Fife's Famous

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0:00:04 > 0:00:07I'm at the centre of power of Scotland's medieval monarchs

0:00:07 > 0:00:11and home of the university where our future king and queen met.

0:00:11 > 0:00:14Welcome to the Kingdom of Fife.

0:00:17 > 0:00:22'This week, hymns from Dunfermline Abbey and St Andrews University.

0:00:22 > 0:00:26'The man who made a fortune, then gave it all away,

0:00:26 > 0:00:29'and who was the real Robinson Crusoe?'

0:00:37 > 0:00:40Fife is sandwiched between two of Scotland's great rivers,

0:00:40 > 0:00:42the Forth, here, and the Tay.

0:00:42 > 0:00:46It's called the Kingdom of Fife, and very proud Fifers are of this,

0:00:46 > 0:00:50because in ancient, Pictish times, they had their own kings.

0:00:53 > 0:00:57It was in St Andrews University that Prince William met Kate Middleton.

0:00:59 > 0:01:01St Andrews, on the east coast of Fife,

0:01:01 > 0:01:05was Scotland's medieval, religious capital.

0:01:05 > 0:01:07Its cathedral, built in the 12th century,

0:01:07 > 0:01:11is on the site where it's said the bones of the apostle were brought.

0:01:11 > 0:01:14It dominated Scotland's medieval church

0:01:14 > 0:01:17until the start of Reformation, in 1559.

0:01:20 > 0:01:23And we begin our journey in West Fife,

0:01:23 > 0:01:28in the ancient home of the Scottish kings and queens, Dunfermline.

0:03:47 > 0:03:51BELLS TOLL

0:03:51 > 0:03:56Dunfermline Abbey is not one but three churches, under one roof.

0:03:58 > 0:04:00Underneath its ancient floors,

0:04:00 > 0:04:04lie the bodies of eight Scottish kings.

0:04:04 > 0:04:06Mary Welsh is the custodian.

0:04:09 > 0:04:11The abbey here is of a very special place.

0:04:11 > 0:04:16It was built originally by Queen Margaret, as a small priory.

0:04:16 > 0:04:19She brought monks from Canterbury and she established

0:04:19 > 0:04:21- a very small priory here. - And that's...

0:04:21 > 0:04:25That's the part that's down there.

0:04:25 > 0:04:31Margaret was a very pious lady and she tried to encourage people to be kind to the poor.

0:04:31 > 0:04:33It was very often said that she would feed the children

0:04:33 > 0:04:39from the king's table and bathe the feet of poor men as a penance.

0:04:39 > 0:04:42Margaret was originally buried in the floor of her own church,

0:04:42 > 0:04:45when she died, in 1093.

0:04:45 > 0:04:49It caused such a great uproar of tremendous feeling in Dunfermline.

0:04:49 > 0:04:52David, her youngest son, when he became king,

0:04:52 > 0:04:55he decided to honour his mother

0:04:55 > 0:04:58by turning her small priory into a large abbey.

0:04:58 > 0:05:02The abbey itself was consecrated in 1157.

0:05:02 > 0:05:06So, David actually didn't live to see his great church completed.

0:05:06 > 0:05:09- It took 100 years for that to be done.- (Oh!)

0:05:09 > 0:05:13So, what is it like for you to spend your time...talking about this?

0:05:13 > 0:05:15You start out wanting to know a little bit of history

0:05:15 > 0:05:18and then eventually, you're hooked!

0:05:18 > 0:05:22You have to go back, look at the beginnings and work your way through history.

0:05:22 > 0:05:25To get to talk to people all over the world about that

0:05:25 > 0:05:27is really, quite an amazing thing.

0:05:27 > 0:05:30People have their own idea about Scotland

0:05:30 > 0:05:33and sometimes they think Scotland is Edinburgh and Glasgow!

0:05:33 > 0:05:37But to be honest, Dunfermline is much more ancient,

0:05:37 > 0:05:39has a huge royal history.

