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Article MASONIC SKETCHES ← Page 17 of 20 →
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Masonic Sketches
MASONIC SKETCHES
BY BROTHER CHARLES MA . CKIE , AUTHOR OF THE " CASTLES , PALACES , AND PRISONS , OF MARY OF SCOTLAND , " & C . PREVIOUS to the Conquest of William the Norman , no semblance of a fortress or castle , save a few Roman remains ,
was to be seen in North Britain . William coming with an army to take forced possession of the kingdom , Avas obliged to secure his conquests in the same manner as the Romans , b y fortif y ing those p laces AA'hich had yielded to his arms , disputing and maintaining possession of every acre of ground , until he became master of the whole kingdom .
Among tbe families of note vcho settled in Scotland after the Conquest , was William de St . Clair , second son of Walderne , Compte de St . Clair , and Margaret , daughter of Richard , Duke of Normandy , whom the policy of King-Malcolm Canmore invited to Scotland , and who settled upon him large grants of land in Mid Lothian .
These domains were considerably enlarged by the partiality and munificence of succeeding monarchs . King Robert the Bruce is mentioned as having contributed largely to their growing poAver ; and a story is told of the success of Sir William St . Clair in a hunting ; expedition ,
on which occasion he perilled his head and lands on the prowess of his favourite dogs . The king caught at the unwary offer , and betted the forest of Pentland Moor against the life and lands of the rash St . Clair . The St . Clair , however , became the victor . In gratitude for which intervention of Providence , or rather , the intercession of the
Virgin Mary , as the St . Clair imagined , the gallant knight built the church of St . Katharine ' s in the Hopes , the churchyard of which still remains . This adventurous and successful huntsman obtained considerable possessions in addition to those he already held , and being married to a daughter of the Earl of Orkney
and Strathearne ( in whose ri g ht her son Henry was created Earl of Orkney ) , Hacco , king of Norway , afterwards styled him Prince of Orkney , a title recognized b y the kings of Scotland until the princedom Avas by purchase , or rather exchange , annexed to the Scottish crown in 1471 . William de St . Clair , the lofty personage above alluded vor „ n . Y
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Sketches
MASONIC SKETCHES
BY BROTHER CHARLES MA . CKIE , AUTHOR OF THE " CASTLES , PALACES , AND PRISONS , OF MARY OF SCOTLAND , " & C . PREVIOUS to the Conquest of William the Norman , no semblance of a fortress or castle , save a few Roman remains ,
was to be seen in North Britain . William coming with an army to take forced possession of the kingdom , Avas obliged to secure his conquests in the same manner as the Romans , b y fortif y ing those p laces AA'hich had yielded to his arms , disputing and maintaining possession of every acre of ground , until he became master of the whole kingdom .
Among tbe families of note vcho settled in Scotland after the Conquest , was William de St . Clair , second son of Walderne , Compte de St . Clair , and Margaret , daughter of Richard , Duke of Normandy , whom the policy of King-Malcolm Canmore invited to Scotland , and who settled upon him large grants of land in Mid Lothian .
These domains were considerably enlarged by the partiality and munificence of succeeding monarchs . King Robert the Bruce is mentioned as having contributed largely to their growing poAver ; and a story is told of the success of Sir William St . Clair in a hunting ; expedition ,
on which occasion he perilled his head and lands on the prowess of his favourite dogs . The king caught at the unwary offer , and betted the forest of Pentland Moor against the life and lands of the rash St . Clair . The St . Clair , however , became the victor . In gratitude for which intervention of Providence , or rather , the intercession of the
Virgin Mary , as the St . Clair imagined , the gallant knight built the church of St . Katharine ' s in the Hopes , the churchyard of which still remains . This adventurous and successful huntsman obtained considerable possessions in addition to those he already held , and being married to a daughter of the Earl of Orkney
and Strathearne ( in whose ri g ht her son Henry was created Earl of Orkney ) , Hacco , king of Norway , afterwards styled him Prince of Orkney , a title recognized b y the kings of Scotland until the princedom Avas by purchase , or rather exchange , annexed to the Scottish crown in 1471 . William de St . Clair , the lofty personage above alluded vor „ n . Y