[From Train's History, 1845]

CHAPTER XIV.

ECCLESIASTICAL ANTIQUITIES.

Temples appropriated to Religious Worship — Cursory view of the Cairns, Altars, and Druidical Circles in the Island — Druidical Stones decorated with Symbols of Christianity — Crosses set up at an early period as Land Marks —Battle, Market, Begging, Weeping, and Monumental Crosses described—Runic Inscriptions — Girth Cross—Consecrated Wells — St. Maughold's Spring — Old Chapels— Cronkna -Keilan — The Treen Places — St. Mary, St. Trinian, St. Patrick, and St. Germain's Churches in Holm Peel — The Nunnery — Chapel of Rushen — Friary of Bowmaken — Abbey of Rushen — Privileges of the Monks — Eminent Persons interred in the Abbey of Rushen — Image Tombs — Rushen the last Monastery dissolved by Henry VIII. — Account of the Episcopal Palace.

IN ages far remote from our times, temples for acts of religion were erected which continue to command the admiration of each succeeding generation. The cairn altars and circles of the Druids were, in some instances, formed of such large blocks of stone, as to leave it doubtful by what means human ingenuity and ability, although aided by the mechanical power of the lever and the screw, could have moved such weighty rocks to the situations to which they were destined. ,

The Orkneys and the ancient kingdom of the Isles, abound with such rude monuments of antiquity. The Thrushel stone of Lewis,¹ and the Dwarfy stone of Hoy are both remarkable for their magnitude.²

The remains of Druidical circles in the Isle of Man are very numerous, but they are of inferior dimensions to many in the Western Isles, where the people generally believe them to be men transformed into stones, by the magic of the Druids. The temple of Classerniss, in the Island of Lewis, is the largest in the Ebudæ.³

The stone circles in the Isle of Man are generally situated in places difficult of access. That on the brow of the hill of Ballown is, however, an exception from this observation. The stones forming this temple, called in Gaelic clachan,⁴ are large, irregularly shaped masses of white quartz, and enclose an area of about thirty feet diameter ; on the eastern side of the circle are placed, in advance, two large stones like the pillars of a portal. The clachsleachda, an immense table of granite stood formerly in the centre of this temple, but it was removed by a late proprietor.⁵ A little to the south of the temple is a mound one hundred feet in diameter, which had probably some connection with the circle.

A small circle, apparently Druidical, stands perched in a recess on the margin of the precipitous cliffs at Spanish Head, which are upwards of two hundred feet in perpendicular height above the surface of the water; it is close to the tremendous chasms which split the face of that promontory.

Another of these ancient circles stands on the top of a cultivated hill in Kirk Maughold parish, which is bounded on the north-east by the mountain torrents of Ballaglass and Conray, being one of the most primitive districts in the Island. The circle is composed of massive stones about ten yards in diameter. The natives call it Castle Corry, or according to the accentuation of their language, Castle Chorry. Orry, whose name it seems to bear, was king of Man in the tenth century. The natives associate with his reign the origin of their laws, and the commencement of many of their civil ceremonies. 6

Glen Darragh

On the northern extremity of the hill of Mount Murray, stands one of the most perfect specimens of Druidical remains to be met with in the Island The stones which form the circle are not large, but they are placed perpendicularly, at regular distances, and seem to occupy the places in which they were originally fixed, forming a circle of forty feet in diameter. A stream of water ran on each side of the temple, issuing from two fountains farther up the hill, which were held sacred by the Druids. To the east of the enclosure are two walls or mounds, constructed of stones and earth, bending round the temple, forming a semicircle, about fifteen feet distant from each other. The name of this vale indicates that the oak once surrounded this temple,-Glen Darragh, in Manks, signifying the 'Vale of Oaks.'

A dilapidated cairn and Druidical circle called Gritchveg, may be traced on the hill north-east of the village of Laxey, in the former of which were found the remains of a kistvaen. Another small circle may be seen at Ballakelly, adjoining Oatland, in the parish of Kirk Santon.

When the religion of the Druids had fallen, an idea of peculiar sanctity was attached to crosses set up in public places. They owed their origin to having been marked on the Druid stones, in order to change the religion with out breaking the prejudice.⁷ These ancient emblems of Christianity were very numerous in the Western Isles. In Iona, 360 crosses ⁸ were destroyed under the act of convention, passed in 1561, by an order from the synod of Argyle .⁹ Many fine specimens of monumental pillars were thus broken to pieces, and not a few carried away. That erected to the memory of many heroes of the family of Macgyllechomghan became the market cross of Inverary, and now decks the principal entry to the demesne of Inverary Castle. Maclean's cross in Iona, is now the only one there remarked by travellers ¹⁰ which escaped the general destruction, and which may, perhaps, have owed its preservation to the principal lands of the monastery having fallen into the hands of Maclean, of Duart, at the reformation.

Iona contained the mortal remains of so many saints, kings, and warriors, that it was called the Rome of Scotland. In the time of popery, monumental and religious crosses accumulated there to a far greater extent than was to be found in the Isle of Mall, although fewer escaped the destroying hands of the reformers of the seventeenth century.

Soon after the introduction of Christianity, crosses were set up as land marks.¹¹ The sacred emblem of the cross was assumed in the hope that no person, for conscience's sake, would remove it. The cross of Ivar, that stood near Ballasalla, on the line dividing the king's lands from those belonging to the monastery of Rushen, was one of this description.¹² In like manner, people who could not write were required to make the sign of the cross, which was considered like calling Jesus to witness the truth of the transaction.¹³ The cannon on the third wall of the rampart of Castle Rushen, were, also, for some such superstitious purpose, planted on stone crosses.¹⁴ There having been a cross erected at Ballachross, in the parish of Arbory, it evidently derives its name from this circumstance ; from the number of warlike weapons found in that neighbourhood, it is supposed to have been erected in commemoration of some great battle fought there, the account of which has been lost in the lapse of time.

Another of a similar description was erected at Tingualla, (Tynwald) where the brothers Dufgald and Mormor fell in combat, in the year 1238 ; but this has long since disappeared.¹⁵

In almost every town that had an abbey or other religious endowment in it, one of these crosses was set up in the market place, as a monitor of truth and honesty, and a guide to upright dealing. These market crosses varied from a slender shaft to large and very ornamental buildings. That of Castletown, stood in the market place, exactly under the portico of St. Mary's Chapel.¹⁶

Crosses were likewise placed on the highways usually leading to the parish church, where religious processions or funerals had to pass. One of this description was lately to be seen at Port-le-Vullin, on the way-side leading from Ramsey to St. Maughold, and another near Port Erin, in the parish of Rushen. The corpse, in conveyance to the church yard, was usually set down at these stones, that all the people attending might have an opportunity of praying for the soul of the deceased.¹⁷ Mendicants stationed themselves there to beg alms for Christ's sake, whence the ancient proverb, " He begs like a cripple at a cross."

