Jedburgh Abbey

Excerpt from Jedburgh Historical and Abbey: Descriptive. Introductory: The revival of the study of Gothic architecture in this country has resulted not only in the erection of many beautiful churches of that character, but has aroused a becoming feeling of veneration for the ecclesiastical structures of bygone centuries, the ruins of which testify to their former beauty and magnificence. It was in the seclusion of the cloister or cell that, at the period when these buildings were erected, Religion found her home, and that the arts and sciences flourished under the fostering care of the monks, so that the monasteries, raised by pious hands for the most worthy of all objects, and endowed by a wonderful liberality, long exercised a beneficial and powerful influence upon society.

But those great and once potent institutions were not exempt from the mighty law of change; and though they had, during a certain period of their existence, proved of importance in preserving something like a living Christianity, they were in time repressed, and the remains of their once extensive buildings - now silent witnesses of the past - serve only as interesting objects to the student of architecture or to the ordinary tourist. "The sacred tapers' lights are gone; Grey moss has clad the altar stone; The holy image is o'erthrown, The bell has ceased to toll."

In no other district in Scotland or England is there so remarkable a group of ruins as that of the abbeys of Teviotdale. A wise policy led to the erection of those Abbeys in a district exposed to the outbreaks of two warlike kingdoms. Their sacred character, it was hoped, would prove sufficient to protect them from pillage; besides, perhaps, having a salutary influence on the minds of the turbulent barons.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1877 edition.