The photograph for Christmas this year features four carved panels. These were gifted to the Kirk of St Nicholas by Alexander Yeats, Town Clerk depute at the time of the restoration of St Mary’s Chapel in 1898 for the decoration of St Mary’s Chapel. The subject matter is clearly that of the Adoration of the Magi.

The right hand panel features a standing female holding a young child in her hands. The lettering is rather indistinct, but carved in the upper background to the left is IHS and to the right M. IHS is a common abbreviation seen in many churches, which uses the first three letters of the Greek for Jesus, whilst, more obviously, M stands for Mary. Thus there is no doubt this is Mary and the baby Jesus.

The remaining panels feature the ‘three kings’.  It is only Matthew’s Gospel which records the visit of these strangers ‘from the east’, and there is no suggestion there that they were kings. Rather they were likely to be astrologers or priests who studied the skies. The number three is used only because there were three gifts recorded by Matthew. Over the years tradition and legend has developed around them, even to the point of giving them names. In the photograph of the panels, the carved letters suggest that these traditional names can be identified for each panel. From the left they are:

RBFM – Rex Balthazar Ferens Myrrham (meaning King Balthazar bearing the myrrh)

RMFT – Rex Melchior Ferens Thus (meaning King Melchior bearing the frankinsense)

RIFA – Rex Iasper Ferens Aurum (meaning King Jasper bearing the gold)

Note that Jasper is now more commonly called Gaspar or Casper.

The exact history of these panels is still uncertain. They were reported, with drawings, to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1831 at which time they were part of a door in the parish church of Ruthven near Cullen in Morayshire. That same report suggests that previously they belonged to the Earls of Findlater, whose chief seat was at Cullen. If this latter report is accurate, then it is probable that the panels would, at some time, have been displayed in the ancient Church of Cullen, said to have been founded by King Robert Bruce (but probably older than that). In Cullen there has been a long standing cult of the ‘Three Kings of Cologne’. This was probably linked in some way to the removal of supposed relics of the Magi from Milan to Cologne by Frederick Barbarossa in 1164. There is a small but elaborate shrine in Cologne Cathedral said to contain the relics. In mediaeval times, Cullen was spelt Cullane – and so the similarity with Cologne becomes clearer and it could have given rise to confusion. There was also a mediaeval Mystery Play called ‘The Three Kings of Cullane’. To complicate matters there are three rocks in Cullen Bay knows as ‘the Three Kings of Cullen’, but their naming is linked to the death locally of three kings in battle not the biblical characters. Given these links and traditions, it would have been fitting for these panels to have ornamented the early church in Cullen. However, the true origin for the panels remains a mystery. Their style is European and would suggest an early date. This is consistent with them dating back to mediaeval times, perhaps in Germany, but nothing is certain.

The OpenSpace Trust wish you all a very Happy Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

December 6^th is St Nicholas Day. Last year we featured one of the stained glass windows in the West Kirk depicting St Nicholas and outlined what is known – and not known – about him. This year the photograph is of the stone boss over the crossing in St Mary’s Chapel. It represents the reverse of the City Seal made in 1430 and features St Nicholas, the patron saint of Aberdeen. The boss over the north aisle in St Mary’s Chapel features the front of this City Seal. It is the earliest known representation of the seal, apart from the actual seal itself, however the one in the north aisle is so badly eroded that no features can be distinguished today. Both these bosses are made of freestone and date from the mid-1400s when the chapel was built.

The particular story about St Nicholas depicted on the seal is that of raising three boys to life. There are variants on the story, but the essence is that the three boys were captured, killed and pickled. When Bishop Nicholas of Myra (St Nicholas) heard of this he had the murderer killed and brought the boys back to life again. Because the boss is worn, high up and the lighting is awkward, it is difficult to get a clear photograph of this particular boss, although some of the features do seem to be clearer than seeing it with the naked eye. The accompanying photograph is of the boss and shows St Nicholas, in the centre, dressed as a Latin bishop including a mitre on his head (rather indistinct at the top) and with his right hand either holding a crozier or raised in benediction. The boys, only two visible, are at the bottom left, surrounded by a structure, presumably the pickling vat, as they are restored to life. There are two other figures, one on either side of St Nicholas, which appear to have wings, so they are probably angels lending their assistance to the miracle. This miracle is one of those which Benjamin Britten included in his cantata ‘St Nicholas’ which he composed in 1948.

John Henry Anderson was born into a family of humble means near Kincardine O’Neil, west of Aberdeen, in 1814 and was orphaned at the age of 10. After working as a herdsboy and then a blacksmith he started working in a travelling theatre company when he was only 16. Here he started to develop his skills as a magician. At the age of 23 he performed magic tricks for Lord Panmure at Brechin Castle, who was very impressed and encouraged him in his career. So John Anderson decided to set up his own touring show which lasted for 3 years. He settled in London, opened the New Strand Theatre and was dubbed ‘The Great Wizard of the North’ by no less than Sir Walter Scott. Sometimes he used the stage name of Professor Anderson.

Not only was he an expert showman, he was very good at publicity and advertising making him one of the first magicians to achieve world renown, including a command performance for Czar Nicholas 1. He toured widely in Europe, North America, Australasia and Russia. His repertoire included many tricks and illusions covering a wide range. Some of these were his own invention, whilst others he took and developed from others. One of his most popular was to appear to catch a bullet fired from a gun. He is, however, given the honour of devising the ‘rabbit out of a hat’ illusion together with a number of derivatives from it, such as flowers appearing from his fingers and a goldfish bowl, complete with water and fish.

John Anderson died in 1874 a few months short of his 60^th birthday. He was buried next to his mother in the St Nicholas Kirkyard. 1874 was also the year of the birth of Harry Houdini the famous escapologist who was a great admirer of the work of John Anderson. Indeed he described him as one of his inspirations. On a visit to Aberdeen in 1909 he visited the grave which had fallen into disrepair, so he made arrangements for its upkeep. The two photographs show the grave as it is today and a press photograph of Harry Houdini at the side of the grave after it had been repaired.

St Mary’s Chapel will be open on Saturday, 30th May 2015 between 10 and 12.30.

The Chapel is one of those ‘hidden gems’ of Aberdeen, dating back to the 1440s it has a vaulted ceiling, fascinating carved bosses, the largest collection of carved wood from pews in Scotland, beautiful stained glass – yet is not often seen by people.

The OpenSpace Trust are opening the Chapel on the last Saturday morning of May, June, July and August between 10 am and 12.30 pm. There will be people available to explain what there is to see or to answer your questions, and for those who want to test themselves there is a quiz (with a prize!).

Entry will be through the door at the top of Correction Wynd, opposite Marks and Spencer and between Starbucks and GAP.

Entry is free, but we would welcome any donations towards the Mither Kirk Project.