In the midst of a small square court, behind the chapel of the Nunnery, in the neighbourhood of Douglas, on a pyramid of reddish stone, formerly stood a cross, which, I suppose from the great flow of tears shed there by the nuns, when at their devotions, was called the weeping cross.¹⁸

A cross was always placed near the entrance of a parishchurch, round which the Manks usually carried the corpse thrice before entering the church.¹⁹ These crosses were for the purpose of inspiring holy recollections,²⁰ and for the purpose of devotion, particularly on Good Friday.²¹

Under the direction of the late Duke of Atholl, many runic stones were shipped for Scotland, which may, perhaps, account for many of the crosses mentioned by Waldron, being now nowhere to be found.

In Bishop Wilson's days, the Island is said to have presented more ancient monuments and runic stones than any other country.²² Toland, the celebrated historian of the Druids, aware of this fact, announced in a letter to Lord Molesworth, dated July 1718, his intention " of visiting the Isle of Man, for the purpose of examining all the ancient remains."²³ Had this learned antiquary lived to accomplish his design, much historical information might probably have been rescued from oblivion, now lost for ever.²⁴ In the year 1789, professor Torkelin, by order of the King of Denmark, visited the Island, in search of Scandinavian antiquities; but he only remained two days, when he translated a few of the runic inscriptions.²⁵

In the summer of 1839, Mr. William Bally, of King Street, Manchester, visited the Isle of Man, and took casts, in plaster of Paris, of all the runes in the Island. From these casts, accurate readings have been obligingly made for this work, by the learned John Just, Esq., of Chesbam Green, Bury, Lancashire, which will be afterwards given.

At the entrance of Kirk Braddan church yard, on the edge of a stone forming a stile,²⁶ is a runic inscription, thus read and translated by Mr. Beauford :-

" DURLIFR NSACI RISTI KRUS DONO AFTFIAC SUNFIN FRUDUR SUN SAFRSAG. For Admiral Durlif this cross is erected, by the son of his brother (the son of) Safrsag."

Dr. Hibbert thinks this translation by no means clear, nor can a satisfactory explanation be given of it. It seems to have been equally obscure upwards of a hundred years ago, when copied for Gibson's Camden, where it is given p. 1458. It is probably erroneously copied, owing to the stone being damaged or worn.²⁷ According to Mr. Just, this translation appears to be not quite correct.

Ancient Monument

Of the monuments in Kirk Braddan church-yard, he thus writes from Guy Hill, Tatham, Lancashire, 7th January, 1843: - "In the centre of the church yard, Mr Bally found an upright stone cross, its base, a sort of tomb-like erection, and so made that the flat stones at the foot of the cross, form a seat, which is frequently, particularly in the summer season, occupied as such. This cross is 58¼ inches in height-he took a full cast of it. After carefully cleaning and washing the lime and dust out of the indentations of this stone, the inscription was found to be as follows :-

Thurlior Niaki raised tltis cross for his ___ Aruth ur, son of Jaor."

FLAK or FLAG seems to be some relative term, the meaning of which, at present, I do not know. ARUTH : UR : seems to be intended for one word; the deep cutting of the stone, however, shows the division plainly; or UR may be an epithet. Two sculptured fragments were found at the base of the pedestal of this cross, bearing the following inscriptions :-

On another part

1ITHSOARA : SOIN

" Outside of the church, at the foot of the steeple, attached to the wall, and resting upon an uninscribed stone sunk in the earth, is a large circular shield which has no runes, but is ornamented with various devices. It is thirty-eight inches in diameter at the broadest part, and thirty-seven at the narrowest."

There is, also, an erect stone, about four feet high, at Kirk Andreas, with an ornamented cross on each side, surrounded by various animals and devices, on one edge of which is a runic inscription, thus deciphered by Mr. Beauford

SONA. ULF. SUI. SVAUDTI. RAISTI. CRUS. DONO. AFTIRARIN, FINIUE. CUNNA. SINA;

which he thus translates

The son of Ulf, of the Swedes, erected this cross to the warrior Aftirarin, the son of Cunna.

In Gough's edition of Camden's Britannia, plate No. 7, the inscription on this stone is given:-

" Sontulf the Black engraved this stone to the memory of Arin Oiniuf, his wife."

It is also in Gibson's edition of Camden, plate 4, p. 1455. The reading and translation on this cross, according to Mr. Just, is as follows:-

SONT: ULF: EIN: SUARTI : KAISTI: KRUS: TRONA: AFTIR ARNO : ONIURK : KUINU : SIVI.

Sont Ulf the Black raised this cross for Arno Oniurk, his wife.

The same gentleman thus gives the reading of a cross in the middle of the green of Kirk Andreas, where the villagers sport, and against which the cows rub themselves. The latter part of it is very obscure:

THINA: IF: UFAIK: FAUTHUR: SIN: IN: KAUTR: KIRTHI: IUNR: AURNAR: FUOAKULI:

Mr. Bally took casts of several runes on fragments of stones, found in the walls of the old church at Kirk Michael, which had been removed into the school-house for preservation. Mr. Just has given the following readings and translations upon three of them.

No. I is beautifully cut and clear, but only a fragment:
ITRA : ES: LAIFA : FUSTRA : KUTRAN: THAN: SON: ILAN x
Abroad is left the good foster mother * * *
The terminating words not intelligible. The runes are of a different character, and the dialect different.²⁶

" No. 2 is an inscription on a slate stone, with the lamina peeled off, and therefore very obscure

MAL: LUMKUN: RAISTI: KRUS: TRANA: EFTIR : MAL: MURU:

FUSTRA: SIVI: KOTA: RAUFKARS: KONA: IS: ATHISI: ATI D4
Mal Lunikun raised this cross for Mal Murn, his foster mother; Goda, w fe of Rat fkar ~` The remaining part is not clear. ,

"No. 3. MAIL : ORIKTI : SUNK: ATHAKANS: SMITH: KAISTI: KRUS: THANO : FUR: SALU : SINA : SIN : ORUKUIN. GIART + KIPNTHI: THANO: AUK.
On the other side,
KIAUT

ATI: IMAUN+ -Mail Orikti, son of Athakan the smith, raised this cross for his soul. After Orukvin made

this (Louse I and The Word GIART is congarth

jectural, V being both k and g, and R being almost indistinguishable from R. The word, however, occurs frequently in other runes, before ` KIRTHI' Or ` GARTIII. - The end is obscure."

Opposite the entrance to Kirk Michael church-yard, there stands upright, forming the centre of a horse block, a piece of clay slate nearly eight feet high, eighteen inches wide, and between four and five inches thick.' On the side farthest from the church, a cross is engraved, the length of which extends to nearly that of the tivhole stone. On each side are various devices of horses and riders, and of stags being seized with dogs. The other side, more defaced, is somewhat different, but partakes of the same character. On the top of the cross, is the effigy of a warrior, with beard, spear, and shield, astride upon a battle age. On the right hand edge, are some runes which, according to Sir John Prestwich's reading, stand thus

JUALFTR : I UJNË : THURULF ! : EJN 1 : RAUTHA : RI! KRU N THONO: AFT: FRITRU: DUTHUR:I JAO.
His translation is, 6° Walter, son of Thurulf, a knight right valiant, Lord of Frithu. The Father, Jest's Christ."

