those who 
 adhered to some monastic rule. 
 
 When the Bishop of St Asaph quoted the narrative of the 
 Culdee on this subject, had he subjoined the words immediately 
 following those which we have already considered, he would 
 have given a just exhibition of the design and tendency of 
 this transference of power from the Culdees to the bishopric 
 of St Andrews. " This is Eome the second, formed after the 
 model of the first ; this is the chief city of refuge ; this is the 
 metropolitan city of Scotland." 
 
 As Turgot was the first bishop who was introduced at St 
 Andrews from another country, he was the first who was 
 consecrated by a foreigner. Thus a very important branch 
 of the right which belonged to the Culdees was lost by this 
 extraneous consecration. Notwithstanding all the pains, 
 however, which were taken by the king and the bishop to 
 unhinge the more ancient form of ecclesiastical government, 
 we are under a necessity of concluding that Turgot found his 
 situation very uncomfortable. It is justly said by Keith that 
 there was a "misunderstanding betwixt the king and him." 
 After he had continued about six years at St Andrews, " as, 
 from certain causes which sprung up, he could not worthily 
 discharge his office, he made preparations for going to Eome, 
 that he might spend his life according to the counsel of the 
 Pope. But that this plan might not be carried into execution, 
 the breach was widened between him and the king; and, 
 from vexation of spirit, he fell into melancholy. He received 
 permission, on account of his infirmity, to reside for some 
 time at Durham ; " where, in less than three months, he died. 
 
 Thus, Alexander, notwithstanding his great zeal for 
 changing the form of religion, soon learned that it was 
 
BISHOPS OF THE SCOTS. 247 
 
 scarcely possible to retain his own authority, in connexion 
 with those who were so much devoted to a foreign jurisdiction. 
 But, although disappointed with respect to Turgot, and, 
 according to the general account, also as to Eadmer, who was 
 chosen to succeed him, but would not submit to be consecrated 
 by any other than the Archbishop of Canterbury ; he was 
 determined virtually to take even the right of election into 
 his own hand. Accordingly, as we learn from the Chronicle 
 of ]\Iailros, he caused Eobert, Prior of Scone, to be chosen to 
 the vacant bishopric. 
 
 On the whole it plainly appears from our history, that it 
 was during the age of I'urgot, that the Scottish bishops began 
 to have distinct dioceses. " Tiie bishops of the Scots," says 
 the learned Camden, " exercised their episcopal functions 
 everywhere without distinction to the time of Malcolm III, 
 about the year 1070, when their dioceses were confined to 
 certain limits. Afterwards, in the lapse of time, this 
 hierarchy was established in Scotland." This seems to have 
 taken place somewhat later, although within the age of 
 Turgot. "At the accession of Alexander I., 1st Jan. 1106-7, 
 he found prelates performing their undefined functions 
 within the Scottish territory." 
 
 11. It has been objected, that "the convent of Cvildees 
 constituted the chapter, and had the election of the bishop ;" 
 and that, in some instances, they "would needs be canons 
 regular, and would erect themselves into a canonry, not only 
 without the consent, but even against the declared will of 
 the bishop their patron and founder." 
 
 That they submitted to act as dean and chapter, in some 
 sees, is undeniable. That they might occasionally manifest an 
 eagerness to do so, as has been asserted with respect to those 
 of Monimusk, might easily be accounted for. The intro- 
 duction of canons regular, we have seen, was particularly 
 intended for accomplishing the exclusion of the Culdees 
 from the exercise of their ancient privileges. As they could 
 
248 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 not be blind to this design, it is very natural to suppose, that 
 they would contend for the liberty which they still retained 
 by charter, however much it had been abridged. Many of 
 them would rather submit to be canons regular, although 
 they hated the institution, than be brought down to the level 
 of mere laymen. But neither their sulimission to act as the 
 chapter, nor any anxiety to have a place in it, can be sustained 
 as a proof that they never enjoyed any higher authority. 
 Their being retained as the chapter in some bishoprics, and 
 admitted into it in others, affords a presumption, nearly 
 amounting to proof, that their power had, in former times, 
 been much greater. For is it at all conceivable, that men 
 so much disliked by the Konian clergy, and, in their mode 
 of life, so different from the canons, would be preferred to 
 them, or even associated with them, without some urgent 
 necessity ? And what was this necessity ? The strong plea 
 arising from almost immemorial possession, and the strong 
 prejudices of the people in their favour. The new bishops, 
 and their adherents, well knew that they were persecuting 
 those, who had formerly been superior to themselves in 
 authority ; those to whom, in fact, the bishops owed all the 
 authority which they possessed, however " unusual the 
 manner " in other countries. We know that, during the reign 
 of James the Sixth, there were many presbyterians in 
 Scotland, who submitted to a more moderate kind of epis- 
 copacy, received episcopal ordination, and sat in the synods 
 in which bishops acted as perpetual moderators. "Would any 
 sound reasoner hence conclude, that they were friends to 
 episcopacy ? It cannot be doubted that they acted this part, 
 because they did not think of any more eligible plan of 
 conduct. Far less would any one dream of inferring from 
 this fact, that presbyterial church-government had not been 
 previously established in Scotland. 
 
 In several places, afterwards erected into episcopal sees, as 
 we have already seen, the Culdees had monasteries erected 
 
THE CULDEES AT ST ANDREWS. 249 
 
 long before; as at Brechin, Uunkeld, Dunblane, &e. But 
 they had establishments in many other places that were never 
 converted into episcopates. Were they the chapter at 
 Dunfermline, at Lochlevin, or at Scone ? Had they bishops 
 in all these places ? For, to the friends of the hierarchy, a 
 Culdee establishment seems to resemble a hive of bees, that 
 cannot exist witliout a queen. If they all had bishops, for 
 performing what is exclusively viewed as episcopal duties, 
 they could only be of an inferior class ; for there must liave 
 been a considerable number of bishops in the districts of Fife 
 aloue. It they did exist, how are all their names buried in 
 oblivion ; whence is there not even a vestige of the office in 
 these places ? If there were foundations of Culdees without 
 bishops, their acting in an episcopal see as the chapter can 
 be sustained as no proof that they depended on the see, or 
 were the creatures of the bishop. 
 
