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Crux Medici to Strichen 1206 – 1220AD

Programme of Study : CLL Scottish cultural studies & Archaeology. Course code and Title: KL2541, Local history dissertation with group instruction. Project Title: Crux Medici to Strichen 1206 – 1220AD. What’s in a name? Student: Andrew Sturdy. Student No: 50800099. Tutor: Norman Newton. Date: 28 May 2012

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Table of Content Para Heading Page 1 Introduction 3 2 History Review 3

2.1 Watt, History of Aberdeenshire & Banff 3 2.2 Tocher, The Book of Buchan 3 2.3 Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis 3 2.4 Ross Macgibbon, The Ecclesiastical Architecture 4 2.5 Spalding, Collection on the Shires of Aberdeen & Banff 4 2.6 McLeod, The Churches of Buchan & Notes by the Way 4 2.7 Spalding, Illustrations of the topography & antiquities 4 2.8 Wylie, History of a Scottish Nation 4 2.9 McCallum, The History of The Culdees 177-1300 4

2.10 Stuart, The Book of Deer 4 2.11 Cumming, The Bruce & the Cuymns 4 2.12 Simpson, A Forgotten Aberdeenshire Monastery 4 2.13 Walker, Holy Wells in Scotland 4 2.14 Shaw, The History of the province of Moray 5 2.15 Black, The Surnames of Scotland 5

3 Methodology 5 4 Results 5

4.1 Fergus Charter 5 4.2 William Charter 5 4.3 William Cumyn 5 4.4 Watts & Shaw 6 4.5 Book of Deer 6 4.6 Church 6 4.7 Mill of Strichen 7 4.8 Wax 8 4.9 Lady Well 8

5 Discussion 8 6 Summary 19 ANNEX A Charter of Fegus and William 21 ANNEX B Miscellaneous Maps & Photographs

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1. Introduction

The period from the last Momaer of Buchan to the rise and then demise of the house of Comyn,

marks a short but golden age for the North East that lasted a little over an hundred years. How a

small neatly laid-out village at the heart of Buchan called Strichen fared during the initial change

from Celtic Mormaer to Norman Scottish Earldom is the focus of this dissertation. This period at

the start of the thirteenth century marks a time of social and religious change occurring

throughout Scotland, as the older independent tribal way of life was steadily replaced by the

ridged bureaucracy of a feudal system.

Evidence of this change regarding Strichen comes down to us through two charters that bridge

the two camps of Celt and Norman Scottish. In the first of 1206, the settlement is referred to as

‘the Crux Medici’, but only around eight years later its name has change to Strichen. Although

these names share a connections in that they may be considered to mean doctor and illness,

there are other possible meanings that must be considered, for understanding the reason of the

place name change may unlock a greater understanding of a forgotten period of Scottish

history. Especially when it is suggested that the name change could have been the result of a

singular event; one which saw the Crux Medici rubbed out, strichen, from the record.

The search to discover the real reason for the change from Crux Medici to Strichen is the

question that this dissertation will hope to satisfy.

2. History Review

The following books and documents form the main sources used for research:

2.1 Watt William 1900, The History of Aberdeenshire and Banff : Commissioned to discover the most factual history of the two shires based on the works of the First Spalding Club. Reference to Strichen in the time of William the Lion 1165-1214:

“It is, however as pious founders that Earl William and Countess Marjory are most

prominent in the Aberdeenshire records. Before the death of William the Lion the countess had granted to the monks of Arbroath the churches of Turriff, Inverugie, Strichen, and Rathen…… another of his ecclesiastical benefactions was a gift of the rent of lands in Strichen to the chaple of St Mary besides his castle in the town of Rattray.’

2.2 Shaw Lachlan 1827, The History of the province of Moray: Reference: Earl William of Buchan makes grant of one stone of wax to the church of Glasgow yearly. Watt’s claim of Strichen church being granted to Arbroath is repeated, Strichen this time spelt Strothechin.

2.3 J. F. Tocher, The Book of Buchan 1910. Not to be confused with the more well-known ‘Pratts Book of Buchan’. This Book of Buchan treats Buchan as a whole, encompassing its natural history as well as its prehistoric, ancient and medieval history. It is a conjoint

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of work by 29 writers with Chapters such as Ancient, Medieval, Stuart and Burghal Buchan. The early church in Buchan contains a translation of Fergus Charter 1206AD. Charter by Fergus Earl Page 135 - 137

2.4 Published 1845, Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis; Ecclesie Cathedralis

Aberdonensis Regesta Que Extant in Unum…… : Charters and Bishop list of Aberdeen.

Contains Latin copy of William Charter Page 14 – 15

2.5 Ross Thomas and Macgibbon David 1896, The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland Vol. 1. By covering the period from the first recorded Christian building by the Briton St.

Ninian 412AD to the late Saxon and Norman influence, this book may give an understanding of what type of building and the nature of the priesthood in Strichen if Watts describing a church at Strichen is substantiated.

2.6 The Spalding Club 1843, Collection on the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff. Indepth description of agriculture paticulary the type of crops being grown in Buchan. Lots of text is published in Latin with English translation and chapters are divided under the represented Presbyteries. Most notable, Deer, Rathin, Tyrie, Strichen, Monymosk, Rattray.

2.7 McLeod N.K. Rev.1899 The Churches of Buchan and Notes by the Way. Religious centres in Buchan from the introduction of Christiananity into Pictland to modern times. Pre-Columba church and Culdees. Monymusk. Deer.

2.8 The Spalding Club 1847, Illustrtions of the topography and antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff: Records the act of parliament that created the modern parish of Strichen with reference to the Fergus and William Charters.

2.9 Wylie J.A. Rev 1886 History of the Scottish nation: Numerous mentions of the Culdee movement and its demise.

2.10 McCallum Duncan Rev 1885. The History of The Culdees the Ancient Clergy of the British Isles A.D. 177 – 1300. Makes a case for an unbroken link of Christianity being practice in the British Isle from the persercutions of the Roman Empire to the Medieval period.

2.11 Stuart John 1869, The Book of Deer edited for the Spalding Club: The 9th century gospel book with 13th century comments in Gaelic written in the margins. Now held in Cambridge University is thought to have originated from Deer Abbey. The Columba foundation myth is found inside.

2.12 Cumming Bruce M.E. The Bruce and The Cumyns 1870Mackie Alexander 1911, Aberdeenshire: Ecclesiastical architecture. Book of Deer.

2.13 Simpson Douglas w. 1922, A forgotten Aberdeenshire Monastery: Rejects Columba myth for the foundation of Deer Abbey. Makes a case for a Briton/Pictish Monastery, religious settlement, in Buchan dissolved before 1219AD and the construction of Deer Abbey.