Mr. Beauford renders it, "For the sins of Ivalfar, the son of Dural, this cross was erected by his mother Aftride." According to Professor Torkelin, it is, "Tbulson carved (or erected) this monumental cross over Fridic, his mother." Referring to Sir John Prestwich and Mr. Beauford's translations, as above, Mr. Just says, " I am of opinion that both of them are inaccurate, which I conceive to have arisen partly through incorrectly decyphering the runic characters, and partly through ignorance of the language in which the inscription is written. The true reading I believe to be the following, having been carefully decyphered from the casts in Mr. Bally's possession: UOALFAR : SUNR : THURUL FS : EINS : RAUTHA : RASIT: KRUS: THONG: AFT: FRITHU : MUTHUR : SING: This is pure Norse of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and, literally translated, means, ` VoaNr (or Joalfr), son of Tlwruf the Iced, raised this cross for Frithu,~his mother.' With the exception of the first word, the runes on the cast are perfectly plain and legible."

At the door of the church of St. Maughold is to be seen an admirable specimen of the Danish cross, sculptured on a large flat stone. Near to the church gate stands a pillar, surmounted by a cross of very superior elegance and workmanship. The shaft of the column, including the capital, is about five feet in height, and the cross over it is fully three feet ; the breadth of the lower part of which is nearly equal to the projection of the capital. One face of the cross is sculptured with a representation of the crucifixion, and the other with figures of the Virgin and child. Both of these bass reliefs are enclosed above with circular bands, resembling equilateral arches, with notches around them, seemingly meant for crockets, and each of the arches is ensigned with a figure apparently intended to represent a human heart. On the lower part of both faces of the cross is cut an escutcheon; that beneath the crucifixion bears the arms of the Isle of Man, viz. three legs armed, conjoined in the centre at the upper part of the thighs, and flexed in triangle. The other shield is charged with a rose or cinquefoil, cut within a circle. The sides or profiles of the cross are also ornamented with various carvings, but are much more wasted than those just noticed. On one of them is sculptured a male figure in a devotional attitude; above which is a small shield charged with a form .charged a fegs wavy; and on another shield below the figure is a reticulated square, not unlike a heraldic portcullis. There are some other minute carvings on this side of the cross, but they are all so weather-worn as to render it impossible to say what objects they once represented. The other profile, besides two shields, one of which bears a large rose, and the other, what appears to resemble a garb or sheaf of grain, has been ornamented with a running pattern of oak or other leaves, now almost entirely obliterated ; but the drawing from which the vignette was cut having been taken in 1798, it was probably at that period a little more distinguishable. This ornament, notwithstanding the traces of it still visible, has been moulded by the fancy of some into a representation of Maughold himself, and the kneeling figure has also been conjectured to be that of St. Bridget, the celebrated nun who came over from Ireland to receive the veil.³⁰

The crockets surrounding the arches, together with the Manks arms, show that this interesting memorial is at least as late as the Scottish conquest, and that it is consequently not of Danish erection.

This was the only girth cross ³¹ in the Island, the precincts of the adjoining consecrated ground, having constituted the sanctuary. That these crosses were worshipped with a kind of idolatrous veneration, is scarcely to be doubted.

Besides the crosses yet retained on the consecrated precincts there are others scattered throughout the Island unappropriated ; whilst others are used either as paving flags or stiles. With a few exceptions they are blocks of fibrous clay slate, in which the Island abounds. The emblem of Christianity is generally made by four holes being perforated through the stones at right angles, and connected by two grooves crossing at the centre. It is supposed that these rude crosses respectively belonged to the old ruins called in the Manks language cabbalyn, once so exceedingly numerous in all parts of the Island. One of these edifices, called Keeill Abbin, in Baldwin, parish of Braddan, retained its ancient cross till within a few years since, when a chapel of ease, named St. Luke's, was erected on its site ; the other edifices are said to have been decorated in like manner.

The seeming neglect of so many remnants of high antiquity is occasioned by a superstitious feeling, that prevents most people removing them;³² even the fonts used by the Romanists remain on the ground to this day..The veneration of the natives for such objects is very great in adherence to the ancient saying, Cloyh na kielagh ayes corneil dthy me ; which is " May a stone of the church be found in your dwelling."

Crosses were formerly placed at the entrances of churches and church-yards to inspire holy recollections. , Two or more are yet to be found at almost every parish church in the Isle of Man. They are generally made of stones found in the Island. The crosses are sometimes decorated with convoluted net work of carving, and rude representations of animals.³³ Many are now lying in scattered fragments near the spot where they stood for ages, and where they might still have been standing, but for the destructive spirit of the Danish invaders; the few that have escaped their barbarous havoc, exist to this day nearly entire.

There is a cross in every church-yard ; "but I cannot forbear taking notice that there is not a church-yard in the Isle of Man that does not serve as a common to the parson's cattle, all his horses, his cows, and his sheep graze there perpetually, so strangely is religion and rusticity mingled together in this Island ."³⁴³⁵

In the Isle of Uist, the inhabitants formerly erected a water cross, which was a stone in the form of a cross opposite to St. Mary's Church, for procuring rain, and when enough of rain had fallen, they placed it flat on the ground. But in Martin's time this practice had become obsolete.³⁶

Crosses were likewise erected in commemoration of battles.³⁷ In the court behind the chapel of the Nunnery, in the neighbourhood of Douglas, stood a monument which I suppose to be of that description. It was different from all others found in the Island, being built of reddish stone in the form of a pyramid, and surmounted by a cross.³⁸

The sepulchral crosses now to be met with in the Isle of Man as well as in Scotland,³⁹ are of great antiquity. In the church-yard of Kirk Bride and in Kirk Michael village, there are two fine specimens of the Carrthabh or monumental cross. There was also a kind called weeping crosses, at which penances were finished. One of these stood at Kirk Braddan, and another at Kirk Maughold.

The veneration with which the pagan deities were regarded, having been transferred, along with their fanes and fountains, to christian saints, sanctified and sanative wells became the resort of the pious pilgrim and the credulous invalid. Libations and devotions were, according to ancient practice, performed at these holy springs, which were supposed to be guarded by presiding powers, to whom offerings were left by the visitants.⁴⁰ There were formerly many wells in Scotland famous for the sanative virtues ascribed to them. Many a wonderful cure is said to have been effected by the water of the balm well of St. Katerine.⁴¹ The public statute of the year 1579, already quoted, prohibited pilgrimages to wells, as being a " Papistical rite," under certain heavy penalties.⁴³

Such wells were formerly held in great estimation in the Isle of Man. Miraculous tales are yet related of that dedicated to St. Patrick, in Peel; but the most celebrated in modern times for its medicinal virtues, is the fine spring which issues from the rocks of the bold promontory called Maughold Head, and which is dedicated to the saint of the same name, " who, it appears, had blessed the well, and endued it with certain healing virtues, which it yet retains, and on that account it is still resorted to, as was the pool of Siloam of old, by every Manks invalid who believes in its efficacy. On the first Sunday of August, the natives, according to custom, still make a pilgrimage to drink of its waters; and it is held to be of the greatest importance to certain females to enjoy this beverage when seated in the saint's chair, which the saint, for the accommodation of succeeding generations, placed immediately contiguous."