0:05:39 > 0:05:43It's a wonderful place to be.

0:05:43 > 0:05:47- And this place is very precious to you personally, is it?- It is, yes.

0:05:47 > 0:05:51A few years ago I lost my mother, very suddenly,

0:05:51 > 0:05:53and I was looking for something

0:05:53 > 0:05:56and I didn't know what I was looking for.

0:05:56 > 0:05:59However, I saw a small advert in the paper

0:05:59 > 0:06:02and decided I would apply for the job of historian at the abbey

0:06:02 > 0:06:05and I haven't regretted it,

0:06:05 > 0:06:09I've loved every minute of it, and I think it was something I was given,

0:06:09 > 0:06:11something that was given to me,

0:06:11 > 0:06:14and I really love every minute of it.

0:09:38 > 0:09:42One individual who lived over a century ago

0:09:42 > 0:09:45has left a living legacy across the world.

0:09:45 > 0:09:48Libraries, schools, hospitals,

0:09:48 > 0:09:51universities - even church organs, including Dunfermline Abbey's -

0:09:51 > 0:09:55all benefited from the philanthropy of one of the richest men

0:09:55 > 0:09:58of all time, Andrew Carnegie.

0:09:59 > 0:10:02His personal wealth in today's money

0:10:02 > 0:10:06would probably be greater than computer billionaire, Bill Gates.

0:10:06 > 0:10:10He gave away a fortune during his lifetime

0:10:10 > 0:10:14and even today, his trust funds are still distributing millions.

0:10:16 > 0:10:21What was Andrew Carnegie's philosophy...about money?

0:10:21 > 0:10:24It would be fascinating to actually be able to interview him...

0:10:24 > 0:10:28- Hmmm.- ..to find, to get the real answer to that question.

0:10:28 > 0:10:32But by a comparatively young man, he had made this huge fortune

0:10:32 > 0:10:35and then by his middle years

0:10:35 > 0:10:38had decided to start to give it all away,

0:10:38 > 0:10:42and created these trusts, across the world.

0:10:42 > 0:10:45I mean the programmes, the extent of the programmes

0:10:45 > 0:10:47is just...astonishing!

0:10:47 > 0:10:50And the breadth of his thinking in that era...

0:10:50 > 0:10:53..I just find really challenging.

0:10:53 > 0:10:58By the time he had died in 1919, he'd given away

0:10:58 > 0:11:02in the region of 350 million,

0:11:02 > 0:11:04which equates in today's terms to billions.

0:11:06 > 0:11:10He grew up in Dunfermline, the son of a weaver,

0:11:10 > 0:11:13whose family all lived in just one room.

0:11:13 > 0:11:17The family emigrated to America and by the time he died,

0:11:17 > 0:11:20he'd made his fortune from steel,

0:11:20 > 0:11:23which funded a rather grander home beside New York's Central Park.

0:11:23 > 0:11:27A far cry from the Dunfermline cottage.

0:11:27 > 0:11:31Carnegie's legacy in his home town is here for all to see.

0:11:31 > 0:11:34The estate opposite his cottage -

0:11:34 > 0:11:37which as a boy he was never allowed to enter -

0:11:37 > 0:11:41was bought and turned into a public park for everyone to enjoy.

0:11:43 > 0:11:46He believed, didn't he, that it was actually a matter of shame

0:11:46 > 0:11:49for a wealthy man to die wealthy?

0:11:49 > 0:11:52That's right. He had this principle that the man that dies rich,

0:11:52 > 0:11:54dies disgraced,

0:11:54 > 0:11:59and so, he set about to give away all of his money before he died.

0:11:59 > 0:12:02- And of course, there's lots of it left...- There is, there is.

0:12:02 > 0:12:06- ..because of how it was invested. - We're still spending it every day. - Exactly.

0:12:06 > 0:12:11But it does bring responsibilities, so that when we do spend money,

0:12:11 > 0:12:14we've got to be sure that it's spent wisely.

