[Illustration: FIG. 525.--Dunblane Cathedral. North-West Angle of Nave.]
These stalls contain on one of the misereres the arms of the Chisholm
family, surmounted by a mitre. Three bishops of this name presided in
succession at Dunblane. First, James, eldest son of Edmund Chisholm of
Cromlix, who was advanced to this see in 1486. In 1527, by reason of his
age, he resigned the bishopric in favour of his half-brother, William
Chisholm (second), who was consecrated the same year, and was bishop
[Illustration: FIG. 526.--Dunblane Cathedral. Stalls.]
till his death in 1564. Third, William Chisholm, nephew to the
preceding, who was first coadjutor to his uncle, and then his successor.
He was forfeited for non-compliance with the new measures both in Church
and
[Illustration: FIG. 527.--Dunblane Cathedral. Details of Stalls.]
State, sometime before the 3rd July 1573, and retired to France, where
he died in his old age a Carthusian at Grenoble.
The first of these bishops, James, receives very favourable notice from
Bishop Spottiswoode in his _History of the Church_ (Vol. I. p. 215,
Spottiswoode Society edition). “A severe censor he was of the corrupted
manners of the clergy, and recovered many lands and possessions which
were sacrilegiously taken from the Church before his time;” and
otherwise he speaks highly of him. The same authority condemns his
successor, Bishop William, as “a wicked, vicious man, who, for the
hatred he bore to the true religion, made away all the lands of the
bishopric, and utterly spoiled the benefice.” Bishop Keith bears the
same testimony, saying that “he alienated the Episcopal patrimony of
this church to a very singular degree.” The extent to which this
alienation went will be best understood from the remark of Bishop Keith
regarding the second Bishop William, that he “dilapidated any remains of
his bishopric,” clearly implying, as his more detailed account shows,
that there was little left to squander.
[Illustration: FIG. 528.--Dunblane Cathedral. Wood Carving.]
In these circumstances it is not at all probable that either of the
Bishops William would spend money in the adornment of their cathedral.
There is therefore no difficulty in concluding that the stalls were
provided by Bishop James Chisholm, and that they date between the years
1486 and 1534, the year of his death. Although he resigned in 1527, he
retained to himself the administration of “the fruits of the bishopric
of Dunblane.”[43]
The carving is very spirited, and full of grotesque figures (see details
in Fig. 527). It corresponds in style with the date of Bishop James
Chisholm, and has probably been brought from Flanders, where so much
[Illustration: FIG. 529.--Dunblane Cathedral. Misereres of Stalls.]
[Illustration: FIG. 530.--Dunblane Cathedral. Monument in Choir.]
[Illustration: FIG. 531.--Dunblane Cathedral. Monument in East Bay of
Nave.]
[Illustration: FIG. 532.--Dunblane Cathedral. Monument in North Aisle of
Nave.]
carving of the kind was executed about that time. The lion (Fig. 528) is
especially good of its kind. It was taken out of the cathedral during
some of the alterations and repairs made on it about the beginning of
this century; and at the same time a considerable quantity of carved
woodwork was removed and converted into household furniture. Fig. 529
shows some of the carvings on the lower side of the misereres of the
stalls which have no canopies.
The cathedral contains a few ancient sculptured monuments. One of these
is in the north wall of the choir, and consists of a tomb, under a
recessed canopy, containing the effigy of a bishop (Fig. 530), said to
be Finley Dermock, who was bishop of the see in the beginning of the
fifteenth century. This bishop built the first bridge over the Allan, at
Dunblane, which still survives, although widened and improved. The head
of the crozier and the right hand which held it have been knocked off;
otherwise the effigy is in good preservation. The feet rest against an
animal, much mutilated, whose tail runs into a wreath of foliage of
first pointed character.
Another episcopal effigy, attired in pontifical vestments and mitre,
rests in a tomb (Fig. 531) in the south wall of the eastmost bay of the
nave. This is believed to be the monument of Bishop Michael Ochiltree,
who occupied the see about the middle of the fifteenth century, and
added much to the rich ornaments of the cathedral. The tomb and effigy
are evidently of late date, and both are much decayed.
In the north aisle of the nave are preserved two effigies (Fig. 532),
said to be those of Malise, eighth Earl of Strathearn, and his countess.
The figures are life-size, and are carved in a block of sandstone. “When
discovered in the choir, the block was above a coffin of lead, having
inscribed on it the date 1271.”[44] The figures, however, are
undoubtedly of later date.