The Episcopal church of Scotland : from the Reformation to the Revolution

Front matter

LIBRARY

PRINCETON, X. ./.

No. Book

Preface

This Volume, derived from Acts of Parliament, Proceedings of General Assemblies, Eecords of Diocesan and Presbyterian Synods, Episcopal and Presbyterian Presbyteries, and numerous contemporary and other Records, is intended to elucidate the History of the Episcopal Church when it was the Ecclesiastical or National Establishment of Scotland. It is designed to illustrate what the Episcopal Church, while connected with the State, really was, and its condition during its contentions with successive generations of adversaries. For this purpose the narrative is divided into Three Books or Parts — I. The History OF THE Titular or Tulchan Episcopate from the Reformation to the Accession of James VI. to the English Crown. II. The History of the Episcopal Church of Scotland from 1606, and especially from the First Consecration in 1610 to the commencement of the Covenanting Rebellion in 1638. III. The History of the Episcopal Church from the Restoration to the Revolution, or from 1661 to 1688. Of the first, or Tulchan Episcopate, the Author has freely expressed his opinion as a miserable and contemptible system, and it is only surprising that the Titulars could have considered themselves true Bishops in any sense, yet aifiple proof is adduced in the following narrative that they did so, and that they endured persecutions and indignities for maintaining their " phantom Episcopate." Nevertheless it served its political and temporary purposes, and as such the Titular Episcopacy must be understood, in developing the progress of ecclesiastical affairs in Scotland previous to the union of the two Crowns in the person of King James VI.

IV

PREFACE.

The Author designs this Work as a contribution to Scottish Ecclesiastical History, and the reader is referred for subsequent details to his " History of the Scottish Episcopal Church FROM THE Revolution to the Present Time " as a continuation of this narrative. It will be seen from a perusal of both volumes, that probably no branch of the Church Catholic has experienced more vicissitudes, or has been more traduced and misrepresented by its enemies, than the Episcopal Church of Scotland, both during its legal establishment and after the Revolution, when it was supplanted by Presbyterianisra. Notwithstanding the depressions, persecutions, and malignant falsehoods against which that Church contended, the treachery of its pretended friends, and the malignant hostility of its Covenanting enemies, whose libelling and assassinating propensities cannot be denied, the Scottish Bishops and clergy maintained the cause of their Chui'ch with dignity and constancy in the most dangerous and eventful times. The present Writer, therefore, submits his Work with confidence to the reader, convinced that he has distorted no fact, and that he has detailed in as temperate language as is possible to be employed, the history of a Church which has never been properly understood by some, and has been assailed by others with all the rancour, hatred, and revenge of sectarian hostility.

Edinburgh, March 1844.

Book I

HISTORY OP THE TITULAR OR TULCHAN EPISCOPATE IN SCOTLAND AFTER THE REFORMATION.

Chat. page I. — Scottish Archbishoprics and Bishoprics at the Reformation, " . . I II. — The Reformation in Scotland and its Consequences — the last Roman

Catholic Bishops, and the first Protestant Preachers, in Scotland, 39

III. — The Superintendent System of Church Government, . . 80

IV. — The Titular or Tulchan Episcopate, 96

V. — The Titular Bishops — their Humiliating Position — Proceedings of the

General Assemblies — their Presbyterian Opponents, . . 12-1

VI. — The Titular Bishops attacked in the General Assemblies, . . 143

VII. — Progress of Presbyterianism, . ..... IG8

VIII. — King James Vl's Contentions with the Presbyterians, . . 202

IX. — Opinions and Practices of the Presbyterians of Scotland at the end of the Sixteenth Century — their Notions of Ordination — Mode of Exercising Discipline — Fondness for Trying and Punishing Cases of Scandal and Licentious Offences — their Tyrannical Proceedings, . . 243

Book II

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF SCOTLAND FROM 1606 TO 1639. Chap.

