The Bishops of Dunkeld

A very valuable and realistic description of the Lives and Works of the Bishops of Dunkeld is contained in the MS. written and compiled by Alexander Myln, a Canon and Official of Dunkeld and Prebendary of Moneydie at the time of writing. He afterwards became Abbot of Cambuskenneth and first President of the College of Justice. The manuscript is styled "Vitae Dunkeldensis Ecclesiae Episcoporum a prima sedis Fundatione ad. an. 1515 ab Alex. Myln," A copy from the original has been printed in Latin. A translation has also been printed from a copy written about the beginning of the 18th Century by a writer who, from internal evidence, appears to have been well acquainted with the places mentioned. This translation is printed with other ancient records in the 1st Volume of the Transactions of the Literary and Antiquarian Society, Perth, published in 1827. Copies can be seen in the Reading Rooms of Dunkeld and Birnam.

The work is of considerable value, as it gives a history of the See of Dunkeld, as he understood it, from 729 A.D. to 1515, and describes the process of the erection of Dunkeld Cathedral, with dates, also enumerating in great detail the various ornaments and valuables, once cherished possessions. Very quaint and amusing, too, are his word pictures of the Bishops and others of the clergy. With a few graphic touches he depicts the man.

In the beginning, Canon Myln explains his reason for writing. He tells that, having observed the magnificent ornaments of the Cathedral and of the churchmen, he desired to know who were "the authors of that fine system which gave rise to that spirit of devotion and good government which reigns here." He therefore searched the old writings of the church, the records of the kingdom and the registers of the Abbeys, so as to be "distinctly informed of the names of our prelates and other great men who gave rise to that spacious and elegant church."

Opening by giving a list of all the church officials at the time, he describes the foundation of the Culdee Monastery, attributing it to Constantin III, "by the persuasion of St. Adampanus," but there is evidently some confusion over names and dates here, as shown in the previous chapter. This Convent, my reverend fathers," says Myln, "stood partly where at present your eastern garden is, and partly where the Manse of Crief now stands. . . . Upon the increase of devotion among princes, the good King David . . . changed this into a convent of seculars at the same time he got appointed a bishop and canons about the year 1127."

Thus Myln briefly alludes to the suppression of the Culdees—an Order of which Renan, the great French scholar, says, "Few forms of Christianity have offered an ideal of Christian perfection so pure as the Celtic Church of the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries. Nowhere, perhaps, has God been better worshipped in spirit than in the great communities of lona, Bangor and others."

The MS. contains a long list of Bishops, concluding with the ordination of Gavin Douglas. The account of the work, the benefactions and trials of these men is a striking picture of clerical life in early times.

The following extracts speak for themselves "Bishop Galfred had a great zeal for the worship of God. . . . There were few of the canons who before this time resided at Dunkeld, and the musick of the quire was not agreeable to the Gregorian manner. Therefore to make the canons attend better he qualified his donations 'That none but residing Canons were to have a share of the commons of the church.’.....From the produce of his fishings at Perth, he contributed yearly, two stone weight of wax, for the lights of the great altar.....He died at Tibermuir on St. Cecilia’s day, in the year 1249, and was buried in the old church, formerly the Abbey Church of Dunkeld. . .. This is his epitaph: ‘In this tomb, with his Father St. Colme, rests Galfred, the ornament and great support of the Church of Dunkeld.’"

Master Richard of Inverkeithing, great Chamberlain of Scotland, filled the See in 1250. When he died, his body was laid at Dunkeld, but his heart was placed in the north wall of the church at Inchcolme.

A famous Bishop was William Sinclair, uncle of William, Lord Bisset. "He built the quire from the ground, in memorial of which he put a fluted cross on the last gavel, which to this day is used for the Arms of his family and name. He made a burial place for himself about the middle of the quire, near the stair of the Chapter house. There his body lies under a marble monument, and there was a handsome statue of him in alabaster....."

