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St Fergus St Fergus was a companion of the great master St Drostán, along with St Colm and St Medan. He was active both in the area of Buchan (near to Drostán's foundation at Deer) and in the province of the Pictish tribe of the Ce (now known as Caithness). He is said to have been a Pict by birth and is sometimes known as St Fergus the Pict. His foundations are not numerous but they are important. Indeed, parts of the land near the coastline are still named after him, including St Fergus' Moss and the village of St Fergus itself with its little church, near Kirkton Head, which was founded by the great man himself. Many of today's oil-workers have links with the terminal at St Fergus but how many, I wonder, know of the ancient link with Drostán's friend. The churches at Inverugy and Banff may have been his foundations also. St Fergus was patron saint of Wick. His church there is believed to have stood in pre-Reformation times near the east end of the town, at a place called Mount Halie. A stone image of him existed in the burgh till 1613, but was then destroyed by the Rev Dr Richard Merchiston of Bower, who was noted for his zeal in abolishing "Popish" survivals. It is said that the local people were so enraged at the iconoclasm of the minister that they drowned him in the river of Wick as he was on his way home! The report went abroad that St Fergus himself did the drowning, and was seen astride of the minister holding him down in the water! A local fair held on the 24th November was from ancient times known as Fergusmas. St Fergus does not appear to have had an altar dedicated to him in the cathedral of Aberdeen but, in an inventory of valuables from 1464, reference is made to a silver-plated reliquary in the form of an arm, described as brachium argenteum sancti Fergusii cum ossibus ejusdem, i.e. the silver arm of St Fergus with the bones of the same. The parish church of Dyce, near Aberdeen, was dedicated to St Fergus who is said to have founded the original church there. Indeed the parish was at one time known as the Chapel of St Fergus near Moss-Foetach. Fergus is said to have died at Glamis where a cave and a well bear his name. It is said that his relics were carefully preserved at Glamis until an abbot of Scone in the time of James IV (1488-1513) removed the head while providing a more splendid marble tomb for the body. {King James is said to have provided a silver case for the head.} There is an alternative story {Jocelin: Life of St Kentigern} that Fergus, by now a very old man, died in the presence of St Kentigern who, placing his body in a cart to which he yokes two untamed oxen, took his precious burden to a cemetery previously consecrated by St Ninian. This cemetery is thought to be where the great medieval cathedral of Glasgow now stands. In the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fergus is said to have been an Irish bishop of the early 8th century whose festival is held on 27th November. He is said to have ministered to the Picts of Scotland and may be the same "Fergustus episcopus Scotiae Pictus" who took part in the council of Rome in AD721. The reader may well wonder if there were, in fact, two of the name who ministered to the Pictish tribes of Alba. I'll also add perspective from cross referenced material that adds to the sacred tale. Saint Fergus (or Fergustian or Fergustus) lived, probably, from about 570 to 630. He was a missionary who seems to have worked in a number of areas of Scotland. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline. It is actually possible that there were two separate religious men called Fergus who lived about a century apart and whose legends have become intermingled. One is said to have been a contemporary and colleague of Saint Drostan, who was abbot of the monastery at Deer in Aberdeenshire in 600. The other is known as Fergus the Pict, or Fergustus Pictus, and was a Pictish bishop who is recorded as attending a council organized by Pope Gregory II in 721 as "Bishop of the Gaels". It is not even certain that the second Fergus became a saint, and it therefore seems likely that most references to Saint Fergus are to the earlier man: Fergus was at the time a fairly common name. If so, it seems likely that Saint Fergus trained in Ireland, though he may have been Irish, Scottish or Pictish in origin. Stories about him crop up in three main areas of Scotland. He is the patron saint of Wick and is said to have founded two churches in Caithness: which at the time was home to a Pictish kingdom. He is also associated with Aberdeenshire, both via Saint Drostan and, it is said, by founding his own churches there. He is most notably remembered in the name of the village of St Fergus, now home to a major plant processing North Sea gas. Saint Fergus is also closely associated with Strathearn, and with the village of Glamis in particular. He is the patron saint of Glamis and is said to have been buried here, though by some accounts not until 750, raising again the possibility that his legend conflates stories about two different men. The church in Glamis is dedicated to St Fergus, and nearby is St Fergus Well, a spring which emerged beside the Glamis Burn said to have been used by St Fergus for baptisms. It is said that in about 1500, Saint Fergus's head was moved to become the focus of a shrine to him at Scone, but no trace of his relics seems to have survived the Reformation. Also note: This name means "strong man, masculinity, a man of vigor." The name derives from the Old Irish name “Fearghus / Fearghas,” composed of two elements: “fer / fear” (man) plus “gus” (force, wildness, pride, courage, determination, initiative, self-esteem). Fergus or Feargus is a popular Irish, Manx, and Scottish given name. It is both the Old Irish spelling and the anglicized form of the modern Fearghus or Fearghas, meaning "man-strength" or "virility." The name Fergus was a royal name amongst the Celts in Ireland and the Picts in Scotland. Although a relatively rare name, it is still prevalent among the Scottish nobility and gentry. No fewer than three current Clan Chiefs are named Fergus. Saint Fergus (Fergustian) († 730 AD) was a bishop who worked in Scotland as a missionary. Ten saints of this name are mentioned in the martyrology of Donegal. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Fergus.

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