It may be of interest to follow the various stages of Scottish religion from early Celtic times until the Reformation.
“From the days of St Columba up to the 12th century, the old Celtic Church of Scotland preserved its independence; but it had to bow before the onward march of papal usurpation just as the Church of England had done. Their wild nature and their tribal feuds made the Scots a ready prey to the diplomacy of papal embassies when the sister kingdom sought for aid against Norman conquerors, and the Scots allowed the Pope to claim feudal lordship over them that he might help them to keep the English south of the border. The ecclesiastical supremacy obtained by Anselm over the Scottish Church was only temporary, for Pope Clement III. was induced (A.D. 1190) to declare the Scotch Church independent of any authority outside his own. After that the Scotch clergy fell into the worldly minded habits of mediæval Christianity, and many scandalous proceedings were recorded ... until the cry went up in Scotland as elsewhere that the church should be purified. But the Scottish Reformation came like a deluge, sweeping away the good and the bad together, until nothing was left of the apostolic constitution which has descended from the old Celtic Christianity. John Knox ... was the leader of the Scotch Reformers; and the example of England, with which his position as chaplain to Edward VI. had made him familiar, was speedily followed in the destruction of the Scottish monasteries.”—English Church History (Rev. C. Arthur Lane).
In consequence of all this disturbance, many beautiful churches in Scotland were destroyed. To take a solitary case—that of the Carthusian monastery at Perth, which succumbed to the violent attacks of the Reformers in 1559. In this year John Knox returned to Scotland, and urging on his men, who were on the point of defending Perth by force of arms, prevailed upon them to destroy the ornaments, stained glass and statuary of every church in the place, and finally to demolish the monastery. Scott writes: “The example of the reformers in Perth was followed in St Andrews and other places; and we have to regret that many beautiful buildings fell a sacrifice to the fury of the lower orders, and were either totally destroyed or reduced to piles of shapeless ruins.” After the disastrous fall of the roof in 1742 when forty-four persons were killed, the abbey was repaired without the slightest regard to architectural propriety, with unusually unfortunate results. The style is mixed, the doors being round and the windows pointed. Both on the north and south are small chapels which at first sight bear the appearance of transepts. In the south chapel, now the Shandwick burial ground, is a recumbent figure, under a handsomely carved canopy, long supposed to be that of an abbot, but afterwards ascertained to represent a lady of the clan MacKenzie, with a veil over her face. A most peculiar feature of this abbey is the fact that these monastic ruins are simply the result of the fanatic rule of John Knox.
[INCHAFFRAY (Augustine Canons)]
1200, Founded by Gilbert, Earl of Strathern and his Countess—Favoured by many grants from Alexander III.—1314, The abbot accompanies Robert Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn—1513, The abbot slain at Flodden Field.
The low ground on which this abbey stands was once surrounded by water and known as Insula Missarum, or the “island of the masses.” Now, however, it is connected with the mainland and is the property of the noble house of Kinnoul. The records show that many brave men held the office of abbot in this Augustine establishment, in fact that their spirit in some instances was of a very warlike nature. Maurice, the abbot of the period, fought with Bruce at Bannockburn with the arm of St Fillan in a silver casket, a relic to which tremendous importance was attached in those days. It is recorded that many of the dour superstitious Highlanders ascribed their sweeping victory to the presence among them of this precious relic. To the enlightenment and progress of the 19th century the final destruction of this abbey—so nearly total in its effects—is to be attributed; for when the authorities of the district deemed it advisable in 1816 to make a new road in the vicinity of the abbey, the ruined, sacred walls were ruthlessly overthrown, hardly a vestige being left beyond an arched apartment, a gable at the west end of the church, and several other fragments.
[CAMBUSKENNETH (Augustine Canons)]
1147, Founded by David I.—1326, The meeting-place of the first Scots Parliament to which representatives from burghs were summoned—Pillaged during the wars of the Succession—c. 1559, Sacked and destroyed at the Reformation—The land given to the Earl of Mar by James VI.—1709, Purchased by the town council of Stirling.
About two and a half miles from Stirling, and on the north side of the river Forth, lying in one of the many creeks formed by that winding river, is the abbey of Cambuskenneth. All that can be seen now in the green fields, with cows quietly grazing by the river sides, is a sheltered tower of grey stone, the sole remains of what was once a large ecclesiastical house. In 1864, great and important excavations were made, disclosing the foundations of the chancel, nave, transept and chapter-house, showing them to have been of a very considerable size. A few feet from the only remaining part of the abbey is the tomb of James III. and his queen, the Princess Margaret of Denmark. The tomb is railed in and bears this inscription:—
“The restoration of the tomb of her ancestors was erected by Her Majesty Queen Victoria A.D. 1865.