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Dryburgh Abbey



 
 
Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh
Dryburgh

Dryburgh is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, famous for Dryburgh Abbey....
 on the banks of the River Tweed
River Tweed

There are other rivers with this name: see Tweed RiverThe River Tweed flows primarily through the Scottish Borders region of England and Scotland....
 in the Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 Borders
Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders , often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the Metropolitan and non-metropolit...
, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Lord of Lauderdale
Hugh de Morville, Lord of Cunningham and Lauderdale

Hugh de Morville was a Normans knight who made his fortune in the service of David I of Scotland, Kingdom of Strathclyde and King of Scots ....
 and Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian

The Norbertines, also known as the Premonstratensians and in United Kingdom and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Pr?montr? near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert of Xanten, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg....
 canons regular
Canons Regular

Canons regular are members of certain bodies of Canon living in community under the Augustinians#The Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common as a type of vow of poverty....
 from Alnwick Abbey
Alnwick Abbey

Alnwick Abbey was founded as a Premonstratensian monastery in 1147 by Eustace FitzJohn near Alnwick, England, as a daughter house of Newhouse Abbey in Lincolnshire....
 in Northumberland
Northumberland

Northumberland is a Counties of England in the North East England of England. The non-metropolitan counties of England of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and nearly eighty miles of Nort...
. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place on 13 December 1152.

It was burned by English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century.






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Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh
Dryburgh

Dryburgh is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, famous for Dryburgh Abbey....
 on the banks of the River Tweed
River Tweed

There are other rivers with this name: see Tweed RiverThe River Tweed flows primarily through the Scottish Borders region of England and Scotland....
 in the Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 Borders
Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders , often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the Metropolitan and non-metropolit...
, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Lord of Lauderdale
Hugh de Morville, Lord of Cunningham and Lauderdale

Hugh de Morville was a Normans knight who made his fortune in the service of David I of Scotland, Kingdom of Strathclyde and King of Scots ....
 and Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian

The Norbertines, also known as the Premonstratensians and in United Kingdom and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Pr?montr? near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert of Xanten, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg....
 canons regular
Canons Regular

Canons regular are members of certain bodies of Canon living in community under the Augustinians#The Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common as a type of vow of poverty....
 from Alnwick Abbey
Alnwick Abbey

Alnwick Abbey was founded as a Premonstratensian monastery in 1147 by Eustace FitzJohn near Alnwick, England, as a daughter house of Newhouse Abbey in Lincolnshire....
 in Northumberland
Northumberland

Northumberland is a Counties of England in the North East England of England. The non-metropolitan counties of England of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and nearly eighty miles of Nort...
. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place on 13 December 1152.

It was burned by English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly to survive until the Scottish Reformation
Scottish Reformation

The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Roman Catholic Church in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed theology lines, and politically in the triumph of Engla...
, when it was given to the Earl of Mar
Earl of Mar

The Mormaer or Earl of Mar was the provincial ruler of the province of Marr in north-eastern Scotland. First attested in the year 1014, the "family seat" eventually became Kildrummy Castle, although other sites like Doune of Invernochty were initially just as important....
 by James VI of Scotland.

The 12th Earl of Buchan
Earl of Buchan

The Mormaer or Earl of Buchan was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line....
 bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, was a prolific Scotland historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe during his time.In some ways Scott was the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers all over Europe, Australia, and North America....
 and Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Order of the Thistle, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Royal Victorian Order, Order of the Indian Empire, Aide de Camp was a United Kingdom soldier and senior commander during World War I....
 are buried in its grounds.

The Premonstratensian order

Norberts
The Premonstratensian order was founded by St Norbert of Xanten
Xanten

Xanten is a historic town in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany, located in the district of Wesel . Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park , its mediaeval picturesque city centre with Xanten Cathedral and many museums, its large man-made lake for various watersport activities as well as high standard of living....
 who was firstly a canon at Xanten Cathedral. Unhappy with the way of life of his fellow canons, he left the Rhine
Rhine

File:Swiss Grand Canyon.jpgThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
 lands for the diocese
Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
 of Laon
Laon

Laon is a city in Picardie in northern France, capital of the Aisne Departments of France....
, in the north of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 where the reforming Bishop Bartholomew was transforming his see into one that was more apostolic. Bartholomew persuaded Norbert to form a canonical order at Prémontré
Prémontré

Pr?montr? is a Communes of the Aisne department in the Aisne Departments of France in Picardie in northern France.The remains of Pr?montr? Abbey, the mother house of the Premonstratensian Order, are located in Pr?montr?....
, in Aisne
Aisne

Aisne is a departments of France in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River....
 in 1120 and while the order was Augustinian in form, the canons wore the white habit and not the black.They followed an austere monastic life, but had a duty to preach and teach to those on the outside of the monastery walls. The order spread rapidly across Europe with the Abbot of Prémontré becoming Abbot-General for all of the daughter-houses. Even before the first Abbot-General Hugh of Fosse died, one hundred and twenty abbots attended the annual general chapter. The Premonstratensians took on many of the methods of the Cistercians including land management and the use of lay-brothers to undertake the labour intensive work of the communes.