 The extent of their possessions, in an early period of the 
 episcopate of St Andrews, is a strong proof that their esta- 
 blishment preceded that of the see. They received several 
 important donations from Bishops Malduin, Tuthald, and 
 Modach, who had most probably been Culdees, and elected 
 by them. But they seem to have had considerable endow- 
 ments, before the see itself was erected. Ungus II., King of 
 the Picts, who died A. 833, gave the Boar's Eaik to St 
 Eegulirs. Yet this appears to have been the property of the 
 Culdees ; as it is designed Baronia Caledaionim infra Curanm 
 Apri. This gift must have been made about sixty years 
 before the election of Kellach, the first bishop of St Andrews. 
 Brudi, the last King of the Picts, who died A. 843, gave them 
 the isle of Lochlevin. This proves their celebrity, at least 
 in the neighbourhood of St Andrews, long before the erection 
 of the bishopric. 
 
 III. It has also been objected, that " we read of no Culdees 
 that ever were at Hy, or in any other place where the Scots 
 anciently dwelt. But, as oft as they are mentioned, we find 
 
250 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 them still at St Andrews, which was in the country of the 
 South Picts ; and they are not said to have been there till it 
 had been many years the see of a diocesan bishop." 
 
 How little foundation there is for the last assertion, we 
 have already proved. It has also been seen, that, as Unyus 
 gave the Boar's Eaik to St Eule, and as it appears that it was 
 in fact the property of the Culdees ; if any faith can be given 
 to this story, we may reasonably infer that they were accounted 
 the legitimate successors of the Abbot Eegulus and his thirty 
 companions. The account which Fordun gives of him and 
 his followers perfectly corresponds with that given of the 
 monks of lona. " Having laid the foundation of a monastical 
 cell, these blessed men went through the country, not on 
 horseback, but, like the apostles of old, in pairs, everywhere 
 j)reaching the word of God." But, should we view the story 
 with respect to Eegulus as a mere legend, it must at least 
 leave a strong impression on the mind, that there were men 
 of this description, who held lands at St Andrews, in conse- 
 quence of a royal endowment, a considerable time before 
 the eversion of the Pictish monarchy. 
 
 The accouut which the learned Stilliugfleet has given of 
 the Culdees is truly ludicrous. " St Andrews," he says, " was 
 called Kilremont ; — Kil, as appears by the Scottish historians, 
 was a place of devotion ; Kilruil was the church of Eegulus ; 
 • — and Kilremont, as being the royal seat, and the principal 
 church, for Eemont is Mons Rtyis ; and from hence the clergy 
 of this church were called Killedees, from which title the 
 fiction of the ancient Culdees came." 
 
 These worthy prelates seem actuated with such zeal against 
 the Culdees, that they will not allow them common historical 
 justice. Under this obnoxious name, the ghost of presbytery 
 so haunts them, that they shrink back from those proofs of 
 existence that are far stronger than any which they have 
 ever been able to produce in support of diocesan episcopacy. 
 Bishop Nicholson discovers the same temper, and cannot 
 
CULDEES AND lONA. 251 
 
 conceal the reason of it, when he calls Dr Lloyd's work " an 
 nndertaking becoming a bishop of our English church ; " 
 adding, "The story of the Culdees" is "an argument put into 
 the moiiths of our schismaticks by Blondel and Selden, out of 
 the abundant kindness they had for our establishment." 
 
 But "we read of no Culdees that ever were at Hy." I shall 
 not urge as a proof what Dr Smith has said respecting the 
 disciples of Columba, that " they themselves seem to have 
 assumed no other name than that of Famuli Dei, or servants 
 of God ; or, in their own language, Gille-De, which was 
 Latinized into Kelechus." For I do not know that there is 
 any evidence from ancient writers of their having assumed 
 this name. Did it appear that they had thus denominated 
 themselves, even in the Latin language, it would not only 
 settle every dispute with respect to the origin of the name, 
 but would be a sufficient reply to the objection. 
 
 If, however, we may credit an intelligent and well-informed 
 writer, the name Culdee is, even at this day, not unknown at 
 lona. He views them indeed as prior to Columba. " The 
 first Christians," he says, " that possessed themselves of I 
 were, in all probability, the Culdees. — As they affected 
 retired places, as their name imports, they could not in any 
 country find a place more happily suited to their purpose. 
 One place in I is still called the Culdee's Cell [Gael. Cathan, 
 or Cothcm Cuildich, K] It is the foundation of a small 
 circular house upon a reclining plain. Prom the door of the 
 house a walk ascends to a small hillock, with the remains of 
 a wall upon each side of the walk, which grows wider to the 
 hillock. There are evident tracqs of the walls of the walk 
 taking a circuit round, and enclosing the hillock." 
 
 But although it were certain that the name had never been 
 used in lona, this would liy no means prove that the same 
 class of rehgious persons did not exist there. Names arise 
 often from accident, or from some very trivial circumstance 
 which totally escapes the most accurate investigation of 
 
252 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 succeeding ages. Names, which seem to have been quite 
 unknown in a preceding age, appear at once in the history of 
 nations, as if they had been long familiar, and universally 
 known. We have but very few instances of the use of the 
 name Jew before the Babylonian captivity; and all these 
 occur only a little time before this event. Would any one 
 hence conclude that the Jews were not the same people with 
 those formerly known by the name of Israel ? Yet, as we 
 know that the name Jews originated from the circumstance 
 of the great majority of those who adhered to the family of 
 David when the ten tribes apostatised being descended from 
 the patriarch Judah ; we are assured that the same reason for 
 this distinctive name existed nearly three hundred and forty 
 years bef(jre the captivity, more than four hundred before it 
 came to be generally used. 
 