The old chapels are principally interesting, as being the only index in existence of the condition of christianity in the early ages. In themselves they are so small and miserable as only to attract the attention of the antiquary. In some parts of the Island, they are very numerous.⁴⁴ In the low grounds of Marown, three or four may be pointed out in as many miles. Some of them are like barrows, having an excavation on the top, of which Cronk-na-Kielain, near Peel, is an example. Others appear to have been built of large stones and mud. For the most part, they are surrounded by an enclosed space of small dimensions, which, in all that have been discovered, contained bones in stone coffins regularly ranged from east to west.⁴⁵ Some of these bones have been of an extraordinary size.⁴⁶

The Cronk-na-Kielain, I would believe to be an example of the most ancient kind, were it not for the association of its name, and the mode of interment it exhibits. It is so like an ordinary barrow, that it could not be supposed to be the ruins of a christian place of worship. The extent of the ground around it, containing graves, is an indication of its having been connected with a more numerous population than its size would warrant us to suppose. Its name occurs in an idiomatic expression of the natives. When intimating that " there will be no service at church," they say, " there will be neither clag nor kielain," i.e. "there will be neither large nor little bell;"-kielain signifying a little bell, and clag a large or tolling bell.⁴⁷

It has been found that every treen of land, which is a kind of old baronial division, had one of these chapels in it; in which case their number must have exceeded a hundred. Although they are denominated chapels, I am fully of opinion that they were tombs where periodical masses were said for the dead, such as is described by the Dean of the Isles, who wrote his description of Mona, A.D. 1549: " Within this Yle of Kilmkill, is an sanctuary or kirkyaird, in whilk there are three tombes of staine formit like little chapels, with an braid grey marble or guhin stane in the gavill of ilk ane of the tombs," Such buildings were likewise common in Norway.⁴⁸

I admit, however, that my conjecture of the ancient cabbals having been only tombs where mass was said for the dead, is not entirely free from controversy; as the names of many places in the Island would seemingly lead us to suppose that they were places of regular worship. There is in the parish of Kirk Germain, an estate called Ballakilworrey, a name evidently derived from a church there, which had been dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the parish of Bride, there is Ballakilmean, and, also, Keill Vael, the former seemingly having been dedicated to St. Matthew the apostle, the latter to St. Michael the arch angel, or to St. Mael, the disciple of St. Patrick. There was, likewise, a place called Keill Pharlane, the last word being the Manks for Bartholomew, the burying ground of which church was, in the course of the last century, totally swept away by the sea.⁴⁹

The ruins of other old chapels of great antiquity are -.yet to be seen in various parts of the bishopric of Man. In the little Isle of St. Michael, on the south side of Derbyhaven bay,⁵⁰ stand the ruins of an old chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and supposed to have been the original cathedral ⁵¹ of the Island, where the early bishops were consecrated; but in the absence of all authentic documents, such conjectures are not to be relied on. Townley, who surveyed this ruin in 1789, says the chapel had more of the ancient rude style of building than any edifice he had seen in Mona's bounds ; and the inside furniture gave him a stronger credence, consisting of an altar piled up with rude stones, in the form of a table ; and ill the right corner, near to the ancient altar, a block of stone piled up in the same rude style, with four steps of advance, exactly resembling a common horse-block. He therefore believed it was either made for that purpose, or the place for the chief or first magistrate of the Island to receive his religious appointment or inauguration.⁵²

In the parish of Marown, about mid-way between Douglas and Peel near the road side are the walls of another old chapel, dedicated to Saint Trinon or Tranion, who was archbishop of the Picts, auct orctameci by St. Pallidus, A.D. 455.⁵³ The architecture, although very rude, is somewhat after the Gothic style; each window forming an arch by the meeting of two curved stones at the top.⁵⁴

The old rule of building religious houses in a line with the point of the horizon where the sun rose on the day of the saint to which the place was dedicated, will be found,on examination, to have been strictly attended to, as well in the case of St. Trinion's, as in that of all others in the Isle of Man. This was the true cause why, in general, they did not- stand due east and west.⁵⁵

Peel Castle," says a former historian, " is encompassed by four churches. Three of which, time has so much destroyed that there is little remaining beside the walls and some few tombs that have been erected with so much care as to perpetuate the memory of those buried in them till the final dissolution of all things." " Some of these churches," continues the former author, " were doubtless once the temples of Pagan deities, though since consecrated to the worship of the true divinity; and what confirms me more strongly in this conjecture is, that there is still a part of one remaining where stands a large stone directly in manner and form like the tripos, which, in the days of ignorance, the priests stood upon to deliver their fabulous oracles. "⁵⁶

Waldron was, however, probably mistaken as to the exact number of old churches within the walls of Peel Castle, as the whole area is full of ruins of various buildings. Grose, who wrote his account of these remains of antiquity not more than sixty years afterwards, mentions only the ruins of two churches; the one dedicated to St. Patrick and the other dedicated to St. Germain ⁵⁷

The windows of St. Patrick's church were of a circular form; and, according to Waldron, there were places for penance beneath, consisting of dark and horrible cells, dreadful enough for the punishment of almost any crime to which humanity is capable of being guilty.⁵⁸

St. Germain's church ⁵⁹ is built in the form of a cross, like most other Catholic edifices ; the dimensions are seventy-six feet by twenty. The walls are of coarse gray stones ; but the angles, window cases, and arches are coigned and formed of a reddish stone. The whole building is so extremely ruinous, that, for many years it has not been occupied as a place of worship.⁶⁰ Bishop Wilson was the last diocesan enthroned in this cathedral. Beneath the eastern part of it, is the ecclesiastical prison. " This is certainly one of the most dreadful places that imagination call form. The sea runs under it through the hollows of the rock, with such a continual roar, that you would think it every moment breaking in upon you, and over it are the vaults for burying the dead." The descent into this vault is by eighteen steps; the roof is vaulted by thirteen ribs, forming as many arches, and supported by an equal number of short semi-hexagonal pilasters, only about twenty inches above ground. In one corner is a well or spring, which must have made a deplorable addition to the natural humidity of the place, where neither light nor air is admitted, but through a small hole in the wall. ⁶¹ This was the place where Bishop Wilson confined the clerk of the rolls for non-payment of tithes, without hearing and without redress.⁶² The well, however, which was said to have been at the north-west corner, is now covered up by the falling in of the wall of the west end. Waldron says that in his time a superstitious notion was entertained by the Manks people, that if any person, that was led by curiosity to visit this cavern, neglected to count the pillars, he would, for some breach of the ecclesiastical law, soon be confined there.⁶³ To quote the eloquent words of an ingenious friend who visited Peel in 1828 :-" Though the inhabitants of Peel claim a right of interment within the cathedral, the burying ground within and around the walls of St. Germain's Church, is now set apart as the exclusive resting place of friendless sailors drowned at sea. Numbers of those are here reposing soundly, far from their homes and the graves of their kindred. Plain slabs, taken from the surrounding ruins, press the sods more closely on their breasts, and amid such kindred desolation, overlooking the sea, on which the sleepers met their fate, those simple mementos speak a tale more touching and impressive than the most pompous lettered marble. Relations and dependants only weep over the home-buried dead, but all weep over the spot in which the far-come stranger sleeps in deserted loneliness. "⁶⁴

