V. TRACES OF THE CULTUS OF ST FERGUS IN . BY J. M. MACKINLAY, M.A., F.S.A. (LOND. & SCOT.). We n termcannoo f intimace o sb t y wit t FerguS h s wita s. St h Columba, the former having had no Cumine or Adamnan to supply particulars regardin dails ghi y life. There are, however, some biographical details on record, and it may be interesting to connect these with the traces of his cultus in Scotland. For such details we are largely indebte e lectionth o t d s e Breviari.umgiveth n i n Aberdonense, under e Saint'th s festival day—the 17t f November.o h e discounw f I e 2th t miraculous element in these lections we find his story verified, as Bishop Porbes indicates n almos"i , t ever ye dedication th poin y b t f o s severae th l churche s foundation."hi f so 3 Ous alsrwa o sainto knowwh , s Fergusianuna d Fergustusan s s i , believed by Skene to have belonged to the race|of the Scottish Picts,4 1 Loc. cit. 2 Pars Estiv., fol. 164. 3 Calendars of Scottish Saints, s.v. Fergus. 4 Celtic Scotland, vol. ii. p. 232 n. 446 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APRIL 11, 1904.

though he was for several years a bishop in . In the Martyrology of Donegal, unde h September8t r e e finentrw th ,d y "Ferglms

Cruithneach,1 " i.e. Fergus the Pict, who is evidently our saint, notwith- e Calendarth standin n i y difference .da gth s hi f o e The Aberdeen begin s narrativit s e wit n allusioa e h th o t n residenc t FerguS f eo n Irelandi s d thean ,n states that, having taken with him a few presbyters and clerics ("paucis secum assuniptis presby- teri t clericise s ")crossee westere h , th o dt n parte f Scotlanth so o t d dan •confine f Strogetho s , d wherwitle he h ethe ma solitar y d lailifan ed the foundations of three churches. Next he went to Cathania, i.e. Caithness therd an , e devoted himsel e conversioth o e barbarout f th f o n s natives. After tha settlee h ta tim r n Buchani edfo a plac t a ,e called Lungley, wher e builh e basilica t a which e e Breviarywriteth th , f o r tell s readershi s s stil n existencei wa l, , dedicate n honoui t dS f o r Fergus. The remainder of the narrative regarding the saint, as given in the Breviary, s thui s summarise y Bishob d p Forbes:—"Then, movey b d the Holy Spirit, he came to Glammis, where he consecrated a tabernacle f Jacobo whered d an ,Go e ,fo ful th rf years o l e presignifieh , y da e dth s deathohi f , and, slightly bowin s headhi g ,e Lord s slepth Hi n .i t bones, as time passed, became a blessing to the neighbourhood, and a pious abbot of Scone placed the sacred relics in marble, and carried off s heahi e honouds du hi wit l o t al hr , where many miracles were performed. womaA " n with a tumour hearestores he dwa n o r d o healtht t LungleA . y some sick persons keepin ge churc th vigi n i hl beheld a reverend figure in pontificals preparing to celebrate the divine mysteries,- which speedily vanished away n anotheO . r occasios hi n bachul, thrown inte wavesoth , cause a stord o cease."mt 2 The question arises, when did St Fergus flourish 1 Adam King makes him belong to the late fifth and early sixth century. In his Calendar he has this entry under 17th November: . "FergusS , Bisho d Conan p - fesso n Scotlandi r , patro f Glamio n s under King Conranus A.D. 505." - Calendars1 Pag eo f239 Scottish. Saints, . 356p . TRACES OF THE CULTUS OF ST FERGUS IN SCOTLAND. 447