 That the Culdees of St Andrews, in almost every respect, 
 resembled those of Zona cannot be doubted by any unprejudiced 
 mind. Their mode of life, their doctrine, their opposition to 
 the Eoman corruptions, all point out the same society. Can 
 it be supposed that they would receive the sovereignty of 
 several islands from the Pictish monarch ; and that neither 
 he, nor any of his successors, although making a profession of 
 Christianity, would ever invite any of them to the seat of 
 government, or retain them there ? Was this at Abernethy ? 
 and whence the strength of its religious foundation, but from 
 those men who had been so early patronised by the crown ? 
 Do we not know that Columba sent his disciples throughout 
 Pictland ; and have we not seen that a certain right, with 
 respect to the election of bishops, is attributed to the Culdees 
 at St Andrews, apparently the same which Bede ascribes to 
 the monastery at Hij ? 
 
 From the Annals of Ulster we learn that " the family of 
 I," or Hij, was "expelled by King ISTectan beyond Drum- 
 Albin," A. 716. But they were oirly sent from an island 
 into what was to it the mainland, indeed, as would appear. 
 
REMARKS ON THEIR EXPULSION. 253 
 
 into the territory of the Soiitlierii Picts ; and thus must have 
 spread themselves, although they had never done it before, 
 through modern Perthshire, Angus, and Fife. Although a 
 considerable number of them were driven from Hij, there is 
 no evidence that they were subjected to personal suffering. 
 The learned author of a very interesting work on the antiqui- 
 ties of our country, while he denies that the Culdean 
 establishments afford any proof in favour of presbytery, 
 discovers more candour on this subject than the Bishop of St 
 Asaph has done. " In the united kingdom beyond the firths," 
 he says, " there remained, at the epoch of the union, in 843, 
 A.D., various cells, which had been settled, in early times, by 
 Columlans ; and still continued the abundant fountains, 
 whence flowed religious instruction to a confiding people. 
 One of the first acts of the reign of Kenneth, was to shew his 
 respect for the memory of that apostle of the Scots and Picts, 
 by building a church, wherein the reliques of the saint were 
 deposited, in A.D. 849. [Chron.-in Innes's App. No. 3.] The 
 site of this sacred depository has not yet been fixed by 
 antiquaries. Yet, was it at Dunkeld, where Kenneth built 
 the church, which he dedicated to Columba. Thus Dunkeld 
 and its church became sacred to Columba, who equally 
 became the patron saint of both. A religious house was here 
 buUt, upon the same system as the original establishment at 
 Zona." 
 
 Bishop Lloyd has said that the name Culdee " is not found 
 in any other place where the Scots dwelt," save in St 
 Andrews. But he has certainly forgot that the name was 
 well known in Ireland, where " the Scots dwelt " before their 
 settlement in this country, and whence Columba and his 
 companions came. The Irish antiquaries confess that they 
 do not know when it was introduced. Yet it was commonly 
 used there, as early as at St Andrews ; which clearly shews, 
 that it was not transferred from the latter to the former. 
 " Ceile-De, both name and thing, cannot be deny'd by any 
 
 17 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 man, who's tolerably versed in the language of the Irish, or 
 in their books ; one of which, a chronicle mostly in verse, 
 entitul'd Psalter Na'rran, was written by a Keldee, Aonghus 
 CeiU-Be, Latiniz'd Aeneas Colideus, about the year 800." 
 
 Whatever be the origin of Ceile-de, of which Cioldee seems 
 to be merely a corruption, there is no good reason to doubt 
 that the first part of the word is incorporated with the name 
 of the founder, in the designation of Columkill, given to the 
 island of Hij. While Dr Shaw explains Kdedee. as " a word 
 compounded of Ceile or Keile, i.e. a servant, or one devoted, 
 and Dia, in the genitive Be, i.e. God, q. d. the servant of 
 God, or one devoted to him," he subjoins; "A church or 
 place of worship was called Kil, because it was set apart for 
 divine service." 
 
 After all, how little Bishop Lloyd felt the force of his own 
 objection, and how much he must have been at a loss for 
 argument when he introduced one of so trivial a nature, 
 appears from what he had previously said concerning the 
 origin of the name : " Thus as Columba was called by the 
 Irish Oolumhcylle ; that is, ' Columb of the cell,' so all those 
 that lived in such houses might be, and I doubt not were, 
 called by their names, with the addition of Kyldee, that is 
 such a one of the cell-house." 
 
 After the concession made by the author of Caledonia, 
 that "there remained — in 84.3, — various cells, which had been 
 settled in early times by Columbans," &c., it is rather sur- 
 prising that he should say: "There does not appear to be any 
 appellation, in the maps of Scotland, which bears the least 
 analogy to the Culdean monks." He seems to adopt this 
 idea, because he views the term Kil as primarily signifying 
 a retreat. But the testimony of Bede, with respect to the 
 origin of the name of Icolumkill certainly deserves some 
 notice ; as the venerable writer was so well acquainted with 
 the history of the island. He says, that "Hij is now by some 
 called Columhcill, the name being compounded from Columh 
 
REMARKS ON THE ISLAND OF HIJ. 255 
 
 and cella." Although he substitutes the Latin word, it is 
 evidently used as synonymous with the Gaelic neile or cill. 
 
 The Celtic term does not in fact differ in signification from 
 the Latin, and may be radically the same. Por as cella 
 properly denotes a private chamber, it is deduced, by ety- 
 mologists, from eel-are. to conceal: and what is this but a 
 retreat or place of retirement ? The sense of the term, as 
 embodied in the designation given from Columba, and ex- 
 plained by Bede, is confirmed by Jocelin, a monk of Furness, 
 who flourished about the year 1140. In his life of St Patrick, 
 he says that Columba was called Coluimcille, and was the 
 founder of a hundred monasteries. The purport of his language 
 evidently appears from that of Notker Balbulus, who wrote 
 in the tenth century. " In Scotland, in the island of Ireland, 
 deceased St Columba, surnamed by his own people Goluin- 
 killi, because , he was the institutor, founder, and governor 
 of many cells, that is, monasteries or churches, whence the 
 abbot of the monastery over which he last presided [lona,] 
 and where he rests, in opposition to the custom of the church, 
 is accounted the primate of all the Hibernian bishops." By 
 the way, we may observe, that the claim of superiority, on 
 the part of the monastery of Hii, was acknowledged, even in 
 Ireland, so late as the tenth century. This translation of the 
 term is still admitted. " For, in the language of the country," 
 says Dr Smith, " he is called Colum-cille, (or Colum of the 
 Cells), from his having founded so many churches and 
 monasteries. Thus it appears that killi or cille is viewed as 
 the plural. 
 
