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342 J.
Maitland Anderson
November 29, 1424. He died at the Apostolic See in 1425 as a
canon of Brechin. 1
A period of almost two years elapsed between the issue of the
foundation charter and the arrival of the papal bulls in St.
Andrews. As already mentioned, the charter is dated February
28, 1412 ; the bulls are dated August 28, 1413, and they did not
reach their destination till February 3, 1414. St. Andrews was at
that time the most northerly town in Europe in which a Univer-
sity had been founded, and it was also the most distant point to
which bulls of similar import had been issued from the papal
chancery, whether at Rome or elsewhere. Ogilvy's journey from
the east coast of Scotland to and from the south-east coast of
Spain must have been a long and hazardous one, the more
especially as part of it was performed in winter. There is no
record of the route he took, but in all likelihood he would travel
between Scotland and France by sea, and through France and
Spain by land. The bearer of documents such as those entrusted
to his care would scarcely,
in the circumstances of the time, risk
a journey through England, even if he had obtained a safeconduct
beforehand, of which there is no mention in the Rotuli.
Bower, who was in all
probability an eye-witness of what he
describes, gives a brief but graphic account of the arrival of
Ogilvy in St. Andrews, and the events of the next few days.
It
occurred, he says, on the Morrow of the Purification of Our Lady,
which happened to be a Saturday. As soon as the fact of his
arrival became known, the sound of bells went forth from all the
churches of the town. On the
following day, Sunday, a solemn
assembly of the whole clergy was held at nine o'clock in the
morning in the refectory of the Priory, which had been specially
put in order for the purpose. At that assembly the bulls were
presented to the Bishop, as Chancellor of the University, and
after they had been read in the hearing of all
present,
the Te Deum
was sung with melodious voice by the clergy and convent, while
moving in procession to the high altar in the Cathedral Church.
When the
singing had ended the whole assembly knelt and the
Bishop of Ross recited the versicle De Sancto Spiritu with the
collect Deus qui corda. The remainder of this eventful Sunday
was passed amid scenes of indescribable
hilarity, and throughout
the whole night huge fires were kept blazing
in the streets and
1 Auctarium, vol. ii. cols. 99, 103 ; Cat. of Petitions to the Pope, vol. i. p. 600;
Cal. of Papal Letters, vol. vii. p. 405, vol. viii. pp. 391, 549 ; Acta Facultatis
Artium.