In the beginning of the ninth century a nunnery was founded by St. Bridget,⁶⁵ in the vale of Douglas; but the only vestige of these fine old edifices that now remains, is part of the chapel of the one alluded to, with its gothic windows, and arched gateway, half dilapidated, over which hangs the convent bell. When the daughters of piety dwelt within its precincts, this principal gate was only opened at the initiation of a nun, or at the death of the Lady Abbess. That this venerable remnant of ancient architecture should have fallen into the hands of such a person as he who took it down, will, I think, be lamented by every one who reads the following description of it :-" Few monasteries ever exceeded it either in largeness or fine building. There are still some of the cloisters remaining, the ceilings of which discover they were the workmanship of the most masterly hands ; nothing, in the whole creation, but what is imitated in curious carvings on it. The pillars supporting the arches are so thick as if that edifice was erected with a design to baffle the efforts of time, nor could it in more years than have elapsed since the coming of Christ have been so greatly defaced, had it received no injury but from time; but ill some of the dreadful revolutions this Island has sustained, it doubtless has suffered much from the outrage of the soldiers, as may be gathered by the niches yet standing in the chapel, which has been one of the finest in the world, and the images of saints reposited in them being torn out. Some pieces of broken columns are still to be seen, but the greatest part have been removed. The confessional chair also lies in ruins.⁶⁶

There were, likewise, a number of caverns under ground used as places of penance. If the nuns themselves, however, were even suspected of falsifying, they were not confined there, but had to undergo a different kind of punishment. Over the Howe of Douglas, there is a steep rock of considerable height, immediately above the sea; about half-way up this rock, was a hollow resembling an elbow chair, and near the top another cavity somewhat similar. On the slightest accusation, the poor nun was brought to the foot of this rock when the sea had ebbed, and was obliged to climb to the first chair, where she had to remain till the tide again flowed and ebbed twice. Those who had given a greater cause of suspicion, were obliged to ascend to the second chair, and to sit there for the same space of time. Any one who endured this trial, and descended unhurt, was cleared of all aspersion that had been thrown upon her.⁶⁷ Such a lengthened exposure to the elements, so far above the level of the sea, probably occasioned the death of many of these unfortunate creatures. We are elsewhere told that if sentence of death was passed against a female, she was sewed up in a sack, and thrown from the top of the rock into the sea.⁶⁸ This must have been the Turpeian Rock of the Isle of Man. Waldron says there were many curious monuments in the chapel of the Nunnery, " some of which, although almost worn out, yet still retain enough to make the reader know that the bodies of very great persons have been reposited here. There is plainly to be read on one of them,

'Illustrissima Matilda filia Rex Merciæ.'

I think there is great probability that this was Matilda, the daughter of Ethelbert, one of the kings of England of the Saxon race, since both Stow and Hollinshead agree that the princess died a recluse. I am, also, of opinion that Cartesmunda, the fair nun of Winchester, who fled from the violence threatened by King John, took refuge in this monastery, and was here buried, because there is upon a monument,

' Cartesmunda Virgo immaculata, A.D. 1230.'

These words remain so legible that I doubt not the whole inscription would have been so, had not some barbarous hand broke the stone, leaving only a corner of it, which is supported by a column; and on the base the date is yet perfectly fresh."⁶⁹

On these monuments there were also several hieroglyphical figures, which, according to the salve author, had been both the " ornaments and explanation of the tombs;" but they were then so much demolished as only to cause a regret that they had not met with a better fate.⁷⁰

The prioress of the Nunnery of Douglas was a baroness of the Isle. She held courts in her own name, and pos sessed temporal authority equal to a baron. Her vassals were not subject to the jurisdiction of the lord's court, as she claimed the privilege of trying them by a jury of her tenants. Her revenues were large, her authority great, and her person was held sacred.

The chapel of Rushen was dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1260, or, according to some writers, 1257, by Richard, Bishop of Man, although it must have been built at least eight years before this period, as Reginald, the son of Olave the Black, was buried there in 1249.⁷¹ According to another authority, Magnus Olaveson was also buried there in 1265.⁷² The ruins of this building were pulled down some years ago, and a commodious edifice erected on its site by subscription, assisted by a grant out of the funds provided by parliament for building churches.

There was formerly a house of Friars Minors, at Bowmaken, which was a small establishment of the Cistercian order, but of which little is now known.⁷³

On the bank of a pleasant stream descending from the mountain of South Barrule, at the village of Ballasalla, may still be traced some vestiges of the ancient Abbey of Rushen.

" Fallen fabric ! pondering o'er thy time-traced walls,
Thy mouldering mighty melancholy state,
Each object to the musing mind recalls
The sad vicissitudes of varying fate."

According to Sacheverell and some other writers, this abbey was founded A.D. 1098, by Macmanus, or, more properly, Mac Magnus, the son of Magnus, governor of the Isles; but existing documents prove this statement to be incorrect.⁷⁴

The lands of Ballasalla and Russyn were granted to the abbot of Rievalle before there was a religious establishment at Furness, "but they did not build there. "⁷⁴

After the conquest of Man by Goddard Crovan the lands appertained solely to the king.⁷⁵ He was paramount superior-the whole property in the Island being vested in him. Olave, therefore, not wishing to recognise the encroachment made by the usurper Mac Magnus do the royal prerogative in 1134,⁷⁶ granted the lands of Ballasalla and Russyn to Iro or Evan, abbot of Furness, in Lancashire,⁷⁷"who built the abbey there in honour of the blessed virgin," made it a cell depending on the mother church, and established the Cistercian discipline. He retained, however, to the monks of Furness, the right of appointing the bishop of Man.⁷⁸

The original establishment at Rushen consisted of an abbot and twelve monks. The distinguishing dress of the order was a black cowl and scapular with white vest ments. They wore neither shirts nor shoes, and only ate flesh-meat when on a journey. Although they were the public almoners, they supported themselves chiefly by manual labour.⁷⁹

The Cistercian order of priesthood originated in the monastery of Citeaux in Burgundy, A.D. 1098. The monks of that fraternity were sometimes called Bernardines, from St. Bernard, who founded one hundred and sixty monasteries of the same order. They were divided into thirty provinces; the Abbey of Rushen formed part of the twenty-seventh division.⁸⁰

Goddard, king of Man, having married Fingala, daughter of Mac Lauchlan son of Murchard, king of Ireland, without the accustomed ceremonies of the church, Vivian, cardinal legate of the apostolic see, came to Man in the year 1176, and caused the marriage ceremony to be canonically performed by Sylvanus, abbot of Rushen, to whom the king, as an expiation of his errors gave a piece of land at Mirescoge, in Kirk Christ Lezayre, to build a monastery, which was afterwards granted to the Abbey of Rushen ⁸¹

In 1192, the monks of Rushen removed to Douglas, where they remained four years, and then returned to their former quarters. The cause of this movement has not been explained, neither has the nature of their establishment at Douglas been referred to.

