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Modern and Ancient
Pilgrimages—Benefits from Pilgrimages—Cuthbert's Shrine at Durham — Cross of
Crail --- Pilgrims' Well and St. Martha's Hospital at Aberdour — Ninian's
Shrine at Whithorn and the Holy Wells of Wigtownshire—Kentigern's Shrine and
Spring at Glasgow — Chapel and Well of Grace — Whitekirk — Isle of May —
Witness of Archaeology — Marmion — Early Attempts in England to regulate
Pilgrimages to Wells — Attempts in Scotland after Reformation — Enactments
by Church and State — Instances of Visits to Wells—Changed Point of View—Craigie
Well—Downy Well—Sugar and Water Sunday in Cumberland--Sacred Dramas at
Wells—Festivities—St. Margaret's Well at Wereham—What happened in
Ireland—Patrons—Shell-mound—Selling Water--Fairs at Springs—Some
Examples—Secrecy of Visits to Wells.
NOWADAYS people put Murray or
Black, or some similar volume, into their portmanteau, and set off by rail
on what they call a pilgrimage. In this case the term is a synonym for
sight-seeing, usually accomplished under fairly comfortable conditions. In
ancient times pilgrimages were, as a rule, serious matters with a serious
aim. Shakespeare says, in "Two Gentlemen of Verona":-
"A true devoted pilgrim is not
weary
To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps.'
The object of such journeys
was to benefit either soul or body, or both. The doing of penance, or the
fulfilling of a vow, sent devotees to certain sacred spots, sometimes in
distant lands, sometimes within our own four seas. Cuthbert's shrine at
Durham, where the saint's body was finally deposited in 1070, after its
nearly two hundred years' wanderings, was a noted resort of pilgrims in the
middle ages, and many cures were wrought at it. Archbishop Eyre, on the
authority of Reginald of Durham, tells of a certain man of noble birth,
belonging to the south of England, who could not find relief for his
leprosy. He was told to light three candles, and to dedicate them
respectively to St. Edmund, St. Etheldrith, and St. Cuthbert, and to visit
the shrine of the saint whose candle first burned out. The candles were
lighted, and the omen indicated the last-mentioned saint. Accordingly, he
travelled to the north country, and, after various religious exercises, drew
near the shrine of Cuthbert, and was cured. The shrine in question was known
even as far off as Norway. On one occasion, at least, viz., in 1172, its
miraculous aid was sought by an invalid from that country. A young man of
Bergen, who was blind, deaf, and dumb, had sought relief at Scandinavian
shrines for six years, but in vain. The bishop suggested that he should try
the virtue of an English shrine, and recommended that lots should be cast,
to determine whether it was to be that of St. Edmund, St. Thomas, or St.
Cuthbert. The lot fell to St. Cuthbert. The young man passed through
Scotland to Durham, and returned home cured. The miracle, doubtless, still
further increased the sanctity of the saint's tomb.
The Cross of Crail, in Fife,
had the power of working wonderful cures; and many were the pilgrims who
flocked to it. Aberdour, in the same county, had more than a local fame. The
name of The Pilgrims' Well there tells its own tale. This well is now filled
up, but for centuries it attracted crowds of pilgrims. In the fifteenth
century the spot was so popular that about 1475, at the suggestion of Sir
John Scott, vicar of Aberdour, the Earl of Morton granted a piece of land
for the erection of an hospital to accommodate the pilgrims. This hospital
was named after St. Martha. It is not certain to whom the Pilgrims' Well was
dedicated; but Fillan was probably its patron, as the Rev. Wm. Ross
conjectures, in an article on the subject in the third volume of the
"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland." The church of
Aberdour was dedicated to the saint in question; and the well was near the
old churchyard.
Ninian's shrine at Whithorn
was the scene of various miracles during the middle ages. In 1425 James the
First granted a safe-conduct to all strangers, coming to Scotland to visit
it; and James the Fourth made a pilgrimage to it once a year, and sometimes
oftener. "It is likely," remarks the Rev. Daniel Conway in an article on
consecrated springs in the south-west of Scotland, "that the spots in
Wigtownsbire, where Holy Wells were, marked the route pursued by pilgrims
bent on doing homage to the relics of St. Ninian at Whit-horn." Whithorn was
not the only shrine visited by James the Fourth. He went repeatedly on
pilgrimage to St. Andrews, Dunfermline, and Tain, and left offerings at the
shrines of their respective saints. When on pilgrimage the king was usually
accompanied by a large retinue, including a company of minstrels. He liked
to have his dogs and hawks with him too, to have a little hunting by the
way.
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,
Elgin-shire, 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 neas 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.
