Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

ABERDEEN
the proprietor, a rector, and 7 masters. Mitchell's
Hospital stands in the south-western vicinity of the
cathedral, is a one-story edifice, forming three sides of
a square, with garden attached, and was founded in
1801 for lodging, clothing, and maintaining a certain
number of aged widows and unmarried daughters of
decayed gentlemen or merchants or of burgesses of Old
Aberdeen. There are at present 10 inmates.
The magistrates, from the abolition of Episcopacy till
1723, were appointed by the Crown, and from 17*23 till
the passing of the Municipal Act, were elected by their
own predecessors. As already stated, Old Aberdeen was
united to Aberdeen in 1891; but before this the town
council consisted of a provost, 4 bailies, 8 merchant
councillors, trades councillors, and a treasurer. The
magistrates were trustees of £2792intheBritishfundsas
endowment of Dr Bell's school; and some of them shared
in the management of Mitchell's Hospital. The burgh
was ill-defined as to limits, had little property, and no
debts. There were 7 incorporated trades, and the capital
of the guildry was small. Pop. (1851) 1490, (1861)
1785, (1871) 1857, (1881) 2186, (1891) 1951.
Colonel Robertson maintains, in his Gaelic Topography
(1869), that by old writers New Aberdeen was always
discriminated from Old Aberdon ; the former he de-
rives from the Gaelic ab Mr - reidk -an ( ' smooth river
confluence'), the latter from abhir-domhain ('deep con-
fluence '). Such discrimination, however, exists in his
imagination only, the name of both kirktown and sea-
port being written indifferently Aberdoen, Aberdon,
Aberdin, Aberdene, etc., and in Latin oftenest appearing
as A berdonia ; so that one may take it to mean the ford
or mouth of either Don or Dee, according as one assigns
the priority of foundation to Old or New Aberdeen. And
history fails us here, save only that, whilst Old Aber-
deen was possibly the seat of a Columban monastery,
New Aberdeen is certainly not identical with Devana, a
town of the Taexali in the 2d century A.D. , Ptolemy
placing this fully 30 miles inland, near the Pass of Bal-
later, and close to Loch Daven. The earliest mention,
then, of Aberdeen is also the earliest mention of its
see, already referred to on p. 15 ; next in Snorro's Ice-
landic ffeimskringla, we read, under date 1153, how
Eysteinn, a Norwegian kinglet, set forth on a freebooting
voyage, and, touching at Orkney, thence spread his sails
southwards, and ' steering along the eastern shores of
Scotland, brought his ships to the town of Apardion,
where he killed many people, and wasted the city.'
Again, the Orkneyincja Saga records how Swein Asleif's
son went over to Caithness and up through Scotland,
and in Apardion was well entertained for a month by
Malcolm IV., 'who then was nine winters old,' which
places this visit in 1162. Of authentic charters, the
oldest was granted about 1179 by William the Lyon at
Perth, and confinned to his burgesses of Aberdoen the
free-trade privilege enjoyed by their forefathers under his
grandsire David I. (1124-53) ; and William here esta-
blished an exchequer with a mint, and built a palace,
which he bestowed in 1211 on monks of the Holy
Trinity. Alexander II. kept Yule in Aberdeen (1222),
founded its Blackfriars or Dominican priory, and allowed
its burgesses to hold a Sunday market ; during his reign
the town was accidently destroyed by fire (1224). Under
Alexander III. (1249-85) the Castle was built, the burgh
common seal is mentioned (1271), and we first hear of a
provost pr alderman (1284). On 14th July 1296, Edward
I. , in his progress through the realm, came unto Aber-
deen, ' a fair castell and a good town vpon the see, and
tarayed there v. days ;' a little later Wallace is said
by Blind Harry to have burned 100 English vessels in
the haven. Bruce, from his rout at Methven (1306),
took refuge in Aberdeen ; and to this period belongs the
legend how the citizens, waxing hot In his cause, rose
suddenly by night in a well-planned insurrection, cap-
tured the castle, razed it to the ground, and put to the
sword its English garrison. ' In honour,' adds Bailie
Skene, 'of that resolute act,' they got their Ensignes-
Armoriall, which to this day they bear— Gules, three
Towres triple, towered on a double- Tressure counter-
Seal of Aberdeen.