I.— Establishment of the Church, . . . . 263

II.— Internal State of the Church— Trial of Lord Balmerino— The High Court of Commission — General Assembly — Synods of Fife and Lothian — Consecration of the Scottish Bishops, . . . 297

III. — Peaceful State of the Church — Bishop Cowpar of Galloway — Trial of Ogilvie

the Jesuit — Death of Archbishop Gladstanes, . . 319

IV. — Internal State of the Church — Archbishop Spottiswoode removed to St

Andrews — Changes in the Bishoprics — The See of Orkney — The High Commission — General Assembly at Aberdeen — A Catechism, Liturgy, and Book of Canons, ordered to be prepared — A Confession of Faith approved, . . . . . . 347

V. — King James in Scotland in 1617 — Proceedings during his Visit — Its Results — General Assembly at St Andrews — State of the Assembly — Elevation of Patrick Forbes of Corse to the Bishopric of Aberdeen, 365 VI. — The General Assembly and Five Articles of Perth — Bishop Cowpar's Defence of them — The Controversies which ensued — Conduct of Henderson— Fate of the Records of the General Assemblies, . 390

IV

CONTENTS.

Chat. page

VII. — The Observance of the Perth Articles — Death of Bishop Cowpar — Ecclesiastical Arrangemeuts and Discussions — Meeting of the Scottish Parliament— Its Proceedings — Changes in the Dioceses, . . 408 VIII. — The Episcopal Church at the Accession of Charles I. — Proceedings of the Bishops — History of Teinds in Scotland — The King's Revocation of the Teinds — Its Disastrous Consequences, . . . 426

IX. — Changes in the Dioceses — Irregular Ordination of Presbyterians in Ireland— Internal Affairs of the Church — Coronation of Charles I. at Holyroodhouse — Foundation of the Bishopric of Edinburgh — The First Bishop — His Death — Death of Bishop Forbes of Aberdeen, 445 X. — Discontent in Scotland — Plots of the English Puritans and Scottish Presbyterians— Trial of the Second Lord Balmerino — Bishop Sydserff of Galloway — Calvinism — The Compilation of the Scottish Liturgy — Archbishop Laud's Correspondence with the Scottish Bishops, . 463

XI. — The Scottish Book of Canons and Scottish Liturgy, . . 484

XII.— The Riots at Edinburgh at the First Use of the Liturgy and the Results, 499

XIII. — The National Covenant and the Covenanters, . . . 532

XIV. — The Confederacy against the Church and the Rival Covenant, . 548 XV. — The Glasgow General Assembly, . ... 571

XVI. — Overthrow of the Church — the Aberdeen Doctors — the Solemn League

and Covenant — the Civil War — the Presbyterians sell the King, 604 XVII. — Fanaticism, Oppression, and Craelties of the Covenanting Presbyterians, 035

Book III. The Episcopal Church Op Scotland From 1661 To 1688

Chap.

I. — Preliminaries of the Re-establishment of the Church, . 661

II. — The Scottish Bishops of the Second Anglican Consecration, . 676

III. — The Retaliation, ..... 702

IV. — The Consecration and Public Atfairs, .... 715 V. — Administration of the Church during its Establishment, , 741

VI. — Changes in the Episcopate and State of the Kingdom, . 749

VII.— DitRculties of the Church and Plots of its Enemies, . 769

VIII. — Farther Discouragements of the Church, . . . 789

IX.— The Church and its Opponents, . . . . 810

X. — The Murder of Archbishop Sharp, . . . .836

XI. — The Church and the Covenanters, .... 851 XII.— State of the Church previous to the Revolution, . . 869

Book I. The

TITULAR OR TULCHAN EPISCOPATE IN SCOTLAND AFTER THE REFORMATION.

Chapter I. Scottish Archbishoprics And Bishoprics At The Reformation

After the primitive Episcopacy of the ancient Culdees was subverted, and merged into the Church of Rome, so as to leave few memorials of its existence, the City of St Andrews in Fife was for centuries the seat of the Scottish Roman Catholic Primates, as Maximi Episcopi Scotorum, but the See was not constituted archepiscopal till 1470, during the episcopate of Patrick Graham, the successor and half-brother of the illustrious Bishop Kennedy who founded the University of St Andrews. This mark of distinction appears to have been procured from Pope Paul II. by Bishop Gi*aham when at Rome, to extinguish the claims of superiority over the Scottish Church which had been often asserted by the Archbishops of York, In 1488, Robert Blackadder, who was consecrated Bishop of Glasgow in 1484, procured a Bull from Pope Alexander VI. erecting that See into an Archbishopric, notwithstanding the violent opposition of Archbishop Schevez of St Andrews and other dignitaries. The kingdom was thus divided into two ecclesiastical provinces, at the head of each of which was the Archbishop, whose powers and jurisdiction were defined by Papal Bulls, and ratified by royal charters. The Archbishop of St Andrews was Primate of all Scotland and Metropolitan ; but it does not appear that the Archbishops of Glasgow ever enjoyed the title of Primate, as in the case of the Archbishops of York, who are styled Primate of England, and of the Archbishops of Dublin, who are Primate of Ireland.

