eeries an' curliwurlies, an'
open-steek hems about it.' It may, indeed, be called severe, but not
tame."[92] Internally the cathedral has a nave of eight bays, with side
aisles; transepts, not projecting beyond the aisles; a choir of five
bays, with side aisles and an aisle at the east end, with chapels beyond
it. At the north-east corner of the choir is the sacristy or vestiarium;
below it is the chapter-house, with an entrance from the lower church;
on the south side of the church, as a continuation of the transept, is
another low church or crypt, called "Blacader's Aisle"; on the north
side are the foundations of a large chapel. Over the crossing rise the
tower and spire, 217 feet high. The church within is 283 feet long by 61
feet broad.[93]

The history of the cathedral is closely connected with many of the
stirring events in Scottish history. King Edward prostrated himself
before its altar; Robert the Bruce within it received absolution, "while
the Red Cumyn's blood was scarce yet dry upon his dagger"; and within
its walls was held the Glasgow Assembly of 1638, when the Episcopate was
abolished, and the Presbyterian government was restored. Robert Leighton
has preached within its choir, in his low, sweet voice, and with those
angelic strains of eloquence and devotion which lingered in the memory
of his hearers to their dying day.

3. DIOCESE OF DUNKELD

Dunkeld is situated amid lovely scenery, and was from the earliest times
a religious centre. The name means fort of the Culdees. After the
destruction of Iona by the Norsemen in the beginning of the ninth
century, Dunkeld became the seat of the Columban authority in Scotland,
and part of the relics of St. Columba were brought here by King Kenneth
Macalpine in 850. Its abbot was named Bishop of Fortreum, but in 865 the
primacy was transferred to Abernethy, and thence to St. Andrews in 908.
One of the lay abbots at Dunkeld married a daughter of Malcolm II., and
through the influence of their descendants the religious order in
Scotland was changed. Emerging as great secular chiefs, these lay abbots
weakened, if they did not destroy, the ecclesiastical foundation. The
bishopric was revived by Alexander I. in 1107, and prior to the
thirteenth century was not confined to Atholl, but extended to the
western sea, and included the districts stretching along its shores from
the Firth of Clyde to Lochbroom, and forming the province of Argyll.[94]
The western part was sep