Abbey endowments

Unlike the situation at nearby Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey is a Gothic architecture abbey in Melrose, Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercians monks, on the request of David I of Scotland....
 with its royal patronage, Hugh de Morville, although a very wealthy noble, could not endow Dryburgh on the same scale as that of a monarch. However, it seems that King David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland

David I or Dabhidh Mac Maol Chaluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later List of monarchs of Scotland . The youngest son of Maol Chaluim Mac Donnchaidh and Saint Margaret of Scotland, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093....
 was not unsympathetic to the monastery; it is recorded in a charter that as well as confirming various donations from de Morville's wife, Beatrice de Beauchamp, the king allowed the abbey to take freely, timber from his forests for the building work. Hugh gave the lands of Dryburgh containing the forests, grasslands and accompanying waters; the fishings from Berwick; the churches with their lands at Mertoun and Channelkirk in his lordship of Lauderdale and Asby in Westmoreland; and the earnings from the mills of Saltoun and Lauder. Beatrice gave the income from the church at Bozeat
Bozeat

Bozeat is a village and civil parish in the Wellingborough borough of Northamptonshire, England, located six miles south of Wellingborough on the A509 road, near Wollaston, Northamptonshire....
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked Counties of England in the England East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the United Kingdom Census 2001....
 to the abbey as well as lands at Roxburgh that she bought solely for the purpose of gifting.
Kilwinning Abbey Today
Hugh, in around 1162, like some other magnates of the period, turned his back on worldly affairs and entered the abbey-church, adopting the habit of the canons. He gave his elder son, Richard, his large Scottish estates while his younger son, Hugh, received those in England. Hugh, the senior, died at Dryburgh Abbey that same year.

Following Hugh's death, his son Richard carried on as patron to the abbey. However, in c. 1170 he founded the hospital of St Leonard near his castle at Lauder and then sometime between 1169 and 1187, the abbey of Kilwinning
Kilwinning

Kilwinning is a historic town situated in North Ayrshire, Scotland.It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire....
 in the lordship of Cunningham. Although Kilwinning Abbey
Kilwinning Abbey

Kilwinning Abbey is a ruined abbey located in the centre of the town of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire.It was a Tironensians monastic community, founded sometime between 1162 and 1188....
 was built on a grand scale, it was inadequately provided for and so Richard ensured that some of the expense of its construction and upkeep was met from his holdings in Lauderdale; indeed a long running argument broke out between Kilwinning and Dryburgh over the former's share of the tythes from the church of Lauder. Richard de Morville's establishment of this second monastery ensured that both establishments would remain in a state of relative poverty.

Daughter houses

Dryburgh Abbey, despite this underfunding, managed to attract a continuous flow of novices to bolster the numbers of canons, so much so that by closing years of the 12th century the abbey was overcrowded necessitating the establishment of colonies. John de Courcy
John de Courcy

John de Courcy was a Normans knight who arrived in Ireland in 1177. From then until his expulsion in 1204, he conquered a considerable territory, endowed religious establishments, built abbeys for both the Benedictines and the Cistercians and built strongholds at Dundrum Castle in County Down and Carrickfergus Castle in County Antrim....
, the earl of Ulster
Ulster

Ulster is one of the four Provinces of Ireland of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster. The name is sometimes informally used as a synonym for Northern Ireland, one of the countries of the United Kingdom, although Northern Ireland covers only two thirds of Ulster....
 installed a colony at Carrickfergus and a second at Drumcross but neither flourished in the longer term and this is put down more to the constant political convulsions throughout 13th century Ulster rather than any problems at the mother house.

