History & Haunting of St Marys Abbey, Melrose ,Roxburghshire, Scotland Ghost wizard & vampire what more could you ask :) Melrose was the first Cistercian abbey in Scotland, founded in 1136 by King David I. Three miles away from the present abbey, Old Melrose had been a monastic settlement since the 7th centuary, founded by St Aedan of Iona, the man who also fouded Lindisfarne. So the foundation of the new abbey reflected continuity within Scotland’s monastic traditions rather than a radical break. There are three Melrose Abbey ghosts that are still said to haunt the ruins in the borders of Scotland: A group of monk ghosts have been witnessed walking in the area. Michael Scott In life Michael Scott was a philosopher and wizard who practised black magic and the black arts. It was said that he could fly. He is buried at Melrose Abbey and is said to haunt his grave. His stone coffin was thought to have been found in the aisle of the south chancel in 1812. aboutaberdeen/ The spectre of a ghostly vampire monk has been seen at the abbey. The 12th century legend says that he was bitten and thus returned from the dead. He would rise from his Melrose Abbey grave at night and feed at the local nunnery. One night a brave monk kept vigil at his tomb and when the vampire monk climbed out to feed, he chopped his head off with an axe. This killed the vampire monk for good this time but his evil presence was thought to remain at the Abbey for some time. There is a twelfth century story concerning a haunting, or vampire, associated with a burial at the Abbey. The following account is by Augustinian Canon William Parvus, also known as William of Newburgh (or Newbury) (Born 1136 – Died 1198). A few years ago the chaplain of a certain illustrious lady, casting off mortality, was consigned to the tomb in that noble monastery which is called Melrose. This man, having little respect for the sacred order to which he belonged, was excessively secular in his pursuits, and - what especially blackens his reputation as a minister of the holy sacrament - so addicted to the vanity of the chase as to be designated by many by the infamous title of Hundeprest, or the dog-priest; and this occupation, during his lifetime, was either laughed at by men, or considered in a worldly view; but after his death - as the event showed - the guiltiness of it was brought to light: for, issuing from the grave at night-time, he was prevented by the meritorious resistance of its holy inmates from injuring or terrifying any one within the monastery itself; whereupon he wandered beyond the walls, and hovered chiefly, with loud groans and horrible murmurs, round the bedchamber of his former mistress. She, after this had frequently occurred, becoming exceedingly terrified, revealed her fears or danger to one of the friars who visited her about the business of the monastery; demanding with tears that prayers more earnest than usual should be poured out to the Lord in her behalf as for one in agony. With whose anxiety the friar - for she appeared deserving of the best endeavors, on the part of the holy convent of that place, by her frequent donations to it - piously and justly sympathized, and promised a speedy remedy through the mercy of the Most High Provider for all. Thereupon, returning to the monastery, he obtained the companionship of another friar, of equally determined spirit, and two powerful young men, with whom he intended with constant vigilance to keep guard over the cemetery where that miserable priest lay buried. These four, therefore, furnished with arms and animated with courage, passed the night in that place, safe in the assistance which each afforded to the other. Midnight had now passed by, and no monster appeared; upon which it came to pass that three of the party, leaving him only who had sought their company on the spot, departed into the nearest house, for the purpose, as they averred, of warming themselves, for the night was cold. As soon as this man was left alone in this place, the devil, imagining that he had found the right moment for breaking his courage, incontinently roused up his own chosen vessel, who appeared to have reposed longer than usual. Having beheld this from afar, he grew stiff with terror by reason of his being alone; but soon recovering his courage, and no place of refuge being at hand, he valiantly withstood the onset of the fiend, who came rushing upon him with a terrible noise, and he struck the axe which he wielded in his hand deep into his body. On receiving this wound, the monster groaned aloud, and turning his back, fled with a rapidity not at all interior to that with which he had advanced, while the admirable man urged his flying foe from behind, and compelled him to seek his own tomb again; which opening of its own accord, and receiving its guest from the advance of the pursuer, immediately appeared to close again with the same facility. In the meantime, they who, impatient of the coldness of the night, had retreated to the fire ran up, though somewhat too late, and, having heard what had happened, rendered needful assistance in digging up and removing from the midst of the tomb the accursed corpse at the earliest dawn. When they had divested it of the clay cast forth with it, they found the huge wound it had received, and a great quantity of gore which had flowed from it in the