The Robert Henryson Society was at one time very positively linked with Abbot House in Maygate, Dunfermline. This house, one of the oldest in Dunfermline, and painted a fetching shade of salmon pink, is popularly believed (although with little real evidence) to be the home of the Abbots of Dunfermline Abbey, and as such a house that could conceivably have been frequented by Robert Henryson in his association with the Abbey and the Abbey School. 

One of the delightful features of Abbot house was the series of murals, depicting scenes from The Testament of Cresseid, interlinked and embellished by marginal depictions of scenes from related Moral Fables, which were painted by Virginia Colley, and installed as murals in the room called The Presence Room. Unfortunately, these murals were stripped from the walls by one of the former Abbot House directors, but were saved by a group of interested volunteers and are in a remarkably good condition considering their poor treatment. Virginia has restored them and mounted the individual pieces on boards so that they can again be displayed. It would be wonderful to see them once again the room for which they were designed in Abbot House, it is hoped that the educational facility of the building will indeed be restored before too long.

Dr Morna Fleming spent some considerable time studying the murals in situ, and has prepared a talk designed to show the expertise with which Virginia Colley interlinked the Fables with the Testament. This would finally be presented when we can mount an exhibition in the House.

                    Quaich                                   Cresseid murals being restored

      Translations from Scotland