Mounting debt

At the beginning of the 13th century, like its near neighbour Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey is a Gothic architecture abbey in Melrose, Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercians monks, on the request of David I of Scotland....
, the abbey of Dryburgh commenced on a rebuilding programme on a grander scale, but building in stone against a background of an insecure income soon ensured that the construction work would not be completed quickly. Also at this time, the monastery became embroiled in a series of legal proceedings regarding land ownership and tythe revenues resulting, in April 1221, in the Pope's legate having to spend some time at Dryburgh to adjudicate. The construction effort was protracted and endured into the 1240s and with debts continuing to mount to the point that David de Bernham
David de Bernham

David de Bernham was chamberlain of King Alexander II of Scotland and subsequently, Bishop of St. Andrews. He was elected to the Episcopal see in June 1239, and finally consecrated, after some difficulties, in January, 1240....
, Bishop of St Andrews gave Abbott John permission on 21 April 1242 to appoint his canons as vicars to the supporting churches stating
… since they have been burdened by grinding debts both on account of construction of the monastery and also on account of other and various necessities.


Pope Innocent IV granted to the abbey in 1246, on the anniversary of its consecration, an indulgence lasting forty days intended to attract visitors who would hopefully be generous with their alms-giving. Additionally, he also provided a suspension of the requirements to create pensions and benefices that might deplete the abbey's revenues, and importantly, safeguarded the monastery, its property and the canons themselves against legal redress.

Abbott John was blamed for ineffectual financial management and was required to resign and, on 13 January 1255 Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, a native of Jenne, Italy, near Anagni, he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX ....
 wrote to the Bishop of St Andrews (position vacant at the time) and to Nicholas de Prenderlathe, abbot of Jedburgh
Abbot of Jedburgh

The Abbot of Jedburgh was the head of the Augustinians Canon of Jedburgh Abbey, Roxburghshire. It was founded by King David I of Scotland in 1138, and David's grandson and successor Malcolm IV of Scotland ensured its promotion to the status of abbey before 1156....
 demanding that most of the abbey's income be diverted to paying off debts while only a basic level of income was to be retained for day to day expenses. Slow improvement in the abbeys finances took place over the next forty or so years in a period of relative stability. However this improvement was only relative; Dryburgh's neighbouring monasteries with their much more extensive grazing lands provided the main source of a much greater income.

Changing patronage

Setonarmorialjohnballiolandwife
Hugh de Morville's line had died out in 1196 on the death of his grandson, William, and the estates passed to his sister, Helen, whose husband was Lochlann, Lord of Galloway
Lochlann, Lord of Galloway

Lochlann or Lachlan, , also known by his French name Roland, was the son and successor of Uchtred, Lord of Galloway as the "Lord" or "sub-king" of eastern Galloway....
. The semi-independent Lords of Galloway
Lords of Galloway

The Lords, or Kings of Galloway ruled over Galloway, in south west Scotland, for a large part of the High Middle Ages.Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Mormaer of Moray, periodically had kings or subkings, similar to those in Ireland during the Middle Ages....
 were much wealthier than those such as the de Morvilles but even they could not lavish large amounts on all of their dependencies. Lochlann was already benefactor to four religious houses in Galloway that included his own Cistercian establishment of Glenluce Abbey
Glenluce Abbey

Glenluce Abbey, near to Glenluce, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery founded around 1190 by Lochlann, Lord of Galloway. Following the Scottish Reformation in 1560, the abbey fell into disuse....
 as well as being associated with Holyrood Abbey
Holyrood Abbey

Holyrood Abbey is a ruined Augustinian Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was built in 1128 at the order of King David I of Scotland....
 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
 and the Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
n abbey of Holmcultram and the priory of St Bees. Dryburgh being one of many establishments who sought the generosity of the Galloway lords got a further setback in 1234 when Alan, the last of the line of Galloway lords, died. His property was to be split between three daughters and their husbands. The lands previously held by the de Morvilles were divided again and in the 1250s were held by Helen of Galloway with her husband, Roger de Quincy, the Earl of Winchester, and Dervorguilla of Galloway
Dervorguilla of Galloway

Dervorguilla of Galloway , was a 'lady of substance' during the 13th century, wife from 1223 of John I de Balliol, and mother of the future king John I of Scotland....
 with her husband, John I de Balliol, Lord of Barnard Castle and Gainford. These new owners in Lauderdale diluted the available patronage yet again as they themselves had pre-existing commitments however the de Quincys did provide a fishing in Mertoun Loch, a burgage
Burgage

Burgage is a medieval land terms used in England and Scotland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town rental property , owned by a king or lord....
 at Haddington and lands at Gledswood near Bemerside. Devorguilla's main concern however was her own foundation at Sweetheart Abbey, but she was at Dryburgh in 1281 to settle her lands in England on her son, John Balliol
John of Scotland

John de Balliol was Elective kingshiped King of the Scots from 1292 to 1296....
, the future king. Balliol came to the throne of Scotland on St Andrews Day, 1292 but his reign was short and he abdicated in July 1296 following the defeats of the Scots at Berwick and Dunbar at the hands of King Edward I of England
Edward I of England

Edward I , popularly known as Longshanks, the English Justinian, and the Hammer of the Scots , was a House of Plantagenet King of England who achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost succeeding in doing the same to Scotland....
. This heralded the end of a long period of stability in the borderlands.