 When we find the same form of combination, not only in 
 the neighbourhood of the Culdees, but in what is supposed to 
 have been their original seat ; — not only the names Kilmenie, 
 Kileonquhar, Kilrenny, Kilhirnie, &c., but Kelremont and 
 Eilreul; — it affords a strong presumption of analogy be- 
 tween the name of the Keledei as a body, and the names 
 of the places that have been denominated from individuals, 
 
2S6 HISTORY OF THE CULDEES. 
 
 many of whom, in all probability, belonged to this very 
 society. 
 
 With respect to the Irish Culdees, it may be added, that 
 Colgan mentions Comganus Kele-De, or Keledeus, and also 
 Aengusianus Keledeus. The latter seems to be the same 
 person to whom Toland refers. Have we any reason to 
 suppose that the Culdees of St Andrews emigrated to Ireland, 
 after they were ejected from their offices and possessions 
 here ? "In the greater churches of Ulster," Archbishop Usher 
 says, " as at Cluaninnis and Daminnis, and principally at 
 Armagh, in our own memory, there were priests called 
 Culdees, who celebrated divine service in the choir. Their 
 president was stiled Prior of the Culdees, and acted as 
 praecentor." 
 
 Their influence in Ireland was similar to that which they 
 had so long enjoyed in Scotland. "Corruption,'' says a learned 
 writer of that country, " was powerfully retarded by the 
 firmness of the hierarchy and the Culdees. The latter were 
 looked up to as the depositaries of the original national faith, 
 and were most highly respected by the people for their 
 sanctity and learning." It was not, indeed, till the eleventh 
 century, that Ireland was completely subdued to the Eoman 
 authority. Here also we perceive the same opposition to 
 this society. Wherever the influence of Eome prevailed, 
 the Culdees were removed, and Columba himself was not 
 supplicated as a patron and saint before the year 1741; 
 although, in ancient times, acknowledged as " the primate 
 of all the Irish churches," and " of all the Irish bishops." 
 
 Giraldus Cambrensis, who went to Ireland with King John 
 in the year 1185, thus describes the island Monaincha: "In 
 North Munster is a lake containing two isles ; in the greater 
 is a church of the ancient religion, and in the lesser, a chapel, 
 wherein a few monks, called Culdees, devoutly serve God." 
 On this passage Dr Ledwich observes : " We may easily 
 understand what Cambrensis meant by the church here 
 
CAMBRENSIS ON THE CULDEES. 257 
 
 being of the old religion. The Culdees, its possessors, had 
 not even at this period, when the council of Cashel had 
 decreed uniformity of faith and practice, conformed to the 
 reigning superstition ; they devoutly served God in this wild 
 and dreary retreat, sacrificing all the flattering prospects of 
 the world for their ancient doctrine and discipline." 
 
 The same Gambrensis gives an account of Culdees in 
 Wales. " The isle of Bardsey," he says, " is inhabited by 
 religious monks, quos Goelicolas vel Colideos vocant." Good- 
 all seems to admit that the Culdees had been introduced into 
 the north of England, in consequence of the conversion of 
 the inhabitants of that region by missionaries from Hij. For 
 he says : " As to the Culdees, it is very certain, that there 
 was a sort of monks, and secular priests too, who went under 
 that appellation, not only among the Scots, but also among 
 the Britons and Irish, and even among the northern English, 
 who were first converted by the Scots, particularly in the 
 cathedral of York, [Monast. Anglican, tom. 2. p. 367, 368."] 
 
 I have given a more full answer to this objection than 
 it deserves, partly to shew its extreme futility ; but especial- 
 ly, because the warm friends of diocesan episcopacy have 
 been so eager to avail themselves of even a shadow of argu- 
 ment, in their attempts to disprove, not only the authority, 
 but the early existence of a society, to which the cause of 
 religion, in this country, has been so deeply indebted. 
 
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 also contains Holbein's illustrations, attaching to which there is 
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 ANECDOTES OF FISH A ND FISHING. By Thomas 
 BoosBT. Post 8vo. Price 33. 6d. 
 
 An interesting collection of anecdotes and incidents connected 
 -with fish and fishing, arranged and classified into sections. It 
 deals with all varietiex of British fish, their habits, different 
 tmodes of catching them, interestimj incidents in connection with 
 their capture, and an infinite amount of angling gossip relating 
 to ecu:h. Considerable space is also devoted to the subject of 
 fishing as practised in different parts of the world. 
 
 TALES OF A SCOTTISH PARISH. By JACOB 
 RUDDIMAN, M.A. Post 8vo. Paper Covers. Price is. 
 
 The deceased author was a person of singular beauty and 
 originality of mind, and may well be ranked alongside of Wilson, 
 Hogg, Bethune, Pollok, and other such standard writers of Scottish 
 tales. The tales are nineteen in alii, and comprise such as " The 
 .Sexton," " The Unfortunate Farmer," " The Lonely Widow," 
 " The Foreboding," etc., etc. 
 
 SCOTTISH LEGENDS. By Andrew Glass. Post 
 8vo. Paper Covers. Price is. 
 
 Four legends, relating chiefly to the west and south of Scotland, 
 ■entitled, "A Legend of Rothesay Castle," " The Laird of Auchin- 
 ■ leck's Gift," " The Cruives of Cree," " The Grey Stones of Gar- 
 -laffin." 
 
6 NEW BOOKS 
 
 A BANQUET OF JESTS AND MERRY TALES. 
 
 By Archie Armstrong, Court Jester to King James I. 
 
 and King Charles I., 1611-1637. PostSvo. Price3s.6d. 
 An extremely amwing work, reprirtted in the original quaint 
 spelling of the period. In addition to the immense fund of amuse- 
 ment to he found in its pages, the work is highly valuable as- 
 throwing much light on the social customs and ideas of the petiod. 
 The author experienced life in connection with all ranks and sections 
 of society, from his own peasant home in the north, to that of the 
 Court of his Soz'ereign. 
 