ABERDEEN
flowered Argent, supported by two Leopards propper;
the Motto, in an Eseroll above, their watchword Bon
Accord.' The legend is solely due to Hector Boece's
inventive genius, but
the garrison was
really driven out, and
in 1319 King Robert
conveyed to the com-
munity the royal
forest of Stocket and
the valuable fishings
of the Dee and Don,
with various other
privileges and im-
munities, his ' being
the Great Charter of
the city, from which
it dates its political
constitution. ' In
1333, Edward III.
having sent a fleet to
harry the eastern coast, a body of English attacked by
night the town of Aberdeen, which they burned and de-
stroyed ; in 1336, Edward himself having marched as
far north as Inverness, the citizens stoutly encountered
at the W end of the Green an English force which had
landed at Dunnottar, and slew their leader, Sir Thomas
Roslyne. In vengeance whereof Edward, returning, once
more burned the town, which, being rebuilt on an extended
scale, with material aid from King David Bruce, received
the title of 'New Aberdeen.' That monarch resided
some time in the city, and erected a mint and held a
parliament at it, whilst confirming all his predecessors'
grants; Robert III., too, struck coins at Aberdeen.
During the captivity of James I. and the minority or
James II., the citizens bore arms for their own protec-
tion, built walls around the town, kept the gates care
fully shut by night, and by day maintained an armed
patrol of their own number. In 1411, when the Earl of
Mar collected forces to oppose an inroad of Donald of the
Isles upon the north-west of the shire, Sir Robert David-
son, Provost of Aberdeen, led a band of the citizens to
swell the earl's forces, and fell at their head in the
battle of Harlaw. In 1462 the magistrates entered
into a ten years' bond with the Earl of Huntly, to pro-
tect them in their freedom and property, whilst, saving
their allegiance to the Crown, they should at any time
receive him and his followers into the city. In 1497 a
blockhouse was erected at the entrance of the harbour
as a protection against 'the English. James IV. paid
several visits to Aberdeen; and once, in 1507, he rode
in a single day from Stirling, through Perth and Aber-
deen, to Elgin. Margaret his queen was sumptuously
entertained (1511), as also were James V. (1537) and
Mary of Guise (1556). In 1525 the citizens were attacked,
and 80 of them killed or wounded by a foraging party
under three country lairds ; and in consequence the
town was put into a better state of defence. The plague
raged here in 1401, 1498, 1506, 1514, 1530, 1538, 1546,
1549, 1608, and 1647 ; and on the last occasion carried
off 1760 persons, or more than a fifth of the whole
population. In 1547 a body of Aberdonians fought
with great gallantry at the disastrous battle of Pinkie ;
in the early part of 1560 the city firmly received the
doctrines of the Reformation, and for ' first minister of
the true word of God ' had Adam Heriott, who died in
1574. In 1562, during the conflict between the Earl of
Huntly's and Queen Mary's forces, Aberdeen seems to
have been awed equally by both parties ; but it suc-
cumbed to the queen after her victory at Corrichie, and
at it she witnessed the execution of Sir John Gordon,
Huntly's second son. On 20 Nov. 1571, the Gor-
dons and Forbeses met at the Craibstone between the
city and the Bridge of Dee ; and in a half-hour's fight
the Forbeses were routed, with a loss of 300 men to
themselves, of 30 to the Gordons. James VI. paid visits
to Aberdeen in 1582, 1589, 1592, 1594, and 1600 ; on
these occasions entailing much expense on the citizens,
both in entertainments and in money -gifts. The witch
17