This abbey was endowed by king Olave with great privileges and immunities.^82,83 The abbot received one third of the tithes of the kingdom for the education of youth and the support of the poor;⁸⁴ and large bequests were also made to it by Magnus, king of Man, and by the kings of Norway ⁸⁵ Thus enriched, the style of living of these monks underwent a revolution equal to their fortune. The abbot became a baron, so that his authority, in some respect, " clashed with the lord."⁸⁶ But while we condemn the weak superstition which conferred such exorbitant power on ecclesiastics, or blame them for ambition, indolence, and sensuality, let us not forget that the monastic orders were the depositaries of learning and science when these lights were banished from the rest of the world; and that the victims of want and misery frequently partook of their spoils. The monks of Rushen are said to have written the first three sheets of the Chronicles of Man, as published to the year 1266 ; but Johnstone is of opinion that this work is of Norwegian origin, of which there is internal evidence.⁸⁷

Kings and bishops were interred in the abbey church.⁸⁸ Reginald, bishop of Man, who died A.D. 1225, was buried there .⁸⁹ In 1229, the monks of Rushen conveyed the body of Reginald, king of Man, to the Abbey of Furness.⁹⁰

In the year 1237, Olave Goddardson, king of Man, was buried in the Abbey of St. Mary of Rushen.⁹¹ In 1240, Gospatrick, the celebrated Norwegian general, died at Kirk Michael, and was buried in the Abbey of Rushen.⁹²

Richard, bishop of the Isles, in the year 1257, consecrated this abbey church, which had been one hundred and thirty years in building.⁹³ It is here where the image tomb of an abbot is to be seen, distinguished by the pastoral staff and a broad-sword, emblems, it has been said, of his spiritual and temporal power; but neither the date nor inscription is now visible. I differ, however, from the opinion that the sword was placed on the tomb-stone of this abbot as an emblem. of his temporal power. It is plainly not the tomb of any of the bishops who held both the office of bishop and governor. We have already seen that Wymund, a military bishop of -Man, died 1151, and was buried in the cathedral church of St. Germain's.⁹⁴ Thomas Stanley, who was both bishop and governor of the Island, died and was buried in Lancashire.⁹⁵ Isaac Barrow was bishop and governor of Man from 1663 to 1668, at which time he was translated to the see of St. Asaph, where he died, and was interred; so that none of the remains of these governor-bishops were deposited in the Abbey of Rushen. John Myrrick was sword-bishop of Man from 1577 to 1600; but as we cannot find that he ever held any civil appointment, we have no grounds even to conjecture that the tomb in question was erected to his memory.⁹⁶ Before the eleventh. century, there is no vestige of armorial figures to be seen upon tombs. Nothing appears but crosses and gothic inscriptions. The tomb stone of Pope Clement IV, who died in the year 1268, is presumed to be the first on which a coat of arms can be found.⁹⁷ Those who engaged in the holy wars, it is known assumed coats of arms to themselves; and out of these expeditions to Palestine, arose the various orders of knighthood. One of the most distinguished of these was the Knight-Templar'. Although it was a religious order, the sword was the badge of distinction carried by its members, which, in the spirit of the times, they even placed upon their graves. Hence, when the figure of a monk is seen upon an image tomb, with a sword by his side, it is merely to denote that he was a knight-templar. This, in my opinion, is the explanation of the Rushen tombstone, afterwards referred to.

The reformation not having commenced so early in the Isle of Man is in England, the Abbey of Rushen was the latest monastery dissolved in these kingdoms.⁹⁸ By the act 33d Henry VIII, cap. 31, this abbey was dissevered from the province of Canterbury; the endowments thereby reverted to the crown of England ; but in 1610 they were granted by king James to William, earl of Derby, and his heirs for ever, to be held under the manor of East Greenwich, paying the accustomed rent to the lord thereof.⁹⁹

The ecclesiastical government of the Island, like that of the civil department, is regular but very strict. The bishop, as before stated, is appointed by the Lord of the Isle, and approved of by the king; and although no peer, 'he acknowledges the archbishop of York as his primate,¹⁰⁰ and with his clergy is summoned to the convocation of that province.

The episcopal palace is situated in the parish of Kirk Michael, at a place, in ancient times, called Torkelstadt, which was changed to Kirk Michael in the early ages of the Christian era; but it was only in the seventeenth century that the place was first called by the modern name of Bishop's Court. "Simon, bishop of Man, died at his palace of Kirk Michale in 1239;¹⁰¹" how long it was inhabited before that time is not known. The original form of the house was a massive tower, surrounded by a deep fosse ; but many additions have been successively made to it. The principal part of the old growing timber was planted by bishop Wilson.¹⁰² Bishop Murray made many additions to the palace, modernized the grounds, and reared a beautiful little chapel on the site of the old one.¹⁰³

Footnotes

1 " The Thrushel stone in the Isle of Lewis, supposed to have formed the altar of a Druidical circle, is twenty feet high, and nearly as much in breadth."—Toland's History of the Druids, p. 85.

2 " The Dwarfy stone in Hoy, one of the Orkney Isles, is thirty-six feet long, and eighteen feet broad. It is scooped by human art, having a door two feet square, with a stone of the same dimensions, intended no doubt to close the entrance when required. Within, there is cut out the form of a bed capable of holding two persons, with a pillow; and at the opposite end, there is a couch, very neatly done; above, at an equal distance from the bed and from the couch, is a round hole, which is supposed to have been designed, when the door was shut, for letting in light and air, and for letting out smoke from the fire, for which there is a place made between the two beds. The tradition of the vulgar is, that a giant and his wife had this stone for their habitation."-Toland, p. 116.

3 Appendix, Note i, " Druidical Circles."

4 The word clachan literally signifies 'stones;' and is still the Gaelic term for ' a place of worship.'

5" Near the centre of these circles, were stones of an immense size, as a kind of altar, called clachsleachda. When stones of striking dimensions could not be found, they took a large oblong flag and supported it with pillars. On these altars, were first offered cakes of flour, milk, eggs, herbs, and simples; afterwards, noxious animals, as the bear, boar, or wolf, and finally, human victims."-See Introduction to Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd, Edinburgh, 1808, vol. ii, f. 482.

6 MS. in the library of the Society of -Scottish Antiquaries, Edinburgh, communicated by Dr. Oswald, of Douglas, Isle of Man, a zealous and ingenious antiquary, to whose kindness I am indebted for information on several points of Manks antiquities.