 . AMUSING IRISH TALES. By William Carleton. 
 Post 8vo. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 A collection of amusing and humorous tales descriptive of Irish 
 life and character. The distinguished author has been designated the 
 Sir Walter Scott of Ireland. The tales are fifteen in number, such 
 as " The Country Dancing Master," " The Irish Match-Maker," 
 " The Irish Smuggler," " The Irish Senachie," " The Country 
 Fiddler," etc., etc. All of them are overflowing with the richest 
 wit and humour. 
 
 TEE WHOLE FAMILIAR COLLOQUIES OF 
 ERASMUS. Translated by Nathan Bailey. 
 Demy 8vo. Price 4s. 6d. 
 
 A complete and inexpensive edition of the great hook of 
 amusement of the sixteenth century. Probably no other work 
 so truly and intensely depicts the life and notions of our fore- 
 fathers 350 years ago, as does this inimical production of the 
 great Mrasmus. 
 
 There are 02 dialogues in all, and an immense variety of 
 tiiijects are dealt with, such as "Benefice-Hunting," "The 
 Soldier and the Carthusian," " The Franciscans," " The 
 Apparition," " The Beggar's Dialogue," " The Religious Pil- 
 grimage," " The Sermon," " The Parliament of Women," 
 etc. , etc. The whole work is richly characteristic, and is full 
 of the richest humour and satire. 
 
 AMUSING PROSE CHAP BOOKS, CHIEFLY OF 
 LAST CENTURY. Edited by Robert Hays 
 Cunningham. Post 8vo. Price 4s. 6d. 
 
 A collection of interesting prose chap books of foi-mer times, 
 forming a good representative of the peoples earliest popular 
 literature, such as " The Comical History of the King and the 
 Cobbler," " The Merry Tales of the Wise Men of Gotham," "The 
 Merry Conceits of Tom Long, the Carrier," ' ' The Pleasant History' 
 ef Poor Robin, the Merrs Saddler of Walden," etc., etc. 
 
AND NEW EDITIONS. T 
 
 THE DANCE OF DEATH: Elustrated in Forty-Eight 
 Plates. By John Holbein. Demy 8vo. Price os. 
 
 A handsome and inexpensive edition of the great Holbein's 
 most popular production. It contains the whole forty-eight 
 plates, with letterpress description of each plate, the plate and 
 the description in each case being on separate pages, facing 
 each other. The first edition was issued in 1530, and since 
 then innumerable impressions have been issued', hut mostly in an 
 expensive foi'vn, and unattainable by the general public. 
 
 THE LITERARY HISTORY OF GLASGOW. By 
 W. J. Duncan. Quarto. Pricel2s.6d.net. Printed 
 for Subscribers and Private Circulation. 
 
 This volume forms one of the volumes issued by the Maitland 
 Club, and was originally puhlislied in ISSl. This edition is a 
 verbatim et literatim reprint, and is limited to 350 copies, with 
 an appendix additional containing extra matter of considerable 
 importance, not in tlis original work. 
 
 The book is chiefly devoted to giving an account of the greatest 
 of Scottish printers, namely, the FovXises, and furnishes a list 
 of the books they printed, as likewise of the sculptures and 
 paintings which they so largely produced. 
 
 GOLFIANA MISCELLANEA. Being a Collection of 
 
 Interesting Monographs on the Royal and Ancient 
 
 Game of Golf Edited by James Lindsay Stewart. 
 
 Post 8po. Price 4g. Cd. 
 
 A collection of interesting productions, prose and verse, on or 
 
 relating to, the game of golf, by various authors both old and 
 
 recent. Nothing has been allowed into the collection except 
 
 works of merit and real interest. Many of the works are now 
 
 extremely scarce and, in a separate form, command very high 
 
 prices. It contains twenty-three separate jn-odnetions of a great 
 
 variety of character — historical, descriptive, practical, poetical, 
 
 humorous, biographical, etc. 
 
 THE BARDS OF THE BIBLE. By George Gilfillan. 
 Seventh Edition. Post 8vo. Price 53. 
 The most popular of the writings of the late i?eu. Dr. 
 Gilfillan. The author, in his preface, states J,hal the object of 
 the book was chiefly a prose poem or liymn in honour of the 
 poetry and the poets of the Bible. It deals with the poetical 
 side of the inspired word, and takes up the separate portions 
 in chronological order. 
 
8 NEW BOOKS 
 
 ONE HUNDRED ROMANCES OF REAL LIFE. By 
 Leigh Hunt. Post 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 A handsome edition of Leigh Hunt's famous collection of 
 romances of real life, now scarce in a complete form. The 
 present issue is complete, containing as it does the entire hundred 
 as issued by the author. All being incidents from real life, the 
 interest attaching to the volume is not of an ordinary character. 
 The romances relate to all grades of society, and are entirely 
 various in circumstance, each one being separate and distinct in 
 itself. 
 
 UNIQUE TRADITIONS CHI3FLT OF THE WEST 
 
 AND SOUTH OF SCOTLAND. By John Gordon 
 
 Barbour. Post 8vo. Price 4s. 6d. 
 
 A collection of interesting local and popular traditions 
 
 gathered orally by the author in his wanderings over the 
 
 West and South of Scotland. The author narrates in this 
 
 volume, thirty-five separate incidental traditions in narrative 
 
 form, connected with places or individuals, all of a nature to 
 
 interest the general Scottish reader, such as " Tlie Red Comyn's 
 
 Castle," " The Coves of Barholm," " The Rafters of Kirk 
 
 Alloivay," " Cumstone Castle," " The Origin of Loch Gatrine," 
 
 etc., etc. 
 
 MODERN ANECDOTES: A Treasury of Wise and 
 
 Witty Sayings of the last Hundred Tears. Edited, 
 
 with Notes, by W. Davenport Adams. Crown 8vo. 
 
 Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 The Anecdotes are all authenticated and are classed into 
 
 Sections — /. Men of Society. 11. Lawyers and the Law. III. 
 