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2.14 Walker Russel 1883, Holy Wells in Scotland, Proceedings of the Society: Source of information on the evolution of pagen to Christian well worship/veneration up to the Reformation.

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2.15 Black, George F. 1946 The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History. New York.

3 Methodology An examining of the documentation listed in para 2 will be conducted with an inspection of available maps and field visit. The findings will be published in para 3 Results. The Results will then be discussed in para 4 Discussion, with the aim of drawing a satisfactory summary that satisfies the Introduction.

The method of research will predominately be internet based for reasons of personal restrictions on time and the logistics.

4 Result

4.1 Fergus Charter

a. Written in 1206 by Fergus Mormaer of Buchan as a land exchanged document. b. John son of Uthred is the named person in the charter. As a real-estate document it

sets out the district boundaries at that time. The place names being easily identifiable today.

c. Strichen is recorder as the Crux Medici on it. d. It is witnessed by Cospatric filius Maded.

4.2 William Charter

a. Written after William Cumyn, Lord of Badenoch, Great Justiciar of Scotia, becomes Earl of Buchan by marriage to Fergus’s daughter, Marjory, in 1211AD

b. It is an agreement that Cospatric Macmedethyn will pay two stone of wax and give as much military service for the mill and lands of Strichen and Kyndrochet.

c. Strichen is spelt Straythen in the Latin text. d. Cospatric filius Maded is a witness on the Fergus charter, becoming Cospatric

Macmadethyn on this charter. e. John son of Uthred on the Fergus charter becomes John of Kyndrocht.

4.3 William Cumyn

a. Born 1163. At age 37 in 1200AD went as King’s envoy to congratulate King John of England on his coronation.

b. Justiciar of Scotia in 1205AD, then named Great Justicar of the Kingdom of Scotland in 1209AD. He was married off with his second wife, with the blessing of King

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Alexander II, Marjory Dutchess of Buchan ruling Buchan at the time in her own right after the death of her father, Fergus, 1210AD. Making the Fergus charter drafted 4 years before the influence of William.

c. A keen benefactor of religion, William had built Deer Abbey in 1219AD, and was instrumental in the building of St Mungo’s church (Glasgow Cathedral). A venture carried on by his wife after his death.

d. Died in 1233AD

4.4 Watts 1900 & Shaw 1827

a. Watts makes a statement that Strichen church was granted to the monks of Arbroath in the time of William the Lion (1165-1214). Shaw confirms this by saying it occurred between 1211 – 1214AD. Shaw writes Strichen as ‘Strothechin’ in her book.

b. Controversy as Strichen was not to have a parish until act of parliament in 1623 decreed it. Before this date, Strichen was part of Rathen and Fraserburgh parishes.

4.5 Book of Deer

a. A tenth century book containing four gospels and a Office for the Visitation of the Sick, written in Latin.

b. The gospels are thought to have been written in the Celtic Deir Abbey that preceded the Cistercian Deer Abbey built by Earl William in 1219AD.

c. Doctored in the 12 -13th century by the monks of the new Cistercian abbey. In its margins are recorded the gifts of land to the Abbey throughout its history, along with the creation myth of the original Deir Abbey marking its founder as St Columba.

d. The later entries in the margins are written in Gaelic. e. Crux Medici or Strichen (with its many spellings) is not recorded in the book.

4.6 Church (based on the assumption that Strichen had a church in 1200AD)

a. First church building recorded in Scotland known to be Candida Casa, Whithorn, St. Ninian 412AD.

b. St. Ninian considered to have set up a school at Annat (Andet) Methlick, 13 miles south of Strichen. St. Ninian Well is at Methlick.

c. St Ninian credited with converting Southern Picts to Christianity (or correcting the teachings of the Christians already there).

d. Formartine, the district immediately south of modern Buchan was dedicated to St. Ninian’s mentor St. Martin of Tours. (For-Martin).

e. In 565AD Columba converts King Brude of the Northern Picts to Christainity. f. St Augustine sent by Pope Gregory to England in 596AD to restore the church there.

Brings with him the Roman style of building. g. St Winifred, Bishop of York and great opponent to the Columban’s in Northumbria, is

erected stone churches in the seventh century. h. Pre-Norman churches have a characteristic that the height of their walls far exceeds

the width of the building. Monkwearmouth erected by Benedict Biscop in seventh century width is 18’ while height is 30’.

i. Synod of Whitby 664AD, Columban church driven from Northumbria j. Victory of the Picts at Dunichen 685AD ends Angles rule in Scotland, Nectan King of

the Picts meets Roman missionaries and coverts to Christianity in 710AD, issues a decree in 717AD expelling all ecclesiastics who refused to conform to the Roman

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practices. One thought is that the Culdee’s were a result of the expulsion of the Columba church at this time.

k. Culdees may have links with the Druids converted to Christianity by Christians fleeing Roman persecution in the second century. Connections with the dessert fathers of Egypt and Gnostics

l. The Venerable Bede writes that Nectan, King of the Northern Picts sought in 710AD for masons from Monkwearmouth to build churches for him in the Roman fashion.

m. Kenneth M’Alphine in 850AD, a Scot, becomes King of Pictland. Makes efforts to re-establish Columban Church.

n. 878-89AD KingGiric gives Liberty to the Scottish Church, making all their lands free from secular exactions.

o. Many Culdee churches in the area. Tyrie, Lonmay, Inverurie etc. p. The Culdee church was being systematically absorbed/dissolved into the church of

Rome. Last Culdee bishop of St Andrews was Fodath who performed the marriage between Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margret in 1069AD.

q. Tyrie church, Culdee church built around 1004AD. Pict symbol stone found in foundation. A bird above a Z rod on top of a rectangle/table. Famed as being White Kirk of Buchan, styled as the Candida Casa, Whithorn, of the north-east. Queen Joan of King James 1st of Scotland 1394-1437 did pilgrimage here. Dedicated to St Andrew and gifted to the monks of Arbroath, St Thomas the Becket Abbey. Served by the Cistercian monks that replced the Culdees at Deer.

r. Attempts were made in 1200AD to change the Culdees at Monimusk to Augustinian canons by William Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews. Brice, Prior of the Culdees, made a deal that the order may continue on conditions that the Bishop had the final say on the future selection of Culdee leaders, that their oratory should have no churchyard and the dead of the priory must be buried in the parish graveyard.

s. Before 1633AD inhabitants of Strichen bury their dead over Mormond Hill at Rathen and were carried along the corpse road. Lych-stones or boulders were used to mark the road and rest the coffins on. Lynch from the Anglo-Saxon word lie or lyce ‘a dead body or corpse.’

t. Strichen church built in 1620AD is dedicated to St. John Evangelist. This church was taken down and rebuilt in 1799 rededicated to St Andrew.

