In Byways of Scottish History

LORETTO

The original Loretto – or, as it should more correctly be spelt, Loreto – is an Italian town situated in the province of Ancona, and only a few miles from the shores of the Adriatic. Its four to five thousand inhabitants consist mainly of dealers in objects of piety and in beggars, and its only importance lies in the fame of its shrine, to which many thousands of pilgrims resort yearly.

The cult of Our Lady of Loreto is based on one of the most marvellous, not to say the most daring, of medieval legends. According to the traditional account, St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, had caused a church to be built at Nazareth, over the cottage which the Blessed Virgin had once inhabited. That church the Saracens overthrew. They were preparing to destroy the Santa Casa itself when, on the night of May 12, 1291, angels, anticipating and surpassing the feats of modern engineering, transported it into Dalmatia. For various reasons it was again removed three successive times from one locality to another, until it finally took its stand on the high road between Recanati and the sea. There is a divergence of opinions as to the origin of the name by which the magnificent shrine which shelters the Santa Casa has become known through the whole world. Some authorities attribute it to the fact that the Holy House was deposited in a field belonging to a widow called Lauretta, whilst others connect it with the existence of a laurel grove on the site chosen by the carrier angels. In addition to the cottage, and within it, there is a statue of the Madonna. It is attributed to St. Luke, whom medieval legends commonly regarded as portraitist-in-ordinary to the Virgin Mary. Another relic consists of the dish out of which the Virgin ate. The popularity which the shrine of Loreto acquired through the ages may be estimated from the fact that towards the end of the eighteenth century its wealth was valued at more than a million sterling. In 1797 Pius VI was obliged to draw on its treasury in order to fulfil the conditions imposed on him by the Treaty of Tolentino. War having again broken out, the French occupied Loreto and took possession of the miraculous statue, which was relegated to a shelf beneath that occupied by a mummy in the Cabinet des Médailles of the Bibliothéque Nationale. Napoleon restored it to the Pope in 1802.

The fame acquired by the Italian Loreto led to the establishment, in other countries, of similar shrines – branch establishments for the granting of indulgences and the performance of miracles. Of such Scotland possessed at least two. One of them, which does not seem to have acquired more than a local reputation, was in Perth. The other stood "beyond the eastern gate of Musselburgh and on the margin of the links". The date and circumstances of its foundation are set forth by the Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents, which, amongst the entries for 1533, has the following: – "In this mene tyme thair came ane heremeit, callit Thomas Douchtie, in Scotland, quha haid bein lang capitane (?captive) before the Turk, as was allegit, and brocht ane ymage of our Lady with him, and foundit the Chappel of Laureit, besyid Musselburgh". In addition to this evidence there is a charter of James V, dated July 29, 1534, and confirming the grant by the Bailies, of a "petra" of land in the territory of Musselburgh, to Thomas Duthy, of the Order of St. Paul, first hermit of Mount Sinai, for the erection of a chapel in honour of Almighty God and of Blessed Mary of Laureto.192

Beside sanctioning the foundation of the shrine, James gave it a tangible proof of his patronage. In August, 1534, as is shown by the Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer, he spent £22, 13s. 2d. in purchasing the materials and paying for the making and ornamenting of albs, amices, stoles, chasubles, and altar towels.193 We learn from John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, that, in 1536, before setting out on his voyage to France for the purpose of bringing home the Lady Magdalene as his bride, the King, being in Stirling, "passit thairfra on his feitt, in pilgrimag to the Chappell of Lorrett, besid Mussilburgh". This statement is borne out by an entry in the Liber Emptorum: "Hodie (9th August), soluto disjunio, rex pedestre peregrinavit de Stirling versus Sanctam Mariam de Laureit et pernoctabat in Edinburgh".194 The Accounts supply the further information that on this occasion he made a gift of four altar towels, two of "Dornik", that is, of the diapered linen cloth manufactured at Tournay, and two of bleached Breton canvas. Including twenty shillings "for sewing of XX crocis upoun the saidis towellis", the expense incurred amounted to £6, 11s. 6d. The sum of fourteen shillings was left with the "chapellanis of Lawrete to pray for the Kingis Grace"; and a further offering of two crowns was made after the actual embarkation at Newhaven.195

