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November 20, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum
Scotlands Citys
Elgin (/ˈɛlɡɪn/; Scottish Gaelic: Eilginn, Scots: Ailgin) is a town (former cathedral city) and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland.
It is the administrative and commercial centre for ...Scotlands Citys
Elgin (/ˈɛlɡɪn/; Scottish Gaelic: Eilginn, Scots: Ailgin) is a town (former cathedral city) and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland.
It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the floodplain.
Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190 AD. It was created a Royal Burgh in the 12th century by King David I of Scotland and by that time had a castle on top of the present day Lady Hill to the west of the town.
In August 1040, MacBeth's army defeated and killed Duncan I at Bothganowan (Pitgaveny), near Elgin. Elgin is first recorded in a charter of David I in 1151 in which he granted an annuity to the Priory of Urquhart.
David had made Elgin a royal burgh around 1130, after his defeat of Óengus of Moray. During David's reign the castle was established at the top of what is now Lady Hill.
The town received a royal charter from Alexander II in 1224 when he granted the land for a new cathedral to Andrew, Bishop of Moray.
This finally settled the episcopal see which had been at various times at Kinneddar, Birnie and Spynie.
Elgin was a popular residence for the early Scottish monarchs: David I, William I, Alexander II and Alexander III all held court there and hunted in the royal forests. Of these kings, Alexander II was Elgin's greatest benefactor and returned many times to his royal castle.
He established the two religious houses of the town, the Dominicans or Blackfriars in the west side and the Franciscans or Greyfriars in the east.
Further to the east stood the Hospital of Maison Dieu, or House of God, also founded during the reign of Alexander II for the reception of poor men and women.
On 19 July 1224, the foundation stone of the new Elgin Cathedral was ceremoniously laid. The cathedral was completed sometime after 1242 but was completely destroyed by fire in 1270.
The reasons for this are unrecorded. The buildings which now remain as ruins date from the reconstruction following that fire.
The Chartulary of Moray described the completed cathedral as "Mirror of the country and the glory of the kingdom".
Edward I of England travelled twice to Elgin. During his first visit in 1296 he was impressed by what he saw.
Preserved in the Cotton library now held in the British Library is the journal of his stay, describing the castle and the town of Elgin as "bon chastell et bonne ville" — good castle and good town.
By his second visit in September 1303, the castle's wooden interior had been burned while held by the English governor, Henry de Rye.
As a result, he only stayed in Elgin for two days and then camped at Kinloss Abbey from 13 September until 4 October.
King Edward was furious when David de Moravia, Bishop of Moray, joined Scotland's cause with Bruce, and Edward appealed to the Pope who excommunicated the bishop, thus removing papal protection, causing him to flee to Orkney,
then to Norway, only to return after Robert Bruce's victories against the English.
After Edward's death in July 1307, Robert the Bruce retook Scotland in 1308, slighting castles to keep them out of English hands.
David de Moravia, the Bishop of Moray at the head of his army, joined with Bruce and they slighted the castles of Inverness, Nairn and Forres before seizing and slighting Kinneddar Castle,
which also housed English soldiers. He attacked Elgin castle to be twice repulsed before finally succeeding.
In August 1370 Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray began payments to Alexander Stewart, Wolf of Badenoch, King Robert III's brother, for the protection of his lands and men.
In February 1390, the bishop then turned to Thomas Dunbar, son of the Earl of Moray, to provide the protection.
This action infuriated Stewart and in May he descended from his castle on an island in Lochindorb and burned the town of Forres in revenge.
In June he burned much of Elgin, including two monasteries, St Giles Church, the Hospital of Maison Dieu and the cathedral.
Andrew of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland (a 15th-century history of Scotland) described this action by "wyld, wykked Heland-men".
The rebuilding of the cathedral took many years; but much of it has since crumbled away due to the inferior quality of the stone made available to the 15th and 16th-century masons, while the 13th-century construction still remains.
In 1506, the great central tower collapsed and although rebuilding work began the next year it was not completed till 1538.
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