Recently, the Foundation has been doing some research on Fetternear the Bishop’s Palace and the Leslie connection in Aberdeenshire. This article on the Fetternear Banner was located online and helps fill in some of the Leslie history related to the Leslies of Wardhill Estate.
The article published in St Moluag’s Coracle, a Scottish Catholic magazine, provided some fascinating information. The banner dating from the early 16th century was found in the Chapel House of the little parish church of St. John and Our Lady of the Garioch in Aberdeenshire. The church of St. John was built by the Leslies and many of the stained-glass windows have Leslie images, including the three buckles. According to the article, the banner was commissioned in 1520 and was intended for the Collegiate Church of St. Giles in Edinburgh. Some of you may have visited this church on the Royal Mile. The banner was not completed and was never handed over to hang at the altar in the Collegiate Church. If it had been, it surely would have been destroyed during the Reformation by the Protestants.
Eventually, the banner was passed to a family who remained loyal to the Catholic Church, the Leslies of Balquhain of whom most Leslies worldwide are descendants. The banner is reputed to have been brought to the 2nd Siege of Vienna in 1683 for use in the mass before the battle against the Ottoman Empire. It is noteworthy to add that James Leslie was an officer in the Holy Roman Empire and played a significant role as commander of the artillery of the Imperial Forces of the Habsburg monarchy. Also, Count Walter Leslie, from Fetternear, was Field Marshall and Count of the Holy Roman Empire. So now we can see the connection between the banner and the Leslies of Fetternear.
Many of the Catholic relics, including the banner found a home with the Leslie’s of Fetternear. 1859, when Catholics could once again worship openly, the banner was gifted to St. John Church, where it remained until being given “in loan” to the Scottish Museum of Antiquities.
This article reminds Leslies today that there are two significant branches of the Leslie family, the Balquhain Leslies, which to this day some have remained Catholics, and the Protestant Leslies of Rothes, the junior branch of the Leslie according to Wikipedia. It is noted that Alexander Leslie led the Presbyterian Army of the Solemn League and Covenant. This is fascinating Leslie history and the article on the Leslies and the Fetternear Banner is a worthwhile read.
Link to the article: https://www.stmoluagscoracle.com/p/the-fetternear-banner
Additional information: https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/inr.1956.7.2.69
Lewis R. Johnson, Ed.D. FSA Scot
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