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Showing posts from December, 2020
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  Paisley part 2 Part 1 -  Scotland Historical: December 2020 Among those whom David I. of Scotland met at the Court of Matilda, when he went to her assistance against Stephen, the English King, were the two brothers, William and Walter Fitz Alan. Along with David and others, they were witnesses to Matilda's charter to Haughmond priory. They were with David at the rout of Winchester, December, 1141, five months after the signing of the Haughmond charter and when David was obliged to retrace his steps to the North, he appears to have invited Walter, the second of the three brothers, to settle in Scotland. Walter accepted the invitation. Among those who accompanied him to Scotland were Simon, his brother -  Robert Montgomery -  son or nephew of the great Earl Roger who built the abbeys of Shrewbury and Wenlock ; the Costentins, who, like himself, were of Breton extraction ; Alexander de Hesting, probably a relative on his mother's side -  Richard Wallace, ancestor of Sir William
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  Paisley Part 1 The Burgh of Paisley is situated in the County of Renfrew, on both sides of the White Cart, about seven miles to the south-west of Glasgow, and from two to three miles to the south of Renfrew, in latitude 55.51 N. and longitude 4.26 W. Of its origin nothing is known.  The Romans had a station on Oakshawhead, where the John Neilson Institution now stands, with outposts on Castlehead and Woodside but the original site of the town was in Seedhill, on the north bank of the White Cart and to the east of the ancient mill. Its original inhabitants were probably Iberians, to whom were subsequently added, either before or immediately after the departure of the Romans, a number of Goidels and Brythons. Its oldest recorded name is Paslet, Passelay, Passelet, Passeleth. The spelling varies at different periods but there is no evidence that the place ever bore any other name than some form of the word " Paisley." Chalmers conjecture that the Romans called it Vanduara rest
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 Annie Wilson & Rosslyn Chapel The foundation of Rosslyn Chapel, known as 'The Chapel amidst the Woods', a few miles south of Edinburgh, Scotland was laid in 1446. Its founder, William St Clair, Earl of Caithness and of Orkney, brought the finest workmen from the Continent to work alongside skilled Scottish craftsmen on the construction of the Chapel.  The Chapel is famed for the profusion of elaborate and luxuriant sculptural stone carving that covers and encrusts almost every part of the building's interior. It has been described as 'one of those architectural wonders whose intricate beauties and peculiarities extort our admiration while they baffle description'. The unique and exuberant stone carving has been compared with exotic cake icing and makes the Chapel a pioneering building in the lavish use of ornament. Most celebrated and outstanding amongst the architectural features is the exquisite workmanship of the Prentice Pillar, one of the internal columns,
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  The Declaration of Arbroath 1320  English Translation To the most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord John, by divine providence Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Universal Church, his humble and devout sons Duncan, Earl of Fife, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, Lord of Man and of Annandale, Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March, Malise, Earl of Strathearn, Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, William, Earl of Ross, Magnus, Earl of Caithness and Orkney, and William, Earl of Sutherland; Walter, Steward of Scotland, William Soules, Butler of Scotland, James, Lord of Douglas, Roger Mowbray, David, Lord of Brechin, David Graham, Ingram Umfraville, John Menteith, guardian of the earldom of Menteith, Alexander Fraser, Gilbert Hay, Constable of Scotland, Robert Keith, Marischal of Scotland, Henry St Clair, John Graham, David Lindsay, William Oliphant, Patrick Graham, John Fenton, William Abernethy, David Wemyss, William Mushet, Fergus of Ardrossan, Eustace Maxwell, William Ramsay, William Mowat, Alan M
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 Medieval Scottish port This drawing illustrates a typical medieval Scottish port. From the 12th century, trade was on the steady increase. New trading priveleges were granted to burghs by the king, opening up trade to Europe. Local produce could be easily exported in exchange for foreign goods imported to Scottish markets to fulfil an increasing demand for luxuries previously unavailable to Scotland. The number of burghs increased rapidly from the 12th century onwards. Many burghs were along the North Sea coast or on the Firth of Forth - well placed for trade with northern Europe.
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  Scotland in the 16th Century (Trade) This map shows the main towns in Scotland in the 16th century. It is adapted from a map drawn in 'Atlas of Scottish History to 1707'. The map shows that by the 16th century a number of towns had been established in Scotland, particularly in the east. However, even the largest towns in Scotland - Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh - had populations of only a few thousand by the 16th century. There were few towns in Scotland before the 12th century. The creation of burghs - towns which had trading privileges granted from the king or nobility - began with the reign of David I. Trade, industrial activity and royal presence all led to their growth.
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  Perth Perth was originally known as St Johnstone and this name is still used by its premier football club. It was made a royal burgh in the 13th century although the earliest records survive from the 12th century. These records reveal that Perth was an important administrative, ecclesiastical and commercial centre. The number of monastic establishments show that it held considerable royal favour. This favour was lost in 1600 after the Gowrie Conspiracy. Perth was mainly an agricultural centre and avoided the volatile changes the come with relying on fishing, textiles, and engineering. However it did undergo great ecclesiastical change after John Knox's sermon in 1559. This launched the Reformation and many ecclesiastical treasures were destroyed and churches defaced. By the late 17th century Thomas Morer saw Perth as "the second city of Scotland" because of its booming linen trade. Although the port lost out because it couldn't accommodate ships of greater draught,
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  Church and State in the 1400s In the 15th century government came from the king and his supporters, representing the great magnates, landowners, bishops and the burghs. Through growth and supporting legislation the burghs and trade became more important during the century. A new kind of church was devised: the collegiate church. Soon there were around 40 all across Scotland. The 15th century was the century of collegiate churches. Mary, Queen of James II, founded Edinburgh's Trinity College in 1462. As a collegiate establishment it supported a group of clergy whose duty was to say masses as directed by the founder and other benefactors. To support them, the revenues of ordinary parishes were given to the clergy which caused problems in later years. This entire building was relocated to Chalmers Close when the North British Railway bought the original site. Wealthy landowners devoted revenue to the churches near their homes. Corstorphine Old Parish Church was very much the work of
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 King Constantine II Towards the end of the first millennium, life expectancy was short and that of kings, even shorter. How remarkable then that Constantine II ruled for 43 years before doing the unthinkable for a Monarch - then and now - by retiring. This consummate survivor not only had beaten the Vikings in Battle, he then employed the cunning strategy of making them his allies by marriage. No wonder that he felt qualified in retirement to tell his successor, Malcolm I, what he should be doing. It is a scenario we have been familiar with, even after another millenium. As Constantine is our forgotten hero king, so St Andrew is the saint, we Scots, tend to forget or at best, under-value. We need, at this point,  to put aside our present day thoughts and ideas on religion and transport our minds back to a period when christianity figured in everyone's daily life. Scotland was regarded as an important Land by Rome. St Andrew has put us in the league of National Saints, men straight