The forgotten Saint

Mine of information

It is frequently forgotten that Paisley has another patron saint in addition to St Mirin.

During medieval times, the cult of St James was paramount in the religious rituals of powerful military classes who ruled Renfrewshire under the feudal system.

The elevation of St James was inspired by Walter Fitzalan, an AngloNorman warrior from Shropshire, who received vast tracts of land in the Paisley area from King David I of Scotland as a reward for providing the monarch with military assistance during his campaigns.

Walter, who became High Steward of Scotland, was a leading light in the building of Paisley Abbey.

One of the holy heroes to whom he dedicated the sacred building was James, his own family’s patron saint.

James was revered by the military orders after being beheaded on the orders of tyrant Herod Agrippa, around 44 AD.

He was especially popular among the Knights Templar, the warriormonks fraternity founded in 1118 to win back Jerusalem from the Saracens and protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land from attacks by robber bands. Derek Parker knew many of Paisley’s secrets – the grimy and the good.

He wandered every corner in search of the clues that would unlock Renfrewshire’s rich history.

These tales were shared with readers in his hugely popular Parker’s Way column.

We’ve opened our vault to handpick our favourites for you.

This article was first printed on July 28, 2003.

In 1314, the Knights Templar were brutallydisbanded by the ruthless French king, Philip IV, because they had become too powerful.

Many were tortured to death in one of history’s most horrific human holocausts.

But several Knights escaped to Scotland where preceptories and chapels were established locally at sites including Hurlet, Inchinnan, Barrhead and Houston.

They brought the irreverence of St James – strengthening the cult introduced by Walter Fitzalan more than a century earlier.

The role of St James in pre-Reformation Paisley intensified with many people making the long pilgrimage to Compostella de Santiago in north-west Spain where the martyr’s decapitated body is said to have been miraculously buried beneath a sacred shrine.

People who completed the pilgrimage to his final resting place received a fan-shaped scallop shell, which was the emblem of St James.

Today, ornamental scallop shells are evident in Paisley.

They are in the Abbey, on stone pillars at Dunn Square and on the Glen Villa in Glenburn – heightening the town’s links with the apostolic martyr and the Knights Templar.

The scallop shells are also incorporated into the coats of arms of the Bishops of Paisley Diocese.

Streets, churches, schools and a Paisley Masonic Lodge are all named after St James, whose Feast Day was Friday, July 25.

The memory of Paisley’s other saint deservedly lives on in the town today.