All About Scotland

As buildings were either reconstructed or modified in future centuries, the church at Dunstaffnage in Argyll, with its simple rectangular plan and lancet windows, is a rare example of Early Gothic design. The 12th-century abbey at Jedburgh in the Borders was just one of the abbeys that housed the religious communities being imported from England and France to southern and central parts of the country. Now in ruins, this church is very much in the transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic, as the west front contains a Romanesque round-arched doorway with a 13th-century rose window in the main gable. One of the most complete of the ruined Border Abbeys, Dryburgh Abbey, in beautiful red sandstone, has an unusual vertical emphasis in the main arcade. Melrose Abbey contains examples of High Gothic detail, such as delicate tracery and flying buttresses, while Kelso Abbey stands out for its simplicity and massive proportions. These great Scottish abbeys, with the exception of the austere Cistercian communities, would have been richly decorated with tapestries, murals and carved furnishings. Unfortunately, their position in the south-east of Scotland left them vulnerable to attack from the English and they suffered badly as a result.

In the 13th century, the Norman kings brought a more settled period, establishing their authority through a network of loyal nobles who controlled parts of the country but recognized the king as overall ruler. This allowed for the building of great cathedrals, notably those of Glasgow and Elgin. Glasgow Cathedral is Scotland?s only complete medieval cathedral to survive the Reformation; the verticality of the interior and the elegance of the clustered piers are monuments to the power of the Gothic tradition. The building itself is an amalgam of influences, from the Early Pointed style of the east end of the choir to the magnificent Late Gothic vaulting of the lower church, and is a poignant reminder of the wealth of architecture that has been lost to the nation over the years. Elgin Cathedral, with its unusual double aisles and rich furnishings, was an extravagant Anglo-Saxon statement of refinement and power, built to impress the Highland clans. It is in ruins, having been destroyed in 1390 by an earl angry at being excommunicated for leaving his wife.