The Suffragan Sees of the Scottish Archbishops were subsequently arranged. Those of the Province of St Andrews were Aberdeen, Brechin, Caithness, Dunblane, Dunkeld, Moray, Orkney, and Boss ; those of the Province of Glasgow were Galloway, Argyll, and the Isles. Keith includes Dunblane and Dunkeld among the Suffi-agan Sees of Glasgow as ai)pointed by the Bull of Pope Alexander VI., and omits The Isles ; but this must either be a mistake, or a different arrangement was subsequently effected. The Diocese of St Andrews was of great extent before the foundation of the Bishopric of Edinburgh by Charles I. It included the counties of Fife, Kinross, and Clackmannan, and a large portion of Perth, Forfar, and Kincardine shires, on the north side of the Firth of Forth ; the counties of Haddington, Edinburgh, Linlithgow, and part of Stirling and Berwick shires, on the south side of that river and estuary, stretching towards the English Border ; and a considerable number of parishes, churches, and chapels in other dioceses, belonged to the See. In reference to the Suffragans, the Diocese of Aberdeen comprehended the county of Aberdeen (except six parishes in the district of Strathbogie), twelve parishes in Banffshire, and four in Kincardineshire. It is said that the Bishops of Aberdeen anciently took precedence after the two Archbishops, which was altered in 1633, when Edinburgh and Galloway ranked next to the Archbishops, and the rest according to the seniority of their consecration. Brechin included parts of the t\vo counties of Forfar and Kincardine. Caithness comprised the counties of Sutherland and Caithness. The Diocese of Ross extended over the counties of Eoss and Cromarty, and most of Inverness. That of Moray consisted of the counties of Elgin and Nairn, parts of the counties of Banff and Inverness, and some parishes in Aberdeenshire. The Diocese of Dunkeld comprehended the greater part of Perthshire, some districts in Forfarshire, and some parishes south of the Forth in Linlithgowshire. The Diocese of Dunblane included the west and southern districts of Perthshire, and a small portion of Stirlingshire. The Diocese of Orkney consisted of all the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

The Archdiocese of Glasgow extended over the counties of Lanark, Dunbarton, Renfrew, Ayr, and part of the counties of

AT THE REFORMATION.

Dumfries, Peebles, Selkirk, Eoxburgh, and part of Berwickshire. Some portions of Stirlingshire were also included. The Diocese of Galloway comprehended the ancient district so called, now divided into the counties of Wigton and Kirkcudbright, and part of Dumfries-shire. The Diocese of Argyll contained the county of Argyll and some of the Western Isles. The Diocese of The Isles included the Islands of Bute and An-an in the Frith of Clyde, and most of the Western Islands in the dreary and remote regions of the Scottish Archipelago. The Isle of Man is said to have been anciently a part of the Diocese of The Isles, from which it was disjoined, during the contest between Bruce and BaHol for the Scottish Crown, by Edward III. of England, who made himself master of the island.

