It fell about the Lammas tide,
When the muir-men win their
hay
LotH and I attended the
Blanket Preaching at the site of the old Kirk of St Mary of the Lowes
– by St Mary's Loch.
A reminder of the Covenanting
days when the religious divide between the Presbyterian people and
their king forced folk to worship in the hills to escape the soldiers
of “Bluidy Clavers”, Sir John Graham of Claverhouse, latterly
Viscount Dundee. ( Blog 18th
March)
 |
| A piper welcomes the worshippers to the old kirk |
A blanket was held over the
minister's head as a shield against the weather for he wouldn't be
returning to a warm hearth afterwards.
 |
| The preacher needed no cover today |
The present day service is a
token nod to those violent times but also a celebration of a much a
older rite.
Lammas, on August 1st,
is one of the Scottish quarter days – Candlemas, Whitsun, Lammas ,
Martinmas - correponding to the old Celtic festivals of Imbolc,
Beltane, Lughnasa, and Samhain.
Lammas signalled the first of
the harvest being secured, a reason for rejoicing when supplies would
be getting low. On the quarter day, rents were due and may have been
paid for in grain, farm servants were hired and terms and conditions for the forthcoming months agreed.
 |
| Rain clouds gather over St Mary's Loch |
The setting above St Mary's
Loch was perfect even down to the smirr of rain arriving at the end
of the service to give a hint of how it might have been in more
inclement times.
On the path back to the road,
we gave a nod to Binram's grave, where one of the incumbents of
the Kirk of St Mary of the Lowes,
who was
shot by the Covenanters is buried. He was accused of dabbling in the
dark arts but may have
been thought of as a spy for the king's forces.
A pleasant drive down the
Yarrow valley with all its romance and tragedy, a meal at a local
hotel, and the satisfaction of having supported an ancient
custom
 |
| A Harebell, the Scots blue-bell, on the path |
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