 Men of Letters. 1 V. Plays and Players. V. Statesmen and 
 
 Politicians. VI. The Church and Clergy. Vll. People in 
 
 OenercU. 
 
 In compiling a work lilce this, Mr. Adams has steadily kept 
 m view the necessity of ministering to the requirements of those 
 who will not read anecdotes unless they have reason to know 
 that they are really good. On this principle the entire editorial 
 work has been executed. The book is also a particularly 
 handsome one as regards printing, paper, and binding. 
 
 THE LITURGY OF JOHN KNOX: As received by 
 the Church of Scotland in 1564. Crown 8vo. Price 5s. 
 A beautifully printed edition of the Book of Common Order, 
 more popularly known as the Liturgy of John Knox. This is 
 the only modern edition in which the original quaint spelling is 
 retained. In this and other respects the old style is strictly 
 reproduced, so that the work remains exactly as used by our 
 forefathers three hundred years ago. 
 
AND NEW EDITIONS. 9 
 
 ■TEE GABERLUXZIE'S WALLET. By James 
 Ballantinb. Third edition. Or. 8vo. Price 2s. 6d. 
 A most interesting Jiislorical tale of the period of the Pre- 
 'tenders, and containing a very large number of favourite songs 
 ■and ballads, illustrative of the tastes and life of the people at 
 that time. Also containing numerous facetious illustrations bv 
 Alexander A. Bitchie. " 
 
 THE WOLFE OF BADENOCU. A Historical Romance 
 of the Fourteenth Century. By Sir Thomas Dick 
 Laudbe. Complete unabridged edition. Thick Crown 
 Svo. Price 6a. 
 
 This most interesting romance has leen frequently described as 
 equal in interest to any of Sir Walter Scotfs historical tales. This 
 is a complete unabridged edition, and is uniform with " Highland 
 Legends " and " Tales of the Highlands," by the same author. As 
 several abridged editions of the work have been published, especial 
 ■attention is drawn to the fact tlmt the above edition is complete. 
 
 THE LIVES OF THE PLAYERS. By John Galt, Esq. 
 Post Svo. Price 53. 
 
 Interesting accounts of the lives of distinguished actors, such as 
 JBettertcm, Gibber, FarquJmr, Qarrick, Foote, Macklin, Murphy, 
 Kemble, Siddons, <fcc., tfcc. After the style of Johnsons "Lives ci 
 ■the Foets." 
 
 KATS EDINBURGH PORTRAITS. A Series of Aneo- 
 dotal Biographies, chiefly of Scotchmen. Mostly written 
 by James Paterson. And edited by James Maidment, 
 Esq. Popular Edition. 2 Vols., Post Svo. Price 12s. 
 
 A popular edition of this famous work, which, from its exceedingly 
 ■high price, has hitherto been out of the reach of the general public. 
 This edition contains all the reading matter that is of general interest; 
 ■it also contains eighty illustrations. 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS ANECDOTES OF SCOTLAND. 
 Edited by William AdaMson, D.D. Thick Post Svo. 
 Price 5s. 
 
 A voluTninous collection of purely religious anecdotes relating to 
 Scotland and Scotchmen, and illustrative of the more serious side of 
 
 4he life of the people. The anecdotes are chiefly in connection with 
 
 ■distinguished Scottish clergymen and laymen, such as Rutherford, 
 Macleod, Guthrie, Shirra, Leighton, the Erskines, Knox, Beattie, 
 M^Crie, Eadie, Brown, Irving, CJialmers,Lawson,Mllne,M'Cheyne, 
 
 ^c, &c. The anecdotes are serious and religious purely, and not 
 
 •at all of the ordinary witty description. 
 
10 JV^r BOOKS 
 
 DAYS OF DEER STALKING in the Scottish High 
 lands, including an account of the Nature and Habita 
 of the Red Deer, a description of the Scottish Forests, 
 and Historical Notes on the earlier Field Sports of 
 Scotland. With Highland Legends, Superstitions, 
 Folk-Lore, and Tales of Poachers and Freebooters. 
 By William Scrope. Illustrated by Sir Edwin and 
 Charles Landseer. Demy 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. 
 " The best book of sporting adventures with which we are 
 acquainted." — Athen^um. 
 
 " Of this noble diversion we owe the first satisfactory descrip- 
 tion to the pen of an English gentleman of high birth and exten- 
 sive fortune, vihose many amiable and elegant personal qualities 
 have been commemorated in the diary of Sir Walter Scott." — 
 London Quakterly Review. 
 
 DATS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON FISHING in 
 the River Tweed. By Williak Soropb. Illustrated 
 by Sir David Wilkie, Sir Edwin Landseer, Charles 
 Landseer, William Simson, and Edward Cooke. 
 Demy 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. 
 *' Mr. Scrape's booh has done for salmon fshing wliat its pre- 
 decessor performed for deer stalking."— hosDOS Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 " Mr. Scrope conveys to us in a» agreeable and lively manner 
 the results of his more than twenty years' experience in our great 
 Border river. . . . The work is enlivened by the narration oj 
 numerous angling adventures, which bring out with force arid 
 spirit the essential character of the sport in question. . . . Mr, 
 Scrope is a skilful author as well as an experienced angler. It 
 does not fall to the lot of all men to handle with equal dexterity, 
 the brush, the pen, and the rod, to say nothing of the rifle, still 
 less of the leister under cloud of night. " — Blackwood's Maga- 
 zine. 
 
 TEE FIELD SPORTS OF THE NORTH OF EUROPE. 
 
 A Narrative of Angling, Hunting, and Shooting in 
 
 Sweden and Norway. By Captain L. Llotd. New 
 
 edition. Enlarged and revised. Demy 8vo. Price 9s. 
 
 " The chase seems for years to have been his ruling passion, 
 
 and to have made him a perfect model of perpetual motion. We 
 
 admire Mr. Lloyd. He is a sportsman far above the common 
 
 run." — Blackwood's Magazine. 
 
 " This is a very entertaining work and loritten, nioreover, in 
 an agreeable and modest spirit. We strongly recommend it as- 
 containing much instruction and more amusement. — Athen^um. 
 