7 Toland's History of the Druids, London, 1726, p. 85.

8 Description of Iona ; MS. 1693, in the Advocates' Library; Pennant's Tour A.D. 1769; M'Lean's Iona, p. 11; Macculloch's Highlands and Western Isles London, 1824, vol. iv, p. 160. The extraordinary number of these crosses may be thus accounted for:-" The graves and sepulchres of our noblemen had commonlie a! many obelisks and spires pitched about them, as the deceased had killed enemies before time in the field. "-Hollinshead's Chronicles of Scotland, cap. xiii.

9 This act of the Scottish parliament was as follows "That none go in pilgrimage to kirks, chapels, crosses, wells, or the like ; keep saints' days, sing garrales, or observe any other superstitious papistical rites, under the pain of an hundred pounds, the landed man; an hundred merks, the unlanded man ; and forty pounds the yeoman; and the offenders not responsible, to be imprisoned for the first fault and for the second, that the offenders be punished with death, as idolators."-Jane VI, part vii, cap. civ, p. 445.

10 Pennant's Tour, 1769; McLean's Iona.

11 Britton's Antiquities of England.

12 There landmarks seem to have been set up and much relied on in the north of fttrope, at an early period ; perhaps the Manks imitated their invaders, in setting up such stones. " These are high stones set up, directing the boundaries of provinces, governments, and communities, to continue every man in peace, without laws, suits, and arbitration, giving an example to other nations that there is more right to be found in these stones than elsewhere in great volumes of laws."-History of the Goths, Swedes, and Vandals, by Olaus Magnus, London, 1658, p. 12.

13 Brand's Observations on Bornes's Antiquities, Newcastle edition, 1777, Appendix, cap. xzzi.

14 Waldron, p. 104.

15 Camden's Britannia, article ' Isle of Man.'

16 Oswald, p. 89.

17' In " Articles to be enquired of within the Archdeaconry of Yorke, by the churchwardens and sworn men, A.D. 163-," (any year till 1640)"1 find the following:" Whether, at 'the death of any, there be praying for the dead at crosses, or places where crosses have been, in the way of the church. "-Ellie's Antiquities, edition 1841, vol. ii, p. 156.

18 Waldron, p. 150.

19 Waldron, p. 170.

20 Forlocke's Encyclopedia of Antiquities.

21 The old Popish ceremony of "creepinge to the crosse" on Good Friday, is given from an ancient book of the ceremonial of the Kings of England, in the Notes to the Northumberland Household Book. The usher was to lay a carpet for the King to "creepe to the crosse upon." The Queen and the ladies were also to creepe to the crosse. In an original proclamation, black letter, dated 26th February, 30th Henry VIII, in the first volume of a collection of proclamations, in the Archives of the Society of Antiquaries of London, p. 138, we read:-" On Good Friday, it shall be declared howe creepinge of the trosse signyfyeth an humblynge of ourself to Christe before the trosse, and the kyssynge of it a memory of our redemption madeupon the crosse." See, also, Bonner's Injunctions, A.D. 1555, 4to, signature A 2, in A short Description of Antichrist, &c. ; see Herbert, p. 1579, the author quotes the Popish custom of " creepinge to the crosse with egges and apples." " Dispelinge with a white rodde," immediately follows; though I know not whether it was upon the same day. "To holde forth the crosse for egges on Good Friday," occurs among the Roman Catholic customs censured by John Bale.

22 Waldron, ap. Camden.

23 Toland's History of the Druids.

24 Appendix, Note ii, " Runic Monuments.

25 Feltham, p. 61.

26 There is an engraving of this stone in the Archalogia Scotica, printed 1822, part 2nd.

27 Gough's Camden, vol. iv, p. 510; Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii, part ii, edition 1831, p. 492.

28 This fragment is in plate No. 6, in Gough's edition of Camden, and plate No. I in Gibson's edition, p. 1458.

29 There is an engraving of this stone in the Archælogia Scotica, part 2 printed 1822, .

30 .This description of Maughold's Cross is extracted from a communication, made at my request, by my highly valued friend, William Dobie, Esq., Grange Vale, Beith, Ayrshire, whose heraldic knowledge is extensively known.

31 The word girth, in Gælic, signifies sanctuary. These crosses were first appointed in imitation of the cities of refuge, under the law, to which the man-slayer who had killed one unawares might flee for safety.-Numbers, xxxv, 15 ; Duet. iv, 41, and xix, 2. The first mention made of these girths is in the statutes of William the Lion, king of Scotland, and they continued in Scotland as well as in the Isle of Man till the Reformation in the seventeenth century. See Acts James III, Parliament v, cap. v, sec. xxxv.

32 Appendix, Note iii, "Attempt to remove the Cross at Ballafletcher."

33 Whitaker thinks " Crosses with scroll work are antecedent to Norman conquests.'

34 Waldron, page 171.

35 Appendix, Note iv, " Churchyards."

36 See an engraving of this stone in Archaelogia Scotica, Edinburgh, 1822, part ii.

37 Britton's Architect. Antiq. of England.

38 Waldron, p. 16.

39 Appendix, Note v, " Monumental Crosses."

40 Appendix, Note vi, " Sanative Wells."

41 Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. i, p. 324.

42 Act, James VI, Parliament vii, cap. civ.

43 Old chapels appear to have been very numerous throughout the Western Isles and even in Orkney. Dr. Wallace informs us "That beside the cathedral, there are thirty-one churches, all built in the olden times, and upwards of one hundred chapels in these Islands," (Wallace" Description of the Orcades, edition 1700, page 82) ; and thirty of these kinds of hermitages in the Isle of Bute, which are distinguished by the addition of K before the name of the place, as Lamont."-Campbell's Political Surrey, cap. viii, sec. iv.

44 Oswald's MS., in the Antiquarian Library, Edinburgh.

45 Of this we have the following corroboration in Waldron:-" Here, in justice to these poor people (of the Isle of Man), I must acquaint my reader, that however strange their tradition may seem of the Island being once inhabited by giants, my own eyes were witness to something that does not a little keep it in countenance: As they were digging a vault in Kirk Braddan church-yard, there was found the leg-bone of a man very near four feet in length from the uncle to the knee. Nothing but occular demonstration could have convinced me of the truth of it ; but the natives seemed little to regard it, having, as they said, frequently dug up bones of the same size. They told me that but a few months before my arrival (about 1710), there was found in Kirk Carbra church-yard, a human head of that monstrous circumference that a bushel would hardly cover it !! "-Waldron's Description of the Isle of Man, London, 1731, page 171.

46 Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii, part ii, p. 504, edition 1831.

47 Referring to the same subject, Buchanan says, " There are in Icolumkill, three tombs more eminent than the rest, at a small distance one from another, having little shrines looking to the east, built over them."-Hist. of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1762, vol. i, p. 36.

48 The Rev. Charles Radcliffe, in a MS. sketch of several of the cabbals of the Island, with which I have been favoured; and from which I have taken several extracts, says, " I wish any Manksman well acquainted with his native language, and who could give the names of places accurately, would be at the pains to procure a list of all the cabbals in the Island, with the situation and dimensions of each, we might thereby ascertain the number of persons the whole could contain, and, from that circumstance, form a conjectural estimate of the number of inhabitants in the Island at a very early period.

