Each month we present a chapter in the history of Scotland. We move forward in time each month.
THE MEDIEVAL CHURCHJust as the staff of Columba had allowed a mixed army of Picts and Scots to fight together in 918 as Albanaich against a common enemy, so the authority of the Apostle was gradually cultivated: by the time of William Fraser, Bishop of St Andrews (1279-97), the legend insisted on the suzerainty of the Apostle over all the peoples of Scotland, 'the Picts, Scots, Danes and Norwegians'. By 1279 the seal of the Bishop ofSt Andrews bore the image ofSt Andrew crucified, and in 1286 it also appeared on the seal of the Guardians of the Kingdom, accompanied by the legend, 'Andrew be leader of the compatriot Scots'. By 1318, when St Andrews Cathedral was consecrated in a service of national thanksgiving 'for the notable victory granted to the Scottish people by blessed Andrew, protector of the realm' four years earlier at Bannockburn, the identification of saint and nation was complete. In the Declaration of Arbroath of 1320, the identity of the Scottish nation was taken one stage further, to embrace the present and past activities of 'princes and people'. The reputation of Bruce as well as the status of the Scots was proven by the touchstone of 'our patron and protector', Andrew. This was a document written for the eyes of the Pope, but at home both the Church and kings of Scots were aware of their identities as shepherd and leader of what was still acknowledged to be a confederation of peoples. Robert Bruce, a Gaelic-speaking Celtic king as well as a feudal ruler descended from an Anglo-Norman family, had taken both symbols of the Scottish Church, the Brecbennach of Columba and the cross of Andrew in the form of the saltire flag, to the field of Bannockburn. You can find more Scottish history here.
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