mense Romam rediit triumphavit maximo apparatu This Juvenal takes notice of when he says in his second Satyr Littora Juvernae promovimus modo captas Orcadas minima contentos nocte Britannos A little after this the Romans had not such cause to triumph over Orkney for when Agricola was their General in Britain Anno Christi 87 as Henry Isaacson computes it in his Chronological Tables he sent a Navy to sail about Britain to discover the largeness of it and whether it was an Island or not and after they had coasted many days towards the North they came at last in sight of Orkney which Tacitus for want of better information imagines to be unknown before that time but fearing to pass thorough Pightland-Firth for fear of Shallows they seized some of the Country People that liv'd in the next Islands constraining them to go aboard and pilot them thorough the Firth but they suspecting that the Romans had a hostile design on their Country not caring for their own Lives they enter'd the Strait at such an inconvenient time that the Ships were born with the violence of the stream against Rocks and Shelves in such a manner that they were all almost torn broke and lost without recovery only some few of the Navy that were not so hasty to follow perceiving the sad loss of their fellows returned by the same way they came and reported these lamentable Tidings to Agricola And indeed there is a place in Shapinsha over against which are impetuous Tides and dangerous Shallows at this day call'd Agricola but whether it got that name from this accident I am not able to determine But yet it seems that Orkney was a considerable thing in the Eyes of the Romans For Polyd. Virgil. lib. 3. Ang. Historiae speaking of the division of the Empire among the Sons of Constantine the Great reckons Orkney amongst the famous Kingdoms that fell to the share of his Son Constantine says he Huic sorte evenit Britannia cum Gallia Hispania Orchadibus This Country it 's like continued thus under the Government of their own Princes till the fatal Ruine and Subversion of the Pictish Kingdom in Scotland in the Year 839 at which time Keneth the second that Martial King of Scots having in many Battles overthrown the Picts at last expell'd them out of all Scotland seizing on Fife and Lothian and the other large Territories that they had therein he pursued them to Orkney vanquishing these Isles and adding them to his other Dominions Orkney being thus annex'd to the Crown of Scotland it continued many years under the Government of the Scottish Kings and their Lieutenants till about the Year 1099 at which time Donald Bain Lord of the Isles having usurped the Crown and caused himself to be proclaimed King of Scotland and being thereupon hardly put to it by the injur'd Heir and discontented Nobility that he might not lose what he had unjustly usurped he invited Magnus King of Norway to come to his assistance with an offer of the Isles for his pains who coming with his Navy Invaded Orkney and the Western Isles putting Garrisons in all convenient places By this means the Norwegians got possession of this Country who held it for the space of 164 years when they came to lose all again upon this occasion Anno 1263 Alexander the Third being then King of Scotland Atho by some called Hagin King of Norway hoping from the divisions that were then in the Kingdom and the Famine that was then sore pressing the Land to make some further conquest in Scotland he comes with a great Navy and Army of Danes and Norwegians to the West Isles and conquers Arran and Bute which were the only Isles at that time under the dominion of the Scots and from this success hoping for greater matters he lands on the Continent and takes in the Town and Castle of Air. But King Alexander having assembled a great Army assaults him in Battle at Largis kills his Nephew a Man of great Renown and after a great Slaughter of his Soldiers to the number of twenty four thousand puts the remainder to flight Immediately upon this defeat King Acho hears of another sad loss namely That his Fleet by a Storm were all cast away and broken against the Rocks except four in which he presently embarked and fled away to Orkney being come thither he sent to Norway and Denmark for a new Army and Fleet with an intention again to Invade Scotland the next Summer but he died the beginning of the following Year January 22 Anno 1264 and was bury'd in that place where the Cathedral now stands under a Marble Stone which is seen to this day and goes under the name of his Monument After his death King Alexander Invaded the Isle of Man and the Western Isles which after some opposition he recover'd and intending to make the like attempt for the recovery of Orkney and Zetland there came Ambassadors to him from Magnus King of Norway and Denmark who succeeded Acho in these Kingdoms after several Treaties it was at last condescended upon that King Alexander should pay to the King of Norway the Summ of 4000 Merks Sterling with the Summ of 100 Merks by year