4.7 Attaining to the Mill of Strichen of the William Charter. a. A mill already in existence by 1214AD. b. Mill owner Cospartric Macmadethyn, the same Cospatric as witness Fergus charter

under the name Cospatric filius Maded. The element Cos- is cognate to Welsh gwas meaning "servant", and is thus equivalent to the Gaelic Gioll;, with filius meaning ‘son’.

c. Cospatric to give military service and two stone of wax per annum for rent of land. d. The Mill was one of the key components of controlling people under the feudal

system. e. Mentioned in a charter of 1504 when Andrew Elphinstone of Selmis granted the mill

of Adizel (Strichen) to the students of Theology in the New Colledge of the University of Aberdeen.

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4.8 Attaining to the charge of two stone of wax in the William Charter: a. The wax was given as alms to St Mary’s chapel; the castle’s chapel of Earl William. b. St Mary’s was thought to have been built in memory of a son of Earl William drowned

in a well nearby. c. As patron of St Mungo’s Cathedral Glasgow Earl William grants one stone of wax

annually. d. Charter by King James III 1475AD confirming charter from 1461 of payment yearly to

the Blessed Virgin Mary Rattray of £5 (Scot or Stirling is not known), plus third part of a pound of wax. Using average yearly earnings calculation £5 Stirling today is equivalent to £27,500.

4.9 Attaining to Lady Well: a. Holy wells were often always adopted from Pagan sites. b. RCAHMS NJ95SW 9 Lady Well at Chapelmuir Strichen. c. Associated with healing, especially curing lunacy. d. Lady’s Well on Island of May near St Adrian chaple. St Adrian also known

as Etherna. Rathen’s church and the churchyard used by Strichen before 1633, is dedicated to St Etherna. Also, there is St Etherna hermitage on top of Mormond hill along the corpse track from Strichen to Rathen.

e. Holy wells are outlawed after Reformation of 16th century. f. St Mary’s chapel Rattray built in memory of a son of Earl William drowned in a well. g. 1579 public statute prohibiting pilgrimages to wells. h. Folk superstition concerning a water kelpie living in the river Ugie at Strichen.

5 Discussion Introduction:

During the first two decades of the 13th century a settlement in Buchan, Aberdeenshire, changes

its name form Crux Medici to Strichen, a name that it is still known by today. The following

discussion draws on the evidence of the previous pages and aims to find reason why this

change should occur.

In 1206AD Strichen is recorded as the Crux Medici in a charter of the last Mormaer of Buchan,

Fergusi. It is one of the earliest charters to have survived from this area, and with it being written

in this period shows that Buchan was already well on its way to adopting and being

administered on the bureaucratic model of an English Norman Earldom. (The North Britain or

Celtic tittle of Mormaer roughly equates to that of an English Norman earl bordering on a lesser

king).

Fergus carries on administering justice in the fashion of his ancestors by holding court on the

Mott in Ellon three times a year; a tradition that the Norman, William Comyns, who succeeded

him continuesii. But as Fergus nears the end of his life he adopts what is often seen as a

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Norman concept into Britain, that of the written word through documents and charters to enforce

law. Just why an independent and season leader as Fergus would succumb to such Norman

ways so late in his reign we have only to look to his daughter Marjory; for it is she that embraces

whole heartily the growing feudal system. So much so that after the death of her father she

proclaims herself Countess of Buchan and rules for a time alone. Even after marriage to William

Comyns in 1211AD she continues to refer to herself as ‘Countess Marjory daughter of Fergus

Earl of Buchan’iii, and never as Wife of Earl William.

So the fact charters are being written before this union of the old Pict/Celt house of Fergus with

that of the new Scottish/Norman William Comyns must dispel the idea that there was ever a

English Norman invasion of ideas originating on the back of that union. However William, being

half Norman on his father’s side, is often portrayed as the first non-native Earl of Buchan as well

as Scotland, and has been charged with the crime of imposing Englishness onto Buchan to the

detriment of the native local culture. This is somewhat unfair and should be addressed, for

William, Lord of Badenoch and Justiciary of Scotland at the time of his second marriage to

Marjory, was in fact only half Norman and could trace back on his mother side to regal Pictish

blood stock. The stigma of being Norman and therefore English as a bad thing seems to have

come down to us is by events that were to happen just over one hundred years later at the

battle of Bara 1308.

It was at the battle of Bara, 18 miles north of Aberdeen, that the Comyns dynasty that Marjory

helped bring about, was laid to waste by Robert Bruce King of Scots. After his victory he sets

his brother Edward Bruce on Buchan in what may be considered today as nothing short of clan

genocide. Edward’s action became known in folk law as the Herschip of Buchan, or Rape of

Buchan, and was so server it was said it took 50 years for Buchan to recover, if at all if ever did.

It is somewhat ironic then that recently in 2011AD a bronze statue of King Robert was erected

outside Marischal College Aberdeenshire to great celebration. (It appears as the memory of the

crimes committed to advance his throne wains history is being reinterpreted, and this statue

illustrates well that all history is eventually written by the victor).

After Bara, Bruce went on to defeat the English at the Bannock Burn 1314AD, and for many

today fuelled by propaganda with public events like that mention above and films like Brave

Heart which puts a Hollywood slant on historic truth, this date has become the starting point of

their Scottish History and identity. So what we find in the charter of Fergus is as refreshing as it

is illuminating; for it shines a light on a time that was as noble and prestige’s as anything that

came as a result of Bruce. A time when Buchan flowered to the highest echelons of Scottish

nobility; cut short by Bruce, and would never be seen again. The seed of this flower are witness

within the Fergus charter.

Fergus Charter

In its simplest form the Fergus charter is basically a real-estate document. As such it sets out

the boundaries concerned with a list of the settlements and landmarks running along them. In

doing so the settlement we know today as Strichen is identified as being known then as the

‘Crux Medici’. (For me the name Crux Medici was the one element needed to trigger my

imagination and fan my own natural curiosity, which became the motivation for this dissertation).

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Why the translator of the charter into English should leave ‘Crux Medici’ un-translated in its

original Latin, and therefore retaining its original Latin meaning, is telling. A literal translation

would have it called ‘Cross of the Doctor’, however in medieval Britain and Europe where

symbolism and religion dogma are prevalent; few things seem to have had literal meanings.

This I feel is most certainly the case with Crux Medici.

Separating the two words, Medici is probably quite straightforward and a reference to a doctor

or doctors. This would naturally indicate an association of such a place with this name as a

place of healing. Not too untoward or controversial. It is the meaning of ‘Crux’ though that

stimulates debate.

Researching the meaning of Crux has resulted in an array of possible meanings, but so not to

dwell needlessly on speculation, all these meanings may be grouped against two most plausible

ones and will be discussed here. Future research may ultimately reveal other possibilities and

the debate I am sure will continue.

On first impressions the word Crux is automatically assumed to be the English word ‘Cross’.

