The first thing St Andrews’ students learn is not to step on the PH set in stone outside the entrance to St Salvator’s Quadrangle. Doing is believed to cause students to fail exams or even an entire degree.
St Salvator’s Chapel was founded in 1450 as a part of Bishop James Kennedy’s College of the Holy Savour. It was originally founded with a missionary as well as an educational function and stands out among the many similar medieval foundations of Europe. Now the hub of Scotland’s oldest university, the chapel is a rare and beautiful example of Late Gothic architecture.
The main entrance to the chapel faces out onto the street and the building itself has a dual role both as the college chapel and as a collegiate church, serving the wider community. Despite the violent history of religion in St Andrews, the chapel remains a central focus for worship.
Patrick Hamilton was an influential abbot at St Andrews who brought the reformist teachings of Martin Luther to Scotland. Born in 1504 to a Scottish aristocratic family with royal connections, Hamilton had a privileged upbringing. At only fourteen years old he studied Divinity overseas as the University of Paris. It was during his time there that he became exposed to the highly controversial teachings of the German priest and theologian, Martin Luther. After obtaining his Master of the Arts, Hamilton returned to his home country and accepted a teaching position at the University of St Answers, the hub of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland.
By this time, Hamilton had adopted Luther’s doctrines and converted to Protestantism. As a result, his sermons quickly captured the attention of the Archbishop James Beaton, who decreed that Hamilton be tried to heresy. Hamilton fled to Germany, where he enrolled at the University of Marburg and wrote his sole publication, Patrick’s Places. Then, more fervent in his convictions than ever, Hamilton decided to return to Scotland to meet his fate.
Upon his return he was not immediately tried, but permitted to preach for almost a month, while incriminating evidence was gathered. On the 29th of February, 1528 he was tried and found guilty of thirteen accusations. Branded as a heretic, twenty-four-year-old Hamilton was sentenced to death and burned at the stake later the same day, outside St Salvator’s chapel and the university quadrangle.
The fire burned for six hours and, during this time, it is said that Hamilton unleashed a curse on the future students of St Andrews who set foot on the spot where he burned.
His execution did not have the intended effect, inspiring dissent instead of fear. Hamilton’s refusal to compromise his beliefs and stand up to the Catholic Church earned him status as Scotland’s first Protestant martyr and inspired many others to do the same. A witness to his execution famously remarked that “the reek of Patrick Hamilton infected as many as it blew upon.”
The cobbles beneath the bell tower bear witness to this event and the initials PH were set in stone in honour of his martyrdom and, perhaps, as a warning.
Looking up at the wall over the entrance to the Quadrangle, a mysterious face carved into college tower is thought to be that of Patrick Hamilton.
Hamilton is also honoured at the Martyrs’ Monument near the Old Course, along with Henry Forest, George Wishart and Walter Myln.
It is believed that the curse can be broken in one of two ways. The first is by running around Sallies Quad eight times backwards. The second is by plunging oneself into the North Sea at dawn on the first of May – a tradition now known as the ‘May Dip’, which attracts hundreds of St Andrews’ students every year.
SOURCES:
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/saint-salvadors-unlucky-ph
- https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/about/history/st-salvators/brief/
- https://museumoftheuniversityofstandrews.wordpress.com/2018/06/12/watch-your-step-the-curse-of-the-ph/
- https://www.persecutionblog.com/2007/02/the_reek_of_pat.html