A curious arrangement took place in 1508, which was ratified by a Papal Bull that year. It was ordered that in future the Bishop of Galloway, or Whitehorn, as the Diocese was sometimes designated, should be Dean of the Chapel- Royal at Stirling, constituted and endowed by James IV., with " the care of the souls of the King and Queen, along with precedence in the Chapel." The additional title of Bishop of the Chapel-Royal was conferred on the Bishops of Galloway by the King's solicitation, and confirmed by Pope Alexander VI., with all the emoluments derived from the appointment as Dean of the Chapel-Royal.* The first prelate who enjoyed the united bishopric, if that of the Chapel- Royal may be designated, was George Vans or Vans, and the second was James Beaton, successively Archbishop of Glasgow and St Andrews. The prelates who held the united episcopal jurisdiction, after the translation of Archbishop Beaton to Glasgow, were David Arnot, Archdeacon of Lothian, Provost of Bothwell, and Abbot of Cambuskenneth ; Henry Wemyss ; Andrew Durie, Abbot of Melrose ; and Alexander Gordon, who is prominently noticed in the sequel. As to the Chapel- Royal of Stirhng, within the precincts of that Castle, it is said to have represented a more ancient chapel dedicated to St Michael, to which the provostry of the church of St Mary of Kirkheugh, near St Andrews, was annexed about the close of the fifteenth century, before the Chapel-Royal was endowed by James IV. The edifice founded or enlarged by

• Brief Analysis of the Chartularies of the Abbey of Cambuskenneth, Chapel- Royal of Stirling, &c. by Sir John Graham Dalyell, Bart. Edin. 1828, p. 55, 56, 57.

that monarch was demolished by order of James VI., and the present building was erected, probably more extensive, when he resolved to celebrate the baptism of his eldest son Prince Henry in it with great splendour in 1594. The revenues of the Ohapel- Eoyal of Stirling were absorbed after the Reformation, and the accession of James VI. to the English Crown extinguished its importance. The building has been in subsequent times used as an armoury, and for keeping fire-engines and small pieces of artillery. The only memorials long visible were a mutilated wooden crown, ornamented with a border in relief, and the stains of decaying colours. These had survived the wreck of the decorations with which the interior was adorned for the royal baptism, when ambassadors from Denmark, England, France, Holland, Brunswick, and Magdeburg, were present, and the Prince baptised amid a mixture of christian devotion and pagan pantomime. It is clear from the details of the chartulary, that James IV. must have ornamented his episcopal Chapel-Royal in a munificent manner. One of the articles of furniture is a striking clock, " per dominum Jacobum Pettygrew fabricatum and as the inventory was made in 1505, this is the second intimation of a clock striking the hours in Scotland, the first, as is supposed, occurring in 1489. Three organs are described — ^" Tria paria organorum, quorum unum ut de lignis, et duo alii de stanno sive plumbo." Sir John Dalyell observes — " Possibly they were portable." On this conjecture the following statement is curious : — " Most probably not. The very learned authority forgets that at this period music was cultivated by churchmen as a science — that the chanter, whose rank was next to the sub-dean, had no less than sixteen canons under him, and six singing boys, all trained to the Church services, including the solemn requiem for the souls of the departed. Could any thing be more ludicrous than to figure three of the prebends or canons, each grinding away on his portable organ ? Did it not occur to the learned author that the tria paria might include the choir, the great organ, and the swell ? An instrument of this description is now extant in Holland, which was removed from the Cathedral of Glasgow at the period of the Reformation."*

Let us now attend to the Chapters of the several Dioceses as

* The above, written in pencil, on the copy of Sir John Dalyell's " Brief Analysis of the Chartulary of the Chapel-Royal of Stirling," in the Advocates' Library, Edin. p. 69.

they were constituted before and at the period of the Reformation, so far as they arc known, commencing with the metropohtan church of St Andrews. The Diocese included the Deaneries of St Andrews, Fothrick, Gowrie, Angus, Mearns, Linlithgow, Haddington, Dunbar, and the Merse, or Berwickshire. The Archdeacons of St Andrews and Lothian are specified as the principal dignitaries. According to Martinets statement, the Archbishops of St Andrews before the Reformation had no chapter, properly so called, but the Prior and Convent were considered a Chapter, and all acts or confirmations were " testified by appending the Convent's common seal. — Thereafter, the Priorie being erected into a temporal Lordship, it was found needful that the See should not want a Chapter, the former being by this erection supprest, but that some course behoved to be taken for a new one," which was carried into effect in 1G09 and IGl?.*

