SAINT GILES’ CATHEDRAL HISTORY TOUR - SCOTTISH HISTORY - HISTORYWITHMEGS

St. Giles’ Cathedral ⛪️
St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh has a long history spanning at least 900 years. It first came into being as a Romanesque church in the 12th century, being founded by either King Alexander or King David I in 1124.Built on the Eastern edge of the city, it predates most of Edinburgh Old Town.
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The 14th century brought drama to St. Giles’; the English King Edward II decided to punish the Scots after their signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 which declared to the Pope that Scotland had independence from England. In 1322 Edward accordingly sent a ravaging army north into Scotland with orders to destroy and pillage: St Giles’ was still a small Romanesque church at this time and suffered from fire-damage along with much of Edinburgh town.
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The Scots were not to be deterred though, and later in the century in 1384 a meeting of the Auld Alliance, with Scots and French representatives, was held at St Giles’. The aim had been to plan an invasion into England, however the English King, now Richard II, clearly caught wind of it. In 1385 he sent forth an army to destroy St. Giles’ and other Scottish Churches. St Giles’ was once again burnt, with black scorch marks still being visible into the 19th century! Despite this, the building largely survived intact, and by 1390 it had been restored with the aid of the city merchants.
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St. Giles’ expanded over the following century, with extensive rebuilding and the addition of side chapels. Many local nobles and merchants made donations, and it was in 1455 that Sir William Preston gifted the church an arm bone believed to be a relic of St. Giles himself! To top it all off, the church was granted Collegiate status by Pope Paul II in 1466.
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Culture flourished around the cathedral in the 16th century, with Scots makar and translator Gavin Douglas being made provost in 1508. Interestingly, the entirety of his literary work was completed during his time at St. Giles! By the mid 16th century the church had also expanded physically too; there were around 50 side altars in the church as well as the High-altar at the East end, dedicated to St. Giles.
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The Reformation was also beginning to gain traction in Scotland around this time, leading to the St Giles’ Day Riot in 1558. During the night a statue, seen by some as popish idolatry, was stolen from the church, and thrown into Nor Loch, a putrid body of water, and the traditional St. Giles’ day parade was disrupted by Protestant activists attempting to destroy images of the saints.
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The following year the Protestant John Knox became Minister of St. Giles’ after leading an army of protestants into the church to preach there for the first time. Knox had returned to Scotland after living in exile on the continent for some years and upon his installation as minister the church was stripped of all Catholic decoration. The church’s status as a Catholic church finally ended after 400 years in 1560, when Scottish Parliament abolished papal authority despite the country still being ruled by a Catholic, Mary Queen of Scots. Further changes took place at this point, with stained glass being removed and church silver being melted down to pay for refurbishment in the protestant style.
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In 1637 attempts were made by Charles I to draw the Presbyterian Scottish Church in line with the Anglican English Church. Charles’ attempts to impose a new prayer book on St. Giles, and his declaring it a cathedral, brought matters to a head. A riot was instigated by a Scottish woman, Jenny Geddes, throwing a stool at a preacher in the church: the fear of public uprising was enough to suspend church services for a week.
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It was in 1638 that The National Covenant was signed at the nearby Greyfriars Kirk; with this Charles’ leading opponents called for the protection of Scotland’s independence, as well as religious freedoms. An original copy of the document is on display in St. Giles’ today! During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms that followed, a royalist named Sir John Gordon of Haddo was captured and held in a room above the north porch of St. Giles’ - this is now known as Haddo’s Hole.
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Musical bells were installed in the church in 1700 and according to tradition, they rang the tune of ‘Why should I be so sad on my Wedding day?’ upon the enacting of the 1707 Act of Union. Several decades later, St Giles’ was to witness more history, when Bonnie Prince Charlie’s arrival in Edinburgh was announced there in 1745. It was also here that the magistrates of the city gathered to receive the command to surrender the city to the Jacobite leader.
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In later years St. Giles’ fell into a state of disrepair, though in 1872 it was given a new lease of life when the refurbishment plans of the Lord Provost, William Chambers, were approved. The church was cleaned, painted, and retiled. Today St. Giles’ stands as a Presbyterian church, its interior a testament to its fascinating history!
#scottishhistory #medievalhistory