With the decay and dissolution of the Celtic Church, probably many
of the chapels erected by that community were forsaken and allowed to
fall into ruin. But some continued to be used, and were even enlarged
or rebuilt, when the Church of Rome established its rule over the whole
country. Architecture had meanwhile made an onward step. The buildings
erected by the emissaries of Rome presented a strong contrast to those
which they replaced, for they were solidly built with lime, in a much
more ornate style, with a freer use of sculpture and on a much larger
scale. The old church of Rodil, in Harris, for example, belonging
perhaps to the thirteenth century, is full of sculptured figures; while
the Cathedral of Iona would hold some dozens of the primitive cells.
In various parts of the country evidence may be seen that the Celtic
sculptured stones had ceased to be respected, either as religious
monuments or as works of art, when the Roman Catholic churches were
erected. At St. Andrews, for example, the old chapel of St. Regulus,
probably built between the tenth and twelfth centuries, was allowed
to remain, and it still stands, roofless indeed, but in wonderful
preservation as regards the masonry of its walls. But of the crosses
that rose above the sward around it, many of them delicately carved
with interlaced work in the true Celtic style, some were broken up and
actually used as building material for the great Cathedral which was
begun in the year 1160. Again, at St. Vigeans, in Forfarshire, a large
quantity of similar sculptured stones of the Celtic period was built
into the masonry of the twelfth-century church erected there under the
Latin hierarchy.
[Sidenote: ROMAN CATHOLICISM IN HEBRIDES]
The Roman Catholic faith, which once prevailed universally over the
country, still maintains its place on some of the islands, particularly
Barra, Benbecula, and South Uist, and in certain districts of the
mainland. In Eigg, about half of the population is still Catholic, the
other half being divided between the Established and Free Churches. The
three clergymen, Protestant and Roman Catholic, when I first visited
the island, were excellent friends, and used to have pleasant evenings
together over their toddy and talk. The Catholic memorial chapel to
the memory of Lord Howard of Glossop was determined ‘to be erected in
one of the Catholic islands,’ and Canna was chosen as its site. The
building has been placed there, and with its high Norman tower now
forms a conspicuous landmark for leagues to east and west. But the
crofter population is gone, and with it Catholicism has disappeared
from Canna, though some five crofter families still live on the
contiguous island of Sanday.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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