0:12:14 > 0:12:17We want this trust to be here in another 100 years' time.

0:12:18 > 0:12:22Today, Andrew Carnegie's trusts are still spending

0:12:22 > 0:12:26almost a quarter of a million dollars, every single day.

0:13:59 > 0:14:03From the magnificent Forth bridges linking Fife to Edinburgh,

0:14:03 > 0:14:06there's a path around the coast, over 100 miles long.

0:14:16 > 0:14:19This part of the coast is known as the East Neuk.

0:14:19 > 0:14:23Neuk is an old Scots word for a corner.

0:14:23 > 0:14:27Every twist and turn reveals another historic town or village.

0:14:27 > 0:14:30The picturesque harbours are a tribute

0:14:30 > 0:14:32to 16th century building skills

0:14:32 > 0:14:36and evidence of the long tradition of a fishing industry.

0:14:37 > 0:14:41Ships would sail out from harbours like this, not just to fish

0:14:41 > 0:14:43but to trade with European countries,

0:14:43 > 0:14:45just across the North Sea.

0:14:45 > 0:14:48Our next song, in Scotland's ancient language, Gaelic,

0:14:48 > 0:14:51is a prayer for safe return from sea.

0:18:13 > 0:18:16The old ports and harbours are now havens for leisure.

0:18:16 > 0:18:20As well as holiday-makers, they attract commuters

0:18:20 > 0:18:23from Scotland's capital, on the other side of the Forth.

0:18:23 > 0:18:27Who would have thought that one of these villages, Largo,

0:18:27 > 0:18:32would produce Alexander Selkirk, the man whose real-life story

0:18:32 > 0:18:35would form a basis of Daniel Defoe's novel, whose hero,

0:18:35 > 0:18:39Robinson Crusoe, was marooned on an island off the coast of Chile.

0:18:43 > 0:18:49'This is the church where Alexander Selkirk worshipped regularly. A native of Largo,'

0:18:49 > 0:18:54he, like many schoolboys played pranks,

0:18:54 > 0:18:56but some of the behaviour that he got up to, was,

0:18:56 > 0:19:00in the eyes of the Kirk Session, just a little too excessive.

0:19:00 > 0:19:02So, he was asked to come before them,

0:19:02 > 0:19:05he was told to behave himself

0:19:05 > 0:19:09and I think as a result of that, he decided to take himself off to sea.

0:19:10 > 0:19:13He found himself in a ship, off Chile.

0:19:13 > 0:19:18When it was suggested that the ship he was on should mutiny,

0:19:18 > 0:19:21he wanted no part in that.

0:19:21 > 0:19:26So, they said, "Well, if you don't want any part, we're going to put you off!" And put him off, they did.

0:19:26 > 0:19:31And he landed in the islands that we now know as Juan Fernandez Islands.

0:19:31 > 0:19:36In particular, Robinson Crusoe Island.

0:19:36 > 0:19:41Largo was twinned with Juan Fernandez Island, just before a tsunami struck.

0:19:41 > 0:19:45Since then, Largo children have been raising funds

0:19:45 > 0:19:48to rebuild the school there.

0:19:48 > 0:19:51We found out about Juan Fernandez Island

0:19:51 > 0:19:55when one of the people from the town went

0:19:55 > 0:19:59and they set up a twinning project with the two towns -

0:19:59 > 0:20:01the town on the island, St John The Baptist

0:20:01 > 0:20:05and Lundin Links in Largo.

0:20:05 > 0:20:08There's been an earthquake in Chile and it didn't take very long

0:20:08 > 0:20:13but the shudders vibrated the sea and it made a tsunami...

0:20:13 > 0:20:16..most of their town was destroyed along with their school.

0:20:16 > 0:20:21When that happened we decided, "Right, we need to raise money for this. We need to help them."