The Chapter of Aberdeen appears to have varied in number at different periods. In 1256, the statutes enjoined that the number of Canons should be thirteen at least, which was ratified by Bishop WiUiam de Deyn in 13GG ; but in 1382 they had encreased to twenty-two. Between 1448 and 1514, the statutes, which were confirmed or sanctioned by Bishop Elphinstone, intimate that twenty nine persons were either obliged to find vicars, or that so many vicars were considered necessary for the performance of the ecclesiastical duties, to all of whom it is probable that prebends were assigned. Bishop Elphinstone provided in his Constitutions, dated 1506, that to prevent any disputes about the hire of the vicars of the choir of the cathedral church, there shall be twenty vicars of the priesthood in the choir skilled in the Gregorian song for the daily service, two deans, two sub-deans, two accolites, six boys, and the sacrist." The Constitutions of Bishop Peter Ramsay, in 1256, enjoin the Dean to reside the greater part of the year ; the Precentor, Chancellor, and Treasurer, half the year ; and the non-residence of the Archdeacon was allowed on certain days, because it was his duty to go through the diocese, and regulate abuses.f The Bull obtained from Pope Innocent IV. by the same Bishop

• Reliquiae Divi Andreae, or the State of the Venerable and Primatial See of St Andrews, by a true though unworthy Sone of the Church (George Martine), first published in 1683, reprinted at St Andrews in 1797, 4to. p. 39.

t Remarks on the Chartularics of the See of Aberdeen, by Sir John Graham Dalycll, Bart. pp. 14, 15, IG.

that year, ordained the College of Ccanons, founded about 1157 by Bishop Edward in consequence of a Bull from Pope Adrian, to consist of twelve prebendaries, some of whom were appointed dignitaries, and a house, glebe, and garden, were allotted to each in the Chanonry, The Bishop of Aberdeen was rector of the parish of St Nicholas in New Aberdeen ; the rector of the church of Kirktown of Seaton was Dean of the Chapter, the parson of Birse was Chancellor, the parson of Daviot was Treasurer, and the parson of Rhynie was Archdeacon. The other prebendaries were seven, exclusive of the minor canons or vicars-choral, who were presbyters, the singing boys, and the sacrist. But other prebendaries were added by subsequent prelates. Bishop Potton, or Polton, added one in 12G2 ; Bishop Cheyne, four between 1313 and 1328 ; Bishop Alexander Kinninmont I. one in 1330 : Bishop Alexander Kinninmont II. five from 1356 to 1368 ; Bishop Greenlaw, one in 1412 ; Bishop Leighton, two in 1420 and 1424 ; and Bishop Lindsay, two in 1445. The rector of St Peter's Hospital was admitted to the dignity of a prebendary in 1527 by Bishop Dunbar, and was appointed sub-chantor. The twenty vicars-choral, or minor canons, were appointed by Bishop Elphinstone with consent of the Dean and Chapter. The sacrist, who was a priest, was to attend the choir properly vested, along with the other vicars, on holidays and festivals, and cause his beadle to ring the bells on these occasions, and throughout the year. Before the Reformation the Diocese of Aberdeen contained two Cathedrals — Mortlach and Old Aberdeen, and episcopal palaces at Balveny and Old Aberdeen, three episcopal manors, ten religious houses, three collegiate churches, one collegiate chapel, one university of King's college, one grammar school at Aberdeen, and the five Deaneries of Aberdeen, Mar, Garioch, Buchan, and Boyne. The Deanery of Aberdeen comprehended nine parish churches ; that of Mar, thirty-three ; that of Garioch, twenty-two ; that of Buchan, seventeen ; and that of Boyne, fifteen.*

The Chapter of Moray consisted, about 1208, of eight prebendaries, constituted by Bishop Bricius, and confirmed by his successor Bishop Andrew in 1226 ; but in subsequent times the numbers, as in other establishments, were variable, and were probably augmented as the funds of the Cathedral were encreased by dona-

' Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, vol. ii. p. 317-327.