and that for this Magnus King of Norway should quit all Right that he might pretend to the Isles of Orkney and Zetland and the other Isles of Scotland which accordingly he did by Letters under his Great Seal renouncing and giving over all Right and Claim that he had or might have both for him and his Successors to these and all the other Isles of Scotland and for the better confirmation hereof a Marriage was agreed upon betwixt the Lady Margaret Daughter to Alexander and Hangonanus or Haningo or Aquin as others call him Son to King Magnus both Children to be completed when they came to a Marriagable Estate Orkney being in this manner recover'd from the hands of the Danes and Norwegians it continued ever after annexed to the Crown of Scotland King Alexander giving the property of it to a Nobleman sirnamed Speire Earl of Cathnes whose Son Magnus Speire Earl of Cathnes Orkney and Zetland was in great repute in the days of King Robert Bruce But he dying without Heirs Male his Daughter Elizabeth Speire succeeded him in the Estate and was Married to Sir William Sinclar who accompany'd Sir James Douglass when he went to accompany the Bruces Heart to Jerusalem He was great Grandchild to Willielmus de Sancto claro second Son to Valdosius Earl of Saint Claire in France This Sir William Sinclar by his Wife Elizabeth Speire had a Son call'd William also who was made Earl of Orkney and Zetland by King David Bruce He was first Marry'd to Florentina Daughter to the King of Denmark and after her death was Marry'd to Jane Halyburton Daughter to Walter Lord Dirleton To him succeeded Henry Sinclar usually call'd Prince of Orkney he was also made Duke of Oldenburgh by
of the Bishop Provost Canons and Chaplains and their Servants in the time of Easter and to administer the Eucharist to them The 4th Prebendary was to have the Chaplainry of St. John the Evangelist in the said Cathedral Church The 5th Prebendary was to have the Chaplainry of St. Lawrence The 6th was to have the Prebend of St. Katharine And the 7th Prebendary was to have the Prebend of St. Duthas To which seven Dignities and seven Prebendaries he moreover assigned and allotted besides the former Churches and Titles the Rents and Revenues of the Personages of St. Colm in Waes and Holy-cross in Westra as also the Vicarages of the Parish Churches of Sandwick and Stromnes with their pertinents for their daily Distributions Besides these he erected thirteen Chaplains to the first was allotted the Chaplainry of St. Peter and he was to be Master of the Grammar School To the second was allotted the Chaplainry of St. Augustin and he was to be Master of the Singing-School The third was to be Stellarius or the Bishop's Choirister The fourth the Provost Choirister The fifth the Archdeacons The sixth the Precentors The seventh the Chancellors The eighth the Treasurers The ninth the Subdeans The tenth the Prebendaries of Holy-cross The eleventh the Prebendaries of St. Mary The twelfth the Prebendaries of St. Katharine The thirteenth the Chaplains of Holy-cross Every one of these Choiristers were to have twenty four Meils of Corn and ten Merks of Money for their Stipend yearly besides their daily distributions which were to be raised from the Rents of the Vicarage of the Cathedral Church and from the foundation of Thomas Bishop of Orkney and of the twelve Pounds left by King James III. and King James IV. Kings of Scotland To these he added a Sacrist who was to ring the Bells and light the Lamps and carry in Water and Fire to the Church and to go before the Processions with a white Rod after the manner of a Beadle and for this he was to have the accustomed Revenue together with forty Shillings from the Bishop yearly He moreover ordained six Boys who were to be Taper-bearers and to sing the Responsories and Verses in the Choire as they were to be ordered by the Chanter Of which six Boys one was to be nominate and maintain'd by the Bishop the second by the Prebendary of St. Magnus the third by the Prebendary of St. John the fourth by the Prebendary of St. Lawrence the fifth by the Prebendary of St. Katharine the sixth by the Prebendary of St. Duthas And every one of them was to have besides their Maintenance twenty Shillings Scots a Year To every one of the foresaid Dignities Canons and Prebendaries he assigned certain Lands in Kirkwal for their Dwelling Houses The Charter of this erection is dated at Kirkwal October 28. Anno 1544 and in the following Year it was confirmed by another Charter granted by David Beaton Cardinal of St. Stephen in Mount Celio and Archbishop of St. Andrews having Authority so to do It is dated at Stirling the last of June and eleventh Year of Pope Paul the Third and confirm'd by Queen Mary at Edinburgh the last of April Anno Regni 13. In this condition the Church stood as long as Popery continued but the Reformation coming in and Robert Steward Earl of Orkney having obtain'd the Bishoprick from Bishop Bothwell in exchange for the Abbacy of Holyrood-house he became Lord