Wars of Scottish Independence

The abbotts of Dryburgh, Jedburgh, Melrose and Kelso all submitted to Edward I on 28 August 1296 at an event later to be described as the Ragman Rolls
Ragman Rolls

Ragman Rolls was the name given to the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland used in order to subscribe allegiance to Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favor of John I of Scotland in November 1292, and again in 1296....
, and so on 2 September Edward ordered that lands belonging to the abbey of Dryburgh be restored. From this point up to the year 1316, very few records of the abbey exist, however it is known that Sir Henry de Percy, one of the senior members of the English occupying force placed himself and his cortege at Dryburgh in 1310. Despite the abbey's affiliation with the Balliol family who remained resolutely at odds with the Bruce monarchy, the abbot and canons, before 21 October 1316, expelled two of their rank for refusing to acknowledge Robert as their king; a grateful King Edward II of England
Edward II of England

Edward II, of Caernarfon, was Kingdom of England from 1307 until he was deposition in January 1327. His tendency to ignore his nobility in favour of low-born favourites led to constant political unrest and his eventual deposition....
 rewarded them by providing them with the rent and fishery of the abbey at Berwick. Evidence is lacking on Robert's participation as a patron of Dryburgh. He certainly used the abbey as a base in July 1316 while conducting raiding expeditions into Northumberland. In retaliation for Bruce's raids in July 1322, Edward II of England
Edward II of England

Edward II, of Caernarfon, was Kingdom of England from 1307 until he was deposition in January 1327. His tendency to ignore his nobility in favour of low-born favourites led to constant political unrest and his eventual deposition....
 took his army north in August only getting as far as Edinburgh. The English army retreated through Lauderdale and looted and burned both the abbeys of Melrose and Dryburgh. Melrose Abbey's reconstruction was generously provided for by Robert while Dryburgh's needs seem to have been ignored. It is unclear why Bruce chose to be so ungenerous towards the canons of Dryburgh; Melrose was gifted £2000 by Robert while Dryburgh received the confirmation of a pre-existing rent of 20 shillings per annum

Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland
Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland

Walter Steward was the 6th hereditary High Steward of Scotland. He was also the father of King Robert II of Scotland....
 and Bruce's son-in-law was not unsympathetic to the abbey though and transferred to it his entitlements from Maxton church, and its lands and provided of land belonging to himself.In 1326, Bishop John de Lindsay of Glasgow endorsed the abbey's possession of the church and allowed the canons to use its considerable income to help fund the rebuilding process. Bruce's brother-in -law, Sir Andrew Murray
Sir Andrew Murray

Sir Andrew Murray of Petty and Bothwell was the son of Andrew Moray of Petty, the joint-commander with William Wallace of the victorous Scottish army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge on 11th September 1297....
 a Guardian of Scotland during the exile of King David II
David II of Scotland

Daibhidh a Briuis , anglicised as David II , was King of Scotland between 7 June 1329 and 22 February 1371....
 may also have given holdings in his Smailholm lands Added to these were gifts from lesser donors; people like Patrick de Dunbar, earl of Marsh who gave a handful of possessions while Sir William Abernethy gave lands in Saltoun and various other minor nobles added further packets of land. Robert the Bruce died in June 1329 and in August 1332 Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol

Edward de Balliol was the short-lived King of Scotland during the simultaneous reign of King David II of Scotland. In the autumn of 1332, and again in 1333-6 he was able to establish a temporary hold in parts of southern Scotland with English military aid; but with little native support his rule was transient and unstable....
, son of the ousted King John, returned to Scotland with an army provided by the disinherited Scottish landowners and defeated the Scottish army at the Battle of Dupplin Moor
Battle of Dupplin Moor

Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of the infant David II of Scotland, the son of Robert the Bruce, and rebels supporting the House of Balliol claim in 1332....
, near Perth
Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former royal burgh in central Scotland. Sitting on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative headquarters of Perth and Kinross council area....
 and had himself crowned king of Scots at Scone
Scone, Scotland

Scone is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The Middle Ages village of Scone, which grew up around the Scone Abbey, was abandoned in the early 19th century when a Scone Palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield....
. In December, Balliol was attacked at his castle at Annan in Galloway by John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray
John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray

John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray was an important figure in the reign of David II of Scotland, and was for a time joint Regent of Scotland....
 and Sir Archibald Douglas and was forced to flee into England. With the support of King Edward III of England
Edward III of England

Edward III was one of the most successful List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Englands of the Britain in the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II of England, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe....
, Balliol was restored to the Scottish crown but at the price of having to make Edward his overlord and ceding to him the sheriffdoms of Berwick
Berwick

Berwick-upon-Tweed is a border town in the north of England.Berwick may also refer to:PlacesAustralia*Berwick, VictoriaCanada...
, Dumfries
Dumfries

Dumfries is a town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland and is situated close to the Solway Firth, near the mouth of the River Nith....
, Edinburgh,Peebles
Peebles

Peebles is a burgh in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scotland Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed.Initially a market town, Peebles played a role in the woollen industry of the Scottish Borders up until the 1960s....
 and Selkirk
Selkirk

Selkirk, a royal burgh in the heart of the Scotland Scottish Borders, lies on the River Ettrick, a tributary of the River Tweed. At the time of the 2008 census, Selkirk's population was 17,839....
, including the forests of Ettrick
Ettrick, Scotland

Ettrick is a small village by Ettrick Water, the river which flows through the Ettrick Valley, and across its flood plain , the Ettrick Marhses within Selkirkshire, in the Scotland Scottish Borders....
 and Jedburgh
Jedburgh

Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire....
  Dryburgh found itself once again under English domination. However, this did not adversely affect the abbey; Sir Wiliam de Felton, the new Sheriff of Roxburgh and Keeper of Roxburgh Castle
Roxburgh Castle

Roxburgh Castle was a castle sited near modern Roxburgh, in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland.The castle was founded by David I of Scotland....
, bought and granted to the abbey a significant burgage in Roxburgh.
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In 1334, Balliol was forced to Berwick for protection and the English were slowly finding their authority in the Lothians slipping away and only managed to hold power in the garrisoned centres and so in mid July 1335, Edward III marched his army to Glasgow where he met with Balliol and his army and together they advanced to Perth. In October, following his campaign, Edward moved to Dryburgh Abbey where he expected the Scots to present him with their terms of surrender but this did not happen. David II returned from France in 1342 and more of the lands held by Edward III were won back into Scottish control so that by 1346, the county of Roxburgh and the western parts of the county of Berwick were in the charge of the Bruce party. Patronage for the canons was once again provided by Scottish lords when it is recorded that Sir John Maxwell gave the income from the Pencaitland church, in East Lothian. The Scottish lordship changed again when David was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross
Battle of Neville's Cross

The Battle of Neville's Cross took place to the west of Durham, England on 17 October 1346....
 and an English garrison took command at Roxburgh putting the central lands of Tweeddale and all of Teviotdale firmly back under the control of England and it was to remain so for over twenty years. On the 20 January 1356 Abbot Andrew of Dryburgh along with the Abbots of Melrose, Jedburgh and Kelso witnessed Edward Balliols resignation. With the English victory over the French in September 1356, Scotland lost its continental ally and forced her back to the negotiating table for the release of David II from hostage. The treaty for the Scottish king's release was agreed on 3 October 1357 and four days later David was back in Scotland; under the terms of the treaty, 100,000 merks were to be paid to England over 10 years and England would retain its occupied lands until the ransom was paid in full.

Borderland partition

David II's liberation from hostage in 1357 did not come without conditions, one of which was that Edward would hold on to the lands in the southeast of the country; this ensured that Dryburgh and the other border abbeys stayed in English held territory. David allowed the abbeys to keep their Scottish possessions and did not interfere with the canons and monks from receiving the income from those. Dryburgh's records had all been lost at this time and it is only from what is known at Melrose that Dryburgh's position can be traced. The wool export trade and the resultant customs duty was important to David and so the Border abbeys who produced large amounts of wool were encouraged to use the Scottish ports and at the expense of Edward's Berwick. The 1360s and 1370s saw the English hold over the Border areas diminish until it was basically the castles at Berwick, Jedburgh and Roxburgh with the county of Berwick and the eastern part of the county of Roxburgh still in their grip. Pressure on these bastions intensified during 1384 and 1385 and Scottish raiding parties moved deep into England forcing Edward II to launch his army on a hugely damaging incursion through the Borders to Edinburgh which he burned. On the way he ordered the sacking of Dryburgh, Melrose and Newbattle.It was while Richard was in Newbattle Wood in August 1385 that he took reprisals against all those in Teviotdale who had returned to the Scottish cause.

