St Magnus' Cathedral on the eve of the Reformation

In 1544, the Scottish humanist and diplomat, Bishop Robert Reid of Orkney, re-arranged the finances, organisation and liturgical regime of St Magnus' Cathedral in Kirkwall and its associated schools. This was necessary, he alleged, because all the old documents relating to the initial foundation of the Cathedral and the Orkney parishes (in the twelfth century) had perished in the damp Orcadian climate. Given that today was the first day without rain since 20 November, his claim seems quite credible! The Latin text of Bishop Reid's so-called Foundation Document has survived, however, and was last reprinted in Alexander Peterkin's Rentals of Orkney (1820).

A propos of something completely different, the brilliant Orcadian storyteller Tom Muir mentioned that Peterkin's Rentals is now available on Google Books. Our document is Appendix V.

The only English translation, as far as I know, is that by J. Storer Clouston in his Records of the Earldom of Orkney (1914). Storer Clouston may have known all there was to know about Orkney, but he was clearly no expert on the inner workings of Roman Catholic cathedrals, and his version of the document is riddled with errors and misunderstandings. One day I'll get round to doing my own translation; but now I've given you the link, feel free to have a go yourself. This document tells us as much as we're ever likely to know about liturgical music in Orkney on the eve of the Reformation.