Thomas Duthie's foundation throve under the influence of royal favour, and from all parts of the country, pilgrimages to the shrine were performed, as Sir David Lyndsay testifies:

The satirist taxes the pilgrims with licentiousness, and alleges that

Against the "Heremeit of Lawreit" himself he brings the charge that

According to Row's History of the Kirk of Scotland, the popularity of the Musselburgh shrine was enhanced by the claim that it possessed, in addition to its general healing powers, a special obstetrical virtue, of which women secured the benefits by sending handsome presents to the priest and friars.199

That Duthie was a personage of some importance in his day may be gathered from the fact that the Earl of Glencairn wrote a "pasquinal" which Knox and Calderwood have preserved and which was entitled "Ane Epistill direct frae the halie Hermeit of Alareit to his Brethren the Gray Friars". But the success of his venture engendered envy, and Calderwood tells, with many caustic comments, how John Scott, "a landed man", having failed to get himself accepted as a partner in the Loretto concern, set up in competition with it. This John Scott had had a strange career, of which the sketch given by the historian, in his quaint language, is interesting enough to be reproduced. "Before his departure out of this country, he had succumbed in an action of law, and because he was not able to pay the sum which the other party had evicted, he took sanctuary at Holyroodhouse. There he abstained from meat and drink certain days. The bruit of his abstinence coming to the King's ears, the King caused put him into David's tower, in the Castle of Edinburgh, and bread and water to be set beside him. He abstained from eating and drinking thirty-two days. When he was let forth, the people came flocking to him. He uttered many idle speeches, and among the rest, that by the help of the Blessed Virgin, he could fast suppose never so long time. He went to Rome, where he was committed to prison, by Pope Clement, till trial was taken of his abstinence. He is set at liberty, and a sealed testimonial granted to him, with a seal of lead, and some mass clothes. After he had given the like proof at Venice, he got fifty ducats to supply his charges to Jerusalem. He brought with him from Jerusalem some date-tree leaves, and a pocke full of stones, which he fained were taken out of the pillar to which Christ was bound when he was scourged. By the way, when he was at London, he made an harangue against King Henry's divorce, and shaking off the Pope's authority, at Paul's Cross. He was thereupon committed to prison, but was set at liberty, after he had been keeped fifty days, all which space he abstained from meat and drink." It was on his return to Scotland, shortly after this, that Scott tried to get himself associated to Duthie. His overtures having been rejected, he "erected an altar in a chamber near Edinburgh, whereon he set his daughter, a young maid, and wax candles about her burning, to be worshipped in place of the Virgin Mary".200 But the fame of Loretto was proof against such competition, and Scott had to retire from the unequal contest with Duthie.

In 1544, the Chapel of Our Lady of Lauret, together with a part of Musselburgh, was "brennt and desolated" by the English army under the Earl of Hertford. The shrine was rebuilt, however, and continued to attract devotees till the Restoration closed it. Very shortly before this, its prestige is said to have suffered greatly from the alleged discovery of a fraud practised by its priests in pretending to have restored the sight of a boy whom they falsely affirmed to have been born blind.

The whole incident is set forth at great length in Row's History. The hero of the story is Robert Colvill, Laird of Cleishe, who was commonly known as Squire Meldrum, and who, on that account, has sometimes been mistaken for the character celebrated by Lyndsay. He is described as "a gentleman of good understanding and knowledge, sound in the Reformed religion, and most zealous and stoute for the Reformation". But his wife, one of the Colquhouns of Luss, was a Catholic, and finding herself in need of such help as "the Ladie and Saints of Allarite" were supposed to have it in their power to give, she posted off her servant "with ane offering of gold, with her sarke (according to the custome), that shee might get easie delyverie". Her husband learning this, also hurried off, with the intention of hindering such a superstitious use of his money. He rode all the way to Loretto, however, without overtaking the messenger; and, on his arrival at the shrine, he was no less scandalized than surprised to find "the whole adjacent countrey of Mers, Tweedale, East, Middle, and West Lothians, convened to see ane miracle", the performance of which had been announced for that very day. "For the Papists, perceiving the Reformation to goe on quicklie, and fearing that their religion should be abandoned, the kirkmen, the Archbishops, Bishops, Preists, Freires, &c., consulted and advysed, and, after deliberation, resolved, that the best wayes to maintaine and uphold their Religion, wes to worke some miracle to confirme the people, (as they thought) that Poperie wes the true religion; and, therefore, they caused proclame in Edinburgh that on such a day there wes a great miracle to be wrought at St. Allerite's Chapell, for a man that wes borne blind, and had begged all his dayes, being a blind man, wes to be cured and receive his sight."

