Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 6

ST ANDREWS
property within their domains ; they levied customs ;
and they seem also to have had, at times at all events,
the power of coining money. The archbishops also pre-
sided at synods, controlled the appointment of abbots
and priors, were included with the king in the oath of
allegiance, and took precedence next after the royal
family, and before all Scottish noblemen whatever.
After the Reformation there were three Tulchan bishops,
the last of whom, George Gladstanes, had also from
1610 till his death in 1615 some real ecclesiastical
functions. He was succeeded by the well-known John
Spotiswoode (1615-39), after whose time there was no
archbishop till James Sharpe (1661-79), who was assas-
sinated at Magus Muir, and who was succeeded by
Alexander Burnet (1679-84). Burnet was succeeded by
Arthur Ross (16S4-SS), who was the last of the arch-
bishops till the re-establishment of the titular dignity
by the Roman Catholic Church in 1878. The modern
bishopric in connection with the Episcopal Church was
originally constituted in 1720 as a bishopric of Dnnkeld,
Dunblane, and Fife, but this title was, at the synod
held at Aberdeen in 1844, exchanged for that of Bishop
of St Andrews, Dunkeld, and Dunblane. This see has
been already noticed.
The town, which has been the scene of some of the
most memorable events recorded in Scottish history, is
of great antiquity, and must indeed have originated
soon after the first settlement of the churchmen. The
great creator of royal burghs, David I., granted it a
charter about 1140, the first provost being a Fleming
called Maynard ; but the oldest charter existing is a con-
firmation by Malcolm IV. 'to the burgesses of the
bishop of St Andrews of all the liberties and privileges
which my burgesses have in common over the whole of
my dominions, and at whatever parts they may land.'
This grant of free trade led in 1369 and the following
years to a long dispute with the burgesses of Cupar-
Fife, who had just obtained a charter from David II.,
and who wished to prevent the citizens of St Andrews
from trading within the bounds of Cupar without pay-
ment of customs, but the dispute was settled by parlia-
ment in favour of St Andrews. In 1408 John Reseby,
an Englishman, was burned alive on a charge of heresy,
his chief offence seemingly being his upholding the
doctrines set forth by Wyclif ; and here also perished
in 1432 Paul Crawar or Craw, a German physician,
accused of propagating the doctrines preached by Huss
and Jerome of Prague ; and in 1527 Patrick Hamilton,
lay Abbot of Feahn, suffered the same fate. He was a
young man of great accomplishments and of powerful
family, as he was the son of Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kin-
cavel, and Catherine, daughter of the Duke of Albany,
and a nephew of the Earl of Arran ; but this did not
save him from Archbishop James Beaton and his court,
who, having 'founde the same Mr Patrike many wayes in-
famed wyth heresie, disputing, holding and niaintaynvng
divers heresies of Martin Luther and hys folowers, repug-
nant to our fayth,' therefore declared 'the sayde Mr Pat-
rick Hameltone, for his affirniyng, confessing, and main-
tayning of the foresayd heresies, and his pertinacitie
(they being condemned already by the Church, general
Councels, ^ and most famous Universities), to be an
hereticke/ and so handed him over to the secular power
to be punished, and he was burned in the open space
in front of St Salvator's Church. Within a few years
this execution was followed by that of a young Bene-
dictine named Henry Forrest, who, for the heresy of
declaring that Patrick Hamilton had been put to death
unjustly, was burned 'at the North Church stile of the
Abbey Church of St Andrews, to the intent that all the
people of Angus might see the fire, and so might be the
more feared from falling into the like doctrine.'
In 153S King James V. came here to receive Mary of
Guise, who, says Pitscottie, ' landed in Scotland, at the
place called Fyfeness, near Balcomy, where she re-
mained till horse came to her. But the king was in St
Andrews, with many of his nobility, waiting upon her
home-coming. Then he, seeing that she was landed in
such a part, rode forth himself to meet her, with the
ST ANDREWS
whole lords, spiritual and temporal, with many barons,
lairds, and gentlemen, who were convened for the time
at St Andrews in their best array ; and received the
queen with great honours and plays made to her. And
first, she was received at the new Abbey-gate, upon the
east side whereof there was made to her a triumphant
arch, by Sir David Lindsay of the Mont, lyon-herald,
which caused a great cloud come out of the heavens
above the gate, and open instantly ; and there appeared
a fair lady most like an angel, having the keys of Scot-
land in her hands, and delivered them to the queen, in
sign and token that all the hearts of Scotland were
open to receive her grace ; with certain orations and ex-
hortations made by the said Sir David Lindsay to the
queen, instructing her to serve her God, obey her hus-
band, and keep her body clean, according to God's will
and commandments. This being done, the queen was
received unto her palace, which was called The New
Inns, which was well decored against her coming.
Also the bishops, abbots, priors, monks, friers, and
canons regular, made great solemnity in the kirk, with
masses, songs, and playing of the organs. The king
received the queen in his palace to dinner, where was
great mirth all day till time of supper. On the morn,
the queen past through the town, she saw the Black-
friers, the Gray-friers, the old college and the new
college, and St Leonards ; she saw the provost of the
town and honest burgesses : But when the queen came
to her palace, and met with the king, she confessed unto
him, she never saw in France, nor no other country, so
many good faces in so little room, as she saw tb.p.t day in
Scotland : For she said it was shewn unto her in France,
that Scotland was but a barbarous country, destitute
and void of all good commodities that used to be in other
countries ; but now she confessed she saw the contrary :
For she never saw so many fair personages of men,
women, young babes and children, as she saw that
day ; ' and so ' the king remained in St Andrews the
space of forty days, with great merriness and game, as
justing, running at the lists, archery, hunting, hawk-
ing, with singing and dancing in maskery, and playing,
and all other princely game, according to a king and a
queen.'
After the appointment of Cardinal Beaton to the
archbishopric the city was in 1545 the scene of the
martyrdom of George Wishart, who was burned in front
of the Castle for heresy, an execution that led to the
speedy death of the Cardinal himself in the following
year, when he was murdered by a number of Wishart's
friends. Norman Leslie, eldest son of the Earl of
Rothes, his uncle John Leslie, Kircaldy of Grange, and
others, having, with a small body of followers, obtained
admission to the Castle early in the morning, when the
drawbridge was lowered to admit some workmen, made
themselves quietly and in a very short time masters of
the building, and having succeeded afterwards in forc-
ing their way into the Cardinal's chamber, they put
him to death with their swords and daggers, one of their
number telling him, ere he stabbed him, that the blow
he was about to deal was not the mercenary one ' of a
hired assassin, but the just vengeance which hath fallen
on an obstinate and cruel enemy of Christ and the holy
Gospel.' The workmen and servants who had been
driven out of the Castle had meanwhile raised the
alarm in the town, and ' the provest assembles the eom-
munitie, and cumis to the fowseis syd, crying, ' ' What
have ye done with my lord cardinall ? Whare is my
lord cardinall ? Have ye slayne my lord cardinall ?
Lett us see my lord cardinall ! " Thei that war within
answered gentilye — "Best it war unto yow to returne
to your awin houssis ; for the man ye call the cardinall
has receaved his reward, and in his awin persone will
truble the warld no more." But then more enraigedlye
thei cry, " We shall never departe till that we see him."
And so was he brought to the east blokhouse head and
schawen dead ower the wall to the faythless multitude,
which wold not believe befoir it saw : How miserably
lay David Betoun, cairfull cardinall. And so thei
departed, without Requiem cetemam, and Mequiescat in
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