This date is adopted by the Kev. Robert Owen in his Sanctorale Oatholieum.1 In the Calendars of Thomas Dempster and David Camerarius we hear more about Conranus and our saint. Dempster has this entr y: " November XVII n GlammeI . s Fergusi pontificit e s patroni, qui Conrano regi asquitatis amorem persuasit," and Camerarius (November)e thiDi s: 8 " 1 . Sanctus Fergusius Episcopu t Confessorse . Magno fuit in honore apud Conranum Kegem."2 Conranus, called by Wyntoun Conran d Gowran,o havt an e em reignehi s sai i 3y b d d from A.D. 501 to 533 or 534, and to have been a son of Dongard, otherwise Domangart, and a grandson of Fergus, son of Ere. The last-mentioned brough a colont f Scoto y s fro e nortmth f Irelano h d settlean d n i d Southern Argyll in the end of the fifth century. Wyntoun, however, by A mistak n chronologyi e , make reigm hi s n9 ove 41 fror o mt 3 A.D40 . what is proleptically styled "the realme of Scotland."4 There is, however, reason to believe that St Fergus flourished at a •considerably later dat e juseon ttha e mentionednth a n 1 A.DI 72 . . council was held at Rome under Pope Gregory II., to settle the affairs of the Church, particularly with a view to putting a stop to irregular marriages. Skene remarks : " We find that among the bishops who were present and signed the canons is 'Fergus the Pict, a bishop of Ireland,' doubo wh n r Ferguss oi ou t befor passee eh d ove Pictlano t r Britainn di , which appears to have been his native country; and his appearance at e Councith f Romo l e shows tha conbelonged e h t ha e -parto th wh yo dt formed to the Roman Church." 5 The following, as quoted by Haddan and Stubbs, is the declaration made by Fergus the Bishop at the Council 'in question: ':Fergustus Episcopus Scotise Pictus huic constituto a nobis promulgate subscripsi."15 Hadda Stubbd nan s think that Fergus, 1 Page 451. 2 Calendars of Scottish Saints, pp. 219, 242. 3 Gabrau is another form of the name. For its variants, v, Skene's Chronicles of Pictse Scots,d th an . 461p . The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland (The Historians of Scotland), vol. i.

P. 4 214. 6 Celtic Scotland, . 232-3 pp vol . ii . . 8 Councils Ecclesiasticald an Documents,. 7 vol . . parii p . . i t 448 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APKIL 11, 1904.

though bishopa , withous wa , diocese—a t a very reasonable opinion, con- sidering the number of the districts which he evangelised and their separation froanothere mon . Let us now glance at the traces of St Fergus to be found at Strogeth and the other localities named in the Aberdeen Breviary, as cited above. 1. Stroget place knoww th s ehno i Strageats na Muthiln hi l parisn i h Upper Strathearn. Ther traco en n locaseeme i b lo t stopograph y of t FerguS s himselft PatrickS t bu o whom;t , s wea , ' have seen, he dedicated three churches in the district, is represented by such names Dalpatricks a , i.e.t Patrick'S s field— ae othe th far n rm o sid f tho ee Earn from Strageath—and Dalpatric e kriverth forn .i d These churches were respectivel t Strageathya , Blairinroa r Blairinroano r , .and Struthill Muthiln i l al , l parish t BlairinroaA . Struthild an r l ther, is e or was, a St Patrick's Well; and, as the late Rev. Dr Rankin tells , somus e cot-house e formeth t a sr t e placnamS th f o y e b stil o g l Patrick's. The site of the ancient church there cannot now be identi- fied, thoug s foundationit h s were visibl n 1837.i e . Regardinl e th g other two places, Dr Rankin says :—" At Struthill both chapel walls and ancient burial-ground remained till about fifty years ago, when they were- shamefully turned—th inte eoon dyke material e consecrateth d an , d soil and remains into top-dressing for corn land. The sacred well was also run off into a drain, and the site marked by a modern cattle trough. The burial-ground at Strageath is still in use, but the corner stones of the d churcol h have been n abstracteneighbourini e us r fo d g buildings."2 During the early years of last century the memory of St Patrick was cherished in the district. Writing in 1837, the author of the article- on Muthill in the New Statistical Account of Scotland 3 remarks : " The inhabitants, until very lately, held his memory in so high veneration that on his day neither the clap of the mill was heard, nor the plough see e furrow.movo nt th n ei "

1 ' New Statistical Account of Scotland (Perth, p. 313). 2 Chronicles of Strathearn,. 40 , 39 . pp 3 Perth, p. 313. . TRACES, OF THE. OULTUS OF ST FERGUS IN SCOTLAND. 449

