The village described in the Benedictine's manuscript by the name of
Kennaquhair, bears the same Celtic termination which occurs in
Traquhair, Caquhair, and other compounds. The learned Chalmers derives
this word Quhair, from the winding course of a stream; a definition
which coincides, in a remarkable degree, with the serpentine turns of
the river Tweed near the village of which we speak. It has been long
famous for the splendid Monastery of Saint Mary, founded by David the
First of Scotland, in whose reign were formed, in the same county, the
no less splendid establishments of Melrose, Jedburgh, and Kelso. The
donations of land with which the King endowed these wealthy
fraternities procured him from the Monkish historians the epithet of
Saint, and from one of his impoverished descendants the splenetic
censure, "that he had been a sore saint for the Crown."

It seems probable, notwithstanding, that David, who was a wise as well
as a pious monarch, was not moved solely by religious motives to those
great acts of munificence to the church, but annexed political views
to his pious generosity. His possessions in Northumberland and
Cumberland became precarious after the loss of the Battle of the
Standard; and since the comparatively fertile valley of Teviot-dale
was likely to become the frontier of his kingdom, it is probable he
wished to secure at least a part of these valuable possessions by
placing them in the hands of the monks, whose property was for a long
time respected, even amidst the rage of a frontier war. In this manner
alone had the King some chance of ensuring protection and security to
the cultivators of the soil; and, in fact, for several ages the
possessions of these Abbeys were each a sort of Goshen, enjoying the
calm light of peace and immunity, while the rest of the country,
occupied by wild clans and marauding barons, was one dark scene of
confusion, blood, and unremitted outrage.

But these immunities did not continue down to the union of the crowns.
Long before that period the wars betwixt England and Scotland had lost
their original character of international hostilities, and had become
on the part of the English, a struggle for subjugation, on that of the
Scots a desperate and infuriated defence of their liberties. This
introduced on both sides a degree of fury and animosity unknown to the
earlier period of their history; and as religious scruples soon gave
way to national hatred spurred by a love of plunder, the patrimony of
the Church was no longer sacred from incursions on either side. Still,
however, the tenants and vassals of the great Abbeys had many
advantages over those of the lay barons, who were harassed by constant
military duty, until they became desperate, and lost all relish for
the arts of peace. The vassals of the church, on the other hand, were
only liable to be called to arms on general occasions, and at other
times were permitted in comparative quiet to possess their farms and
feus. [Footnote: Small possessions conferred upon vassals and their
heirs, held for a small quit-rent, or a moderate proportion of the
produce. This was a favourite manner, by which the churchmen peopled
the patrimony of their convents; and many descendants of such
_feuars_, as they are culled, are still to be found in possession
of their family inheritances in the neighbourhood of the great
Monasteries of Scotland.] They of course exhibited superior skill in
every thing that related to the cultivation of the soil, and were
therefore both wealthier and better informed than the military
retainers of the restless chiefs and nobles in their neighbourhood.