Balmerino and its abbey Author:James Campbell Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER V. ANCIENT PROPRIETORS AND CHURCH OF BALMEEINO. " In the antique age of bow and spear, And feudal rapine clothed with iron mail, Came ministers of... more » peace, intent to rear The Mother Church in yon sequestered vale." WOKDSWOKTH. The first undoubted proprietor of Balmekino whose name we meet with is mentioned in the Abbey Chartulary as living in the time of William the Lion (1164-1214). Henry de Reuel received from that monarch a grant of Cultrach, with the customary feudal privileges and duty attached to it. Though Cultraeh is alone mentioned in the grant, the barony of that name seems to have included the lands of Balmerino, Balindard, Balindean, and Corbie, since the last three of those places are described in the Foundation Charter of the Abbey as " pertinents" of Cultra and Balmerino ; while in a charter obtained by Richard Reuel, Balmerino and Balindard are stated to have been held by Henry Reuel along with Cultra. This Henry de Reuel married Margaret, daughter of Orm, who was the son of Hugh of Abernethy, with whom he got " a ten merk land of old extent, a mark being then a third of a pound weight of silver." As we find Laurence, son of this Orm, afterwards resigning to Balmerino Abbey whatever interest he and his heirs had in the lands of Cultra, Balindean, Douglas's Peerage. Balindard, Corbie, and Balmerino (which Henry Reuel's heir had sold to Queen Ermengarde towards the foundation of the Abbey), we may conclude that it was these lands which came to Henry Reuel as his wife's dowry, and that the crown charter which he had obtained was merely a charter of confirmation. It thus appears that nearly all the lands forming the original parish of Balmerino were anciently included in the great lordship or territory of Abernethy. But this Laurence was A...« less