St. Kentigern's Well, in the so-called crypt of Glasgow Cathedral,
has already been mentioned. In the immediate neighbourhood is the
spot believed to mark the last resting place of the saint. Till the
Reformation his shrine attracted crowds of pilgrims. On special
occasions his relics were displayed, including his bones, his
hair shirt, and his scourge, and a red liquor that flowed from his
tomb. These, along with other relics belonging to the cathedral, were
taken to France by Archbishop Beaton in 1560. In the ancient parish
of Dundurcus, Elginshire, not far from the river Spey, once stood the
Chapel of Grace, and close to it was a well of the same name. The place
was a favourite resort of pilgrims. Lady Aboyne went to it once a year,
a distance of over thirty miles, and walked the last two miles of the
way on her bare feet. In 1638 an attempt was made to put a stop to
the pilgrimages, by destroying what then remained of the chapel. The
attempt, however, seems to have been fruitless, for in 1775, Shaw, the
historian of Moray, mentions that to it "multitudes from the western
isles do still resort, and nothing short of violence can restrain their
superstition." In 1435, when Æneas Silvius (afterwards Pope Pius the
Second) was sailing from the low countries to Scotland on a political
mission, he was twice overtaken by a storm, and was in such danger
that he vowed to make a pilgrimage, should he escape drowning. At
length he reached the Haddingtonshire coast in safety, and, to fulfil
his vow, set off barefoot, over ice-covered ground, to Whitekirk,
ten miles away, where there were a chapel and well, dedicated to the
Virgin. The journey left its mark on the pilgrim, for we are told
that he had aches in his joints ever afterwards. St. Adrian's Chapel,
in the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth, had a great reputation
before the Reformation. The island has still its Pilgrims' Haven,
and its Pilgrims' Well close by.
Archæology bears witness to the popularity of pilgrimages in former
times. Between Moxley Nunnery, in Yorkshire, and St. John's Well,
about a mile away, are the remains of a causeway, laid down for
the convenience of devotees. At Stenton, in Haddingtonshire, near
the road leading to Dunbar, is the well of the Holy Rood, covered
by a small circular building with a conical roof. The well is now
filled up. Its former importance is indicated by the fact that the
pathway between it and the old church, some two hundred yards off,
had a stone pavement, implying considerable traffic to and from the
spring. In the quiet Banffshire parish of Inveraven, is a spring,
at Chapelton of Kilmaichlie, near the site of an ancient chapel. The
spring is now almost forgotten, but its casing of stone shows that,
at one time, it was an object of interest in the neighbourhood.
The author of "Marmion," when describing the arrival, at Lindisfarne,
of the bark containing St. Hilda's holy maids from Whitby, has the
following picturesque lines:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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