St Andrews Cathedral Priory was a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

canons in St Andrews, Fife,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was one of the great religious houses in Scotland, and instrumental in the founding of the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

History

Plans were made for its foundation in the reign of

Alexander I of Scotland Alexander I ( medieval Gaelic: ''Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim''; modern Gaelic: ''Alasdair mac Mhaol Chaluim''; c. 1078 – 23 April 1124), posthumously nicknamed The Fierce, was the King of Scotland from 1107 to his death. He succeeded his broth ...

, who set aside some land (in the ''cursus apri'', or "Boar's Raik") for that purpose. It was finally established by

King David I David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...

and his son in 1140 with

canons from

Nostell Priory Nostell Priory is a Palladian house in Nostell, West Yorkshire, England, near Crofton on the road to Doncaster from Wakefield. It dates from 1733, and was built for the Winn family on the site of a medieval priory. The Priory and its contents ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. For some time the canons and the

Culdees The Culdees ( ga, Céilí Dé, "Spouses of God") were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and subsequently in Scotland, att ...

of nearby Kilrymont monastery served the church together. The Culdees, headed by an abbot, served a side altar in the Cathedral throughout the twelfth-century and into the thirteenth century, while the Augustinians, as the main clergy of the cathedral, served the main altar. It is probable that the bishop intended that the Culdees would become Augustinians, however, although a papal bull of 1147 ordered that upon the death of each Culdee an Augustinian should take his place, they were still there in 1199 when the priory recognised their holdings to be permanent. By 1250, those Culdees who declined to become Augustinians moved to the Church of St Mary on the Rock at Kilrymont. The canons managed the shrine of St Andrew, and the adjacent cathedral functioned as their monastery church. They also established a hospital. Twenty-four canons died in 1349, when the black plague came to St. Andrews. Later lay-priors or commendatories were introduced; relaxations and irregularities crept in. Instigated by the fiery preaching of John Knox, his followers ransacked the cathedral and the priory.

Holdings

The priory, like all the great monasteries, had a number of dependent properties. *

St Serf's Inch Priory The St Serf's Inch Priory (or Portmoak Priory) was a community of Augustinian canons based, initially at least, on St Serf's Inch in Loch Leven, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Origins One of the oldest Christian sites in Scotland a church was b ...

- a Culdee establishment dating from 838, converted to an Augustinian Priory linked to St Andrews Cathedral Priory at the instigation of King

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...

in 1150. *

Monymusk Priory Monymusk Priory was a house of Augustinian canons based at Monymusk in Mar, Aberdeenshire. It began as a Culdee foundation but later became Augustinian. History The first missionaries to arrive in Monymusk were Culdees, possibly from Whithorn. ...

- founded by Gille Críst,

Mormaer In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continental c ...

of Mar, in the last decade of the 12th century, There were Culdees there, who retained many of their rights. The transformation of the Culdee community into an Augustinian priory was complete by 1245 at the latest. *

Isle of May Priory The Isle of May Priory was a monastery and community of Benedictine monks established for 9 monks of Reading Abbey on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, in 1153, under the patronage of David I of Scotland. The priory passed into the ...

- originally a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

priory dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, with a shrine to

Adrian of May Saint Adrian of May (sometimes given as "Magridin") (d. 875) was a martyr-saint of ancient Scotland, whose cult became popular in the 14th century. He is commemorated on 3 December. He may have been a bishop of Saint Andrews. Life and martyrdom ...

. Subject to raiding parties of Scandinavians from Orkney, the privations and isolation of the location finally led the monks of

Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...

to sell the island in 1288 to Bishop William Fraser, who gave it the canons of St. Andrews. *

Pittenweem Priory Pittenweem Priory was an Augustinian priory located in the village of Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland. History The 6th century religious recluse St Monan is believed to have lived at a monastery at Pittenweem before leaving to take up residence in ...

- founded in the early 12th century for Augustine canons. In 1318, the Augustinians from the Isle of May Priory relocated to

Pittenweem Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747. Etymology The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...

. * Portmoak Chapel - was a chapel of the Culdees, dedicated to St. Monan. The chapel is identified with St Moak who gave his name to the area. About 1150 King David passed the Priory on St Serf’s Island and the chapel at Portmoak to the Augustinian regular of St. Andrews. The priory lands were carved up into lordships in the 16th century, although the core and title remained into the 17th century. The Priory of St Andrews also used to own the land now used by Rufflets Hotel, located between Strathkinness and St Andrews itself. Portions of the east and south ranges of what was originally the cathedral's priory are preserved as the St Andrews Cathedral Museum. A remnant of the wall relating to the priory's guest house remains. The Pends is a mid 14th century large stone gatehouse of the priory and was the main entrance. The site is protected, together with

St Andrews Cathedral The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of ...

, as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

University of St Andrews

Around Whitsunday 1410 a school of higher studies was established at St Andrews by Prior James Biset. A group of Augustinians, driven from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

by the Avignon schism and from the universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

by the

Anglo-Scottish Wars The Anglo-Scottish Wars comprise the various battles which continued to be fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland from the time of the Wars of Independence in the early 14th century through to the latter years of the ...

, formed a society of higher learning in St Andrews, which offered courses of lectures in divinity, logic, philosophy, and law. A charter of privilege was bestowed upon the society of masters and scholars by the Bishop of St Andrews,

Henry Wardlaw Henry Wardlaw (died 6 April 1440) was a Scottish church leader, Bishop of St Andrews and founder of the University of St Andrews. Ancestors He was descended from an ancient Saxon family which came to Scotland with Edgar Atheling, and was ho ...

References

Bibliography

* Butler, Rev. D., M.A. ''Scottish Cathedrals and Abbeys'', The Guild Library, A&C Black, 1901
pp. 123-4
* Duncan, A.A.M., "The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, 1140", in The Scottish Historical Review, vol 84, (April, 2005), pp. 1–37 * Watt, D.E.R. & Shead, N.F. (eds.), ''The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries'', The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24, (Edinburgh, 2001), pp. 187–92

External links