49 In Bleau's Map of the Isle of Man, forming part of his Atlas published at Amsterdam, 1658, this Isle is called " St. Mighill's Island."

50 Wood's History of the Isle of Man, p, 137; Transactions Qf the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii, part ii.

51 Townley's Journal, vol. i, p. 187, Whitehaven, 1791.

52 Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, p. 377.

53 Appendix, Note vii, "The Buggane of St. Trinion."

54 This seems to have been understood by Chauncy : "One end of every church doth point to such place, where the sun did rise at the time the foundation was laid, which is the reason why all churches do not directly point to the east. "-Chauncy's Hertfordshire.

55 Waldron, pp. 104, 106.

56 Germain, the patron saint of this church, was Bishop of Man, A.D. 447. It was here where the Scottish princes were generally educated, prior to the accession of the house of Stuart to the throne of Scotland. Here, also, from an early period, the perfects of the Manks church were interred. Wymundus, Bishop of Man, who was expelled, and had his eye put out in 1151, was interred in this cathedral church, as was, also, John, who succeeded to the Bishopric in the same year. Bishop Mark, who died in 1303, was likewise buried at St. Germain's.-Willis's Survey of Cathedrals, vol, i, p. 369; Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, pp. 297, 300, 301.

57 Waldron, p. 105. " These subterranean places of punishment are either filled up or otherwise demolished, the ciceroni of the place not being able to give us the least account of them in 1774."-Grose's Antiquities of England, vol. iv.

58 The following passage leads us to the date of the erection of this cathedral :"Symon, Bishop of Man, a native of Argyleshire, died at his palace of Kirkmichael, in the Isle of Man, A.D. 1239, and was buried in St. Germain's cathedral, at Peel, which he had began to rebuild."-Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, Edinburgh edition, 1824; Johnstone's Celto Normanicæ, Copenhagen, 1786, p. 151.

59 The lead with which the church was covered, was, by an act of Tynwald, on the 20th October, 1710, granted to Bishop Wilson, to assist in the erection of the church of Kirk Patrick.-Mills's Ancient Ordinances, p. 192. A silver chalice bearing the following inscription, which formerly belonged to the cathedral, is yet preserved in the parish church:-"Ecclesiæ Cathedralis Sti. Germani Peelæ, in insula Monæ, sacro usui D.D.D., Suns humilis minister Henricus Bridgeman, A.D. 1670."

60 Waldron, pp, 104, 105. There was a similar vault in the cathedral church of Iona; and it appears that such dungeons were common in castles as well as in churches, throughout the Western Isles: "The prisons were dark vaults, without beds or the smallest crevice to introduce light, where no friend was permitted to comfort the criminal, who, after a long fast, was often killed with a surfeit. This was the case of Keitchen, the Son of Archibald Clench, a traitor against the family of M'Donald, who died in a vault at Duntulm, of a surfeit of salt beef, being afterwards refused any kind of drink."Macqueen's -Dissertation on the Government of tine People in the Western Isles, in 'Pennant, vol. iii, p. 422,

61 Bullock's History of the Isle of Man, p. 166.

62 Waldron, p, 105.

63 Bennet's Sketches of the Isle of Man, London, 1829, p. 78.

64 Willis's Survey of Cathedrals, vol. i, p. 372 ; Tanner's Not. Monas., article ' Bishopric of Man.'

65 Appendix, Note viii, " Religious Ceremonies."

66 Waldron's Description of the Isle of Man, pp. 148-152.

67 Gibson's Camden, London, folio, vol. ii, p. 1442. The editor adds in a marginal note, " They are now hanged, except witches, who are burnt." This practice reminds us of the punishment for parricide among the Romans. The person convicted of that crime was hooded, as unworthy of the common light, sewed up alive in a sack, with an ape, a dog, and a cock, and in that condition thrown into the sea, or into the nearest river or lake.--Murphy's Notes on the Manners of the Ancient .Germans, by Tacitus, London, 1807, p. 226.

68 Waldron, p. 150.

69 Waldron, p. 150.

70 Chronicles of the Kings of Man, ap. Camden.

71 Johnstone's Celto Normanicæ, p. 152.

72 Seacome's History of the Isle of Man, p. 38.

73 Ballasalla is a considerable village. Here formerly stood the Abbey of Rushen, founded 1134, upon land given by Olave, King of Man.-Wilson's Survey of the Isle of Man, in Gibson's Camden, vol. ii, folio 1474.

74 Camden's Britannia, edition 1722; Mon. Angl., vol. i, p. 710.

75 Johnstone's Celto Normanicæ, p. 150.

76 MS. Register of Furness, in the office of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; Lelland's Collection, p. 357; Johnstone's Celto Normanicæ, p. 151.

77 Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i, p. 711 ; William of Newbury, vol, i, b. i. c. zaiv.

78 The Abbey of Furness was founded in 1127, by Stephen, afterwards King of England, who " commended it to the patronage of the blessed Virgin Mary." When the abbot and thirty monks surrendered it on 9th April, 1537, it was endowed with £805 16s. 5d. per annum, according to Dugdale; and according to Speed, £966 7s. 6d.-Willis's History of Abbeys, vol. ii, p. 106.

79 Buck's Theological Dictionary, London, edition 1827.

80 Spottiswood's Religious Houses, cap. ix.

81 Chronicles of Man, ap. Camden; Johnstone's Celto Normanicæ, p. 151.

82 Catalogue of Ancient Charters

83 Appendix, Note ix, " Ancient Limitation of Church Lands."

84 Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i, p. 711.

85 Calendars of Ancient Charters in the Tower of London, 1722, p. 344.

86 Gibson's Camden, 1722, p. 1449 ; Celto Normanicae, p. 151.

87 Tanner's Notitia Monastica, Cambridge, 1787, `Bishopric of Man.'

88 Camden's Britannia, folio edition, 1695, page 1069.

89 Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, p. 299.

90 Johnstone's Celto Normanicae, p. 151.

91 Chronicles of Man, ap. Camden; Macpherson's Dissertations, p. 284.

92 Chronicles of Man.

93 Keith's Catalogue, p. 300 ; Seacome's History of the Isle of Man, p. 44,

94 Keith, page 297; Le Neve's Tasti, page 356.

95 History of the House of Stanley, page 161.

96 Seacome's History of the Isle of Man, page 47.

97 Borthwick's British Antiquities, Edinburgh, 1776, page 65.

98 Ward's Ancient Records, page 109.

99 Wood, page 122. The estate of Rushen Abbey was purchased, in 1838, by the Rev. W. P. Ward (son of the late bishop Ward), and a few gentlemen in London, for the purpose of erecting a splendid church on the site of the old abbey. The building has not yet been commenced.

100 Camden's Britannia, p. 839; Lord Coke's Fourth Istitute, cap. ix; Willis's History of Cathedrals, vol. i, page 369 ; Chaloner's Treatise on the Isle of Man, cap, vi.

101 Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, Edinburgh, 1824, p. 299.

102 Oswald's Isle of Man Guide, p. 107.

103 For a more particular account of Bishop's Court, see Cap. xxiii.