Although associating the Crux with cross as a symbol of Christianity is apparent today, in

1206AD ‘Crux’ may have been used more widely as a metaphor of the crucifixion and would

have been loaded with all the horrors and agony experienced by Christ on the cross. So much

so that Crux was often used as a byword for torture.

Whether we should assume that the doctors of Strichen were so bad in practice that they

warranted being called the Torture Doctors, is intriguing but I feel unlikely. There is a link here to

be made with tourture as in illness or chronic pain, but I feel a truer meaning of Crux is found in

the phrase still relevant in meaning today; ‘crux of the problem’.

Roget’s Thesaurus compiled in 1805 places the word Crux in the chapter, ‘Words relating to the

intellectual faculties, operations of intellect in general’. It goes on to group Crux with words such

as: secret, mystery, enigma, and more intriguing as a possible meaning for Crux Medici, it is

teamed up with the words ‘Inquire’ and ‘Inquisitor’.

I therefore find that Crux Medici was most likely so called because the people of the community

living here were a people of a highly respected intellect that undoubtedly practise some form of

medicine.

What else we may learn from the Fergus charter is best examined alongside the William charter

of a few years later. For the similarities and differences are indicators of the social change at the

time of this supposed regime-change.

William Charter

Firstly we find the key players in this charter are the same as the Fergus, but what has changed

is the manner in which they are being identified in law. In the Fergus Charter they use the old

British way of calling oneself ‘son-of’ or ‘daughter-of’; John son of Uthred, Cospatric filius

Maded, (Cos meaning servant and filius meaning son-of, making Cospartic filius Maded to

mean, ‘servant Patric son of Maded’).

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In the William Charter this mode has been dropped and surnames have been adopted which is

often seen as an indicator of Norman influence in the British Isles. John son of Uthred becomes

John of Kyndrocht, the place name of the land he owns, and Cospartric filius Maded becomes

Cospatric Macmedethyn.

It may also be noted that the Scandinavian and Anglo sounding Uthred and Manded have been

dropped in favour of the more Gaelic looking place name and sounding Macmedethyn. The

reasoning why this may have been the case will be discussed later with the Book of Deer.

These name changes mark the cultural conversion of the ruling elite, started with Majory and

Fergus, to English Norman values as being complete. The transfer from Crux Medici to Strichen

may also have been a simple matter of bringing a Latin place name to bare a Norman identity.

But considering that another settlement which carries the prefix crux, Crux Easton in

Hampshire, and is known through the archaeological record was a settlement in Roman times,

is recorded as being in existence before Edward the Confessor and appears in the Doomsday

book 1068AD, survives to this day under that name. It feels unlikely then that any Norman

would have had issue with the name Crux Medici.

If Crux Medici continues to prove an enigma, what therefore is to be understood by its

replacement, ‘Strichen’?

Past attempts to explain the meaning of Strichen have often dwelt on efforts to Gallicise it in

much the same way as Cospatric did with his adopted surname. This I believe has led to much

confusion and masked its real meaning. Its many spellings over the centuries, such as

Strathion meaning John’s Strath or valley, may at first seem plausible, for it was ‘John’ son of

Uthred, who held the area according to the Fergus Charter. But I find I am more in agreement

with J F Tocher on such matters, for he puts it in the Book of Buchan, with just a touch of

intellectual sarcasm on the place name Buchan:,

‘We must regard the Book of Deer as the first known literary production of Buchan, for

the district was known as Buchan then, as now, and the name also was spelt in the same way.

The fanciful variations, Buthquhan, Bouwan, &c, belong to a later period.’

Therefore I have no reason not to think that around 1214AD Strichen, like Buchan, was closely

spelt and pronounce colloquially as it is today. But this does not mean we should dismissed the

more colourful spellings associated with Strichen, or even the fact these words may still come to

mean, John’s Valley. If so it were confirmed that this name originates with John son of Uthred

the name could only have appeared after the granting of his land in the Fergus charter; making

this naming date after 1206AD, and after Crux Medici. However I find it difficult to accept that

this was the name of the community around Cospatric’s mill. For one; why call it after John and

not Cospatric the owner? Intuition is telling me that ‘John’s Valley’ is no replacement name for a

settlement with a name as thought provoking as Crux Medici. The only explanation I find

satisfactory is that Strichen and Strathion, must have been two separate places.

Evidence for this is best illustrated on Timothy Pont map of 1583AD. On it Strichen is spelt

‘Strickin’ and is clearly located by a dot to indicate a settlement. A little further south of the dot,

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near the symbol of Strichen’s tower-house, penned in larger letters is the word Straychin. It

therefore seems plausible looking at this map that Straychin, (and all the numerous spellings

contained in subsequent charters similar with this spelling), was referring to an area. Whereas

Strichen like Crux Medici, was in fact referring to a settlement within an area.

The importance of this fact is key to understanding the name change from Crux Medici to

Strichen. Because ‘Strichen’ as a word in Anglo-Saxon, is a smoking gun, for in its oldest form it

meant, ‘to rub out’.

Strichen

Assuming then that Strichen is indeed a settlement within a district called Straychin, the William Charter again gives clues to what type of settlement it may have been. We may speculate it had a good size house or hall to accommodate the status of a man like Cospatric in a manner accustomed to a mill owner and potential knight of the realm. But we know it defiantly had a mill.

Mills played a key part in establishing and enforcing the feudal system. William Alexander writing in 1877AD explains this well:

AMONG the "parts, pertinent, and privileges" granted under a baronial charter in the feudal times, perhaps one of the oldest adjuncts of a barony, was the mill. One mill at least, and not unfrequently several, were erected in each barony or lairdship, all the lands of the barony or lairdship being astricted or "thirled" thereto, forming the mill "sucken." The tenants were bound to have their corn ground at the mill to which they were thirled, which, in some cases, was not the nearest mill to their farms. Indeed, instances were known of a man having to pass not one, but two mills before he reached the one at which it was permissible for him to have his corn ground. But he had no choice in the matter. Each person in the suckcen had to pay mill multures, and to perform certain services, such as assisting to bring home a new millstone when required, or aiding in the more frequent operation of clearing out the mill lead.

Although mills were not uncommon in the British Isles, there where over 6000 listen in England

alone in the Doomsday Book of 1068AD, why Strichen’s mill warranted a charter is of its own

maybe of interest. Especially when considered against the conditions being attached to this

mill’s ownership.

We do not know whether Cospatric was the owner of the mill at the time of Crux Medici. If he

was not, then the Charter may have been the initial signed contract. But if he were, then the

charter is either a written renewal of an existing verbal agreement between landlord and tenant,

or a change in conditions that required written legal representation.

