95 CHAPTER VIII. DEDICATION OF ABERNETHY TO ST BRIDGET OF KILDARE, A.D. 460-SS. MODWENA AND BRENDAN. THE Pictish Chronicle gives us an account of a gift of land by Nectan, King of the Picts, to the church consecrated by St Ninian. We are told that at the death of King Durst there had been a contest over the Pictish throne; that to him succeeded Talarg or Talore, the son of Amil; that Nectan, brother of King Durst, had been maltreated by Talarg and had taken refuge at Kildare in Ireland; that Talarg died after a reign of four years, and Nectan, informed of what had happened by St Bridget of Kildare, returned to receive his throne in 455 A.D. According to the Pictish Chronicle, in the third year of his reign Darlugdach, contemporary and disciple of St Bridget and afterwards her successor as abbess, came over to Britain as an exile. Two years later, this Nectan, son of Irb, King of all the provinces of the Picts, gave ("immolavit ") unto God and St Bridget, Abernethy unto the judgment-day ("ad diem judicii"). Darlugdach was present at the immolation and returned thanks for the gift ("cantavit alleluia super istam hostiam "). The boundaries are also stated, and show that it 1 "The mode of consecrating an immolation of land was by placing a sod (G. fód) upon the altar at the offertory, and by singing Alleluia in procession round the boundaries. At the immolation of the church lands at Abernethy in the time of St Bride, the Alleluia is said to have been sung by the famous virgin Darlugda. A gift of this kind was irrevocable: 'dictâ benedictione retrahi non potuit.'-Can. Hib., lib. xvii. (p. 54), concern was a very extensive gift, and included lands beyond the boundaries of the present village of Abernethy. The gift consists of lands from a stone at Apurfeirt (the present Aberargie) to a stone at Ceirfuill (the present Carpow), and from thence upwards to Athan. The length of the land is about four miles, but as Athan cannot be identified, it is impossible to say the breadth of it. The occasion of the gift, according to the Chronicle, is that Nectan, while an exile in Ireland, addressed himself to St Bridget and asked her prayers; that the holy virgin, after consulting God in prayer, assured Nectan of the divine protection, and advised him to return to his country, where on the death of King Talore he received his throne; that as a monument of his gratitude he gave Abernethy as a perpetual gift to God and St Bride.1 As Nectan began to reign in 457 A.D., this places the endowment of the church with lands and its dedication to St Bride in 460 A.D., while the grant itself is interesting as being the first on record in Scottish history. Andrew Wyntoun refers to it, but mistakes the name of the king, and confuses it with a later tradition that refers to the time of St Columba : "Garnak-Makdownach neyst hym syne Wes kyng and fowndyde Abyrnethyne, ing oblations." Early Scottish Worship. Lee Lecture, 1895. By the Rev. D. Macgregor of Inverallochy. Pp. 6, 7. 1 "Necton morbet filius Erip xxiiij regnavit. Tertio anno regni ejus Darlugdach abbatissa Cilledara de Hibernia exulat pro Christo ad Britanniam. Secundo anno adventus sui immolavit Nectonius Aburnethige Deo et sancte Brigide presente Dairlugdach que cantavit alleluia super istam hostiam. Optulit igitur Nectonius magnus filius Wirp, rex omnium provinciarum Pictorum, Apurnethige Sancte Brigide, usque ad diem judicii, cum suis finibus, que posite sunt a lapide in Apurfeirt usque ad lapidem juxta Ceirfuill, id est Lethfloss, et inde in altum usque ad Athan. Causa autem oblationis hic est. Nectonius in vita julie maneus fratre suo Drusto expulsante se usque ad Hiberniam Brigidam sanctam petivit ut postulasset Deum pro se. Orans autem pro illo dixit; si perveniens ad patriam tuam Dominus miserebitur tui; regnum Pictorum in pace possidebis.”—Pictish Chronicle, edited by Dr Skene, pp. 6, 7. Athan means a little ford; Lethfloss, the graceful waterfall. Both have disappeared as place-names, but the latter was at once recognised by an intelligent Norwegian, and evidently points to Scandinavian influence. In[to] Stratherne, in that tyde, The fyrst tyme may be notyd here, There is a little poetical licence, not unlikely, in the use of the king's name, and there seems no reason to doubt the historical accuracy of the Pictish Chronicle in the matter, for it is verified by later history and tradition. It identifies King Nectan with Abernethy, and is on the line of all previous and subsequent history. The only difficulty in connection with the date is, that it places the dedication of the church in Bridget's lifetime. But in connection with this we have to recall that it was no uncommon occurrence for the early saints to receive a grant of land in their lifetime for a church, and Dr Campbell, referring to the dedication of St Ninian's church to St Martin of Tours, says: "This and the dedication of another church at Canterbury to St Martin, were exceptions to the British practice, which prevailed till towards the end of the seventh century, of not dedicating a church to any saint already dead, but of calling it by the name of its living founder." 