DESCRIPTION

OF THE

Abbies of Melrose and Old Melrose,

WITH THEIR TRADITIONS.

OLD Melrose, or Malerose, which is a mile

History,

and a half from Melrose Abbey to the east, was Irvine's originally called Mull-ross, signifying a bare pro- P. 161. montory; Ross, in the ancient language, signifying a peninsula, and Mull, bare. Its name of Malerose is derived (according to a vulgar tradition) from a young Princess who came from one of the Islands of the Archipelago, where a custom prevailed, that whenever a young woman lost her virtue, she should suffer death. This young Princess having incurred the penalty, could no longer remain in her native country with safety. To consult what should be done she therefore called together her priests, who gave their unanimous

Preface to the Irish

Hist. lib. 1. p. 30,

opinion, that it was necessary for her to quit
her country, sail through the Mediterranean to
the Atlantic Ocean, and then bend her course
northwards, for an island called Hibernia. The
priests, as a mark of their attachment, likewise
offered to accompany her wherever she went,
for the good of her soul, and to direct her in her
endeavours to atone for her past error. They ac-
cordingly set sail, and at length landedat Dunbar,
a place in East Lothian. She soon left that town,
and came to the pleasant banks of the Tweed,
which she crossed at a place called the Monks'-
ford, and fixed her abode on the beautiful spot
of ground immediately adjoining; where she
resolved to remain, and erect an Abbey in which
to pass her days in solitude, and in the worship
of God; the place thenceforward being called
Malerose, (a rose sullied or tarnished by a male),
in allusion, says the tradition, to her misfor-
tune. This place, almost surrounded by the
Tweed, is famous for its ancient Monastery, as
it was one of the first seats in the kingdom of
the Culdees, whose garb was black, and whose
religious profession admitted ofnothing but what
is contained in the Scriptures. Bede observes of

them, that they were diligent observers of the works of piety and charity, which they learned from the apostolic writings; in living according to the purity and simplicity of which they long maintained themselves against the canons and ordinances of the Church of Rome, often so much pressed upon them by its disciples and votaries.

A. Milne's

History of

Melrose

Parish.

There are no certain accounts by whom this Monastery was founded, but it is likely that it was by Columbus, or Aidan, (who are said to have built several other Monasteries), about the end of the sixth century. Bede gives an account of its situation on the pleasant banks of Bede chap. the river Tweed, and likewise speaks of its Abbots. The first of these was Eata, succeeded by Boisil, who, Dempster says, died in the year 643; Boisil was succeeded by St Cuthbert, who shortly after quitted the Monastery, and went to Lindisfarne, now called Holy Island.

Various wondrous stories are handed down about this St Cuthbert. He was three years Bishop in St Peter's Church, Holy Island, where

27.

Antiqui

ties of

Abbey.

he died on the 20th March 687, and was buried by the altar, in a stone coffin, purposely made for him. Eleven years after, he was taken out of the ground on the 20th of March, the same Durham day he died, and his body was found entire, with no corruption about it; he seemed to be asleep with his mass-clothes on, as if he had newly come from the mass. St Cuthbert is said to have been descended from the blood royal of the Kings of Ireland, being the son of one Muiardach, and Sabina, a King's daughter. He was educated in the Abbey of Old Malerose, first under Eata, and then under Boisil; after Boisil's death he was made Abbot ofthe Monastery, which he governed with great care; he was an anchorite thirteen years, a monk thirty seven years, and Abbot fourteen.

Abbot Edred, about the year 880, carried away the body from Holy Island, and fled with it southwards, removing from town to town, for the space of seven years, on account of the persecution of the Danes in Northumberland and other places in England. Many of the inhabitants of Holy Island, on learning that the body of the

holy man was taken from them, left their pos sessions and goods, and went after it. When the Bishop, Abbot, and others who accompanied them, were weary of wandering, exposed to such dangers, they came to the resolution of carrying the body to Ireland for its greater security; and having embarked in a ship for that purpose, three waves were miraculously turned into blood, and the ship was driven ashore by a tempest, and cast upon its side, when a volume containing the Evangelists, written in letters of gold, and having its boards set with precious stones, fell from the ship into the sea, which caused the holy saint to come in a vision to one of the monks, commanding him to search the shore for the book. He searched and found it; and to his amazement it appeared more beautiful than ever, seeming to be polished by some heavenly hand, which increased the joy of those accompanying the body. Shortly after, on their beginning to carry it, and its feeling very heavy to them, there appeared to their view a bridle on a tree, and a red horse running towards them, which offered its service to carry the body of the holy St Cuthbert, which they accordingly put on its

Bede's his

tory.