Inchaffray Abbey was situated by the village of Madderty, midway between Perth and Crieff in Strathearn, Scotland. The only traces now visible are an earth mound and some walls on rising ground which once (before drainage) formed an island where the abbey once stood (the surrounding marshes known for eels).

History

Folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

has the name Inchaffray taken from the Gaelic ''innis abh reidh'' (island of the smooth water), but the earliest attested form of the name is the Latin ''Insula missarum'' (island of the masses),"Inchaffray Abbey", Canmore
/ref> mass in Gaelic being ''oifrend'' and Welsh ''offeren'', thus island of the offerings. A charter of Jonathan, Bishop of Dunblane, refers to the place "qui uocatur lingua Scottica Inche Affren" (="which is called in the Gaelic language ''Inche Affren''") and comparative usage shows that ''Insula Missarum'' was taken as a translation, e.g. "Sancti Johannis evangeliste de Inchefrren" and "sancto Johanni apostolo de Insula Misserum". A priory was created on the site of an existing ecclesiastical establishment of a group of clerics known as "the brethren of St John of Strathearn".

Gilbert, Earl of Strathearn {{Infobox noble, type , name = Gille Brigte , title = Earl of Strathearn , image = , caption = , alt = Gilbert , CoA = , more = no , succession ...

and his first known wife Maud d'Aubigny, daughter of William d'Aubigny (Brito) erected the priory in 1200 in memory of their first-born son Gilchrist, was buried there in 1198. The old religious community was absorbed by the new foundation. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and John the Evangelist, the abbey was granted to the

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

of Scone Abbey. The charter survives, granting the churches of Saint Cathan of Abruthven, Saint

Ethernan Ethernan (or Ithernan, Etharnan, Itarnan) was a 7th century Scottish martyr and saint. Life and death Almost nothing is known about Ethernan's life. It has been speculated that he may have been a monk of Iona due to his death being mentioned ...

of Madderty,

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

of Strogeith, Saint Makkessog of

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "Th ...

, and Saint Beanus of Kinkell. The details of the earlier establishments are not certain, but a church dedicated to John the Evangelist is attested in about 1190. The priory became an abbey in 1221. Britishmuseuminchaffreyabbeyseal

Inchaffray was patronised both by the Earls of Strathearn and by the Scottish kings. In 1275 a tithe of real income was assessed on all religious houses to fund a

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

, at which time Inchaffray had an income of 246 pounds per annum, fourth among Augustinian houses, exceeded only by

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, Scone and Holyrood. In time the abbey's lands and dependent churches stretched across Scotland, as far away as Uist in the west and Balfron in the south. The abbey ordered the digging of the Pow of Inchaffray, a nine-mile drainage ditch, to improve nearby marshland. Inchaffray Charter 1238

Abbot Maurice of Inchaffray carried the relics of Saint Fillan to bless the Scots army before the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...

in 1314.

Commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ...

Laurence Oliphant, who came from a notable Strathearn family, was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1514. By 1561 Inchaffrey's fortunes had declined, its income being assessed at £667, third lowest of the Augustinian abbeys in Scotland included in the levy. With the Scottish Reformation under way, Inchaffray had been turned into a secular lordship for a member of the Drummond family in 1556. James VI visited James Drummond at Inchaffray on 5 October 1601. The property later passed to the Earls of Kinnoull. Much of what remained of the abbey was destroyed in 1816 when a road was driven across the site. Today a single gable-end wall stands in private property, although it is visible from the road. The ruins are designated a scheduled monument.

Burials

Jonathan of Dunblane Jonathan (died c. 1210) was a churchman and prelate active in late twelfth- and early thirteenth century Strathearn, in the Kingdom of Scotland. He was the Bishop of Dunblane during the time of Gille Brigte of Strathearn, and it was during ...

* Malise, 6th Earl of Strathearn

Notes

References

* Lindsay, William Alexander, & Thomson, John Maitland, (eds.) ''Charters of Inchaffray'', Publications of the Scottish History Society, vol. LVI, (Edinburgh, 1908) * Watson, W.J., ''The History of the Celtic Place-names of Scotland.'' Reprinted with an introduction by Simon Taylor, Birlinn, Edinburgh, 2004.
PSAS, volume 126
"Inchaffrey Abbey: Excavation and Research 1987" by Gordon Ewart et al., pp. 469–516.

External links

{{coord, 56, 23, 2, N, 3, 41, 49, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title 13th-century church buildings in Scotland Listed monasteries in Scotland Augustinian monasteries in Scotland Religious organizations established in the 1200s Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 1556 disestablishments History of Perth and Kinross Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Perth and Kinross Former Christian monasteries in Scotland

History

Burials

See also

Notes

References

External links