of the whole Country and he and his Son Earl Patrick who succeeded him did in the Church what they pleas'd At last James Law being made Bishop of Orkney and the Earldom being united to the Crown by the death and forefaulture of the foresaid Patrick Earl of Orkney as we shall have occasion to speak more of in the 8th Chapter he with the consent of his Chapter made a Contract with King James VI. In which they resign to the King and his Successors all their Ecclesiastical Lands and Possessions with all Rights and Securities belonging thereto to be incorporated and united to the Crown especially by such as should be thought necessary to be united to it and the King gives back and dispones to the Bishop several Lands in the Parishes of Ham Orphir Stromnes Sandwick Shapinsha Waes Hoy St. Ola and of Evie Burra and Flotta to be a Patrimony to the Bishop and his Successors for ever disponing moreover to him and his Successors the Right of Patronage to present to all the Vicarages of Orkney and Zetland with power to them to present qualify'd Ministers as oft as any Church should vake Disponing also to them the heretable and perpetual Right and Jurisdiction of Sheriffship and Bailiffry within the Bishoprick and Patrimony thereof exeeming the Inhabitants and Vassals of the Bishoprick in all Causes Civil and Criminal from the Jurisdiction of the Sheriff or Steward of the Earldom As also he gave to the Bishop and his Successors the Commissariot of Orkney and Zetland with power to constitute and ordain Commissars or Chancellors Clerks and other Members of Court This contract was made Anno 1614 and in the Year following by an act of Platt dated at Edinburgh the 22d of November the several Dignities and Ministers both in the Bishoprick and Earldom were provided to particular Maintenances besides what they were in possession of before payable by the King and Bishop to the Ministers in their severl bounds respective And as it was agreed by that Contract and determin'd by that Act of Platt so are they provided for at this present CHAP. VII Of the Plantation of the Christian Faith in Orkney and of the Bishops thereof NIcephorus writing that Simon Zelotes after he had preached the Gospel in several other Kingdoms came at last ad occidentalem oceanum insulasque Britannicas by which Orkney must be especially understood and there Preached the Gospel Whatever truth may be in that yet it is certain That the Christian Faith was greatly promoted in this Country about the beginning of the Fifth Century Eugenius II. being then King of Scotland at which time Palladius being sent by Pope Celestin to Purge that Kingdom of the Heresie of Pelagius that had infected it He Instituted 1. Servanus call'd St. Serf in the Calender Bishop of Orkney that he might instruct the Inhabitants of these Isles in the Faith of Christ which Polyd. Virgil says he did very carefully He was a Man of Eminent Devotion and Piety and Master of the famous Kentigern whom he used to call Mongah which in the Norish Tongue signifieth Dear Friend which afterwards became the Name by which he was usually called From him there has been a continual Succession of Bishops in this Country but by reason of the many alterations that fell out in it and the loss of ancient Records his Successors for many years are not known yet in History we read of these that follow 2. William Bishop of Orkney who liv'd in the time of King Robert the Third 3. Thomas who liv'd in the
time of King James the First 4. William Tulloch who was Bishop of this Country in the time of King James the Third of him we read that Anno 1468 he was sent with several other Noble Persons to Christiern King of Denmark and Norway to seek his Daughter the Lady Margaret in Marriage to the said King James About July they came to Hafnen in Denmark where King Christiern then remained and were of him joyfully received and well heard concerning their Sute insomuch that by advice of his Council he agreed that the Lady Margaret should be given in Marriage to King James and that the Isles of Orkney and Zetland should remain in the Possession of him and his Successors Kings of Scotland till either the said King Christiern or his Successors in Name of Dowry should pay to King James or his Successors the Sum of Fifty thousand Florins of the Rhine Upon this the Bishop and the other Ambassadors return with the espoused Lady to Scotland in November and in the Abbey Church at Holyrood-house She was Married and Crowned Queen Afterwards she was brought to Bed of a Son call'd James who afterwards succeded to the Crown whereupon Christiern to congratulate the happy Birth of this young Prince his Grandchild renounced by a Charter under his Great Seal all the Right Title and Claim which he or the Kings of Denmark might have to the Isles of Orkney and Zetland This Bishop was translated from this to the Bishoprick of Murray and continued five Years Bishop of that See and there dying was buried in St. Maries Isle in the Canonry Church of Elgin 5. To him succeeded Andrew Bishop of Orkney who also liv'd in the Reign of King James the Third and was Bishop at that time when the Town of Kirkwall got their erection into a Royal Burrough confirm'd by the said King Anno 1486. 