Over an hundred years earlier, it was an characteristic of the Norman occupation of England

that lands previously owned by Saxon freemen, were being confiscated by Norman knights and

issued/rented back to the original Saxon’s making them serfs in a feudal system of geverment.

This may have been the case here, for we know that Cospatric was in the retinue of Fergus, and

by William issuing his charter on him, he is making Cospatric sure he knows he is William’s man

now.

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The ‘Cos’ of Cospatric seems an apt description then. As a servant to Earl William it would be

understandable that he would be pressed into military service when needed. (The other

possibility not discussed here is that Cos may refer to servant of God, and this may need to be

research further). Whatever Cospatric’s standing and social obligations; it is the other condition

of two stone of wax that raises intriguing questions; Who was harvesting bees in thirteenth

century Buchan, and why? How many bees were needed and was the rent a realistic sum to

pay? What was the value of bees wax at the this time?

As to who was using the wax, it appears Earl William is giving it away as soon as he gets it, for

he gifts alms of two stone of wax to his newly built castle’s chapel at Rattray. One of the five

castles he builds defending the coast that become collectively known as the Knuckle Castles.

All ruins today apart from Kinnaird Head, Fraserburgh, which is now the Lighthouse Museum. It

is wrote that he dedicates the chapel to St Mary in memory of a son who was drowned in a well

nearby, (a detail we will revisit shortly).

As to finding the worth of two stone of wax has has been problematic. Wax may have been

easily available for in Europe at this time because with no access to sugar beat or cane, honey

would have been the staple sweetener of food, and more importantly beer, and demand would

have driven industry.

However no matter how plentiful honey may have been, medieval bee keeping techniques

meant it needed as much as ten stone of honey to produce just one stone of wax; therefore wax

can be measured as being a tenth of honey, and thus ten times its worth.

What price we could put on wax may be better understood considering that Earl William as

benefactor of St Mungo’s church (later Glasgow Cathedral) gifted one stone of wax annually to

be used for candles on the holy saints relics there. A tradition he continues until his death in

1233. So if one stone of wax given in alms to a cathedral is seen as a measure of generosity

expected of an Earl, what may we assume the charge of two stone of wax on a mill owner in

Strichen to imply?

In light of the above it is safe to speculate then that a stone of wax was a valuable symbolic

commodity .Further research may discover who else was paying Earl William in wax, but

knowing he was giving one stone to St Mungo’s to burn next to a tomb, it is reasonable to

speculate his gift to St Mary’s Rattray was to burn candles next to the tomb of his and Marjory’s

drowned child?

(Although it is proving difficult to put a price in modern terms on a wax offering in the thirteenth

century, we do get a glimpse of its worth in the fifteenth century. For the practise of charging

rent for Strichen has continued and by 1475 we read in a charter by King James III, confirming

an earlier charter of 1461, stating the monetary figure of £5 plus a third of a pound of wax was

being charged. A rough calculation based on average earnings puts £5 sterling equating to

£27,000 today. Give or take a few thousand because of calculation error and the availability in

1475 of honey with Europe gripped in the phenomena known as the Little Ice Age making honey

and wax scarce inflating prices; the charge of two stone of wax still appears to have been a

heavy burden to place on any one person).

14

The little we know of Cospatric so far shows that he was a man of means. In England he would

have surely have been dubbed a knight, but in Scotland such titles were few and far between as

the ruling families liked to keep a close eye on their subjects and seem reluctant to bestow such

titles and relinquish power.

If this rent was the intention of Earl William to reign-in Cospatric by making him legally binding to

the estate, it may have been the catalyst which prompted a monk living at the time to pen legal

legers in the pages of a holy relic. This relic is known to us today as the Book of Deeriv.

Deir/Deer Abbey

Deir is the name given to the religious settlement of the local Christian community said to have

been founded in Buchan in the fith/sixth century. I have use the spelling Deir for the earlier

settlement to distinguish it from the later Deer Abbey which replaced it in 1219AD. This later

abbey was built by Earl William for the Roman Catholic Cistercian order and replaced the older

Deir Abbey that Earl William had dissolved and all its possessions and monks moved to Deer

Abbey.

The reason we know these events took placed is that they have been recorded in the Book of

Deer, a tenth century book containing the four gospels of John, Matthew, Luke and Mark with a

Office for the Visitation of the Sick, the Apostle’s Creed and a deed granting to the monastery by

King David 1st of Scotland (1124-1153) exemption from secular taxes, all in Latin. However in

the margins, (marginalia), written in Gaelic are the historic grants of land made to Deir Abbey

from across its history.

The book is thought to have been written at Deir Abbey as a companion to be carried about the

person. As such it may have been used to bind agreements, with the parties concern swearing

oaths while placing their hands on its cover. In much the same way as witnesses swear on the

Bible in legal courts today throughout the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately a lot of emphasis is placed on the later twelfth century Gaelic entries that I feel

has often overshadow the book’s value concerning its place in local history. The book’s

relationship to Strichen seems plausible based on the inclusion of the ‘Visitation of the Sick’ as

such a passage would have been invaluable for anyone belonging to the Crux Medici.

The language and matter of the marginalia’s may be put as a direct result of events unfolding in

Strichen. Written when Deir Abbey was forced to move to Deer Abbey, the author or author’s,

fearful for their ancestral possessions against the backdrop of drastic change, caused by

William and Margret giving away the local native church’s to the abbey’s of St Andrews and St

Thomas Becket. Hastily they added their land rites to this book in an effort to give them ancient

authenticity and divine legal value. (St Thomas Becket Abbey is more commonly known simply

as Arbroath. Reference to the Saxon martyred saint are quickly dropped as anything English

becomes unfashionable and treasonable).

Why the King David’s charter is quoted in the book is revealing and further investigation would be helpful to see if ever such a charter existed. For under the native church regime such a charter would not have been required, as King Giric 878-89AD had already given the churches

15

of Scotland Liberty by making all their lands free from secular exactions. Had the monks of Deir forgotten this fact we may never know, but why King David would feel the need to re-issue such a statement, and in particular to Deir Abbey, is equally baffling. This brings me to the deduction that the marginalia were added as a reaction to the demands

being made by William on Cospatric, and the rise of the Church of Rome over its own native

church. Such events would have sent a stark message to the monks of Deir that they needed to

consolidate their holdings in writing, in the legal language that the Normans understood; and

they needed to do it fast.

The reason why they used Gaelic as the language of choice is similar to why they included the

King David charter in the book; they needed to give their claims an ancient authority and in the

eyes of the new Norman styled Earls of Scotland, Gaelic was accepted as the ancient language

of the Scots. Apparently unaware that Pict, more closely associated to Welsh and old Briton,

mixed with elements from the Scandinavian and Germanic languages, was most certainly the

ancient Buchan tongue. This may also have been the reason why in the book St Columba is

named in the origin myth to give this story an ancient Scotia pedigree.

