6—St. Methven.
There are no particulars extant concerning the life of this saint, and it is therefore impossible to determine the time in which he flourished. A church bearing the name of St. Methven formerly stood in the parish of Fowlis Wester, in Perthshire. A fair used to be held there on this day in each year, locally known as St. Methvenmas Market. The day itself was observed as a holiday. Like most of such remains of Catholic merry-makings, the custom has long disappeared.
8—St. Moroc, Bishop.
Some writers maintain that this saint was formerly Abbot of Dunkeld. His name certainly survives in that neighbourhood in Kilmorick, where a spring is called St. Mureach's Well. Another church named after this saint was at Lecropt, near Stirling, and here his {161} body is said by tradition to have been laid to rest. Kilimrack (Beauly) has been sometimes ascribed to this saint, but the more reliable authorities give it as one of Our Lady's dedications. The period in which St. Moroc flourished is not known with any degree of certainty.
St. Gervadsus or Gernadius, Hermit, A.D. 934,
This saint was of Irish nationality. Longing for a life of entire seclusion from the world, he left his native land and took up his residence in Scotland. He is said to have lived many years as a hermit in the province of Moray, and in corroboration of the tradition a cave was formerly pointed out in the parish of Drainie, near Elgin, known as "Gerardin's Cave," it was situated on the height behind the modern Station Hotel at Lossiemouth. For many centuries this habitation was intact. It had an ancient Gothic doorway and window-opening, but these were demolished more than a hundred years ago by a drunken sailor. Since 1870 the whole face of the cliff known as "Holyman's Head," including the cave, has {162} been quarried. No trace now remains of the spring of water there, called "Gerardin's Well," from which the anchorite drank a thousand years ago.
It is said that a monastery was founded by this saint at Kennedar, in the same parish of Drainie where he associated himself with many fellow-soldiers in Christ, and built a church under the direction of angels. The remains of Kineddar Castle, a residence of the Bishops of Moray, may still be seen there. Tradition tells that on stormy nights, the saint was wont to pace the beach below his cell, lantern in hand, to warn off vessels from the dangerous rocks. This is commemorated in the Lossiemouth Burgh seal, which represents the saint with his lantern and bears the motto: Per noctem lux. A Presbyterian church erected at Stotfield (Lossiemouth) in recent years bears the name of "St. Gerardine."
12—St. Machar or Mocumma, Bishop, 6th century.
This saint was the son of Fiachna, an Irish chieftain, and was baptised by St. Colman. In his youth he became a disciple of the great St. {163} Columba, and when that saint went to Scotland, Machar accompanied him, together with eleven other disciples. After some years he was made a bishop, and was sent by St. Columba with twelve companions to preach to the pagan Picts of Strathdon, in the northeast of Scotland. It is said that his holy master commanded him to found a church in the spot where he should find a river forming by its windings the shape of a bishop's pastoral staff. Such a configuration he found in the river Don, at the spot now known as Old Aberdeen. Here he accordingly fixed his seat, and the cathedral that rose from the humble beginnings of a church instituted by Machar now bears his name.
Besides the old Cathedral of Aberdeen, there are in the same county two parishes, formerly joined in one, which are known as New and Old Machar, respectively. At Kildrummie, in Aberdeenshire, is a place called (after the saint) "Macker's Haugh." There is St. Machar's Well, near the cathedral, at Old Aberdeen; the water used always to be taken for baptismal purposes to the cathedral. {164}