Elgin Cathedral celebrates its 800th birthday
Elgin Cathedral’s 800th anniversary was marked with a two-day history-themed event over the weekend.
Construction work began on the Lantern of the North in the year 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II.
It was to become one of Scotland’s most beautiful and architecturally ambitious buildings in Scotland.
Soaring more than 180ft into the sky in a world where very few buildings were above two-stories in height, it’s difficult to imagine now just how extraordinary it must have appeared to the people of the time.
One individual who wasn’t impressed though was the Wolf of Badenoch.
The brother of King Robert III, he burned down the cathedral in the year 1390 because the clerics had granted his wife a divorce.
Apparently the Wolf wasn’t too upset at seeing her leave – he had seven children with his mistress – but he didn’t like losing the lands and castles which the marriage had brought him.
The cathedral was rebuilt and continued to be one of the region’s most important buildings for many decades to come.
However that period of history came to a close with the Protestant Reformation of 1560.
The clerics were thrown out, the building was closed, and gradually it began to fall into ruin.
First its ornate stained glass windows shattered and its ornately carved and painted decorations faded. Next, its roof collapsed and its central tower fell down.
The cathedral’s fortunes finally began to change when it became a visitor attraction in the early 1800s.
Historic Environment Scotland organised the weekend’s event.
It included the chance to meet characters from the past, including the 14th Century stonemasons and blacksmiths who helped repair the cathedral after the Wolf’s attack.
Monks were also on hand to talk about the brewing techniques they used as well as their methods of calligraphy for reproducing manuscripts by hand.