This may have all helped appeased Earl William, and still continues to delight political nationalist

today, but the poor Gaelic grammar and spelling employed, with the fanciful place names that

have never been identified, written at a time not too long before the factual and precise Fergus

Charter of 1206AD was drafted, means there are too many anomalies to afford the marginalia

credibility. It appears more likely that they were written in haste and to satisfy one purpose only.

To protect the property owned by the monks of Deir from a Norman style land-grab.

The reason I have taken pains to describe the marginalia in this way is not to discredit them

wholeheartedly, but to try and show the book for what it is and not what people want it to

represent. It is a Holy Gospel book once belonging to an Abbey or community in Buchan. It is at

present held at Cambridge University Library, and long may it continue to remain there.

However there is one addition in the Book of Deer that may advance our understanding of

ancient Strichen. The origin myth once striped of the baggage moulding it to an Irish viewpoint,

becomes remarkable relevant in its description concerning the location of Crux Medici

The origin myth in The Book of Deer makes out Columba, the sixth century Irish saint of Iona,

as the man who founded Deir Abbey for his follower St Drostan. This fact alone caused

controversy when the Book of Deer was unearthed in Cambridge University Library in 1857, as

the origin of Christianity in Scotland before that date was thought to have originated with St

Ninian, the native Briton who was taught under St Martin of Tours and founded a school and

church at Cassa Canda (Whithorn). This may be why that soon after its discovery the origin

story was discredited as nothing more than a myth of an individual’s fancy, and has only ever

been championed by supporters for an Celtic originating church in Scotland .

However we should not be too quick to discard the myth in its entirety. It has had to have come

from somewhere and it may still hold currency. It is understandable that it has been adapted

and manipulated to fit an agenda. After all myths and stories only survive in popular culture if

they are able to adapt and stay relevant to that generation. If a myth is not relevant it will soon

16

be discarded and eventually forgotten. It is ironic then that it is often the writing down of myths,

no matter what the good intention of the person recording them, they are doomed to obscurity.

By pinning down a myth with facts, dates and names they cannot adapt and remain meaningful.

So assuming it was written to reflect a point in time. It is reasonable that the names, dates, and

other facts such as distances, have been modified to suite the intended reader, Earl William.

(Especially considering the author was describing events that happened 600 years before. An

equivalent today would be to write an account on the Battle of Agincourt 1415AD, on the stories

passed down to you via your grandparents and their ancestors. It would be acceptable to bend

the story a little over this time).

Once the origin myth is stripped of its superficial facts and the bare bones of the plot exposed. It

soon becomes apparent that the myth may have a direct bearing on Strichen and in particular

Crux Medici.

The location of this community is described thus;

“This ‘town’ was about twelve miles inland from the first settlement of the clerics at

Aberdour. It was placed on the fertile banks of the river Ugie, sheltered by wooded heights, on

one of which it is probable that another rath of the mormaer was placed; while the district seems

to have been the seat of an abundant population, of which many traces yet remain.”

Aberdour is undisputed as the entry point of St. Drostan, who is also known as St Drust, Trust or

Drostán mac Coscreig of Deer and Trustus cona thriur, meaning "Drostán with his three"

disciples who were St. Colm, St. Medan and St. Fergus. According to the non-Columba story he

set up his muinntir, church, here.

The old church at Aberdour was dedicated to St Drostan, and so is the parish church of Old

Deer near the ruins of Deer Abbey. Making it is most likely that Drostan has traditionally been

the main character in the eyes of the people. But the ruling elite for reasons already discussed

would have been more accepting with the Irish Columba ancestry to legitimise the churches

authority. It should always be remembered on studying the history of the north east, that

Columba was an Irish prince and missionary to the Scots. Arch enemies of the Pict’s so it

seems highly unlikely such a distinguished member of an foreign enemy would have been

granted safe passage in Buchan, and may also be the reason that there are no churches

dedicated to St Columba in Buchan.

So discounting the names and figures in the origin myth and stripping it back to its bare bones,

we find that the missionary monks travelling inland out of Aberdour would soon meet the vast

moorland water-shed that feeds the two rivers, North and South Ugie.

Looking at the OS map I believe it is unlikely that they would have picked-up the South Ugie

River for they would have had to cross the expanse of bog moorland first. It is more likely they

would have met the North Ugie River at Tore Burn near Bracklamore and followed that in the

direction of the rising sun and towards the most notable landmark in the Buchan, Mormond Hill.

17

Knowing the exact distance of a medieval Buchan mile to gauge the 12 miles in the myth is

pointless. This distance was a product to satisfying Deer Abbey’s claim over the lands and

privileges of its predecessor Deir Abbey. Consider instead the evidence left to us in the

archaeological record stretching back across millennia, and the first settlement of any size,

evident with its recumbent stone circle, long barrow, hut circles and numerous kists, along this

river is Strichen, or Crux Medici.

The added description in the myth of the Abbey being placed on the fertile banks of the Ugie

River is very apt, and the possibility of a rath to the local chief being at either Adizel Hill, Barrow

Hill, Mormond or Waughton Hills is highly plausible. It is unfortunate that the inscribe stone of a

man carrying a book, discovered when a bridge near Strichen was washed away, is now lost. It

description held by the RCAHMS relates it to another called the Ryhnie Man and may have

suggested a pilgrims path to Strichen.

Just how well the origin myth fits the location of Strichen is uncanny and futher research may

yet instigate possible archaeology evaluation to ascertain the proberbility that Crux Mdici was

indeed the lost Deir Abbey described in the book of Deer.

Nevertheless, if clues are to be found in the written works concerning Strichen’s place in history

at this time, what cultural clues have resonated down to us through time post William and

Margret to go on?

The two most poignant cultural markers appears to be in the way in which the dead were

disposed of prior to Strichen becoming a parish in 1623, and the existence of its Ladywell.

Prior to obtaining its own graveyard in 1623 the dead of Strichen were carried many miles up

over the hill of Mormond, a climb or over 600 feet up pass the Font Stone where it is said the

youth of Strichen meet the priest from Rathen half-way, for baptism and open air services.

Down to St. Eddren’s Church, Rathen. The track they followed was known as the corpse road

and was marked by a series of lych-stones, (lych from the Anglo-Saxon word lyce or lie

meaning a dead body or corpse). Such symbolic journeys of the dead were not uncommon, and

it was thought the need to cross obstacles like water and marshes or natural feature like hills,

would cause a barrier preventing the spirit or soul returning to the place of the living. Such a

superstition is thought to explain the burring of corpses under cairns by tying the spirit to that

spot and preventing them from roaming.

But if that were the case then surely the dead from the other settlements in the area would need

to be transported to neighbouring parishes, and no-one would have rested where they had once

lived? Therefore I believe the reason why the dead of Strichen made the journey over the hill

was not through superstition, but because they were made to.

