View from the ruins of Melrose Abbey
oil on panel 61cm X 46cm (24″X18″) © Sharon Argyle
“Our food is scanty, our garments rough; our drink is from the stream and our sleep is often upon our book. Under our tired limbs there is but a hard mat; when sleep is sweetest we must rise at bell’s bidding … Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity and a marvellous freedom from the tumult of the world.” ~Abbot Aelred of Rievaulx
St. Aiden of Lindisfarne established a monastery at ‘Mailros’ in the 6th century in the Border hills of Scotland. Five centuries later, Cistercian monks built Melrose Abbey nearby – which became one of the most significant abbeys of medieval Scotland.
ruins, Melrose Abbey, watercolour, © Sharon Argyle