Archaeology 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 :-
"The The tide did now its
flood-mark gain,
And girdled in the saint's domain:
For, with the flow and ebb, its style
Varies from continent to isle;
Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice every day,
The pilgrims to the shrine find way;
Twice, every day, the waves efface
Of staves and sandalled feet the trace."
Towards the end of the same
poem, in connection with the Lady Clare's quest of water for the dying
Marmion, we find the following reference:-
"Where Where shall she turn?
behold her mark
A little fountain cell,
Where water, clear as diamond-spark,
In a stone basin fell I
Above, some half-worn letters say,
Drink weary pilgrim drink and pray.
For the kind soul of Sybil Grey .
Who, built, this, cross. and. well.'"
In England, during the middle
ages, there were various attempts to regulate the custom of making
pilgrimages to wells. A canon of King Edgar, of date 963, prohibited the
superstitious resorting to fountains, and in 1102, one of the canons of St.
Anselm permitted only such wells to be visited as were approved of by the
bishop. In Scotland, vigorous efforts were made, after the Reformation, to
abolish the practice. Both Church and State combined to bring about this
result. In an Act of Parliament, of date 1581, allusion is made to the "
pervers inclination of rnannis ingyne to superstitioun through which the
dregges of idolatrie yit remanis in divers pairtis of the realme be useing
of pilgrimage to sum chappellis, wellis, croces, and sic other monumentis of
idolatrie, as also be observing of the festual dayis of the santes sumtyine
namit their patronis in setting forth of bain fyres, singing of caroles
within and about kirkes at certane seasones of the yeir." In 1629 the
practice was sternly forbidden by an edict from the Privy Council. In
connection with this edict, Daly ell remarks, " It seems not to have been
enough that congregations were interdicted from the pulpit preceding the
wonted period of resort, or that individuals, humbled on their knees, in
public acknowledgment of their offence, were rebuked or fined for
disobedience. Now, it was declared that, for the purpose of restraining the
superstitious resort, 'in pilgrimages to chappellis and wellis, which is so
frequent and common in this kingdome, to the great offence of God, scandall
of the kirk, and disgrace of his Majesteis government; that commissioners
cause diligent search at all such pairts and places where this idolatrous
superstitious is used, and to take and apprehend all suche persons of
whatsomever rank and qualitie whom they sail deprehend going in pilgrimage
to chappellis and wellis, or whome they sail know thameselffes to be guiltie
of that cryme, and to commit thame to waird, until measures should be
adopted for their trial and punishment.'" Prior to the date of the above
edict the Privy Council had not been idle, crowds of people were in the
habit of making a pilgrimage on May Day to Christ's Well, in Menteith, where
they performed certain superstitious rites. Accordingly, in 1624, a
Commission was issued to a number of gentlemen belonging to the district
instructing them to station themselves beside the well, to apprehend the
pilgrims and to remove them to the Castle of Doune. Even such measures did
not cause the practice to cease.
In 1628 several persons were
accused before the kirk-session of Falkirk of going in pilgrimage to the
well in question, and being found guilty, were ordered to appear in church
three appointed Sundays, clad in the garb of penitents. The same year the
following warning was issued by the aforesaid kirk-session:—"It is statute
and ordained that if any person or persons be found superstitiously and
idolatrously, after this, to have passed in pilgrimage to Christ's Well, on
the Sundays of May to seek their health, they shall repent in sacco and
linen three several Sabbaths, and pay twenty lib. (Scots) toties qunties for
ilk fault; and if they cannot pay it the baillies shall be recommended to
put them in ward, and to be fed on bread and water for aught days."
Scottish ecclesiastical
records, indeed, bear ample testimony to the zeal displayed by the Church in
putting a stop to such visits. In his "Domestic Annals of Scotland,"
Chambers gives the following picture of what was done by the kirk-session of
Perth. The example shows the lines usually followed in connection with such
prosecutions:--"At Hunting-tower there was a well, the water of which was
believed to have sanative qualities when used under certain circumstances.