0:20:21 > 0:20:23We're sort of, like, friends together,

0:20:23 > 0:20:26so we need to get them back on track.

0:20:26 > 0:20:32Well, we've already raised with our sponsored walk, over £1,000,

0:20:32 > 0:20:35and we've sent that over to help with the school

0:20:35 > 0:20:37and help rebuild the society.

0:20:37 > 0:20:40It's just sort of, to make their lives easier.

0:22:59 > 0:23:02I've made a detour back to Burntisland.

0:23:02 > 0:23:04It was at a meeting here,

0:23:04 > 0:23:08of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in 1601,

0:23:08 > 0:23:12that the idea of the 1611 King James Bible was conceived.

0:23:14 > 0:23:18In the 16th century, in the wake of the Reformation,

0:23:18 > 0:23:21various vernacular translations

0:23:21 > 0:23:24of the Bible into English had been produced.

0:23:24 > 0:23:28All of them controversial for various reasons,

0:23:28 > 0:23:31partly because they were littered with mistakes.

0:23:33 > 0:23:38When King James VI became James I of England,

0:23:38 > 0:23:42the Scots said, "Please, don't forget our Presbyterian request

0:23:42 > 0:23:44"to get a new Bible."

0:23:46 > 0:23:49The tragedy is that King James immediately -

0:23:49 > 0:23:54when he had arrived in England, in the year 1604, said -

0:23:54 > 0:23:59"I will give you a Bible, but not the way you expected."

0:23:59 > 0:24:02He's reported to have said

0:24:02 > 0:24:06Scottish Presbyterianism and monarchy go together

0:24:06 > 0:24:08as well as God and the Devil,

0:24:08 > 0:24:12and so, he wanted to have a new translation,

0:24:12 > 0:24:18which would rather absorb and include difference of opinion,

0:24:18 > 0:24:22rather than favouring one side and thereby annoying the other.

0:24:27 > 0:24:30I'm travelling further along the Fife coast now

0:24:30 > 0:24:34to St Andrews, to find out about a more recent but very unusual

0:24:34 > 0:24:38translation of the Bible into Scots.

0:24:40 > 0:24:43"Ae day some fowk brocht forrit their bairns

0:24:43 > 0:24:45"for Jesus tae pit his haunds on them.

0:24:45 > 0:24:48"The disciples begoud tae quarrel them..."

0:24:48 > 0:24:50It's the work of the late Robert Lorimer,

0:24:50 > 0:24:54who was Professor of Greek at St Andrews University.

0:24:54 > 0:24:56"..come tae me, seekna tae hender them;

0:24:56 > 0:24:59"it is een sie as them at the Kingdom o God belangs...

0:24:59 > 0:25:02"..Syne he tuik the littlans in his oxter

0:25:02 > 0:25:06"an pat his haunds on them an gae them his blissin."

0:25:06 > 0:25:10- I love that, "The littlans to his oxter!"- He puts them in under his arm, yeah.

0:25:10 > 0:25:13It's interesting, the language is simple and it's forceful

0:25:13 > 0:25:16but it's not, it's not simplistic, it's not...

0:25:16 > 0:25:18No, no, I mean, this guy who did it

0:25:18 > 0:25:22was a Greek scholar, he knew the Greek New Testament,

0:25:22 > 0:25:26he'd gone back to the original and thought very carefully about it,

0:25:26 > 0:25:29it took him ten years to make this version.

0:25:29 > 0:25:32What does it do to you, to hear the Bible in Scots, like that?

0:25:32 > 0:25:36I love the expression, "The Loch o Galilee"

0:25:36 > 0:25:38because it makes it very immediate.

0:25:38 > 0:25:41Although that's about water, it grounds it.

0:25:41 > 0:25:46"Ae day he wis gaein alangside the Loch o Galilee, whan he saw

0:25:46 > 0:25:49"Simon an his brither Andro castin their net i the watter -

0:25:49 > 0:25:52"they war fishers tae tredd - an he said til them,

0:25:52 > 0:25:56"'Come awa efter me, an i s'mak ye men-fishers;'

0:25:56 > 0:26:00"an strecht they quat their nets an fallowt him."

