Blackfriars is the modern name for the Dominican friary of

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

which existed in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, in the later Middle Ages. The name is also used for the modern ruins.

History

Some later sources claim that the friary was founded in the late 13th century, but these are spurious, and its actual foundation probably did not occur until the mid-15th century. The first known prior of the house is attested on 22 November 1464.Cowan and Easson, ''Medieval Religious Houses'', p. 120 The foundation of a full Dominican house was preceded by a small oratory or hospice. As James Beaton, archbishop of St Andrews, claimed that he and his predecessors were founders of the house, it is likely the foundation was episcopal. The foundation of the house was probably prompted by the needs of the University of St Andrews.

Expansion

In the 1510s at least, the friary was expanded, the number of brothers rising from two to five. In 1519 the Hospital of St Nicholas and the Dominican friary at Cupar were taken over by St Andrews friary, with the friary at St Monans partially united. While the friars at Cupar moved to St Andrews, friars were left at St Monans to live out their years. The house was severely damaged by the forces of Norman Leslie f Rothesin 1547. Sometime after 14 June 1559 but before 22 June 1559 the friars were "expelled from their destroyed place" by Protestant reformers.Cowan and Easson, ''Medieval Religious Houses'', p. 120; Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community'', pp. 86-7, 116-7 This was part of a general movement, associated with the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

, hostile to friaries and other aspects of the old Catholic order. The property of the house was given to the burgh of St Andrews by Queen Mary on 17 April 1567. The remains of a vaulted

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

lie where Bell Street meets South Street, outside

Madras College Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell. History Madras ...

Notes

References

* * {{St Andrews 15th-century establishments in Scotland 1559 disestablishments in Scotland Christianity in medieval Scotland Dominican houses in Scotland History of Fife Religion in Fife Christian organizations established in the 15th century St Andrews Historic Environment Scotland properties Former Christian monasteries in Scotland