2. Cathania r Caithness.—o The Breviary supplie informatioo sn a f no topographical kind regarding St Fergus's work among the heathen inhabitants of Caithness; but two places, viz., Halkirk and Wick, seem havo t d eo ol fbee n associated wit s cultus. e hChurchi Th f Halkirkho , according to Cosmo limes, was originally the chapel belonging to the bishop's residence there, and was, lie thinks, dedicated either to Sfc Catherin t Fergus.S r e e articlwriteo th Th f n Halkir1o o er k parish Statisticalw Ne e inth Account ff Scotland mors i 2 e definite. According to him e paris th s ,ancientl wa h y knowt FergusS s a n . Wic t anya k - rate was connected with our saint. Its pre-Reformation church, which believes i havo dt e stoo e townda plac th nea t f e eastera o ,e th r d en n called Mount Halie, was dedicated to him. A stone image of St Fergus burge stooth n hdi til s thel wa 1613n t destroyebu ,e Eevr th D .y b d Richard Merchiston of Bower, who was noted for his zeal in abolishing Popish survivals.3 Another stone image at Wick was believed in modern times to repre- sen t FergusStatistical w S thuts i Ne t sI e referre. th n i Accounto dt f o Scotland: "An old image of St Fergus, habited in a monkish dress

standind an somn go e sor 4 f animalo t , whic he churchformerlth n i y , yla beew hano ns e s jailplacefeatureIt th . n i e daltogethe ar s r effaced." r JosepD h Anderson gives quit a differene t explanatio e effigyth f o n. e sayH s :—e headles"Th s image t FergusS e tha, b f sai o to t d , which was long preserved in the courtyard of the county jail at Wick, is a sepulchral effigy of sandstone, many centuries later than the time of St Fergus, and probably lay over the tomb of some local magnate in the old Churc Wick.f ho r AndersoD " Augusn i n t i addw t lasssa : " n I i t the workshop of a local sculptor having a head fitted to it." A well at

1 O.P.S., vul. . ii758p . . 'J Caithness. 68 . p , s saii t dI '•' thae inhabitantth t s wer enrageo s e t thia d s that they drownee dth ministe rivee th Wicf o rn ri kreturnins whewa e nh g homee repor s spreaTh . wa t d abroad tha t FerguS t s e drowninghimselth d di f , having been seen astride th f o e minister ami holdin dowm hi g n e water.—Calder'ith n s History f Caithness,o . pp 186-7. 4 Caithness, p. 142. VOL. XXXVIII. 29 450 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APKIL 11, 1904.

Wic names kwa d afte r sainta loca ou d r l an ;fair ,r abou o hel e n o th dt 24t Novemberf ho stils i , l know Fergusmas.s na 1 3. Lungley Buchan.—n i Our saint e Breviary,s statea ,th n i d settled for a time at Lungley, where he built a basilica. This name appears also as Langley and Longley, but has been superseded since 1616 by St Fergus, applie a villag o t d coas an e t paris f north-easo h t Aberdeen- 2 shire. Its earlier name was Inverugie, i.e. the confluence of the Ugief which flows into the sea between this parish and that of Pet'erhead. e followinTh g topographical e fact Rev e giver th Pratt: ar D s.y b n — "Five miles from Peterhea e com w d w Villaget eS Ne upo f e o th n Fergus, and at about a quarter of a mile to the left on an eminence the Villaged Ol e seee ar th n Kirk peerind an t amonou g g clump f treeso s . e churchTh , previou o 1616t s e ,old th stoo ' n churchyari d d neae th r sea-shore, still used as the burial-ground of the parish, and about two miles eastward from the present edifice." Dr Pratt adds:—"The old churchyard is a retired and solitary spot in the midst of ' those pleasant and extensive downs called the Links of St Fergus.' There are still to be seen fragments of the font and some pieces of rude sculpture which churchd belonged ol ha e th . e souto dt th Par f hheighte o t th wal o t l, of several feet still remains t completelbu , y covere- dac outside th y b e cumulated soil. The area of the church, which is still traceable, shows havo t t i e bee nlona g narrow building." 3 This churc evidentls hwa e yth one mentioned in the Aberdeen Breviary as still in existence, i.e. in the early years of the sixteenth century,—the successor, it is to be presumed, saint'r oou f s basilica basilice th t no ,a itself states Breviary.e a , th n di

