Page 12 - LOTN Autumn Issue 54 2023

DIOCESE
The mystery of the

Monastery of Deer

team of archaeologists believe they have located
the site of the lost Monastery of Deer, close to the
A village of Mintlaw in Aberdeenshire. The exact
site of the monastery in Aberdeenshire had always been a
mystery.
It is believed that the earliest written Scots Gaelic in the world
was produced in the monastery in the late 11th and early 12th
century. These texts, Gaelic land grants, were placed in the
margins of the Book of Deer, a pocket gospel book, originally
written between 850AD and 1000AD. The book is normally
held in the collections of Cambridge University but it went on
public display at Aberdeen Art Gallery last year, the first time it
had returned to Northeast Scotland in 1,000 years.
The archaeologists believe they have now found the building’s
remains, just 80 metres from the ruins of Deer Abbey which was
founded in 1219.
The lead archaeologist Ali Cameron led a team of students
and volunteers to collect finds and samples which were then
carefully processed in the University of Aberdeen, under the
supervision of Dr Gordon Noble.
Investigations, supported by the Book of Deer Project, have
been ongoing since 2009, with several significant excavations
taking place over the last eight years. The last of these was in
2022, concentrated close to the abbey ruins and funded largely A portrait of the Evangelist Luke from the Book of Deer
by a National Lottery Heritage Fund. (Wikimedia Commons)

Ad multos annos!

he 21st of August this year, the feast of St. Pius X,
marked the 50th anniversary of first monastic vows
Tof our own Fr Giles.
The event was marked by a fine and well attended
celebration in our Abbey Church. Many friends joined
members of Fr Giles' family and the monastic community
in giving thanks to God for this notable milestone.
Fr Abbot Anselm presided at the Mass, and preached. In
his homily he spoke of how God’s love makes us long for
what is to come even in the full flow of present blessing:
"Our jubilee celebration is an expression of this anticipation.
We ‘press on, forgetting what lies behind and straining
forward to what lies ahead, toward the goal, the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.’ "(Phil. 3:13-14)
Among other noteworthy guests for the occasion were our
Bishop Hugh, Prior Bede, Br Louis of Kristo Buase Monastery
in Ghana and Br Isidore of Petersham, Massachusetts. Some
16 guest Priests concelebrated the Mass.
After the Mass the crowd adjourned to enjoy a fine buffet
lunch, blessed with warm sunshine for those choosing to
sit outside.
Fr Giles currently serves the community as Prior and
guestmaster.

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