Not just a load of old bull, says Tain Museum
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A SMALL Ross-shire museum which looks after one of the oldest documents in the Highlands plans to use a 21st century internet phenomenon to raise cash for its preservation.
Tain and District Museum is the custodian of a Papal Bull, a Pope’s charter, dated 17th July 1492.
It confirms the status of the Collegiate Kirk of St Duthac of Tain, a place of pilgrimage and sanctuary visited by James IV.
The document takes its name from the lead seal, or "bulla" in Latin, which was adhered to the end of the manuscript to authenticate it.
The Bull was the Pope’s way of recognising and defending a religious order or settlement and the acknowledgement effectively put the Ross town on Scotland’s religious map.
However, the ancient parchment is fading and disintegrating and can no longer be on public view.
So, the Trustees of Tain and District Museum are to launch an online crowd funding campaign to have it professionally conserved and to create a high-quality digital facsimile to display in the museum.
The Tain document, written on parchment in the year Columbus discovered America, bears the name of Pope Innocent VIII and bears the signature of his cardinal secretary Alessandro Farnese.
Farnese went on to become Pope Paul III – the pope who ex-communicated King Henry VIII.
Chairman of the Trustees Alistair Jupp said: "We have not been able to display The Bull for some time due to its condition.
"This important document has been in our trust for over 500 years and we feel it is our responsibility to preserve it for future generations".
The Collegiate Church in Tain was built to house the bones of St Duthac, a venerated 11th century preacher born in the town who is said to have performed a number of miracles.
King James IV is said to have made a pilgrimage to the shrine every year for 20 years.
James V and Robert the Bruce are also believed to have visited the church.
The Bull is currently in the hands of professional conservators at the Highland Archive Centre and will have to be kept in a controlled environment to prevent any further deterioration.
Written on vellum, it measures 14inches by 9 and the original lead papal seal is attached to it by a silken chord in which red and yellow strands mingle, to show that it contains matters of justice as well as grace.
For decades the document hung in the museum displayed in a silver gilt frame donated by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who owned nearby Skibo Castle. The museum trustees hope to use the frame to house the digital facsimile.
A crowd funding venture is being set up to raise £800 for its preservation and digitization, so that visitors to the museum’s Tain Through Time exhibition can have the pleasure of viewing this rare and treasured document.
Donations can be made on the following website http://www.tainmuseum.org.uk/ and on our facebook page: Tain and District Museum and Clan Ross Centre, and on its crowd funding site http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/not-just-a-load-of-old-bull
