THE ALPHABET OF LINDORES ABBEY A AQUA VITAE Aqua Vitae “VIII bolles of malt wherewith to make aqua vitae” What was produced at Lindores Abbey back in 1494 would have been a clear spirit created through the distillation of barley harvested from the Abbey’s fields and then steeped in the Holy Burn and dried in the great barn of Lindores, the remains of which still stand next to the burn. Though somewhat less ‘sophisticated’ than today’s methods this would then have been distilled in copper vessels and infused with locally sourced flora and fauna to make it palatable though a great deal of ‘aqua vitae’ would have also been used as linament as well. We are working with the students from the department of brewing and distilling at Herriot Watt University to create our own line of ‘Lindores Aqua Vitae’ incorporating the historical fruits from the Lindores Orchards, famous for their plums, pears and apples. In the 13th Century, a prelate named Theoricus wrote a paper wherein he; “Prayseth it to the nineth degree. He destinguishe the three sortes Simplex, composita and Perfectissima. He declareth the simples and ingrediences thereto belonging. He wisheth it to be taken as well before meate as after. It dryeth up the breaking up of hands, and killeth the fleshe wormes, if you wash your hands therewith. It skoureth all skurfe & shaldes from the head, being daily therewith washte before meales. Being moderately taken, sayth he, it sloeth age strengtheneth youth,, it helpeth digestion, it cutteth fleume, it abandoneth melancholy, it relisheth the hart, it lighteneth the mynd, it quickeneth the spirites, it cureth the hydropsie, it healeth the strangury, it pounceth the stone, it expelleth gravell, it puffeth away all Ventositie, it kepeth & preserveth the hed from Whirlyng, the eyes from dazelyng, the tongue from lispyng, the mouth from mafflyng, the teeth from chatteryng, the throte from rattling, the weasan from stieflyng, the stomacke from wambling, the belly from wirtchyng, the guts from rumbling, the hands from shivering, the sinowe from shrinking, the veynes from crumpling, the bones from akyng, the marrow from soaking. A Alexander, son of King Alexander III and heir to the throne of Scotland, died at Lindores Abbey on 21st January 1283. Only a few months earlier his marriage had been celebrated with great splendor, this marriage was the cause of great rejoicing throughout Scotland as it gave promise to the removal of the possibility of a disputed succession. His death caused great sorrow across Scotland and it was recorded that he was filled with forebodings as to which the Scotland would be exposed to by his death, and ‘Upon the night before he died, he talked wildly about an approaching contest with his Uncle (Edward I), and suddenly exclaimed. ‘Before tomorrow’s sun ride, the sun of Scotland will have set’. His words were eerily accurate as the succession of events that followed bore testament to, these events are described throughout this A-Z of Lindores Abbey B BREW HOUSE It is known that Ale was the main drink in mediaeval times and there is record of a ‘Brewhouse’ at Lindores in the rental rolls of 1480. And an instance referring to this took place at a trial held in the Chapter House of Lindores Abbey in 1309. A dispute had arisen between Abbot Thomas and the burgesses of Newburgh regarding the payment of the Brew house tax to the convent. Robert de Keith was deputed to hold an inquest for the purpose of effecting a settlement and the court met on the 29th June. Bishop Lamberton of St Andrews and the Abbot of Arbroath were present and when the names of the jurors were called the burgesses objected to Andrew Gray because he was a servant of the Abbot. The objection was sustained and another juror was selected, I’m delighted to report that the decision was in favour of the convent. This establishes that brewing and brew houses were long established by this time, but also that the jury system as we know it today was already very much also a well tried and tested system. C COMYN, JOHN, LORD OF BADENOCH. On Lammas day 1294, John Comyn visited Lindores, in the company of John de Baliol and Alexander Baliol. John ‘The Red’ Comyn, Lord of Badenoch and Lochaber was a Scottish nobleman who was an important figure in the wars of Scottish independence, and was Guardian of Scotland when he visited Lindores Abbey. He is (unfortunately) best known for being stabbed to death by the future Robert I of Scotland before the altar at the church of the Greyfriars at Dumfries. His Father, John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, known