AT THE REFORMATION.

tions. In 1362 seventeen chaplains were constantly resident at the cathedral church of the Holy Trinity at Elgin, performing divine service. In 1542 and 1545 two prebends were instituted by Bishop Patrick. The official members of the Chapter specified are the Dean, the Chantor, Treasurer, Chancellor, Archdeacon, Sub-Dean, and Sub-Chantor, The dependencies enumerated are sixteen parsonages, six common churches, and twenty-six chaplaineries, of which latter seventeen were within the walls of the Cathedral.* It appears upon the original documents that Bishop Bricius instituted eight canonries when the Cathedral of Moray was at Spynie, from whom he nominated the Dean, Chancellor, Archdeacon, Chantor, and Treasurer.f Bishop Andrew in 1226 added fourteen canons, and the Chapter of Moray was thus encreased to twenty-two, a number which they never exceeded. To every canonry a vicarage was annexed for the better subsistence of the incumbent, who received the great tithes of both parishes, and was generally the patron of the vicarage. The Diocese of Moray was divided into the Deaneries of Elgin, comprising twelve parishes ; Inverness, fourteen parishes ; Strathbogie, eight parishes ; and Strathspey, nine parishes.

The Chapter of Ross consisted of the Dean, the Chancellor, Archdeacon, Chantor, and Treasurer, but the number of canons or prebendaries is not accurately known. No chartulary belonging to the Bishopric of Ross has been discovered in Scotland. The conjecture is not improbable that Bishop Leslie, the last Roman Catholic Prelate, who was the zealous defender of Queen Mary, carried with him the documents of his Diocese, and they are now either lost, or preserved in a foreign library or coUege.J

The Chapter of Caithness is also unknown, as are the ecclesiastical divisions or deaneries. It is probable that the writs and other documents connected with this Diocese may be in the posses sion of the Duke of Sutherland.

The state of the Chapter of the insular Diocese of Orkney in former times is very obscure. In 1544, Bishop Robert Reid

" Brief Analysis of the Ancient Records of the Bishopric of Moray, by Sir John Graham Dalyell, Bart. p. 7, 8, 9.

•f The original documents, with translations, are inserted in the Appendix to the edition of Mr. Lachlan Shaw's History of the Province of Moray, brought down to the year 1826, and published in 1827 by John Grant.

% Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. sd. p. 341.

granted a charter for the " foundation and erection of certain offices in the cathedral church of Orkney for the service of God six canons and as many chaplains are mentioned, and the Chapter is noticed as consisting of the Provost, Archdeacon, Chantor, Chancellor, Treasurer, Sub-Dean, Sub-Chantor, seven prebendaries, thirteen chaplains, and six singing boys." The Provost was to be a Doctor of Theology, of " good fame, conversation, and name," who was to take precedence immediately after the Bishop ; and the duties of his office are defined — " totius diocesis inquisitor heretice pravitatis, cui correctio canonicorum, prebendariorium, et capellaniorum in capitulo spectabit." In his absence the Sub-Dean was to act. The second dignitary next to the Provost was to be the Archdeacon, who was to be a Master of Arts — " vir probatis, vitse, et morum, presbiter bene eruditus in diuinis et humanis literis." The Precentor or Chantor was to be the third dignitary ; and to be eligible for the office he was to be a Master of Arts, or a graduate in another faculty well instructed in the Gregorian chant. The Chancellor was to rank third after the Provost, and he was to be a doctor in canon or civil law, or " bachalarius formatus in aliqua florenti universitate." Next to him was the Treasurer, who was to be a Master of Arts — " vir probus et circumspectus ;" the sub-dean was also to be a Master of Arts — " presbiter vir bene instructus in utroque testamento ;" and the Sub-Chantor was to be a presbyter — " bene instructus per omnes numeros in utroque cantu." The duties of the librarian, organist, the keeper of the clock, and other minor functionaries, are defined. This arrangement of the Chapter of Orkney was confirmed and ratified by Cardinal Beaton, when Archbishop of St Andrews and Papal Legate, in 1545.* The Chapter, as above constituted, continued in that state till the Reformation.

Little is apparently known of the ancient Chapter of Brechin. The Chancellor of this Diocese is mentioned in a document signed by the Bishop in 1511, the original of which is in the possession of Viscount Arbuthnot.-f- Some notices occur of the cathedral establishment in the various charters to the bishops and clergy. King Robert Bruce,

• The original documents are printed in " Rentals of the Ancient Earldom and Bishopric of Orkney," by Alexander Peterkin, Esq. Edinburgh, 1820, 8vo. Appendix, p. 18-30.

•f The History of Brechin, by David D. Black, Town-Clerk, 1839.