While this clergyman resided at Achtertool, the Sheriff of Fife went with a body of 500 men against the English, who were laying waste the land. "The Sheriff fell back, the bishop armed himself, took horse with sixty of his people, meets the Sheriff and crys aloud, "What madness is it in you to run away at this rate?" The Sheriff replied, "Because the English are more numerous and better soldiers than we are." The Bishop said, ‘if he got his due, the King would cause chop off his golden spurs, yet follow me and with assistance of St. Colme, whose lands they lay’d waste, we shall have our revenge.’ He throws away his bishop’s staff and grasps a spear. They did follow him, came up with the enemy, and happily obtained a great victory. There fell that day more than five hundred of the English, besides a number who by crowding into a barge overset it and were drowned."

The story makes one understand the love and respect which Robert the Bruce bore to this brave bishop. He always called him "My own Bishop," and directed letters to him in this form "To our Bishop."

Robert Cardney was another good Bishop to the Cathedral. He purchased the lands of "Mukleri," and out of the rents endowed a vicar at the altar of St. Ninian, which chapel he had built. He also built a strong castle for defence, glazed the windows of the choir at his own expense and bought a handsome mitre and bishop’s staff. He was buried under a stone monument in St. Ninian’s Chapel, this monument being afterwards removed to the Cathedral and is still there.

Bishop Thomas Lawder, preceptor to James II., was one of the greatest who adorned this See. He was sixty when appointed, and this venerable prelate had such an acquaintance with divinity, "that himself preached the faith to his parishioners."

The Bishops had been sadly troubled with freebooters in the district, lawless and fearless. Amongst them was Robert Rooch Macdonoquhy, a scourge to the church, for he repeatedly plundered the church lands of Little Dunkeld. Kemp, a wild robber of another type, had a stronghold on Stenton Rock, from which he descended to rob the unhappy pilgrims on their way with offerings to the Cathedral. There was besides that "archrobber Makbre, his sons and a gang," who extorted money and victuals from the bishop’s tenants. Bishop Lawder imprisoned "one of that tribe which in Irish is named Clan Donoquhy, upon which Alexander Robertson, their chief, got together a band of ruffians, fell upon the bishop and threw a shower of arrows upon him at the very time in which he was, on Whitsunday, celebrating high Mass in the Cathedral, obliged him to give over the service and to take shelter behind some of the timber of the quire. . . . A complaint is entered of this outrage to the King, and Robertson had been put to death but for the interest of Lord Glammis, a great Court favourite, whose daughter he had married without a portion."

A Bishop’s office was clearly no safe, easy sinecure in this "Gateway to the Highlands."

Bishop Lawder did much for Dunkeld Cathedral. He finished the aisle, glazed the windows, plastered the roof, built the south porch, beautifying it with fine images, founded the Steeple, and is credited with also founding the Chapter House, or at least adding to it. Having procured peace in the province, the Synod met in his own church; formerly the meetings had been held at Tulilum (Tullylumb), Perth, through fear of the Caterans. He also laid the foundations of a timber and stone bridge across the Tay.

He procured vestments of silk, silver candlesticks a Cross in which there is a part of our Lord’s Cross and vessel for the Eucharist for the holy water, "all in silver." "There was over against the great Altar a piece of painting representing the 24 Miracles of St. Colme, and overhead of this, two statues of that saint; there were two pillars on which rested two angels, who held two candlesticks of fifteen branches each suspended by a silken rope. He made a pillar for supporting the great wax lights." In addition to this, he promoted public worship by appointing chaplains and choristers, providing salaries for six singing boys and buying houses in Perth and Edinburgh for his successors. He died in the year 1481. His epitaph runs: "Christian people, pour out your joyful prayers for Thomas Lawder, your teacher. Do, O Virgin, give him the name of Saint and let St. Thomas be placed near the good St. Colme in Heaven. He filled this See with unfading honour. The time was thirty years, but his good actions were past reckoning."

His successor, James Livingstoun, "was remarkable for his stature, and though he was rich, he was an affable, sweet-tempered, wise man."