as ‘Black Comyn’, was one of the competitors for the Crown of Scotland, claiming his descent from King Donald III of Scotland. His Mother was Elanor Balliol, the Red Comyn might thus be said to have combined two lines of Royal descent, Gaelic and Norman. D Douglas, Earl of. On 15th April 1488, James, 9th Earl of Douglas died at Lindores, ending the famous ‘Black Douglas’ line. The Earl spent the last years of his life at Lindores, after the murder of his brother by James II, Douglas nailed a placard to the door of Parliament house, renouncing his allegiance and so started his war on the Stewarts that was to last the rest of his life. After thirty years of struggle the elderly Earl was captured at the Battle of Lochmaben but King James took pity on him and the sole punishment on the war torn chieftain was that he must quit the world and spend the remainder of his life at Lindores Abbey, it is said thjat when the Earl learned of his fate he turned to those behind him with a bitter smile and used the proverb, ‘He that can do no better must needs be a Monk’. Near the end of the reign of James III, Douglas was solicited by the malcontents of the nobility, urged once more to take up the cause, but he desisted and tried to talk them out of rebellion. On hearing this, the King solicited him to come out and lend him his support, whereby the Douglas responded, ‘You have kept me and your black box too long under lock and key to be of any use to you’. E Edward I, King, ‘Hammer of the Scots’ When his Nephew Alexander died at Lindores he declared that before sunrise, the sun of Scotland will have set’ this accurately foretold what happened next at Lindores, a series of events that shapes our nation still to this day. On 12th July 1291 King Edward I came to Lindores Abbey amongst a ‘glittering escort’ and it is recorded that John, Abbot of Lindores was amongst the nobles who, ‘Touched the Host, kissed the gospels, and swore upon the great alter of the Abbey Church, allegiance to Edward Then in 1296 Lindores had the questionable honour of a second visit from King Edward I, he was here after Baliol had capitulated by resigning the Crown into Edwards hands, and as he travelled he compelled people of all classes to gather and swear allegiance to the Crown. King Edward and his party stayed at Lindores on Thursday 9th August and remained on the Friday for St Laurence’s day, and then leaving on the Saturday for St Andrews, it was whilst on this tour that he carried off with him the Coronation Stone of Scone. F Friar John Cor is the Monk referred to in the first known written reference to a batch of Scotch whisky on June 1st, 1494. ‘To brother john Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt’- Exchequer rolls 1494- 95. Brother John Cor (Johanni Cor/John Kawe) was a Tironensian of Lindores Abbey, who in his position of ‘Bailie of Lindores’ was charged with the task of making aqua vitae for King James IV, who’s hunting lodge was at nearby Falkland Palace. Brother Cor/Kawe, was known to the king and was a servant at the court, the King gave him a gift of 14shillings on Christmas Day in 1488 and at Christmas time in 1494 he was given black cloth from Lille in Flanders. The Tironensians were well regarded for their skills as alchemists and apothecaries and indeed Lindores Abbey is known as ‘The Spiritual Home of Scotch Whisky’ and leading whisky writer Michael Jackson refers to Lindores in his book ‘Scotland and its whiskies, saying “For the whisky lover it is a pilgrimage”. G Guido, first Abbot of Lindores; When David, Earl of Huntingdon founded Lindores Abbey in 1198 he brought Prior Guido, and a ‘sufficient number of brethren’ from Selkirk Abbey to oversee the building and running of Lindores Abbey. It is likely that the church and other erections were designed by him, the beauty of the individual parts being left to the skill and taste of the workmen themselves. Guido, beside his duties at the abbey gave attention to public affairs and his name appears as witness to various charters. One of these was from a session convened by Pope Innocent III at Perth in 1212 presided over by the Bishops of both St Andrews and Glasgow to sanction a fresh crusade to free Jerusalem from the infidels. Few serviceable persons came forward to earn the Popes promised rewards, many of the faithful having by this time secured a promise of paradise by fighting against the Albigenses. H Huntingdon, David, Earl of. Lindores Abbey was founded by David, Prince of Scotland, earl of Huntingdon on land bestowed on him by his Brother, King William (The Lion).