172 IVansactions. 



son of tlie laird of Closeburn. Alexander had granted a bond of 

 manrent and service to Robert Charterisof Amisfield — the captain, 

 as we have seen, of Annan — and when the rewards of the battle 

 of Kirkconnel were given a curious law suit arose out of Amis- 

 field's claim to one third of his vassal's handsome winnings, a 

 claim which the lords of Council were minded t(jk sustain.* 



XVI. The Church (1474-1510). 

 Meanwhile what of the cliurch ? The memory of its connexion 

 with Guisborough had long been effaced. For a full century and 

 a half there is not a word of record on the ecclesiastical affairs of 

 Annan. In 1474 Gilbert Maxwell was rector,! succeeded before 

 1487 by William TurnbuU. J; How long he was rector v;e cannot 

 precisely say. In those days the priests were not married, but, 

 as has been .satirically said, they were often succeeded by their 

 eldest sons. William Turnbull's successor was Adam Turnbull. 

 In Sir Adam's pastorate a terrible scandal arose The Border 

 clergy of the 16th century were rough pastors of rough flocks, 

 otten men of violence and blood. Sir Adam somehow did to 

 death a man named Robert Faresch. A citation was executed§ 

 in April 1510 in the churches of Lochmaben, Annan, Cummer- 

 trees, and Garwald. Rumour had laid a charge of "cruel 

 slaughter " at Sir Adam's door. The summons was for the 

 purpose of eliciting a regular and formal accusation at the 

 instance of some relative, friend, or ])erson having interest. No 

 such accuser entered appearance.j| What came of the case in the 

 end does not appeal', but a presumption of Sir Adam's guilt 

 arises from the fact that a year later he appealed to tlie PopelT 

 from some decision by the Archbishop of Glasgow. The proba- 

 bility is that this decision, thougli its subject is not mentioned, 

 was a sentence of deprivation or the like pronounced in conse- 

 quence of this damaging charge. When we consider, as we shall 

 need to do directly, that the castle of Annan, which was to be 

 garrisoned in 1482, was in all likelihood no other than the church 

 steeple, we need not wonder if the parson was a man of blood. 



*Acta Dominorum Concilii, p. *95. 

 fMunimenta Universitalis Glanf/uensis, ii. , 81. 

 XBeijistrum Magni ShjiUi, ii., 2131. 

 ^Diocesan JRegisters of Glasgow, ii. 330. 

 \iDioccsan Registers, ii., 356. 

 Hiftjd., ii. 402. 