Turning point

The damage caused to Dryburgh was great and influential nobles seemed to have played a significant in its restoration. In the closing years of the 1380s it seems that Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife, Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas and Walter Trail
Walter Trail

Walter Trail was a late 14th century Bishop of St. Andrews. He appears as an official in the Bishop of Glasgow in 1378, as a Magister Artium and a Licentiate in Canon law and Civil law ....
, Bishop of St Andrews all played a part in assisting the abbey to extricate itself from this disaster.King Robert III, in a charter dated 9 March 1391, granted to the canons all of the very substantial income-rich possessions of the Cistercian nuns
Cistercian nuns

Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a Roman Catholic religious order....
 of Southberwick which had been destroyed by Edward II in 1385. The family of the Black Douglases continued with their support and in around 1420 Archibald, fourth earl of Douglas gave Dryburgh the income from the possessions of Smailholme parish church. The fifth earl
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas

Archibald Douglas , was a Kingdom of Scotland nobleman, son of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas and Joan Moray. He was Earl of Douglas and Earl of Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Lord of Bothwell, Selkirk and Ettrick Forest, Lord of Eskdale, Lord of Lauderdale, and Lord of Annandale in Scotland, and de jure Duke of Touraine, Count of Lon...
 continued the grant of Smailholme and went further in 1429 by asking the pope to formally confirm this together with the inclusion of the hospitals of St Leonards of Lauder and Smailholme. In 1443, the canons suffered once again when fire destroyed the abbey, evidently by accident yet eighteen years later in 1461, the abbey is recorded as requesting protection from Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II

Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II, "whose character reflects almost every tendency of the age in which he lived", was born at Corsignano in the Siena territory of a noble but decayed family....
 inferring that the canons were finding it difficult to finance the repairs.

The final century

The abbey lost the patronage of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany on his death in 1420, and in 1455 with the forfeiture of the lands of the Black Douglases, they lost a major benefactor and protector in James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas
James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas

James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale , was a Kingdom of Scotland nobleman, last of the Earl of Douglas. He was a twin, the older by a few minutes, the younger was Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray....
.The election of Walter Dewer as abbot in 1461 was seemingly the last prelate to be elected by the canons, but it was under his abbacy that alienation of the monastery lands began. The rest of the 15th century was characterised by contests for the abbacy from either indigenous canons and from outside, expulsions, papal refusals or royal intervention.

Commendators

King James IV
James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the House of Stuart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last British monarch to be killed in battle....
 rewarded clerics who gave him good service by providing them with commendatorships. The first commendator of Dryburgh Abbey was Andrew Forman
Andrew Forman

Andrew Forman was a Scottish people diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 as well as the headship of several monasteries....
, the Bishop of Moray
Bishop of Moray

The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics....
 in 1509. Forman’s primary role was in the service of James IV as a diplomat and was employed by the king extensively in Europe but accumulated much wealth from his religious and other appointments. He received the commendatorships of the abbey of Culross in 1492 although he stepped down the following year after being provided with a large pension from the abbey. In June 1497 he was prior of Pittenweem, received the rectory of Cottingham from King Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England

Henry VII was the Kingdom of England and Lordship of Ireland from his usurpation of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty....
 in May 1501, was commendator of Kelso (although he was unable to firmly establish his provision), as well as the Keeper of Darnaway Castle, Chamberlain of Moray and Custumar North of the Spey in 1511.

Forman gave up his rights to Dryburgh sometime after becoming Archbishop of St Andrews
Archbishop of St Andrews

The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrew's Cathedral, St Andrews....
 and was succeeded by James Ogilvie
James Ogilvie

James Ogilvie [Ogilvy] was a late medieval Kingdom of Scotland prelate. After the death of William Elphinstone , the Bishop of Aberdeen became vacant....
, another secular cleric and diplomat who received the temporalities of the abbey in August 1516. He held the commendatorship for only a short time, dying in 1518.

David Hamilton, Bishop of Argyll
Bishop of Argyll

The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. It was created in 1200, when the western half of the territory of the Bishop of Dunkeld formed into the new diocese....
, and the younger brother of James, Lord Hamilton, Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, was a Kingdom of Scotland nobleman.He was the only son of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton, and his wife Princess Mary Stewart of Scotland....
, was the next to be proposed to the Abbey by John Stewart, Duke of Albany
John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany

John Stewart, Duke of Albany was Regent of the Kingdom of Scotland, Duke of Albany in peerage of Scotland and count-consort of Auvergne and Lauraguais in France....
 and became commendator in May 1519. He died in 1523.