0:26:00 > 0:26:03I warmed to it quite immediately.

0:26:03 > 0:26:07It's a Jesus who hasn't gone to elocution lessons.

0:26:07 > 0:26:10So, he sounds quite warm,

0:26:10 > 0:26:13gets in under the radar,

0:26:13 > 0:26:15there's a vernacular immediacy to it.

0:26:15 > 0:26:19Words like, "Bairns," that Christ uses in the Bible, here,

0:26:19 > 0:26:23you could go onto a bus between here and Dundee

0:26:23 > 0:26:26and people would be speaking that way.

0:26:26 > 0:26:30So, maybe there's a slight class aspect to it,

0:26:30 > 0:26:35but there's also just a vernacularity

0:26:35 > 0:26:38that's hard to hear now, in the King James Bible.

0:26:38 > 0:26:41The King James Bible is such an orthodox,

0:26:41 > 0:26:43and to many people, a rather posh voice.

0:26:43 > 0:26:46This isn't posh-voiced in that sense.

0:26:46 > 0:26:49King James was a hater of democracy.

0:26:49 > 0:26:53He was very against Scots Presbyterianism

0:26:53 > 0:26:57and the King James Bible is not a Presbyterian version of the Bible.

0:26:57 > 0:27:00This, I think, is written by somebody who'd grown up

0:27:00 > 0:27:03very much in Scots Presbyterianism

0:27:03 > 0:27:06and with the vernacular Scots tongue of the people.

0:27:06 > 0:27:09So, to me, it has a kind of democratic accent.

0:27:14 > 0:27:16# Jesu

0:27:16 > 0:27:24# Joy of man's desiring

0:27:27 > 0:27:33# Holy wisdom

0:27:33 > 0:27:38# Love most bright

0:27:56 > 0:28:00# Drawn by Thee

0:28:00 > 0:28:06# Our souls aspiring

0:28:10 > 0:28:18# Soar to uncreated light

0:28:41 > 0:28:46# Word of God

0:28:46 > 0:28:52# Our flesh that fashioned

0:28:59 > 0:29:04# With the fire

0:29:04 > 0:29:10# Of life impassioned

0:29:16 > 0:29:21# Striving still

0:29:21 > 0:29:27# To truth unknown

0:29:31 > 0:29:34# Soaring

0:29:34 > 0:29:37# Dying

0:29:37 > 0:29:40# Round Thy

0:29:40 > 0:29:43# throne. #

0:29:46 > 0:29:49'We thank you for the faith, which inspired those

0:29:49 > 0:29:53'who gave us the buildings, where we can be still and reflect.'

0:29:54 > 0:29:58'We thank you for the vision, which has given us the opportunity

0:29:58 > 0:30:02'to make others' lives better and to play our part

0:30:02 > 0:30:04'in bringing your kingdom, here on Earth.'

0:30:06 > 0:30:10'We thank you for the words we use to shed new light

0:30:10 > 0:30:12'on our understanding of Jesus' life.'

0:30:20 > 0:30:22We close with an old favourite,

0:30:22 > 0:30:24Timothy Dudley-Smith's popular hymn,

0:30:24 > 0:30:26Lord For The Years.

0:33:15 > 0:33:18'Next week, we're back in St Andrews University,

0:33:18 > 0:33:20'whose 600th anniversary

0:33:20 > 0:33:23'celebrations were kicked off earlier this year

0:33:23 > 0:33:27'by two of its best known graduates, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

0:33:27 > 0:33:31'We'll be meeting the Prince's former tutor

0:33:31 > 0:33:33'and we'll have hymns from the university chapel

0:33:33 > 0:33:35'and from Dunfermline Abbey.'

0:33:50 > 0:33:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:33:53 > 0:33:56E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk