I.

NOTICE ANCIENTH F EO T T FILLANRIGHBELE S TH F LTO v EEVB . . A. P. FORBES, D.C.L., BISHOP OF BEECHIN. visia Lorn o t to Whes d Crawforwa nI t Dunechda t this autumnI , me Englisn ta h gentleman, with whom I entere d into conversatioe th n no subject of the Early Scoto-Irish Church. He stated that in the house of a relation of his in Hertfordshire there was preserved St Fillan's Bell, which .the fathe f thao r t relation, partl n froli i yd partl an c o abatyt stilea l existing f superstitionAugusto h 9t n i ,r o carried h ha , 8t d e awayth n o , yeae th r 1798 subjoie W .foo a n ti not extracn ea t fro journae mth l of this gentleman, not only as giving an account of the circumstances under whic takens bele hth wa l s valuabl,it bur fo d accuratet an e historical 266 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 10, 1870.

information ! > He added, that the family was not anxious to retain posses- sion of it, to which I replied that it ought certainly to be sent back to . The result "was that the bell was handed over to the custody of the Earl of Crawford and myself, and it is to-night exhibited on the e Societytablth f eo . St Lilian's bell has been preserved by this gentleman's family up to this day—Octobe , 186924 r . In the " Old Statistical Account," vol. xvii. p. 377, there is a note to 1 " Aug. , 1798.—Arrive9 t Tyndrada o'clock4 y mb . Rode, after dinner, witha guide to the Holy Pool of Strathflllan. Here, again, is abundant cause for talking of the superstition of the Highlanders. The tradition avers that St Fillan, a human being who was made a , about the beginning of the eighth century, by Robert de Bruce, consecrated this pool, and endued it with a power of healing all kinds of diseases, but more especially madness. This virtue it has retained ever since, ami s resortei crowde y neighbourinb th f o t do s g peasantry eitheo wh , r expece b o t t cure reaf do l diseases r suppos,o e themselves cure imaginarf do y ones. This healing virtue is supposed to be more powerful towards the end of the first quarter of the moon; and I was told that if I had come there to-morrow night and the night after I should have seen hundred f boto s h sexex s si t fiv bathinr poolo ee me th I .n gi who were just coming away from taking their dipamongsd an , t the unfortunatmn a e r mind camhe o f o wh ,e girt froou l m thirty miles' distanc receivo et benefite eth f o s beed waterse ha th n d therefoan , r several moons together neved ha t r derive,bu e dth smallest advantage, and, indeed e appearesh , completelo s d y mad, that whatever virtue t Fillan'math S e f yeb o s surPoolm a e I ,Willi s would pronounce e herb o st a hopeless case. A rocky point projects into the pool. This pool is by no means fountaie th nwatee th head r r fo run,t e countryno th s s froi p t u mlona y ye ; gwa supposed to receive this virtue till it comes to the very place [Strathflllan derives its name from the saint—strath, in the Gaelic language, signifying a plain between two mountains. Near Strathflllan a famous battle was fought between King Robert de Bruce and the MacDouglass, which the former gained, owing to the assistance affordeprayere t th Fillan] S y f b do s , on.one n sid f whicho me e e th , e othe e th women th n r batheo d . an , Each person gather ninp sn e stonee th n si poold aftean , r bathing, walk a hil o lt s neae waterth r , where ther e threar e e cairns, round each of which he performs three turns, at each turn depositing a stone; bodily an r y fo pain s i t i , f fracturei d an d limb r soro , e that the e bathingyar , they throw f thes o upo e enon cairn s that par f theio t r clothing which covere e pardth t affected; als f thei o y hav t homa e beas y an e t tha s diseasedi t , they have onlo yt bring some of the meal which it feeds upon, and make it into paste with these waters, and afterwards give it to him to eat, which will prove an infallible cure; but they must likewise throw upon the cairn the rope or halter with which lie was NOTICE OF THE ANCIENT BELL OF ST FILLAN. 267 this effect:—" Ther bela s ei l belongin Chapee t Fillath S o f gt o ln that was in high reputation, among the votaries of that saint in old times. It somf o seem e eb mixeo st d metalabous i t I foooblon.ta n a tf higho gd an , form t a gravestonI usuall n . o e church-yardy th yla n ei . Whed nma people were brought to be dipped in the Saint's Pool, it was necessary to perform certain ceremonies whicn i , h mixturthera s ewa Druidisf eo d man Popery. After remaining all night in the chapel, bound with ropes, the bell was set on their head with great solemnity. It was the popular opinion, that f stoleni , t wouli , d extricat thief'e th ef so itsel t handsou f , and return home, ringinwaye th .l gal For some time pas bele s th t ha l been lockepreveno t , dup beins it t g use superstitiouo dt s purposes." "JSTee Th w Statistical Account" (No., Perthshire44 , 1088), gives more led. Consequentl cairne yth coveree sar d withaltersd ol h , gloves, shoes, bonnets, nightcaps, rags of all sorts, kilts, petticoats, garters, and smocks. Sometimes they throo t s wa awar fa gs yoa their halfpence. Mone s ofteyha n been calle rooe dth t disease th r whaf fo l evile o t al f bode tbu , parth f yo tthes e innocent halfpence ar e thus abused I could not learn. However, we may venture to suppose that they sel- dom remain there long without somebody catching the disorder again. When mad people are to be bathed they throw them in with a rope tied about the middle, after which the takee t Fillan'S yar o nt s Church, abou mila t e distant, where thera s ei large stone wit a hnic k caive t jusi n ti d large enoug receivo ht e them thin I s. stone, which is in the open churchyard, they are fastened down to a wooden frame- work, and remain there for a whole night, with a covering of hay over them, and St Fillan's bell is put over their heads. If in the morning the unhappy patient is found loose, the saint is supposed to be very propitious; if, on the contrary, he con- tinu bondsn ei cure th ,suppose s ei d doubtful. Thi vera s f belyo curious li s shape, n iroa s n ha tongue d t an FillaS . thio t n y s cause fl soldiea churc o d t t dan i r h; aire seeinth , , whicfiren it i t t gda i h brough t downi t occasioned an , greada t crack in it, which is still to be seen. I was told that wherever this bell was removed to t alwayi s returne a particula o t d re churchyar placth n i e d next morning. This churc bees hha n formerly twic nows i larg s t appears ea i a ,e rui s e a th whaf no y sb t s beeha n pulled down—a strikin gdecrease prooth f o f e eithe f populatioo r f o r no religio thin ni s country orden I .ascertai o t r trute n th falsehoor ho ridicue th f do - lous t storFillan'S f yo s bell I carrie, t ofmead i f an conve wito , nt posf i hme , y-it sible Englando t , . womanAd nol observeo wh , d wha I wat s about, aske whae dm I t wanted with the bell, and I told her that I had an unfortunate relation at home s mind hi thad ouf an I o ,twante , o havbut,curedt dm Oh hi e' ' say. s she, musu use.o yo n ' t f brin' e cured o t herb wili m Upoe o r ghi b t elo , n whichI told her he was too ill to be moved, and off I galloped with the bell, back to Inn."—Extract from a Journal of a Tour in Scotland. 8 26 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , JANUARY 10, 1870.

details about the treatment of the mad people, stating that the ceremony was performed after sunset on the first day of the quarter, old style, and before sunrise next morning; thae dippeth t d persons were instructe tako dt e three stones from the bottom of the pool, and walking three times round three cairns on the bank, to throw a stone at each. They were tied to St Fillan' st Fillan' bedS n i , s chapel l nightal , f founI . d morne loosth n ei - ingcure deemes th ,ewa d perfect e AccounTh . t say—"Tho t goe n o s e bell referre lasn i to dt Accoun abous handbellsize a wa t s f th te o wa d an , an ancien tchapel.e stole Englisn s .relia th wa f y c o nb t I h. antiquarian forty years ago. Popish tradition endowed it with the power of returning to its resting-place; but it would seem England is deemed a congenial home." A religious cultus, survivin longo gs , naturally suggest questione sth s I , anything known historically of St Fillan ? To answer this question we must e Irisappl Scottisd th han o yt h Hagiologial writers. Colgan (Acta Sanctorum Hib. . 104,p , ) gives nineteen saint thif so s whof nameo e mon , was a celebrated Continental martyr, the brother of St Fursey of Peronne, and of St Ultan, whose acts are to be found in Capgrave's ISTova Legenda, folio cxlix., and in Colgan, p. 99, and who was killed at Hainault, in A.D. Scottise th t 655Bu h . sain thif o t s name mus eithee b t saine rth t whoso commemoratio founs ni dScottise botth n Irisd hi han h Kalendare th n so 9t Januaryf ho saina r e 20to ,t th f June ho s whosi y , da e" Faolae nth Stammerer f Eath-Errao , f Cilln Albao ni d :Fhaelaian ; Laoighin ni n i s Leinster, of the race of Aenghus, sou of JSTadfracch, i.u. King of Monster " (Martyrology of Donegal, p. 175). Colgan calls him Leprosus." The origina s Amlobari l . Probabl firse thesf th o t s i e t yi . According to Colgan (vol. i. pp. 49, 50), the oldest record of him is in the Mar- tyrology of Angus the Culdee. His name occurs in that of Tallaght, of Marian German, in the Kalendar of Cashel, and in that of Cathal Maguire; Martyrologe th Donegaf yo l epitomise l tharecollectes n sal i twa m hi f do in the seventeenth century—" Faelan of Cluain Maosgna in Feara- tulach." We have to apply to the Scottish authority of the Breviary of Aberdeen for more details concerning him; and the life of his mother, Kentigerna, of Inch Caelliacb, in Loch Lomond, further supplements our knowledge. Briefly, then, Felanus, Foilanus, Fillanus, Faolan, Foelanua, or Foelan (commemorated in the Irish and Scottish Kalendars on the 9th January), NOTIC THF EO E ANCIEN9 26 T FILLANT BELS F LO . f Feradaco n so r waFeriathe o h sth a noblema, n probabl race th f eo f yo Fiatach Finn, by Kentigema or Quentigerna, Caentigern or Coentigern, daughte Kellaof o r h Cualann, kin Leinsterf go sisted t CongaS an , f ro f no Turriff and Lochalsh. St Fillan's epoch is determined by the dates of his mother and maternal grandfather, who died respectively in A.D. 734 and A.D. 715, by the fact of his being educated by St Ibar, and by his receivin monastie gth c habit fro t MunnamS s knowi e saino th ,n i nwh t Ireland as St Fintan-Munna MacTulcain, who died in 635, and whose nam s preservei e Kilmunn di e Holth yn o ,Loch n Argyleshirei , e W . therefore must reject Camerarius's date of 649, and place him a little afte commencemene th r eighte th f o th century. We cannot determine in what of St Munnu St Fillan was trained r LanigaD . n throws discredi accounte th n to s that givm ehi any other monastery than Taghmun, in the county of Wexford. He is calle t MunnudS f Kilmuno , Dissertd e Breviardan th n i , Aberdeenf yo . Disser e Deser e understan th Dysarty t Serfth w S f e I f ma no b to t, e w , d how St Fillan's name should be preserved in the nomenclature of his cave, a little farther to east of , in ; but the chief scene of his uplande th labourn i Perthshiref s so swa parise th f Killinn hi o , . There we fina strat rivea dd han r called after him; ther fine ew a dchurc h dedicate o e himdiiferenct d th r .f o fo 'Nay, f pedigrey t o e da bu d an e commemoration, the proximity of Strathearn to Killin suggests the pro- bability that Faolan the Stammerer is the same with the saint of whom we are treating, inasmuch as it is said of him that he was born with a mouths stonhi n ei , which cause fathes dhi throo t r intm e poowhi oth l of water, where he was guarded by angels till St Ibar brought him out and baptised him. Eatherran is Dundurn, in the parish of Comrie, near whicvillag e t Fillanth S s f hi eo ; ther s alsei oKillallaa Eenfrewn i - shire (Reeves' "Adamnan," Life of Gdlumba, p. Ixxiv.), and a place of worship dedicated to him at the chapel yard, parish of Largs, (Orig. Paroch. . 89.volp . i ). Again fine w d, trace Fillat S f so n farthe s uncle hi rlif e f northth eo , n I . St Congan, in the Breviary of Aberdeen, it is said that he fled from Ire- land to Lochalsh, in northern Argyle,—a description of the locality which incidentally proves the antiquity of the authority from whence the nar- rative is taken, for it afterwards was termed Koss-shire, on the occasion 270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 10, 1870. -

of Alexander II. granting it to the Earl of Boss. There St Fillan built a church to the honour of his uncle; and true enough, at the present day, Kilkoan and Killellan, the churches of Congan and Fillan, bear testi- mony to the fact. The proximit Pittenweemo yt , wher e saint'eth s cave, already alluded showns i , to , would accoun t PhillanS r fo t s bein alternative gth e namf eo parise th Forgaf ho Fifen ni , thoug parise hth h aftechurcn a rd dedihha - cation to St Andrew, as we see by a confirmatio of Pope Adrian-IV. given in the " Eegistrmn Prioratus et St Andrew," p. 51. estimatioe Th whicn ni t FillaS h s hel n Scotlanwa i d s greatldwa y supposes enhance wa pare e th h o thavt dy b de victore taketh n f i nyo Bannoekburn. Boece gives the legend hi Latin, but I prefer to read it to you in the racy Scottish of Bellenden :— " All the nicht afore the batall, K. Robert was right wery, having great solicitude for the weill of his army, and micht tak na rest, but rolland al jeopardeis and chance of fortoun in his mind ; and sometimes he went to his devut contemplayon, making his orison to God and Saint Phil- lane, qhuai se believit h n armsilveri e cai s s closia an t s, wa se ,n , i t withi s palyeonnhi ; trustin e betteth g r fortun gaminfolloe o t eth i wb . e menth en I time e caith ,s clakki o suddenlyt t t onbu y, motior o n werk of mortal creaturis. The preist astonist bi this wonder went to the altar quhere the cais lay; and when he found the arme in the cais, he cryit, Here is ane great mirakle; and incontinent he confessit, how he brought e tumth e feile th caid n i sdredone d tha rellie th t k soltine b dthn i t e field, quher greie esa t jeopardeis apperit. kine Th g . rejosin thin gi s mira-

kell, pas remanene th t t nich t s praj'ariinhi s witesperaned gu h f vico e - tory."— Bellenden s1 Boece, vol. ii. p. 391. Ed. 1821. It was to the " merakle of Sant Phillane" that the king alluded in his speech befor e battleeth , after that Mauritius, abbo f Inchaffrao t y (the Insula Missaru Stratherne),mn i "d motee saiha 'd hi de an , massan n o e ministre Eucharis e nobillis.s th t hi Fillat kin e S d th th f ge I an no b t et" Faolan of Eatherran, we here see a reason for this particular being brought into the camp; and it will be recollected that Killin, the special seat of the cultus of the saint, was a church under the jurisdiction of Inchaffray. Anothe rt FillareliS f co n still exists, viz. Coygeraoe th , r pastorao h l staff of the saint, which lias been preserved to this day. There is a curious NOTICE OF THE ANCIENT BELL OF ST FlLLAN. 271

s custodaccoun it e thirn inques th a o t f d n o i s yta volumte th f o e " Spalding Club Miscellany, " alse . 237prefp o Se . xxid p .Pro . an . - ceedings Soc. Antiq. Scot. vol. d platiii.an epag3 a xxvi 23 r e fo . description and figure of the crosier. It is a happy accident that both the bell and the bacul of St Fillan should have been preserved. These were commonesth e t e relicth f so Irish saints t Ternan'S . s bell is legen e Breviaralhidee th th n f di o o dt y of Aberdeen. In the same venerable authority is the account of the miracu- lous formatio t MolocuS f tha o nf o t s (Jun extracn a en i 25) td fro;an m Giraldus Cambrensis, given at the end of the notice of Killin, in the " Old Statistical Account," these two objects are mentioned as the objects of veneratio earle th yf n o saints . " Thi spassee b mus t dno t over, thae th t people of Ireland and Scotland, as well as those of Wales, hold in great honou e saintsth r ' bells, hand-bells (campana, bajulas), d pastoraan l staves, curveuppee th t a dr partd formean , f goldo d , silver brassr o , o s , that they fear to take oath on these and to perjure themselves more than the upoo yd Gospelse nth r contemnerFo . f thesso e ofteear n punished b ycertaia n hidde divind nan e power implante themn da i y wels b a , s a l certain vindictiveness of which these saints seem exceedingly susceptible." The element of the " vindicta, cujus prsecipue sancti illi appetibiles esse videntur" is constantly illustrated in the lives of Irish saints. In the Martyrolog f Donegayo . 445)(p l ; speakin t MaoltuileS f go s saii t di , " His bacul works miracles on perjurers before they go out of the church. His well, and his yellow bell, and his bacul, and his statue are there still." All writers on Irish antiquities allude to these, e.g., Dr Petrie, who has writte a ntrac t upo e Quadrangulath n r Bells d refer an ,o the t s m speciall Houne wors th hi n ko n ydi Tower r ReeveD d gives s san ha ; s nu a valuable monograp a collectiot Patrick S bele n f o th o l d n f ho o an n , possessioe bollth n Anglicase i th f no n Archbisho Armaghf po . e mosth Indeedf to curioue on , s form f Celtio s c tenur thas ewa t con- nected wit hereditare hth y custod f theso y e belld baculsan s . Because certain oaths were sworn upon these in the rough justice of the tribal earle th lif f yo e Scots , certain lands came assigneb custodiee o et th o dt s of them. Tho lands of the Kirktown of Strowan are held by the posses- r siobellStuara D f nalludes o . ha s tprefac docue hi thio th dt n o i s-t e 272 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 10, 1870.

ments connected with the Coygerach, and calls to remembrance that Mi- Joseph Eobertso d directednha attentio remarkable th o nt e fact thae th t t Lola t belKessoS e bel S f th f o ln o ld wergan e included amon feudale gth investiture Earldoe th f alss so Perthf ha mo o e showH . n tha possese th t - sion of the bell of St Kentigern gave origin to the armorial bearings of that city (Libr. Coll. IN". D. Glasg xxv.. .p , cit. Spalding Club Misc. vol. iii. thad pref t Medan'ad S t y . xxiii.ma sI belcertai)d ha l n lands attached to it which constituted part of the dowry of the Countess of Airlie; and tha villaie th tdiscreditablo s ns Moyerwa o judiciae wh ,y th mixen i lp du murde Archbishof ro p Oliver Plunke Popis e time th th f et o h a t plots wa , hereditare th mose th f tyo precioukeepee on f o r s relict PatrickS f so . The following are extracts from the Inventory of the Earl of Airlie's Charter Saino t s sa t Medan :— " Instrument dated within the Castle of Airlie on 5th June 1447, on a Resignation Michaey b l DaviBele th Sainf f lo d o t Medan Tenan s whicf ,o wa hereditard e hh tan y possessor, int hande r Johoth Si f nso Ogilv Luntrothynf yo , Knight e Superioth , f ro said Bell, after which the said Sir John gave. the Bell with ita pertinents to Lady Margaret Ogilvy, Countess of Moray, his Spouse, for hor liferent use. "Witnesses— r WalteSi r Ogilv f Deskfordo y , James Ogilvy, William Cargy f Lasingtouno l , Esquires; Duncan Stronach, Senior, and Duncan, Junior, his son, burgessis of Monro s; Patric Fentoe kd Edward nan d Pedy, with many others. " Instrument of Sasine in favour of Margaret Ogilvy, Countess of Murray, wife of r JohSi n Ogilv f Luntrethinyo , Knight Provisioa f r o favour, he n i n . Sasins ewa given by James Ogilvy, Brother German of the said John at Luntrethin, near the Church, at the House or toft belonging to the Chaplainry of St Medan. The symbols of delivery were the giving of earth and stone, and the shutting of the Lady into the said house, all others being first put out, 18th July 1447."

Tho bell of St Fillan is very similar to the Eonnell bell at Birnie, but not so large. It is 12 inches high, four-sided like most of the ancient bells, 9 by 6J inches, with a handle of which more hereafter. It has been cracked, and there is a hole at the top which greatly impairs the sound. ' The present tongue of iron is of recent manufacture, probably since it went to England. It will be observed that the part worn by the ancient clapper doe t corresponsno d wit presene hth t tongue t musI . t have been rung by being beaten by some object that worked on a pivot outside of weigh o Ibsbele 8 th Th s . i l f compositios 1o t4it . it oz.d an , mixea s ni d t riveteno s metali d t togetherI . t cas onbu n ,i t e piece. NOTICE OF THE ANCIENT BELL OF ST FILLAN. 273

The handle, however, is the most remarkable part of the bell, for there we find twice repeate e well-knowdth n heathen emble e phallusth f mo . (See annexed woodcut, figs. 1 and 2.) This symbol has, I believe, never hithert e Scoto-Irisoth beef o ny founan h n metal-worki d , althouge hth

Fig. 1. The Bell of St Fillan (12 inches high). Fig. 2. Enlarged View of Handle of Bell.

men-hire cultuth f o s , e whicsamth stone n i es i h , still survives among the cognate race in Brittany. I have seen at D61, in that country, the f theso e e on fooe tal f corth fiela o tl t n stonesnda i , crowned indeey b d the cross, crushed by the knees and feet of the votaries, who came there to be cured of sterility. That this for f nature-worshimo p prevaile n Scotlandi d Irelandan d n whai te calle b use o t d Druidical times s certaini , ; indeeds i t i , common not only to all the Indo-European races, but even prevails in the Semitic family,—the Asherah, or, as it is translated, the grove, in S VOL. VIII. PAR . TII 274 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 10, 1870. authorisee th d English versioBible th f eno bein thif go s nature, though Dollinger associates this rather wit devotioe hth e femal th o t ne goddess Astarte. In India the Linga is connected with the Sivaite sect; and one subdivision of these, the Jungums, who wear the badge in a silver box, are the puritans of the East. Their code of morals is preserved in e verseth Vemanaf so . The policy of the Mediaeval Church, when it was strong enough, was to cast down and to root out such symbols. Sometimes, however, the local regard for them was too great, and then they were consecrated to the use of the new religion. I have no doubt that many of the ruder sculp- tured stones in Scotland are of heathen origin. Sometimes we see the cross marked on them, manifestly as an after thought, as in the case of tha t TJlbstca t r (Stuart, vol plat. .i e , therefore xi.)is t I . mooa , t question whethe t Fillan'S r s bel Christias i l pre-Christianr no . My learne d accomplishean d d friend, Lord Crawford, entertaine th s notion tha bele th tl belong Christiao st n times, becaus doubte eh s whether such bells were in use before the extinction of publicly professed paganism. In a letter addressed to me, he says,— "This symbol carries the antiquity of the bell back to a very distant periodlino t t witkseeme i d m han , o st paga n antiquity—not tha thinI t k it pagan, but Christian. The phallus (derived from the root found in Sanscrie th t bal-a, strength e Semitith , Pelasgiae cth lid,d an n poll-ere and vol-ere) was the symbol of health, life, regeneration, and thus attri- bute o Baat d l (th er Belinos) Celtio l cBe , among ancient deities. Tak- ing thie ornamensth factd .than n e ,sanitaro o tet th belle d us an y, which it was put till seventy years ago, together, it appears to me, either thaornamene th t employes wa t d designedl indicato yt virtue eth e always indeed suppose resido dt bellsn ei r thao , t such virtu supposes ewa a n di peculiar degree to belong to this particular bell from the ornament upon it, at a time when the phallus symbol was still believed to possess the powe repellinf ro g evi Scotland n symboItalye li n i lon o Th s d gt .di i ls ,a may appear strange as a Christian one, and yet, what is stranger, and what may illustrat beliefy em s designedl, thawa t i t t (althougypu vera n hyi modes d out-of-sighan t tt Fillan'wayS n o ) se usage bellth s i , that pre- vaile t Iserniada e kingdo th n i ,f Naples mo e ,th f tilo ld nearlen e yth last century d whican , h 'perhaps exists still—and this wit e fulth hl NOTICE OF THE ANCIENT BELL OF ST FJLLA.N. 2 11>

sanction of the Church—the usage, namely, of presenting and consecrating votive offerings of simulachra of this description moulded in wax,1 in gratitude for recovery from illness, to the two medical saints, St Cosmas an t DamiaiiS d t theia , r shrine theree verTh y. name a Filla s ha n curious resemblanc Belinaso et surpriseshoulI e b d t ,an t Milan' dno S f di s feast was fixed by the early missionaries on some day sacred on the spot to the pagan god, for the purpose of superseding his worship." With much admiratio thir fo ns learne ingenioud an d s speculationI , cannot bring mysel o believt f e tha t Milan'S t produce s th bel s i f lo t Scoto-Irish hands Christian i , n times I believ. e either tha t belongi t o st the Bronze period anterior to Christian times, or if Christian, that it has been imported from southern lands, where the heathen ideas living on into Christian times were expresse n mordi e definite forms. Whe- re nI member that neithe sculpturee beautifue th th n f o ro y ldan stonesn o r no , bronze cambutas, shrines, or bells of the ancient Irish Church, is there any trac indicatior eo thif no s symbol I ,canno t bring mysel believo ft e that such a bell so ornamented would be fabricated in the eighth century in Ireland or Scotland. If the work of Celts, it must have a more remote antiquity. There is not the impossibility that it may have been imported from Italy; and it will be borne in mind that St Ternan, according to the legend, received his bell from the Pope. St Teiliao received a bell remarkable for its powers at Jerusalem. It may be, therefore, that the t FillaS bel f o l n came fro ma lan d wher o notion e f coarseneso n s wa s attache e simulachrumth o t de bronzth f d Magno ean ; a Greecid an a Latium, which, perhaps, once was part of the statue of a -Sejanus, may have undergone the possible doom pronounced on it by .Juvenal (Sat. iv. 61), " Fiunt urceoli pelves sartigo patellse," and in the form of this bell have been carried to a distant land, beyond the power of the "immensa Eomanas pacis majestas," to work on the imagination, and to animate the faith of the descendants of the opponents of Agricola. awarem a I , tha n maintainini t e improbabilitth g native th f eyo con- struction of this symbol, I shall be met by the strange story told in the 1 See R. P. Knight's " Account of the Worship of Priapfis in the Kingdom of Naples." 4to. London, 1761. 6 27 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , JANUAR , 1870Y10 .

Chronicle of Lanercost of the doings, or rather mis-doings, of a certain John, the parochial priest of Inverkeithing, in the year 1282, who came to a bad end for introducing a Dionysiac procession in his parish during the Easter week. Not to mention that there may have been much ex- aggeratio a friar' n i ns accoun a secula f o t r priest's evil conducte th , whole story is told (Chron. Lan. p. 109) as something quite exceptional, gatherehavins e it b hina o n t ant ca gs t d a dno bee n traditiona Scotn i l - land. That remains of the older religion maintained themselves till very lately in the Beltane fire and other rites I admit, but in none of the searching canons of the Mediaeval Church (those fertile repertories of condemned practices) do we find in Scotland or Ireland any allusion to this peculiar for f naturmo e worship.