The 1552 catechism at the National Library of Scotland
The copies of the 1552 catechism held in the National Library of Scotland show that this book was still being read over 100 years after its publication by Scots to whom religion was still an important issue.
While some of the personal names of these owners are now almost indecipherable, we do know more about the institutions that owned copies. Most were Scots Colleges, often based in Continental Europe, where for many years Scottish Catholics would send their children to be educated. These libraries have preserved for us copies of important Scottish books like this one, and also many other examples of what Scots were reading through the centuries.
Shelfmark BCL.S137: This book contains contemporary marginal notes. The inscriptions are hard to read, but the names 'Liviston ... Archibaldus' and 'Jo. Turnbull' can be deciphered.
BCL.S138: There are contemporary marginal notes. Early inscriptions have been scored through; the inscription on the title page is 'Ex libris Scholae Aquortisiensis 1824'. This was Aquhorties Seminary in Aberdeenshire, which trained priests for the Scottish Mission from 1799 to 1829, when it transferred to Blairs College. The Blairs College Library was placed in the Library on deposit in 1974.
BCL.S139: Two owners left their mark in this book. There is an inscription on the front free endpaper: 'Lord preserve thy churk in peace and treuth. In manus tuus domine comendo spirito meum.' (Into your hand, oh Lord, I commend my spirit). J. Gordone Amen. ' Robert Strathauchin' has written his name several times, once dated 1596. Finally, there is an inscription on the front pastedown: 'Ex Libris Collegij Scotorum Parisijs'. This refers to the Scots College at Paris, one of the most important of the Scots Colleges mentioned above, partly because of its connection with the Stuart court at St Germain-en-Laye. Many of its books are now in the Blairs College collection.
H.36.a.14: This copy has no names of former owners, but does include a page of 18th century notes on the life and death of Archbishop Hamilton.
Ry.II.f.29: Inscription on second flyleaf: 'Charles Ritche his book 1696'; there is a long inscription on the life of Archbishop Hamilton dated 1697 on the verso, probably by the same person.
SBA.295: Inscription on title page: 'Ex libris Gulielmus Stuarti P.V.M. Scot...' (William Stuart). Further inscriptions, one dated 1639, are obscured. This book belonged to the Scots monastery of St James at Ratisbon (now Regensburg) in Germany. When that monastery was suppressed in 1860, this book was one of those brought to Scotland by one of the last remaining monks there. The monastery was refounded as St Benedict's Abbey in 1876, at Fort Augustus on Loch Ness. The Library received its library as a deposit in 1992, and bought many of its books, with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund, when they were sold in 2000.
The history of the 'Catechisme'
All images from the Blairs College Library collection are reproduced with the kind permission of the Blairs Museum, Aberdeen.