The next was George Brown, the memory of whose piety and good works is still fragrant. He was a native of Dundee, his father being Town Treasurer there. The name is sometimes spelt Broun, but "w" was mostly used by translators of Myln’s MS. He was involved in several lawsuits. owing to the perpetual encroachments of neighbouring nobles and others, who boldly seized the Church lands. Bishop Brown defended the Church possessions with unbroken courage and even added to them. His great desire was to travel betwixt the two palaces of Clunie and Dunkeld on his own ground. This he achieved, and could even ride between these places on four ways all his own ground. The forest and lands of Birnam and Logy he bought from the King, paying forty shillings yearly.

He erected altars and endowed them. He caused High Mass to be said at his own charge daily in honour of St.Colme, who had preserved Dunkeld from the pestilence raging elsewhere in Scotland in the year 1500, and a curious account is given of his dealings with certain in Caputh afflicted with the disease. He first visited them and then "caused dip the bones of St. Colme in consecrated water and sent to them to drink. Many did drink and were cured. But there was one forward fellow among them who said, "For what does the bishop send us water to drink? I could wish he had sent some of his best ale." But he and thirty others who refused to drink the water died of the plague."

Bishop Brown also gave many ornaments to the church - silk copes, covers for the altar, images, portraits of saints drawn upon the wall all round, beautified the altars—and bought several bells. He built churches, houses, and began a bridge over the Tay. In 1510 he founded a benefaction which holds to this day, erecting St. George’s Hospital for the purpose. This building was burnt in 1689, and small cottages were then built, but afterwards more substantial buildings were erected, part of which were sold. They occupy yet the corner of Cathedral Street, looking towards the Fountain and the Brac. The rents of these buildings were supposed to be applied to the support of seven old men in Dunkeld, called Bedesmen, who were originally each to have a free house and 2 pecks of oatmeal as well as a suit of white woollen cloth and ten shillings Scots yearly. At the Union of the Parishes of Auchtergaven and Logiebride in 1650, several curious items were brought up in Dunkeld Presbytery in connection with the Dunkeld Hospital of St. George and are narrated in Hunter’s "Diocese."

The Bishop of Dunkeld in 1628 translated Mr. Alexander Anderson from Dunkeld and Dowally to Auchtergaven, which had before been worked conjointly with Logiebride. Separate stipends were given to each, and this created disturbance. The Minister of Logiebride as Prebendary of Fordeschaw and Master of the Hospital of Dunkeld had hitherto been burdened with a payment to the Bedesmen to be uplifted from the lands of Logiebride. The Bishop was indicted, among other counts, in 1638 for erecting "ane new paroshin and had given the rentes of ane hospitall to the minister’s steepende, whereby all who belonged to the hospitall (if any did) behoved either for to begg or starve." Petitions for the Bedesmen were presented and Committees were appointed to visit the Hospital, the Synod coming to several findings. Part of the benefaction still remains and the Trust is now in the hands of the Sheriff of Perthshire, who appoints a delegate in Dunkeld.

Bishop Brown died in 1514 at Clunie Castle, whither he had retired, worn out with suffering and sorrow over Flodden. Canon Myln was present at his death, of which he gives a circumstantial and affecting account.

There is a window in the ruined Nave to this good Bishop’s memory. A saying of his sheds a light on his generosity and upright disposition; severe in discipline, he yet refused to apply to his own use fines of offenders, and often said, "The oil of the wicked will never make my head to shine."

Several short descriptions are given of the various officials during his charge. Mr. Walter Brown took care that "no low wit or scandal were admitted to his table." Mr. Thomas Greig’s "temper was somewhat passionate, but after all, he was a kind-hearted man."

Mr. James Lawder was "a virtuous, modest, decent young man . . . much beloved for being so obliging to his superiors." Mr. Thomas Bettoun "had great execution in musick and had a voice he could tune to any key. . . He honours the virgin . . . and hates sloth. His furniture is handsome, and he has a turn for gardening."

Mr. John Martyne, John Lesly and William Scherar were three priests born in Dunkeld who had "great knowledge of musick and from their youth have been in use to direct the quire." Canon Myln closes with an account of the stormy entry of Gavin Douglas to the Diocese of Dunkeld.

Dunkeld an Ancient City
Elizabeth Stewart
Dunkeld, 1926

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