1 New Statistical Account of Scotland (Caithness, p. 176). 2 The Rev. Dr Pratt remarks:—"The parish of St Fergus, though locally situated in the county of Aberdeen, is, by a feudal peculiarity, reckoned to be in Banffshire, having s saidi t i ,, been annexe a ver t ya d early e periolatteth o t rd e Legislatureth f o t Ac count n , a obtaine y yb d throug e influench th Cheynese th f o e . the hereditary sheriffs of Banff, who were naturally desirous to have their family domains within their own jurisdiction."—B^Khan, ]>p. 163-4. 3 Buchan, . 162-3 Churce pp Th .Inverugif ho bestowes ewa Arbroatn do h Abbey

by Ralph de Neyon early in the thirteenth century ; v. Trails. Euclian Field Clubf vol. i. p. 90. TRACES OF THE CULTUS OF ST FERGUS IN SCOTLAND. 451

4. Glamis.—The Forfarshire parish of Glamis seems to have been specially identified with St Fergus. In the Aberdeen Breviary the 17th November is given as the festival of St Fergusian, bishop and confessor—the distinguished patron of Glamis (" Sancti Fergusiani Epyscop t confessorie i s patroni insigni e Glammis")d s ; e whilth n i e Martyrology of Aberdeen, under date "XVIJ Kl' Decembris," we read: " On the same day in Scotland at Glamis, St Fergus, the bishop, flourishes" ("Eodem die in Scocia apud Glammis floret Fergusius episcopus Sanctu e schurc ").Th 1 h dedicate y Bishob d p Davie d d Bernha n mi 124 2 was, accordin o Jervise,t g 2 crucifor n i mshape . Its south transept—the only portion remaining—now forms the burial aisle of the Earls of Strathmore. In the parish is a cave associated with St Fergus, and a spring bears his name. Eegarding the latter, Mr A. J. Warden remarks finA " : e spring, rising fro mroca littlka e beloe wth f Glamiso n churce lowe s de stilth i , e n rli h th parknow t f S o t s a n Fergus's Well. The fountain is within the grounds of Glamis Castle, and the Earl of Strathmore has formed a path leading to it, and provided the means for partaking of the cooling and refreshing water of the perennial spring/'3 Bishop Forbes mentions that the statement in the Aberdeen Breviary tha Abbon a t Sconf o t e carried of t Fergus'fS ss monaster heahi o t d s i y confirmed by an entry in the Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer regardin gsilvea rt i orderecas r e fo Jame y b d s IV.4 This entry, how- ever, I have failed to find in the Accounts in question; but the follow- ing entry occurs under date llth October 1504, "IteKingie th mo t s offerand to Sanct Fergus hede in Scone xiiijs." Two years later, on the 27th September e Kinth , g mad n additionaa e l offerin f eighteeo g n shillings. The Abbots of Scone were, ex officio, prebendaries of the

Cathedra5 l of Caithness. Was it some tradition of St Fergus's work in 1 Proceedings Society e oth f f Antiquarieso f Scotland,o . 27]p vol . .ii . 2 Antiquities of Glamis, , an5 d. p Epitaphs, vol. ISOp . i .. 3 Angus, vol. iii. pp. 306-307. 4 Calendars of Scottish Saints, p. 337. 5 Accounts, vol. ii. p. 265 ; vol. iii. p. 283. 2 45 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH K O S , Al'RI , 190411 L .