AND NEW EDITIONS. n- 
 
 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES OF GLAS- 
 00 W. A Bibliographical Study. By Thomas Mason. 
 Demy 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. net. 
 
 A stricUy Bibliographical work dealing with the subject of rare 
 and interesting works, and in that respect describing three of the 
 public and thirteen of the private libraries of Qlasgow. All of 
 especial interest. 
 
 THE LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. Bf 
 John D. Careick. Fourth and cheaper edition. 
 Royal 8vo. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 The best life of tJie great Scottish hero. Contains much valu- 
 able and interesting matter regarding the history of that histori- 
 cally important period. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF MORAY. 
 By Laohlan Shatv. New and Enlarged Edition,, 
 3 Vols., Demy 8vo. Price 30a. 
 
 The Standard History of the old geographical division termed' 
 the Province of Moray, comprising the Counties of Elgin and 
 Nairn, the greater part of the County of Inverness, and a por- 
 tion of the County of Banff. Cosmo Innes pronounced this to 
 be the best local history of any part of Scotland. 
 
 HIGHLAND LEGENDS. By Sir Thomas Dick 
 Lauder. Crown 8vo. Price 6s. 
 
 Historical Legends descriptive of Clan and Highland Life 
 and Incident informer tim.e.s. 
 
 TALES OF THE HIGHLANDS. By Sir Thomas 
 Dick Lauder. Crown 8vo. Price 6s. 
 
 Uniform with and similar in character to the preceding, 
 tlimigh entirely different tales. The two are companion volumes. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORE A T MORA Y FLOODS 
 
 IN 1829. By Sir Thomas Dick Lauder. Demy 
 
 8vo., with 64 Plates and Portrait. Fourth Edition. 
 
 Price 8s. 6d. 
 
 A most interesting work, containing numerous etchings by the 
 
 Author. In addition to the mainfeature of the book, it contains- 
 
 much historical and legendary matter relating to the districts 
 
 through which the Miver Spey runs. 
 
12 NEW BOOKS 
 
 OLD SCOTTISH CUSTOMS: Local and General. By E. 
 J. Guthrie. Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 Gives an interesting account of old local and general Scottish 
 customs, now rapidly being lost sight of. 
 
 A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE BELIEF IN 
 WITCHCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. By Charles 
 KiRKPATRioK Sharpe. Crown 8vo. Price 4s. 6d. 
 
 Gives a chronological account of Witchcraft incidents in Scot- 
 land from the earliest period, in a racy, attractive style. And 
 likewise contains an interesting Bibliography of Scottish books on 
 Witchcraft. 
 
 "Sharpe was well qualified to gossip about these topics." — 
 SATtTRDAT RbVIEW. 
 
 "Mr. Sharpe has arranged aU tlie striking and important 
 phenomena associated with the belief in Apparitions and Witch- 
 ■craft. An extensive appendix, with a list of books on Witchcraft 
 in Scotland, and a useful index, render this edition of Mr. 
 Sharpe' s work all the more valuable." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 TALES OF THE SCOTTISH PEASANTRY. By 
 
 Alexander and John Bethunb. With Biography 
 
 of the Authors by John Ingram, P.S.A.Scot. Post 
 
 8to. Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 " It is the perfect propriety of taste, no less than the thorough 
 
 intimacy with the subjects he treats of, that gives Mr. Bethune's 
 
 book a great charm in our eyes." — AtheNjBUM. 
 
 "The pictures of rural life and character appear to us re- 
 markably true, as well as pleasing," — Chambers's Joxtknal. 
 
 The Tales are quite out of the ordinary routine of such litera- 
 ture, and are universally held in peculiarly high esteem. The 
 following may be given as a specimen of the Contents: — " The 
 Deformed," "The Fate of the Fairest," "The Stranger," "The 
 Drunkard," "The Illegitimate," "The Cousins," <kc., dec. 
 
 A JOURNEY TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS OF 
 
 SCOTLAND IN 1773. By Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 
 
 Crown Bvo. Price 3s. 
 
 Written by Johnson himself, and not to be confounded with 
 
 BosweU's account of the same tour, Johnson said that some of 
 
 his best writing is in this work. 
 
AND NEW EDITIONS. IS 
 
 THE HISTORY OF BURKE AND HARE AND OF 
 THE RESURRECTIONIST TIMES. A Fragment 
 from the Criminal Annals of Scotland. By George 
 Mac Greqor, F.S.A.Scot. With Seven Illustrations, 
 Demy 8vo. Price 7s. 6d. 
 " Mr. MacOregor has produced a booh which is eminently 
 readable." — Journal of Jurispbudbnce. 
 
 " The booh contains a great deal of curious information." — 
 Scotsman. 
 
 ' ' He who tahes up this booh of an evening must be prepared 
 to sup full of horrors, yet the banquet is served with much of 
 literary grace, and garnished with a deftness and taste which 
 render it palatable to a degree. " — Glasgow Hebald. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF GLASGOW: From the Earliest 
 Period to the Present Time. By Gborqb Mac Gre- 
 GOR, F.S.A.Scot. Containing 36 Illustrations. Demy 
 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. 
 An entirely new as well as the fullest and most complete his- 
 tory of this prosperous city. In addition it is the first loritten 
 m chronological order. Comprising a large handsome volume 
 m Sixty Chapters, and extensive Appendix and Index, and 
 illustrated throughout with many interesting engravings and 
 drawings. 
 
 THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF DOUGAL 
 GRAHAM, "Skellat," Bellman of Glasgow. Edited 
 with Notes, together with a Biographical and Biblio- 
 graphical Introduction, and a Sketch of the Chap 
 Literature of •Scotland, by George Mac Gregor, 
 F.S.A.Scot. Impression limited to 250 copies. 
 2 Vols., Demy 8vo. Price 21s. net. 
 With very trifling exceptions Graham was the only writer of 
 purely Scottish chap-books of a secular description, almost all 
 the others circulated being reprints of Engluih productions. His 
 writings are exceedingly facetious and highly illustrative of the 
 $ocial life of the period. 
 