AT THE REFORMATION.

by a charter dated at Scone, 10th July 1322, gave to John, Bishop of Brechin, and to the chaplain and canons of the cathedral church, the privilege of holding a market within the city on Sundays. In 1359, David II. confirmed to the same cathedral church all the privileges granted by his ancestors ; and in 1374, Robert II. enjoined his justiciaries, sheriffs, and provosts, to defend the Bishop of Brechin and the canons in all their lands and privileges. Among the more conspicuous benefactors was Walter Stewart, Earl of AthoU and Caithness, who, in 1429, assigned L.40 Scots, payable annually from his estate and lordship of Oortachy or from Brechin, for the maintenance of two chaplains and six boys, to perform divine service within the choir ; and he gave land on the west side of the city for their residence. The one chaplain is enjoined to be instructed in music, and the other in grammar, which they were expected to study during the hours of interval from their spiritual functions. In 1435, the Bishop reduced the chaplaincies to one ; and nearly ninety years afterwards, in 1524, the then Bishop decided in some differences between the chaplains and the Chapter, for non-performance of duties. The Bishop, Dean, and Chapter, are noticed in a legal document dated 1535 ; and in 15G6, Bishop Hepburn, at the request of Erskine of Dun, the patron of the two chaplaincies of the Virgin Mary in the Cathedral, united them, because they were insufficient for the support of two, and appropriated the income to one. But the constitution of the Chapter may be inferred from a reference to a more ancient document, designated an " ApostoHc Letter issued on Trinity Monday, in 1372, by Patrick, Bishop of Brechin, and the Chapter, in presence of the canons, rectors, and vicars of the diocese, to ascertain the number of benefices, and the dignities and offices belonging to the Cathedral, the incumbents who were to be considered prebendaries, and who of the eleven of them were to enjoy the dignities of Dean, Chantor, Chancellor, Treasurer, and Archdeacon." Among the official witnesses are the Precentor, Chancellor, Treasurer, Arch-Dean, Sub- Dean, two prebendaries, and sundry canons of the Cathedral, the Dean and one prebendary being absent on account of distance. In 1 384 the parish church of Lethnot was constituted a prebend at the request of Sir David Lindsay of Glenesk, with a stall in the choir, and a place in the Chapter. In 1429 the Bishop and Chapter declare that the Dean, Precentor, Chancellor, and Treasurer, have precedence of all the Canons, which was confirmed by their signatures in 1435. The parish church of Finhaven was constituted a prebend in 1474 at the request of the Earl of Crawford, Several chaplaincies and altarages were connected with the Cathedral.*

The Chapters of Dunkeld and Dunblane consisted of the usual dignitaries, but were Hmited ; as both these Dioceses, like that of Brechin, were of no great extent. The Bishops had what were called mcnsal churches in various Dioceses. The chartulary and other records of the Bishopric of Dunblane are not to be found. Those of Dunkeld may probably be among the archives of the Dukes of Atholl, and some allusions occur in the Lives of the Bishops of Dunkeld, from the foundation of the See to 1515, written in Latin by Alexander Myln, Abbot of Cambuskenneth, and published in 1831.

In the Archiepiscopal Province of Glasgow the Chapter of the Archdiocese of Glasgow first demands our attention. After John Achaius, the preceptor and chaplain of Alexander I., was promoted to the Bishopric in 1129, he divided the Diocese into the two Archdeaconries of Glasgow and Teviotdale, established the dignitaries of Dean, Sub-Dean, Chanter, Chancellor, Treasurer, S«b-Chantor, and Sacrist, and settled a prebend on each out of the donations he had received from the King. ])uring the episcopate of Bishop John Cameron, the most munificent of all the prelates who occupied the See of Glasgow, elected in 1421, the members of the Chapter were thirty-nine, whom he ordered to erect parsonages, and reside in the vicinity of the Cathedral, appointing curates to officiate in their respective parishes. Those parsonages were situated at the upper end of the High Street near the ancient Cross, and in the streets called Drygate, Rottenrow, and Deanside Brae. During Bishop Cameron''s episcopate, the Dean, Chanter, Chancellor, Treasurer, Sub-Dean, and Archdeacon, were the dignitaries, and this constitution of the Chapter continued till the Reformation. The vicars of the choir are not of course included.-f-