the North that induced this particular Abtot to treat with such respect the relics of our saint ? n Inventora n I f booko yd othean s r valuables belongine th o t g Cathedral Church f Aberdeeo ' 1464n ni e followinth , g occurs :—"Item brachium argeriteum Sancti Fergusi ossibum cu i s ejusdem,"1 i.e.e th silver -arm of St Fergus with the bones of the same. This was a reliquar n arme d a probablfor th f an , mo n i y ye resembleth n i e on d Church of Tongres in Belgium, of date circa 1300, representing the arm t hanLawrencd S an f do e fro e elbomth w upwards.2 Fro ma visitatio n e Treasurth of f Aberdeeo y n Cathedra n i 151l e 8learw n thae th t reliquary containing the arm-bones of St Fergus-was adorned with precious stones. In an Inventory of Cathedral valuables in the year 1549 the following entry occurs in what is certainly not Ciceronian Latin :—" Brachium diui Fergusiani argento co-opertum absque hostiolo cum aliquibus lapidibu qualed sse s ignoratur ponderis octodeeim vnciarum cum climediata creditnr deuotione populi aut rectoris de Skeyne ant Dyise donatum." 3 This entry may be thus translated:—"The arm of St Fergus covered with silver without the hostiolum (whatever that was), with certain stones, but of what kind is not known, of weight eighteen s believei ouncea half t I d hav.o an t sd e beene giveth y b n devotion of the people or of the rector of Skene or of Dyce." That e rectoth f Dyco r e should have been intereste r e cultusou th f n o i d t surprisingno saine s lattes i th s patrochurchtit r wa rf fo o n; . Indeed, e paristh . f Dyco s hformerl wa e y e knowChapeth s f a no l Sfc Fergus, near Moss-Feetach.4 In the estuary of the South Esk, near Montrose, is Inchbrayoch, where once stoo Churce dth t Brioc S f ho . Dependen e churcth n o th wero etw chapels, said, according to Jervise, to have been dedicated to St Mary

1 Hegistrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, . 160 p vol . .ii . 9 This reliquary is described and figured by Reusens in liis Elements d'Archeologie Chretienne, vol. ii. p. 373. St Columba's hand was kept in a gold and silver reliquary. Vide Skene's Celtic Scotland, vol. iii. p. 404. 3 Eegistrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, . 182 p vol . ii .. 4 Old Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xiii. p. 81. E CULTU TRACET FERGUS TH F F O O SSSCOTLANDN I S . 453

and St Fergus.1 " There was also S. Fergus' well, and in the old maps . FerguS s marke e burial-placdth e Scottth f Ulishaven.f eo so " 2 The Inverness-shire parish of Dalarassie, now united to Moy, is thought by Shaw3 to be an altered form of Dale Fergusie, which he interprets as Fergus's Valley, though it ought rather to be Fergus's field, from Gaelic Da.il, a field or portion of land. Jervise is inclined to accept Shaw's etymology, and to hold that St Fergus was the patron of e pre-Reformatioth n church n I Kirkmichae. l parish, Banffshire, is Knockfergan, i.e. the hill of St Fergus, from Gaelic Cnoc, a hill. On its south-east sid s Fergai e n Well, formerly much frequente s supit r -fo d posed healing virtues. An annual fair, known as the Well Market, used to be held beside the spring. On one occasion a fight took place abou a cheeset n consequenci d an , e markeeth s transferrewa t e th o t d neighbouring village of Tomintoul, where it continues to be held. The foundation e boothsale e f th faigoodth o e th f r ro s t sfo a wer s e visible till quite lately in the neighbourhood of the spring. According to a curious tradition, Fergan Wel s oncmiraculousls n wa Italywa i le t bu , y transferred to its present site in the Highlands of Scotland. Does not this traditio nt Fergus' S poin a confuseo t n i ty s wa dvisi o Romt t e when he attended the Council there in 721? There is a Loch Fergus in Ayrshire, and there was another, now drained, in Kirkcudbrightshire; but probably neither derived its name from our saint. The Kirkcud- brightshire example, according to Sir Herbert Maxwell,4 recalls Fergus, Lord of Galloway in the twelfth century, who had a castle on an island lakee inth .

1 Proceedings Societye oth f of Antiquaries f Scotland,o . vol459p . .ii . 2 Kalendars of Scottish Saints, . Fergus.v . s 3 Province of Moray, p. 97. 4 Studies in Galloway Topography, p. 241.