The next to be provided to the abbey was James Stewart, a canon from Glasgow cathedral. Although named in a letter from Albany to Cardinal Accolti, Cardinal Protector for Scotland in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, Albany actually gave the commendatorship to the Earl of Lennox
Earl of Lennox

The Mormaer of Lennox or Earl of Lennox was the ruler of the long-lasting provincial Mormaer/Earldom of Lennox in the Scotland in the High Middle Ages Kingdom of the Scots....
 who in turn sold or gifted his right to it to Stewart who then borrowed from money lenders in Paris to purchase the confirming papal bulls. Stewart received the temporalities of the abbey on 6 October 1526 until his death 1539.

Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He also called the Council of Trent in 1545....
 received King James V
James V of Scotland

James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his premature death at the age of thirty, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss....
’s recommendation of Thomas Erskine as the next commendator in November 1539 but was not confirmed until April 1541 due to a contesting provision. In 1541, hostilities between Scotland and England resumed but Dryburgh remained untouched until 7 November 1544 when Edward Seymour
Edward Seymour

Edward Seymour may refer to:*Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of England , during the minority of his nephew, Edward VI of England...
, earl of Hertford, burned the town of Dryburgh and its abbey. He returned in 1545 and again set fire to the abbey. Erskine was captured at Dover when the Scottish warship he was aboard foundered while on route to France prompting Marie de Guise
Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise was the Queen Consort of James V of Scotland and the mother of Mary I of Scotland. She was Regent, or Governor, of Scotland 1554–1560....
, widow of James V, to call for his release. Erskine was ransomed for £500 and Dryburgh would have been expected to provide amply to the settlement and it may have been the need to obtain funds that, in July 1548, he resigned his commendatorship to his brother John.

Like most of his commendatory forebears, John Erskine
John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar

John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar , regent of Kingdom of Scotland, was a son of John, 5th Lord Erskine , who was Legal guardian of King James V of Scotland, and afterwards of Mary I of Scotland....
 took very little interest in the spiritual side of the abbey but was an important personage in the politics of Scotland during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary I of Scotland

Mary I was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567.She was the only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland. She was only six days old when her father died and left her Queen of Scots....
 and James VI. John was commendator until 1556 when he stepped down in favour of his nephew, David Erskine. David Erskine received the bulls confirming his office in July 1556 and set about quickly alienating the possessions of the abbey by granting lands to important local families. Erskine took part in the kidnapping of James VI known as the Raid of Ruthven
Raid of Ruthven

On August 22, 1582, the Raid of Ruthven conspiracy composed of several Presbyterian nobles, led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, abducted King James VI of Scotland....
 but when the king escaped from his imprisonment in Ruthven castle, he and his accomplices fled to England. Erskine’s was deprived of his lands and the commendatorship of Dryburgh Abbey was given to William Stewart

William Stewart held the commendatorship for just over a year when in 1585 David Erskine found favour once more with James VI and all of his possessions and appellations were reinstated.

In June 1600, Erskine wrote to a relative saying that all the canons had now died and marked the ending of the monastery. In 1604, the remaining possessions of the abbey were integrated into the Lordship of Cardross of John Erskine, 2nd Earl of Mar. Henry Erskine, Mar’s son received the titular title of commendator of Dryburgh Abbey.

Routine of the canons

The daily routine of the canons were made up of religious services, agricultural duties, household functions, copying books and reading. In detail, this would have been:


  • The canonical hour of Matins
    Matins

    Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodoxy liturgy of the canonical hours....
     was held in the early morning when the canons were wakened by the dormitory bell. They would proceed to the church for the first service of the day following which they returned to bed.
  • The Prime
    Prime

    Prime can refer to:* Prime number, an integer greater than 1 which is only divisible by 1 and itself* Prime , the ' mark** Directionality in biochemistry...
     service was held at 6 a.m. when the canons were re-awakened and summoned to church for mass; they would remain in private prayers until the bell announcing the daily meeting in the chapterhouse.
  • The community would assemble in the cloister then proceed to the chapterhouse where a lesson from the rules of the order was read. Any transgressors were held to account for their actions and any punishments carried out by the prior.
  • In winter, at the hour of Tierce
    Terce

    Terce, or Third Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at 9 a.m....
    , or 9 a.m., following on from the meeting of the chapter, the canons would proceed in pairs to the church for the singing of hymns. In summer, there was a longer interval before Tierce so that the abbey duties could be performed. The summer Tierce was a high mass.
  • High mass was performed at the hour of Sext
    Sext