In May, 1618, two women of humble rank were before the kirk-session of
Perth, `who, being asked if they were at the well in the bank of
Huntingtower the last Sabbath, if they drank thereof, and what they left at
it, answered, that they drank thereof, and that each of them left a prin
(pin) thereat, which was found to be a point of idolatrie in putting the
well in God's room.' They were each fined six shillings, and compelled to
make public avowal of their repentance." In the parish of Nigg,
Kincardineshire, is St. Fittack's or St. Fiacre's Well, situated close to
the sea. It is within easy reach of Aberdeen across the Dee. Many a visit
was paid to it by the inhabitants of that burgh, from motives of
superstition. The Aberdeen kirk-session, however, did its duty in the
matter, and repeatedly forbade such visits. In 1630, "Margrat Davidson,
spous to Andro Adam, was adjudget in ane unlaw of fyve poundis to be payed
to the collector for directing hir nowriss with hir bairne to Sanct Fiackres
Well, and weshing the bairne tharin for recovirie of hir health; and the
said Margrat and hir nowriss were ordainit to acknowledge thair offence
before the Session for thair fault, and for leaveing ane offering in the
well." The saint, to whom the well was dedicated, is believed to have
migrated from Scotland to France early in the seventh century, and to have
been held in much esteem there. From Butler's "Lives of the Saints" we get
the curious information that "the name fiacre was first given to hackney
coaches, because hired carriages were first made use of for the convenience
of pilgrims who went from Paris to visit the shrine of this saint." A well
at Airth, in Stirlingshire, was for long a centre of attraction. What was
done there may be learned from some entries in the local kirk-session
records quoted in Hone's "Every-Day Book":—"Feb. 3, 1757. Session convenit.
Compeared Bessie Thomson, who declairit schoe went to the well at Airth, and
that schoe left money thairat, and after the can was fillat with water, they
keepit it from touching the ground till they cam horn." "February 24th.—Compeired
Robert Fuird, who declared he went to the well of Airth and spoke nothing
als he went, and that Margrat Walker went with him, and schoe said ye belief
about the well, and left money and ane napkin at the well, and all was done
at her injunction." " March 21.—Compeired Robert Ffuird who declairit yat
Margrat Walker went to ye well of Airth to fetch water to Robert Cowie, and
when schoe corn thair schoe laid down money in God's name, and ane napkin in
Robert Cowie's name." The session ordered the delinquents to be admonished.
Years went on, and modes of
thought gradually changed. Church and State alike began to respect the
liberty of the subject. Though visits continued to be paid to holy wells,
they ceased to be reckoned as offences. People might still resort to the
spots, so familiar to their ancestors, and so much revered by them; but they
no longer found themselves shut up in prison, or made to do penance before
the whole congregation. Old customs continued to hold sway, though less
stress was laid on the superstitions, lying behind them. Thus it came to
pass, that pilgrimages to holy wells became more and more an excuse for
mirthful meetings among friends. This was specially true of Craigie Well, in
the parish of Avoch, in the Black Isle of Cromarty. The time for visiting
the spring was early in the morning of the first Sunday in May. The well was
situated near Munlochy Bay, a few yards above high-water-mark, and gets its
name from the crags around. A correspondent of Chambers's "Book of Days"
thus describes what he saw and heard:—"I arrived about an hour before
sunrise, but long before, crowds of lads and lasses from all quarters were
fast pouring in. Some, indeed, were there at daybreak who had journeyed more
than seven miles. Before the sun made his appearance, the whole scene looked
more like a fair than anything else. Acquaintances shook hands in true
Highland style, brother met brother, and sister met sister, while laughter
and all kinds of country news and gossip were so freely indulged in, that a
person could hardly hear what he himself said." Amid all the stir and bustle
the spring itself was not neglected, for everyone took care to have a drink.
Some used dishes, while others, on hands and knees, sucked up the water with
the mouth. These latter were now and again ducked over head and ears by
their acquaintances, who much. enjoyed the frolic. No one went away without
leaving a thread, or patch of cloth on a large briar bush near the spring.
Besides St. Fittack's Well, there is another in Nigg parish called Downy
Well. It used to be resorted to in May, by persons who drank the water, and
then crossed by a narrow neck of land, called The Brig of a'e Hair, to Downy
Hill—a green headland in the sea—where they amused themselves by carving
their names in the turf.
Brand, in his "Popular
Antiquities," gives the following particulars about a custom that still
prevailed in Cumberland, when he wrote about forty years ago:—"In some parts
of the North of England it has been a custom from time immemorial for the
lads and lasses of the neighbouring villages to collect together at springs
or rivers, on some Sunday in May, to drink sugar and water, where the lasses
gave the treat: this is called "Sugar and Water Sunday." They afterwards
adjourn to the public-house, and the lads return the compliment in cakes,
ale, punch, &c. A vast concourse of both sexes assemble for the above
purpose at the Giant's Cave, near Eden Hall in Cumberland, on the third
Sunday in May."