sepulchre; and so having carried it away beyond the walls of the monastery and burnt it, they scattered the ashes to the winds. These things I have explained in a simple narration, as I myself heard them recounted by religious men. Note: The embalmed heart of King Robert I (Scotland) (also known as Robert the Bruce) (Born 11 July 1274 – Died 7 June 1329) is buried at Melrose Abbey as is King Alexander II (Scotland) (Born 24 August 1198 – Died 6 July 1249). mysteriousbritain.co.uk archaicwonder.tumblr/ The Melrose monks, being Cistercians or white monks, were one of the new wave of reformed monastic orders, and were founded in 1098 AD at Cîteaux, near Dijon in Burgundy, by a group of Benedictine monks. They were observers of St Benedict’s Rule, and believed that it was being followed in too lax a manner. The Cistercians, who took their name from the Latin for Cîteaux - Cistercium - opted to follow St Benedict’s rule strictly, refusing feudal revenues and reintroducing manual labour for their monks. Effectively this gave the Order an unpaid work force, free of feudal customs. In medieval Europe this was a distinct competitive advantage and allowed them to develop their large estates without obstacles. In the 12th century, around Melrose, they forged ahead implementing new farming techniques and marketing Melrose wool throughout the great trading ports across northern Europe. Their economic success and the attraction of their austere spirituality helped to spread the Cistercian Order throughout Christendom. The Cistercian’s were very popular in Scotland. David I founded four of their houses in Scotland and eleven were established in all before their worldly success led to inevitable decline. One of the most famous Cistercians was St Bernard of Clairvaux, who championed the growing cult of the Virgin and denounced monastic ‘liberals’ who undermined the mysteries of God. The church at Melrose was dedicated to the Virgin Mary on its completion in 1146. In times of famine the Cistercians agricultural success was especially useful. According to the Scotichronicon, the Abbot of Melrose, Waltheof, step son of David I, miraculously fed 4,000 peasants who were camped around the abbey for three months during the famine of 1148, sparing nothing to aid the starving. For such acts Waltheof was revered as a saint and when he died was buried at Melrose. A fragment of his tomb can still be seen at the site. On one occasion when the calamity of famine threatened, a vast crowd of destitute people reckoned to number four thousand gathered at Melrose, and erected huts and tents for themselves in the fields and woods around the monastery to a distance of two miles.’ According to legend, Melrose has a stranger more demonic connection. The 13th century wizard Michael Scott is said to be buried there with his books magic. Through the power of prophecy he is said to have predicted his own death - by a small stone falling on his head. But his greatest work towers over Melrose: the Eildon Hills which he is said to have split into the three peaks we see today. Due to its proximity to the border, Melrose frequently suffered at the hands of invading English armies. In 1322 Edward II desecrated and burnt the abbey. It was rebuilt and endowed by King Robert the Bruce in 1326 only to be destroyed again in 1385 when Richard II of England once more set the abbey ablaze. On Robert the Bruce’s death, his heart was sent on crusade to the Holyland, accompanied by ‘Good Sir James Douglas. Sir James, confronted by a huge army Moors whilst travelling through Spain with his crusaders, gallantly charged into battle, throwing the Bruce’s heart before him and shouting: Lead on brave heart, Ill follow thee. The heart was disovered the next day amongst the slain bodies by another Scottish Knight, who brought it back to Abbey Melrose, where it was buried. Recently, a lead vessel, thought to contain Bruce’s heart, was excavated and examined by archaeologists at Melrose, before it was reinterred .A marker in the Abbey shows where it was re-interred. Its inscription comes from John Barbour’s epic poem ‘The Bruce’ - A noble hart may have nane ease gif freedom failye. Twenty years before the Reformation there were 130 monks at Melrose, but when Henry VIII had the abbey torched and destroyed once again in 1544 it seems Melrose never recovered. By the Reformation in 1560 only 13 monks were pensioned off, with no doubt a few others taking up posts in the new Protestant church. The abbey ceased to function, and its carvings were smashed by a Protestant mob during the Scottish Civil War which followed the deposition of Mary Queen of Scots. Finally, much of the abbey was carted away by the local people looking for good quality building material. bbc.co.uk/history/ Video HERE > https://youtube/watch?v=W70a2RsSM7o Photo 1 & 4 by travellingwithgayle1.wordpress/2013/08/10/899/ Photo art 2 Roger Griffith - Heaths Picturesque Annual 1835An interior view of the abbey, 1835 Photo 3 celtichearts.blogspot.co.uk/by over Robert The Bruces buried heart The rest of his body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey. Photo 5 6 & 7 by celtichearts.blogspot.co.uk/ Photo 8 melrose arch dark.by gordonnapierhistory.blogspot-
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 17:14:39 +0000
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