Soulseat Abbey
Encyclopedia
Saulseat or Soulseat Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastic community located in Wigtownshire
, Galloway
, in the Gaelic-speaking
south-west of Scotland
. It was regarded as the first and the senior Premonstratensian house in the Kingdom of Scotland
. There is some evidence that Soulseat Abbey is Viride Stagnum ("green loch"), that is, the Cistercian monastery founded by St Malachy somewhere in Galloway in 1148. The name comes from the Gaelic word Sabhal, a word with many religious and monastic connotations. Perhaps because of Anglophone folk etymology, the name came to imply a connection to both Saul
and the soul
, taking the Latin form Sedes Animarum ("Seat of the Spirit"). The site of Soulseat Abbey (now a mound with five 16th century gravestones thereon) is on the promontory of a loch with a very narrow isthmus, thus perhaps fitting the description. The Premonstratensian establishment certainly occurred before the death of King Fergus of Galloway
, which took place in 1161. The Obituary of Prémontré lists both King Fergus and Christian
, bishop of Galloway
(1154-86), as joint founders. Probably because of the abbey's cultural isolation from Lowland Scotland, almost none of the abbots are known by name before the fifteenth century. It is known though that the abbey suffered devastation from wars in the fourteenth century. Control of the abbey became secularized in the fifteenth century, and even more so after the Scottish Reformation. In 1630 it was taken over by the parsonage of Portpatrick
.
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway...
, Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
, in the Gaelic-speaking
Galwegian Gaelic
Galwegian Gaelic is an extinct dialect of Scottish Gaelic formerly spoken in southwest Scotland. It was spoken by the independent kings of Galloway in their time, and by the people of Galloway and Carrick until the early modern period. It was once spoken in Annandale and Strathnith...
south-west of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was regarded as the first and the senior Premonstratensian house in the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
. There is some evidence that Soulseat Abbey is Viride Stagnum ("green loch"), that is, the Cistercian monastery founded by St Malachy somewhere in Galloway in 1148. The name comes from the Gaelic word Sabhal, a word with many religious and monastic connotations. Perhaps because of Anglophone folk etymology, the name came to imply a connection to both Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
and the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
, taking the Latin form Sedes Animarum ("Seat of the Spirit"). The site of Soulseat Abbey (now a mound with five 16th century gravestones thereon) is on the promontory of a loch with a very narrow isthmus, thus perhaps fitting the description. The Premonstratensian establishment certainly occurred before the death of King Fergus of Galloway
Fergus of Galloway
Fergus of Galloway was King, or Lord, of Galloway from an unknown date , until his death in 1161. He was the founder of that "sub-kingdom," the resurrector of the Bishopric of Whithorn, the patron of new abbeys , and much else besides...
, which took place in 1161. The Obituary of Prémontré lists both King Fergus and Christian
Christian of Whithorn
Christian of Whithorn was Bishop of Whithorn , the second incumbent of that Episcopal See since it had been resurrected by King Fergus of Galloway earlier in the 12th century....
, bishop of Galloway
Bishop of Galloway
The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and the first known...
(1154-86), as joint founders. Probably because of the abbey's cultural isolation from Lowland Scotland, almost none of the abbots are known by name before the fifteenth century. It is known though that the abbey suffered devastation from wars in the fourteenth century. Control of the abbey became secularized in the fifteenth century, and even more so after the Scottish Reformation. In 1630 it was taken over by the parsonage of Portpatrick
Portpatrick
Portpatrick is a village hanging on to the extreme south-westerly tip of mainland Scotland, cut into a cleft in steep cliffs.Dating back historically some 500 years, and built adjacent to the ruins of nearby Dunskey Castle, its position on the Rhins of Galloway affords visitors views of the...
.
See also
- Abbot of SoulseatAbbot of SoulseatThe Abbot of Soulseat was the head of the Premonstratensian monastic community of Soulseat Abbey in Galloway. The following is a list of abbots and commendators:-List of Premonstratensian abbots:* Michael of Bangor...
, for a list of abbots and commendators