Celtic and Old English Saints 27 November =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Fergus of Glamis * St. Seachnall of Dunshaughlin * St. Virgil of Salzburg * St. Congar of Somerset * St. Edwold of Cerne * St. Gallgo of Wales =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Fergus, Bishop (Fergustus, Fergusianus), ----------------------------------------------------------- Died after 721; feast formerly on November 18. An Irish bishop, possibly of Downpatrick, and surnamed "the Pict," he went to Scotland as a missionary and preached in Caithness, Buchan (where there is a town called Saint Fergus), and Forfarshire. In Strogeth he founded three churches; in Caithness, two (presumably Wick and Halkirk). He may also have established churches at Inverugy, Banff, and Dyce. He finally settled at Strathearn, Perthshire, where he exerted a powerful influence in the area between Aberdeen and Wick. Saint Fergus is buried at Glamis, a central location of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and where a cave and well bear his name. During the reign of James IV (1488-1513), the abbot of Scone removed the head of Fergus and built a splendid marble tomb for his body relic at Glamis. Aberdeen had an arm relic. He may be the same as Fergustus, bishop of the Scots, who signed the Acts of the synod in Rome in 721, which condemned irregular marriages of various kinds, sorcerers, and clerics who grew their hair long. In the Aberdeen breviary he is called Fergustian. The feast of Saint Fergus, who was highly venerated by the Scottish kings, is kept in the dioceses of Dunkeld and Aberdeen. Although the Reformers attempted to suppress his cultus, Montague states that it is still growing, especially in the area around Paisley in Renfrewshire. A new church has been dedicated to his memory and the nearby town of Ferguslie is named after him (Attwater 2, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Montague). Web site with a map of the monastic foundations of Saint Fergus http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/fergus.html "Traces of the Cultus of St Fergus in Scotland" by J.M.MacKinley, M.A., F.S.A. (Lond. & Scot.) We cannot be on terms of intimacy with St Fergus as with St. Columba, the former having had no Cumine or Adamnan to supply particulars regarding his daily life. There are, however, some biographical details on record, and it may be interesting to connect these with the traces of his cultus in Scotland. For such details we are largely indebted to the lections given in the "Breviarium Aberdonense", under the Saint's festival day-the 17th of November. Read the paper in full here: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_038/38_445_453.pdf--