Such was the performance for which Squire Meldrum had arrived in time. And, indeed, he saw how an apparently blind beggar was brought forward on to a platform, and how, after certain ceremonies had been gone through, he seemed to recover the use of his eyes, and came down rejoicing amongst the people, who gave him money. But the Squire was not to be so easily convinced. On the contrary, he determined "to doe his best to find out the lurking deceit whereby the people were miserablie deceived". With this object in view, when the beggar, in whose way he contrived to put himself, asked him for a dole, he gave him not only an exceptionally large sum of money, but sympathetic words as well. "You are a verie remarkable man," he said, "on whom such a miracle has been wrought, I will have you to goe with me to be my servant." The beggar readily agreed, and mounting on horseback behind the Squire's attendant, rode off with his new master to Edinburgh. When the party reached Meldrum's lodgings, matters took a new turn. Locking the door upon himself and his new servant, drawing his sword, and assuming "a fierce countenance", the Squire said to the man: "Thou villane and deceiver of the people of God, either tell me the treuth of these things that I am to aske of you now presentlie, or els I will take upon me, with my sword, to cutt off thy head; for I am ane magistrate appointed by God to doe justice; and I am assured that all the preists and freirs, all the saints, nor the Pope himselfe, cannot work a miracle such as they pretend to do, namely, to cure a blind man. Therefor thou and they are but deceivers of the people; and either tell me the veritie, or els with this sword I will presentlie – as ane magistrate in this case – put ye to death." The poor wretch, thus taken unawares and terrified out of all thought of resistance, consented to do and to say whatever might be required of him. And the remarkable story which he told is reported in what professes to be his own language: —

"When I wes a young lad I wes a herd, and keeped the Sisters of the Sheines's sheep, and in my wantonness and pastime I used often to flype up the lids of my eyes, so that any bodie wold have trewed that I wes blind. I using often to play this pavie, the nunnes, the Sisters of the Sheines (so they were commonly called), did sometymes see me doe it and laugh at me. Then the Sisters send in word to Edinburgh that their sheppeard lad could play such a pavie. The kirkmen in Edinburgh hearing of such a thing, came out to the Sheines, and desired to see that sheppeard lad. I being brought and playing this pavie befor them, walking up and doune with my eyelids up, and the whyte of my eyes turned up as if I had been blind. The kirkmen that conveened there to see me, advised the Sisters, the Nunnes of the Sheines, to get another lad to keep their sheep, and to keep me hid in one of their volts or cellars for some years, ay till they thought meet to bring me out, and to make use of me as they pleased, and so, Sir, I wes keeped and fed in one of the volts, no bodie knowing that I wes there but the kirkmen and the Nunnes of the Sheines, for the space of seven or eight years. Then, Sir, they conveened me againe, and brought me befor them, and caused me sweare a great oath that I sould faine my selfe to be a blind man, and they put one to lead me through the countrey that I might beg as a blind man in the day tyme; but in the night, and also when I pleased, I put doune my eyelids and saw well enough, and I to this houre never revealed this to any; yea, my leader knew not but I wes blind indeed."

Next morning Squire Meldrum and the detected impostor, in accordance with a plan carefully devised by the former, betook themselves to the Mercat Crosse. There, after having attracted the attention of the public by thrice repeating the accustomed cry of "O yes!" the erstwhile blind beggar recited a speech which Meldrum had prepared for him, and in which he gave those who had seen the miraculous cure of the day before all the details of the fraud which he had helped to practise on them. Then, springing on to horses that were held in readiness for them, Meldrum and he galloped away towards Queensferry, on their way to Fifeshire, where they could depend on the protection of the Lords of the Congregation, and where they might defy "the preists, freiers, and the rest of that deceiving rabble".201 And with this incident there is an end to the story of Loretto as a wonder-working shrine.