I base this assumption on a similar event that happened to the Culdeev community at

Monimusk, Aberdeenshire. Here, like at Strichen, the Roman church was trying to take control

of what was the power house of the Culdee movement, the priory at Monimusk. The Culdee’s

where however strong enough to resist a total take over and a compromise was reached.

18

Bishop Lamberton of St Andrews decreed that the Culdees may continue on at Monimusk

against a set of conditions, one of which was that their dead would no longer be buried within

the boundary of their oratory, but they must lay them with that of the parish in the nearby Roman

Catholic Church.

It is reasonable to speculate that a similar requirement was made on the community at Crux

Medici, if indeed it is discovered that this community was a religious one. But in the case

relating to Strichen and its dead, it is much more than a Bishop exerting their control.

The charge of two stone of wax, which although was made against Cospatric, would must surely

have been the burden of the community attached to his mill and Cospatric would just have been

the tax collector; and now this chore of that community of having to carry their dead on such an

difficult journey, speaks to me of punishment and penance.

Although I feel I have only scratch the surface on finding an explanation for the disappearance

of Crux Medici and why Strichen replaced it. I will end with another anomaly that may explain if

Crux Medici was a sacred place of healing or not. This is the existence of its Lady Well.

It is well documented that holy wells were nearly always adopted by the early Christian Church

from a much older belief systems that the well’s and springs were gateways from another world

into ours and held special power. As such they were tolerated by the early church in a bid to win

over the public to the Christian cause. However, although they may have been tolerated and

adopted by native saints like Drostain and Ninian, (Drostan Well at Abourdour and St Ninian at

Methlick), the Roman Church soon discouraged such behaviour to the extent of imposing fines

on pilgrims that continued to flock to such sites; leading eventually to an outright ban in 1579AD

when a statute was issued prohibiting pilgrimages to wells:

Now it was declared that, for the purpose of restraining the super resort ‘in pilgrimages to

chappellis and wellis, which is so frequent and common in this kingdom, to the great offence of

God, scandal of the Kirk, and disgrace of his Majesties government’ that commissioners cause

diligent search ‘at all parties and places where this idolatrous superstition is used.

However no matter how the authorities tried to banish such practices, the habit of well worship

remained, especially with the population in respect to their healing properties. The most

common concerned with the cure for sick children:

‘Anxious mothers make long journeys to some well of fame, and, early in the morning of the 1st

of May, bathe the little invalid in its waters, then drop an offering into them by the hand of a child

– usually a pebble, but sometimes a coin - and attach a bit of the child’s dress to a bush or tree

growing by the side of the well.’

So the mention of a well dedicated to Mary the mother of Christ in Strichen on the chaplemuir

denotes the place as being a site of healing of ancient origin, many centuries before the parish

church of 1623 was built.

19

One piece of evidence that may be coincidental is the connection of Strichen to the hermitage of

St Eddren on Mormond Hill. For St Eddren is also known as St Adrian, and near the chapel

dedicated to St Adrian on the Isle of May there is also a Lady’s Well.

What importance we may bestow on wells dedicated to Mary mother of Jesus should not be

underestimated. In the Proceedings of the Society 1883AD it mentions that greater honour was

paid to Mary than God himself, and what the ‘Juno Lucina’ was to the ancients, she would seem

to be to the Middle Age Christians.

Summary

I believe my dissertation has failed to give a decisive explanation on why Crux Medici changed

its name to Strichen at the turn of the 13th century. What it has achieved is to fuel a debate on

the understanding of this corner of the medieval Britain. Overshadow by later events that saw

Robert Bruce become King of Scots with his sword against his own countrymen throats and

then the English, the events of 1206 – 1220 in Buchan have been cast into a perpetual shadow.

But if we care to look we will see that a strong woman ruled this land back then, Countess

Marjory daughter of Fergus Earl of Buchan, and at her side was a man, the Great Judiscator of

Scotland William Comyns.

Pratt in his Book of Buchan went so far to say that Willam’s power was won through love

whereas Bruce was gained by the sword. It is this love that I form the following hypothesis

based on the knowledge gained so far.

Marjory and William married in 1211AD and shortly after Marjory gave birth to a son. The child

was sickly so Marjory did what any mother would do, took him to the well of Our Lady at Crux

Medici. Whether the child fell into the well or the healing waters failed, the child dies.

Dying probably before baptism, and therefore condemning the infant to eternal damnation.

Distraught Earl William takes revenge on the community of Crux Medici, stricken its name from

the record and setting the penance that for evermore its people will be made to carry their loved

ones across the summit of Mormond Hill to Rathen Church. As an addition to this punishment

he charges his servant (knight) Cospatric to collect the fine of two stone of wax in return of

control of Strichen’s mill. One stone he gifts to St Mungos Glasgow, and the other he leaves at

St Mary’s, the chapel he has built at Rattray in memorial of his son.

Whatever remains of Crux Medici as a church in Strichen is gifted along with the other Culdee

churches in Buchan to the Monks at Arbroath. But Strichen fate is sealed and Earl William

vengeance absolute, with the construction of Deer Abbey and the arrival of the Cisertain, they

become the ecclesiastical power in Buchan. What remains of Crux Medici in Strichen is

removed with all their possessions to Deer Abbey.

Amongst those that went to Deer was a man with a book. A book containing four gospels, and

the orders of administering to the sick. Fearing further retribution by Earl William he scribes in

this book the origin myth of his church in the most authentic way he feels he can, by evoking the

memory of the great Irish saint Columba. Using what little he understands of that saint’s

language in a hope it would again appear more convincing, he writes down as many of the land

20

transactions he can think of in the margins of the book. Making mistakes, miss spellings and

being creative with the place names and the people. Knowing the Norman Earl will not be privy

of local history, he writes what he can to protect the church’s assets. This book is The Book of

Deer, written in Strichen in a time when it was called Crux Medici.

Of course this hypothesis is just that, a guess. I feel however that archaeology evaluation will be

required to prove or disprove my findings here. I believe what little time I have afforded this topic

is substantial enough to fuel a debate and further investigation by myself or other more able

people to pursue the evidence to a satisfactory conclusion.

The remarkable thing here is that the site of Crux Medici is occupied by a redundant church that

was gutted in the mid 1970’s by Alexander Fowlie and gifted to Aberdeenshire Council. What

secrets lay beneath its exposed floor are not known, but the story unfolding before us would

need a place to be told, and where better to tell it than here, inside the new White Kirk of

Buchan?

