In Scotland ateind (Scottish Gaelic:deachamh) was atithe derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of theclergy.[1]
It is also an old lowland term for a tribute due to be paid by thefairies to thedevil every seven years. Found in the story ofTam Lin as well as in the ballad ofThomas the Rhymer.
Teind is aScots word for tithe, meaning a tenth part.
Teinds had been used to support the living expenses of clergy. On 15 February 1562 thePrivy Council of Scotland regulated the collection of a third of the teinds for the stipends of ministers of thereformed church and the expenses of the royal household.[2] A survey was made of rentals and revenues received by clergy. The resulting "Books of Assumption" is a record of the wealth of the church of Scotland at the Reformation and reveals the names of many secular or laymen owners who then owned former ecclesiastic properties. The detailed record also reveals the variety of agricultural produce, fishing, and coal or lime produced on the lands.[3]
On 1 March 1562John Wishart of Pitarrow was appointedcomptroller and collector-general of teinds.[4] A "Collectory" was established to manage the Thirds of Benefices.[5] In this capacity he became paymaster of the reformed clergy, many of whom resented the scantiness of their stipends. According toJohn Knox, the saying was current, "The good laird of Pittarro was ane earnest professour of Christ; but the mekle Devill receave the comptrollar".[6] Wishart appointed a kinsmanGeorge Wishart of Drymme as a sub-collector of Thirds of Benefices from Forfar and Kincardine, and his account includes payments made byMary, Queen of Scots, to Knox and his servants, and toDavid Rizzio.[7]
Extracts from the accounts of the Thirds of Benefices, the records of Collectory between 1561 and 1572 were published byGordon Donaldson.[8] Much of the money or produce collected went towards the expenses of the royal household and guard. In 1563, John Knox complained that "the gaird and theeffairis of the kytcheing wer so gryping that the mynisteris stipendis could nocht be payit". The accounts record wine, beef and mutton, and cheese bought for the royal household. Coal from Wallyford inEast Lothian was sent to the Palace ofHolyroodhouse for Mary, Queen of Scots, and some was shipped to Aberdeen when she visited.[9]
Some entries relate to theChaseabout Raid of 1565. John Wishart, a supporter ofMary's half-brother Lord James was replaced as Collector byWilliam Murray of Tullibardine.[10] Subsequently,Adam Erskine ofCambuskenneth, was Collector General.[11]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907). "Teinds".The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.