4 At any rate there can be no reasonable doubt, even if the year 460 A.D. be questioned, that at a very early date the church of Abernethy was dedicated to St Bridget, nor is there any need to doubt the statement that this St Bridget was the saint of Kildare.5 The whole history of the Celtic Church here shows its 1 The Orygynall Cronykil of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 37. 2 King Nectan seems also to have had a seat at Naughton in the parish of Balmerino. Referring to this property, the Rev. Dr Taylor says: "The old name of Naughton, as given in the Register of St Andrews, is Hyhat-nachton. This is evidently composed of aite, a place, which when aspirated would be written Haite, and Nachton, the name of a Pictish king by whom Abernethy was restored. It means the dwelling place of Nachton, and very likely was one of his seats."-Historical Antiquities of Fife, p. 335. See Haddan and Stubbs' Councils, vol. i. p. 155. 4 The Church of Scotland, vol. i. p. 81. 5 Gordon's Monasticon, vol. ii. pp. 275-279. G early connection with the Church of Ireland, and to cast doubt upon it is to introduce confusion into a history that is only intelligible by the help of this historical nexus. It is impossible to be dogmatic on the exact date of the dedication, but it is certain. that it took place at a very early time. Beneath all the legends and superstitions that arose around the name of St Bridget, there can be traced the record of a beautiful personality and a bright, consecrated life. Saint-worship ended in superstition, but it began in the healthy recognition of an outstanding excellence. In early times, wherever there was built a Christian church, there arose in the people's minds, through the name of its founder or patron saint, the memory of a beautiful personality, whose influence tended for righteousness and the advancement of the sweetest graces in the soul. To these early men the church was for ever saying: You have doubts and fears and trials and temptations, outward and inward; you have sinned, perhaps, and feel the burden of your sin. Here was one who, like you, in this very spot, under the same sky, treading the same soil, among the same hills and woods and rocks and rivers, was tried like you, tempted like you, sinned like you; but here he prayed and persevered and did penance and washed out his sins; he fought the fight, he vanquished the evil one, he triumphed, and now he reigns a saint with Christ in heaven. The same ground which yields you your food, once supplied him; he breathed and lived and felt and died here; and now from his throne in the sky, he is still looking lovingly down on his children, making intercession for you that you may have grace to follow him, that byand-by he may himself offer you at God's throne as his own.1 It is impossible to measure the far-reaching and penetrating power St Bride must have wielded; for when argument fails, and opinions cease to convince, the irresistible is a saintly life. Such an influence the early church of Abernethy would wield through its patron saint, and, viewed under such a light, we cannot doubt that it would be a centre of moral power and spiritual impulse in the kingdom of 1 Froude's Short Studies on Great Subjects, vol. i. pp. 563, 564. the Southern Picts. "St Bridget," as an early writer says, "led a very holy life, helping the needy in all their wants. She was very modest and humble, never looking on the face of a man, given to fasting, prayer, and good works, spotless and patient and gladly doing the will of God at all times. She is the Mary of Ireland." There is a hymn, attributed by Colgan to the sixth century, but evidently of a much later date, which describes her as a beautiful embodiment of womanhood, that could not fail to be creative of the best influence: "Bridget, the victorious, she loved not the world: She sat on it as a gull sits on the ocean: She slept the sleep of a captive mother, Mourning after her absent child. She suffered not much from evil tongues : She held the blessed faith of the Trinity: Bridget, the mother of my Lord of Heaven, She was not querulous nor malevolent : She loved not the fierce wrangling of women : She was not a back-biting serpent or a liar : She sold not the Son of God for that which passes away : She was not greedy of the goods of this life: She gave away without gall, without slackness: She was not rough to wayfaring men: She handled gently the wretched lepers : She built her a town in the plains (of Kildare): And dead, she is the patroness of many peoples." Such words help us to realise the extraordinary influence St Bridget wielded in early times; she was worshipped as an Avatar, as a reincarnation of the Virgin Mary. Probably all the devotion that centred round the goddess Brig was transferred to St Bridget, while the memory of her saintly life sustained it. Beneath all the legends that gathered around her name, we can see that she was a preeminently good woman, whose life beamed with the beauty of Christ, and it was well for the progress of the Christian Church in Scotland |