21

ANNEX A

Charter by Fergus Earl of Buchan 1206, translated from Latin to English, The Book of Buchan,

1910, The Buchan Club, Page 135 – 137:

“To all seeing or hearing this charter, Fergus, Earl of Buchan, salutation in the Lord. Let

all persons now, and for the future know, that I have given, and conceded, and by this charter

have confirmed to John son of Uthred and his heirs and assignees, for exchange of the lands of

Slains and Cruden, the three Davachs of Fedreth, that is to say, Easter Auhioch, Auhetherb,

Auhethas and Conwiltes, wholly and without diminution, as in length so in breadth, with all

their boundaries, and right divisions, that is to say, from a rivulet running on Eastern side of

Easter Auhioch in the East, unto the hollow foss on the Western border of the hill of Derevanun

the West, and between the high road above Clochnily as it extended, in the South, unto the

Crux-Medicivi in the North, and again ----ndo, in the East, from the ford of the rivulet of

Huskethurie between Auhelit and Authetherb, unto the rivulet of Gight in the West, and in the

foresaid East from the rivulet between the two Auchcrauthis unto the said rivulet of Gight under

the fold of Ruthrus MacOan of Allethan in the West, and proceding ----do between the said folds

of horsemen towards the South unto the foresaid high road above Clochnily, North Western side

extending along the rivulet of Gight unto the junction ---- of Lethalge ----- in the North, and by

the hollow foss called Hollersky Lech, which lies between Buchangy and the hill of Derevan,

under the Western side unto the northern border of Cragcultyr, and from Cragcultyr unto

foresaid Crux-Medici, and ----- from the Crux itself unto the Northern border of Derevan,

together with the land of Ardindrach, and with all their boundaries and pertinencies and right

divisions. Holden and had of me and my heirs, to himself and his heirs and assignees, for his

homage and service, in fee and heritage, in wood and plain, in medows and grazings, in moors

and marshes, in waters and lakes, in roads and footpaths, in ---- and mills and bracinis, with

natives and indwellers, and all customs of said lands, with contents and quarrels, and with every

manner of escheats and rights whatsoever pertaining to me and my heirs, and other profits said

three Davachs of Fedreth and the beforementioned land of Ardindrach, as fully, quietly, and

honourably as I and my predecessors have freely and fully held said lands at any time, or as

any Earl or Lord in the Kingdom of Scotland is able to infeft any vessal, freely, fully, and

honourably in any land. Excepting only to me and my heirs curia vitae et membrorum, when it

shall happen, binding thence the said John and his heirs and assignees, to me and my heirs the

free service of one archer, and binding him three times a year to attend my court at Ellon, with

forensic service of the Lord the King as much as pertains to the forementioned lands for ever

exaction owing auxiliary service or secular exaction. Besides, I will and concede that in the time

of the relief of the foresaid lands, the said John and his heirs and assignees, by reason of the

forementioned excamb, shall be held to pay to me and my heirs for his relief 20lbs sterling,

proportionally at the two customary terms of the year, whenever they shall occur. I, Fergus and

my heirs, will warrant, give quiet possession of, assure and defend in perpetuity the foresaid

three Davachs and the forementioned land of Ardindrach, with pertinences, liberties, and

asyaments and others, as beforesaid, to the foresaid John and his heirs and assignees, against

all men and women for the foresaid service. In testimony of which my seal is appended to the

present charter, the witnesses being Malcolm Earl ---- and David his brother, Thomas of

22

Kinmalron, Alexander of Blair, Henry of Abernethy, William of Slains, Magnus son ------, Gilbride

son of Lamund, Cospatrick son of Maded, Malothem his brother, Norinus son of Norman, Adam

brother of the Earl, Robert of Munfort, and many others.”

Charter by William Comyns Earl of Buchan, taken from Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis;

Ecclesie Cathedralis Aberdonensis Regesta Que Extant in Unum…… in its original Latin text.

23

ANNEX B Miscellaneous

Location map showing Strichen proximity to Mormond Hill the North River Ugie and Deer

Abbey.

Modern OS map showing the contours of the Rath that old Strichen and Crux Medici wold have

occupied.

24

Map of Timothy Pont 1583. Note the spelling of Strickin Mill and Newton of Strickin against

that of Straychin

Map of Wiliam Roy 1748. The grandure of Strichen’s Tower House and gardens are

evident.Aleo the Aberbeen to Fraserburgh road crossing the River Ugie above the Kirk of

Strichen.

Map of John Thomas 1832. The tower house is replaced by a grand mansion. Strichen has moved

to north of the River Ugie leaving the church behind. Mills are indicated as cog wheels

25

From the estate map of Strichen 1843 held Strichen Library. The rath that Crux Medici would

have occupied is evident by the map makers shading. The red highlights the roads the blue the

bend in the River Ugie. The red odd shape enclosure is of great interest. Why was it left? Why

such an unusual shape? It is still in situ today and we would benefit from an archaeological

evaluation here.

26

Kirktown of Strichen on the 1746 estate map held in Strichen Library. Note the mill fed by the

lead from the mill pond now known as Strichen’s Community Park Lake.

Maybe the only surviving building from the above period. Often described as the old chapel it is

more likely one of the boffy buildings.

Sluice gate running from the mill pond (Strichen Community Park Lake) to Strichen Mill.

27

Mill wheel on nearby farm, very likely from Penne. Note the metal tyre around its rim. The

wheels would have been rolled by hand from the cliffs of Penne to their intended homes.

A mill wheel in Strichen Churchyard today.

28

Inside the 1799 Strichen Parish Church. Now boarded up the interior was ripped out by then

owner Alex Fowlie in the mid 1970’s. Now owned by Aberdeenshire Council. The taking up the

floor may allow for further excavation as a possible site for Crux Medici.

Three of the many corbels on Strichen’s Town House built in 1818AD. They are thought to have

been taken from St Mary’s Chapel Rattray. The Chapel that the rent of 2 stone of wax was given

to from Strichen Mill in the 13th

century. (The green man, a nobles face, an likeness of Countess

Marjory?)

29

Inscribe symbol stone at Tyrie Church (White Kirk of Buchan). Although its true meaning will

never be known, my own understanding is that this was the sign of St John the Evangelist. (This

is based on pure speculation, but the raven is his symbol and I reckon that the Z-rod indicates

life’s journey. At either end is Alpha and Omega running parallel and outside this world forever

n a straight line. The diagonal is the passes of time through this world connecting the before and

afterlife. In this case the diagonal crosses an alter with the host depicted by the circles).

Well above the ruins of Strichen House. A Lady Well is known to have existed in Strichen but

location has yet to be identified.

i Tocher JF, 1910 The Book of Buchan

ii McLeod N.K. Rev.1899 The Churches of Buchan and Notes by the Way.

iii Mackintosh John 1898 Historic earls and earldoms of Scotland

iv Stuart John 1869, The Book of Deer edited for the Spalding Club:

v McCallum Duncan Rev 1885. The History of The Culdees the Ancient Clergy of the British

Isles A.D. 177 – 1300