 SCOTTISH PROVERBS. By Andrew Henderson. 
 Crown 8vo. Cheaper edition. Price 2s. 6d. 
 A cheap edition of a booh that has long held a high place in 
 Scottish Literature. 
 
14 2fSW BOOKS 
 
 THE BOOK OF SCOTTISH ANECDOTE: Humor- 
 ous, Social, Legendary, and Historical. Edited by 
 Alexander Hislop. Crown 8vo., pp. 768. Cheaper 
 edition. Price 5 s. 
 T!ie most comprehensive collection of Scottish Anecdotes, con- 
 taining about 3,000 in number. 
 
 THE BOOK OP SCOTTISH STORY: Historical, 
 Traditional, Legendary, Imaginative, and Humorous. 
 Crown Svo., pp. 768. Cheaper edition. Price 5s. 
 A most interesting and varied collection by Leading Scottish 
 
 Authors. 
 
 THE BOOK OP SCOTTISH POEMS: Ancient and 
 
 Modem. Edited by J. Eoss. Crown 8vo., pp. 768. 
 
 Cheaper edition. Price 5s. 
 
 Comprising a History of Scottish Poetry and Poets from the 
 
 earliest times. With lives of the Poets and Selections from their 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ** These three works are uniform. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OP THE WESTERN ISLES OF 
 SCOTLAND, CALLED HTBRIDES. With the 
 Genealogies of the Chief Clans of the Isles. By Sir 
 Donald Monro, High Dean of the Isles, who 
 travelled through most of them in the year 1549. 
 Impression limited to 250 copies. Demy Svo. Price 5s. 
 This is the earliest written description of the Western Islands, 
 
 and is exceedingly quaint and interesting. In this edition all the 
 
 old curious spellings are strictly retained. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OP THE WESTERN ISLANDS 
 
 OP SCOTLAND CIRCA 1695. By Martin Martin. 
 
 Impression limited to 250 copies. Demy 8vo. Price 
 
 12s. 6d. 
 
 With the exception of Dean Monro's smaller work 150 years 
 
 previous, it is the earliest description of the Western Islands we 
 
 have, and is the only lengthy work on the subject before the era 
 
 of modem innovations. Martin very interestingly describes tit* 
 
 people and their ways as lie found them about 200 years ago. 
 
AND NEW EDITIONS. !5 
 
 THE SCOTTISH POETS, RECENT AND LIVING. 
 
 By Alexander G. MnRDOCH. With Portraits, Post 
 
 8vo. Price 6a. 
 A most interesting resumi of Scottish Poetry in recent times. 
 Contains a biographical sketch, choice pieces, and portraits of 
 the recent and living Scottish Poets. 
 
 THE HUMOROUS CHAP-BOOKS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 By John Frasbr. 2 Vols., Thin Crown 8vo (all 
 
 published). Price 5s. net. 
 An interesting and racy description of the chap-booh literature 
 of Scotland, and biographical sketches of the writers. 
 
 THE HISTOR T OF STIRLINGSHIRE. By William 
 NiMMO. 2 Vols., Demy 8vo. 3rd Edition. Price 25s. 
 
 A new edition of this standard county history, handsomely 
 printed, and with detailed map giving the parish boundaries 
 and other mutters of interest. 
 
 This county has been termed the battlefield of Scotland, and 
 in addition to the many and important military engagements 
 that have taken place in this district, of aU which a full account 
 is given, — this part of Scotland is of especial moment in many 
 other notable respects, — among which particular reference may 
 be made to the Roman Wall, the greater part of this most 
 interesting object being situated within the boundaries of the 
 county. 
 
 A POPULAR SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF 
 
 GLASOO W: Prom the Earliest Period to the Present 
 
 Time. By Andrew Wallace. Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. 
 
 The only attempt to write a History of Olasgow suitable for 
 
 popular ui^t. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS 
 AND ISLES OF SCOTLAND, from a.d. 1493 to 
 A.D. 1625. With a brief introductory sketch from 
 A.D. 80 to A.D. 14S3. By Donald Gregory. Demy 
 8vo. Price 12a. 6d. 
 Incomparably the best history of the Scottish Highlands, and 
 written purely from original investigation. Also contains parti- 
 cularly full and lengthened Contents and Index, respectively at 
 beginning and end of the volume. 
 
16 NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS. 
 
 THE HIST OR Y OF A YRSHIRE. By Jambs Patbesow. 
 5 Vols., Crown 8vo. Price 28s. net. 
 Tlie most recent and the fullest history of this exceedingly 
 interesting county. The work is particularly rich in the de- 
 partment of Family History. 
 
 MARTTRLAND : a Historical Tale of the Covenanters. 
 By the Eev. Eobbrt Simpson, D.D. Crown 8vo. 
 Cheaper Edition. Price 2s. 6d. 
 A tale illustrative of the history of the Covenanters in the 
 South of Scotland. 
 
 TALES OF THE COVENANTERS. By E. J. 
 GuTHEiE. Crown 8vo. Cheaper Edition. Price 23. 
 6d. 
 
 A number of tales illustrative of leading incidents and char- 
 acters connected with the Covenanters. 
 
 PERSONAL AND FAMILY NAMES. A Popular 
 Monograph on the Origin and History of the Nomen- 
 clature of the Present and Pormer Times. By Harry 
 Alfred Long. Demy 8vo. Price 5s. 
 
 Interesting investigations as to the origin, history, and meaning 
 of about 9,000 personal and family names. 
 
 THE SCOTTISH GALLO VIDIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA 
 of the Original, Antiquated, and Natural Curiosities 
 of the South of Scotland. Bv John Mactaggart. 
 Demy 8vo. Price raised to 25s. net. Impression 
 hmited to 250 copies. 
 Contains a large amount of extremely interesting and curious 
 
 matter relating to the South of Scotland. 
 
 THE COMPLETE TALES OF THE ET TRICK 
 SHEPHERD (James Hogg). 2 vols.. Demy 8vo. 
 An entirely new and complete edition of the tales of this 
 popular Scottish writer. 
 
 GLASGOW: THOMAS D. MORISON. 
 LONDON : HAMILTON, ADAMS & CO.