    Sext, or Sixth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at noon....
    , or mid-day, in winter.
  • The community ate at 1 p.m. where only two dishes were served except on certain occasions when an additional sweet dish, called a pittance was provided. If someone was late for the meal then unless he had an adequate excuse, he would have to sit at the most remote of the tables and perhaps with no wine or ale.
  • After the dinner, some canons rested while others conversed until the hour of Nones, or 3 p.m. when the canons proceeded to church for another service after which, the community were required to wash their hands and wait in the cloister until summoned to the refectory to drink.
  • At 6 p.m. the canons attended Vespers
    Vespers

    Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican, and Lutheran Liturgy of the canonical hours....
    .
  • The Compline
    Compline

    Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day....
    , the last of the day's worship was held after 7 p.m. followed by a light supper and then bed.
  • There were no sheets on the dormitory beds and the canons were required to sleep in their habit
  • in the Autumn, the agricultural canons would leave for the fields early in the morning and occasionally would not return until after vespers. They had to recite their prayers at the appointed hours as they toiled, however.


List of abbots


  • Roger, 1152-1177
  • Gerard, 1177-1184x1188
  • Adam
    Adam of Dryburgh

    Adam of Dryburgh was a late 12th and early 13th century England-Scotland theologian, writer and Premonstratensian and Carthusian monk. He entered Dryburgh Abbey as a young man, rising to become abbot , before converting to Carthusianism and moving to Witham Friary....
    , 1184-1188
  • Richard, 1188x1193,1190
  • Alan, 1193-1196
  • Geoffrey, 1203-1209
  • William, 1209-1210
  • Thomas, 1200x1234.
  • Hugh, 1221-1229
  • Henry, ?1230
  • Walter, 1236-1240
  • John, 1240-1245x1255
  • Oliver, 1262-1273 x
  • William, 1296
  • Roger, 1308 x1309
  • William, 1316-1324
  • David, 1324x1328-1342
  • Andrew, 1350-c. 1367-69
  • John, 1381-1406
  • William de Dryburgh, 1408
  • John de Aberdeen, 1408-1414
  • Thomas de Merton, 1434
  • James Crawford, 1444-1445
  • Walter de Var, 1461-1476 x 1477
  • John Crawford, 1478 -1482
  • Hugh Douglas, 1477 x 1482
  • Andrew Lidderdale, 1482-1508
  • Thomas Hay, 1482
  • John Fenton, 1483
  • David Dinac, 1483
  • David Finlayson, 1509

Commendators
  • Andrew Forman
    Andrew Forman

    Andrew Forman was a Scottish people diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 as well as the headship of several monasteries....
    , 1509-1514 x 1516
  • James Ogilvie
    James Ogilvie

    James Ogilvie [Ogilvy] was a late medieval Kingdom of Scotland prelate. After the death of William Elphinstone , the Bishop of Aberdeen became vacant....
    , 1515-1518
  • David Hamilton, 1519-1523
  • James Stewart, 1523 - 1539
  • Thomas Erskine, 1539-1551
  • Robert Waucope, 1539-1544 x 1548
  • Robert Frasin, 1548
  • John Erskine, 1548 - 1556
  • David Erskine, 1556-1584; 1585-1604
  • William Stewart, 1585
  • Henry Erskine, 1604-1628

Abbots


Bibliography

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  • Dunbar, Sir Archibald H.,Bt., Scottish Kings - A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005 - 1625, Edinburgh, 1899. [Scottish Kings]
  • Duncan, A.A.M, ed., Regesta Regum Scotorum,v, the Acts of Robert I, Edinburgh, 1988. [RRS, v]
  • Fawcett, Richard & Oram, Richard, Dryburgh Abbey, Stroud, Gloustershire, 2005. ISBN 0-7524-3469-X [Fawcett & Oram, Dryburgh Abbey]
  • Fawcett, Richard & Oram, Richard, Melrose Abbey, Stroud, Gloustershire, 2004. ISBN 0-7524-2867-5[Fawcett & Oram, Melrose Abbey]
  • Ferguson, P.C., Medieval Papal Representatives in Scotland: Legates, Nuncios, and Judge Delegates, 1125 - 1286, Stair Society, 1997. [Ferguson, Papal Representatives]*
  • Lindsay, E.R. & Cameron, A.I., eds. Calendar of Scottish Supplications to Rome, 1418-22, Scottish History Society, 1934 [CSSR, 1418-22]
  • Morton, James, The Monastic Annals of Teviotdale, Edinburgh, 1837 [Morton, Monastic Annals]
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  • Stringer, K.J., ed. 'The Early Lords of Lauderdale, Dryburgh Abbey and St Andrews Priory at Northhampton' in Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland", Edinburgh, 1985. [Stringer, Early Lords]
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External links