We do not know whether sacred
dramas were ever performed beside Scottish springs; but Stow informs us that
the parish clerks of London made an annual pilgrimage to Clark's Well, near
the Metropolis, "to play some large history of Holy Scripture." He also
mentions that a Miracle Play, lasting eight days, was performed at Skinner's
Well in the time of Henry the Fourth. South of the Tweed, springs were often
the scenes of festivity. Thus, to take only one example, we find that
pilgrims to St. Margaret's Well, at Wereham in Norfolk, were in the habit,
in pre-Reformation days, of regaling themselves with cakes and ale, and
indulging in music and dancing. What occurred in Ireland down to the
beginning of the present century may be gathered from a passage in Mason's
"Statistical Account of Ireland" reprinted in the "Folklore Journal" for
1888. After referring to religious assemblies at Holy Wells the writer
remarks "At these places are always erected booths or tents as in Fairs for
selling whisky, beer, and ale, at which pipers and fiddlers do not fail to
attend, and the remainder of the day and night (after their religious
performances are over and the priest withdrawn) is spent in singing,
dancing, and drinking to excess. . . . Such places are frequently chosen for
scenes of pitched battles, fought with cudgels by parties not only of
parishes but of counties, set in formal array against each other to revenge
some real or supposed injury." In Roman Catholic districts of Ireland, what
are called patrons, i.e., gatherings in honour of the patron saints of the
place, are still popular. From an article on "Connemara Folklore," by G. H.
Kinahan, in the "Folklore Journal" for 1884, we learn that a consecrated
spring at Cashla Bay has, beside it, a large conical mound of sea-shells.
These are the remains of the shell-fish forming the food of the pilgrims
during the continuance of the patron, and cooked by them on the top of the
mound. Last century, in Ireland, the custom of carrying the water of famous
wells to distant parts, and there selling it, was not unknown. A
correspondent of the "Gentleman's Magazine" mentions that about 1750 this
was done in connection with a miraculous spring near Sligo; and that, some
years earlier, the water of Lough Finn was sold in the district, where he
lived, at sixpence, eightpence, and tenpence per quart, according to the
different success of sale the carriers had on the road. A thatched cottage
stood close to the site of St. Margaret's Well at Restalrig, and was
inhabited by a man who carried the water of the spring to Leith for sale.
Mr. William Andrews, in his
"Old Time Punishments," tells of booths having been set up beside a
Lincolnshire gibbet in 1814, to supply provisions for the crowds who came to
see a murderer hanging in chains there. Less gruesome were the fairs at one
time held in the neighbourhood of springs, though even they had certain
unpleasant concomitants, which led in the end to their discontinuance. In
the united parish of Dunkeld and Dowally is Sancta Crux Well, at Crueshill.
Till towards the middle of the present century, it was such a popular
resort, that tents were set up and refreshments sold to the pilgrims.
Alcohol was so freely partaken of that drunken brawls often ensued, and
right-minded people felt that the gathering would be more honoured in the
breach than in the observance. St. Fillan's Fair, at Struan, took place on
the first Friday after New Year's Day (O.S.). It was held on a spot close to
the church, and not far from St. Fillan's Well. It is now discontinued, but
its stance is still known as Croft-an-taggart, i.e., The Priest's Croft. The
Well Market, now held at Tomintoul, in Kirkmichael parish, Banffshire, but
formerly beside Fergan Well, has already been referred to. Writing in April,
1892, a correspondent, who has resided in the parish for nearly
half-a-century, mentions the following particulars concerning the
spring:--"The healing virtue of its water is still believed in, especially
on the first Sunday of May, when parties still gather and watch the arrival
of Sunday morning with special care, many of them remaining there the whole
night and part of the Sabbath. Whoever first washes in the water or drinks
of it is cured of any disease or sore with which they may be troubled." Our
correspondent adds:—"The annual market of the district was held at Fergan
Well, and the foundations of the tents or booths where goods were sold are
still visible: and very probably there was a kind of mountain dew partaken
of stronger than the water that now flows from Fergan Well." We shall have
something more to say about fairs in the next chapter.
Though modern enlightenment
has not entirely abolished the practice of resorting to consecrated springs,
it has, as a rule, produced a desire for secrecy on the part of the
pilgrims. When superstitous motives are absent, and springs are visited
merely from curiosity or love of frolic, there is no sense of shame, and
hence no need for concealment. But when the pilgrims regard the practice as
a magical rite, they usually prefer to keep the rest of the world in the
dark as to their doings. Sir Arthur Mitchell truly remarks in his "Past in
the Present"—"It is well enough understood that the business is not a
Christian one, and that the engaging in it is not a thing which it would be
easy to justify. There is a consciousness that it has not been gone about as
an empty, meaningless ceremony, but that it has involved an acknowledgment
of a supernatural power controlling human affairs and influenced by certain
rites and offerings—a power different from that which is acknowledged by
Christians. Hence it happens that there is a difficulty in getting people to
confess to these visits, and, of course, a greater difficulty still in
getting them to speak, freely and frankly, about the feelings and beliefs
which led to them." |