6. After him succeeded Edward Steward Bishop of Orkney who liv'd in the Reign of King James the Fourth of him Boethius gives a noble Testimony He enlarged the Cathedral Church to the East all above the Grees 7. To him succeeded Thomas Bishop of Orkney who Endowed something for the maintenance of the Choiristers of the Cathedral 8. After him was Robert Maxwell Bishop of Orkney he caused to be built the Stalls that are in the Cathedral and it was he that caused found and made those excellent Bells that are in the Steeple of the Cathedral which at his own expences were founded in the Castle of Edinburgh in the Year 1528 in the Reign of King James the Fifth as their inscription bears The next Year Anno 1629 May 18. The Earl of Cathnes and the Lord Sinclar came with a great Army by Sea into Orkney to have taken possession of it as of a Country to which they pretended some Right but the People of the Country under the command of Sir James Sinclar natural Son to Robert Sinclar the last Earl of Orkney of that Sirname encounted the Earl with such courage at a place call'd Summersdale that his Army was wholly discomfited the Earl himself with 500 of his Men being killed and the Lord Sinclar with all the rest taken Prisoners It is said of this Sir James Sinclar that presuming on his merits and the good service he had done the King by that engagement begg'd of King James the Fifth then Reigning the Isles of Sanda and Eda which he represented to him then as small Islands or Holms only sit for Pasture and upon his Request obtain'd them which I conceive may be the reason why Buchanan does not reckon any of these either Sanda or Eda amongst the Isles of Orkney by being deceiv'd with that opinion that they were but Holms whereas they are amongst the most considerable Islands in this Country but the King being afterward better informed and that he had been imposed on by Sir James threatned that his Head should pay for it when he came to Orkney for fear of which when he heard of the King's Arrival he cast himself in the Sea in a place called the Gloup of Linksness and was drowned The King coming in Person to this Country to settle the Troubles and Commotions that were in it was nobly entertain'd by the Bishop all the time of his stay and having put a Guard in the King 's and Bishop's Castles having first visited some of the Western Isles he returned to Edinburgh taking with him some of the Factious Gentry At this time also the Town of Kirkwall gave such demonstrations of their Affection and Loyalty to their King that sometime after he ratified their Erection into a Royal Burrough by a new Charter of confirmation Anno 1536 9. To him succeeded Robert Reid Bishop of Orkney a very deserving Man of an excellent Wit and great Experience He caus'd to be built a stately Tower to the North end of the Bishop's Palace where his Statue in a stone is as yet remaining set in the Wall He greatly enlarged the Cathedral Church adding three Pillars to the former Fabrick and decoring the entry with a magnificent Porch He moreover built St. Olaus Church in Kirkwal and a large Court of Houses to be a College for the instructing the Youth of this Country in Grammar and Philosophy He made a new foundation of the Chapter enlarging the number of Canons Prebendaries and other Officers and setling large and ample Provisions on them as is set down in the former Chapter In a Book Dedicated to him by Adam Senior a Monk of the Cisteroian Order I find that he had a right to the Monastries of Beaulie and Kinloss but whether he had these as Bishop of Orkney or only in commendam I cannot determine He was in great credit with his Prince King James the Fifth who consulted him in all his weighty Affairs In his time he perform'd many Honourable Embassages to the Credit and Benefit of his Country Amongst the rest he was one of those that accompanied the young Queen Mary when she was sent into France to be Married to the Dolphin afterwards Francis the second King of France tho' both in his going and coming he had bad Fortune for in his going the Ship he was in Perished on the Coast of France near to Bulloigne the Bishop and the Earl of Rothes that was with him hardly escaping by the Ship 's Boat And in his return from the Court of France he died at Diep the 14th of September 1558 of whom Ant. Bardol gives us this Epigram Quid tentem angusto perstringere carmine laudes Quas nulla eloquii vis celebrare queat Clarus es eloquio Coelo dignissime praesul Antiqua generis nobilitate viges Commissumque gregem pascis relevasque jacentem Exemplo ducens ad melioratuo Ac velut exoriens terris sol discutit umbras Illustras radiis pectora caeca tuis Hortaris tardos objurgas corripis omnes In mala praecipites quo vetus error agit Pauperibus tua tecta patent tua prompta voluntas Atque