Choose Your Words Carefully...

No, I'm not referring to the differences between "pants" and "trousers" here in Scotland, although for those who plan to visit please ensure that you use these terms correctly...


If one looks at Scottish history from a distance, it becomes quite clear that it is a narrative filled with noble aspirations yet told in terms of conflict and disappointment.  The quest for an identity is certainly at its core, and often Scots defined themselves but what they were not.  Mainly English.

St Salvator's Chapel

The face of a martyr?

And of course religious strife plays a prominent role (as we have seen) throughout Scotland's past.  When James V finally emerged as King of Scotland, he cracked down on Catholics.  Beneath St Salvator's Chapel In St Andrews, a young man named Patrick Hamilton (age 24) was burned at the stake in 1528 for his Protestant beliefs.  The "PH" in the cobbles supposedly marks the spot where he was executed; and if you look closely at the wall of Sally's (affectionately called by students) you might see the face of Hamilton etched  in stone.  I've heard several variations of this legend, one being that as he burned the flames mysteriously created  an impression of his face in the chapel, serving to remind generations of this martyred boy.  Those initials look a bit crooked; perhaps the PH is not balanced...

St Andrews Cathedral

Perhaps the most visible icon of St Andrews is the cathedral.  Or, rather, what is left of it.  Completed in 1318 and having taken 150 years to complete, this edifice was the largest cathedral ever constructed in Scotland.  However, it was not blessed, at least in terms of weather-related accidents and English assaults.  Part of the structure was destroyed in 1270 after a severe storm; the English damaged areas during the Wars of Independence during the late-thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries; fire burned much of the building during the 1300s; and in 1409 a severe winter storm caused a section to collapse.  I think insurance companies would invoke the "Act of God" clause. 

St Andrews Castle

Our final stop on this tour is the castle.  The ruins date from around 1200, and stand as a testament to the political and religious importance afforded to this once imposing building.  Scottish reformer George Wishart was burned at the castle in 1546, and Cardinal Beaton was murdered, mutilated, and hanged from a castle window as retribution for Wishart's death.  So much for a fair trial.