Alexander, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved sons, Walter, Prior of the church of St. Colme's Inch, and his brethren, both present and to come, professing to the canonical life:
To those who have chosen a religious life, it is befitting that apostolic guardianship should be extended; lest, perchance, the inroad of temerity, in the case of any one, should recall him from his purpose, or invade the binding obligation of our holy religion, which, be it far removed!
On this account, beloved sons, we have compassionately yielded to your just entreaties, and have taken the above-named church of St. Colme's Inch - of which, by the Divine indulgence, you are possessed - under our protection, and that of St. Peter, and have awarded the privileges enumerated in the following deed: -
Ordaining, first of all, that the Canonical Order, which is in accordance with the will of God and the rule of St. Augustine, be held worthy of being instituted in the said church, and be inviolably observed there, in all time coming. And further, that whatsoever property the said church at present justly and canonically possesses, or in future, by the blessing of God, shall be able to acquire, by the concession of Popes, the largesses of Kings and Princes, the offerings of the Faithful, or in any other honest way, shall remain firm and sure to your successors. And these possessions we have deemed it right to enumerate in the following specific terms, to wit: The place itself, in which the aforesaid church is situated, with all that pertains to it; the church of Aberdour, with its pertinents; the church of Dalgathin (Dalgety), with its pertinents; the church of Rossive (Rosyth), with the whole land in that town, which Richard, Bishop of Dunkeld, of blessed memory, bestowed in perpetual alms-gift, and confirmed with his own writing; the church of Ochtertule (Auchtertool), with two ox-gates of land; the chapel of Beth (Beath), with its pertinents; Kynmuchin, by its rightful marches; the two Kincarnies, Over and Nether; Kyllori; Glasmonth, as the aforesaid Bishop Richard confirmed it; a half-plough of land near the church of St. Malin, and that chapel itself, Buchedlach, by its rightful marches; what of right ye have in Donybrisle; in Lothian, Lauyn the Lesser, near Earl's Lauyn; two tofts in Caramonth-on-the-Sea (Cramond); a toft in Edenburg (Edinburgh); two tofts in Haddington; two ox-gates of land in Middleton; four marks out of the Mill of Caramont; three shillings out of Craigin; a mark out of Waldeve's Kincarnyne (Cockairnie), as his charter confirms it to you; twelve shillings out of the lordship of the King at Kinghorn; a toft in Tibarmore; and 1000 eels out of Strathenry, the gift of Robert de Quincy.
Assuredly no one may presume to exact tithes of your newly cultivated lands, which you till with your own hands, or at your own charges, or for the nourishment of your cattle.
We ordain, moreover, that if, at any time, there should be a general interdict on the land, it shall be lawful for you to perform Divine service, in an undertone, with closed doors, and without the ringing of bells - the excommunicated and interdicted being first excluded.
It shall likewise be lawful for you to receive and retain, without let or hindrance, women who are free and unfettered, and flee from the world for the conversion of their souls.
Moreover, we forbid that any of your brotherhood, after having assumed the habit of your Order, should leave the Monastery without the permission of the Prior, unless it be for the purpose of assuming the habit of a stricter order. And let no one dare to give shelter to those who depart without a letter from the convent they leave.
Further, it shall not be lawful for any one to make new or unwonted exactions from you or your churches; or in any way disturb you without manifest and reasonable cause. Moreover, it shall be lawful for you to make selection of clerks and priests for the parish churches belonging to you, and to present the same to the Bishop of the diocese; and he, if he shall find them fit for the office, shall commit to them the care of souls; and they shall be answerable to him in spiritual matters, but to you in temporal. It shall also be lawful for you to place three or four of your Canons in the churches that belong to you, each one of whom shall receive the care of souls from the Bishop of the diocese, and shall be accountable to him in spiritual matters, and to you in temporal. And we strictly prohibit the Canons, with the single exception of the Prior, from receiving protestations.
Furthermore, we decree that the sepulture of the fore-said place shall be free to all, unless, perchance, they be excommunicated or interdicted; so that no one may stand in the way of the devotion and last desire of those who shall resolve on being buried there - reserving always the rights of those churches from which the bodies of the dead are thus taken.
And on the death of you, the Prior of the said place, or of any of your successors, no man may be appointed by stealth, cunning, or violence; but one shall be chosen whom the brethren, by common consent, or that portion of them who are wiser in counsel, shall, in accordance with the fear of God, and the rule of the blessed Augustine, recommend for election.
And we ordain that it shall not be lawful for any man rashly to disturb the foresaid church by taking away its possessions, or by detaining, diminishing, or obstructing its offerings; but all things belonging to it shall be preserved intact for those persons to whose management, and for whose support, these possessions have been given, the authority of the Apostolic See and the canonical rights of the diocesan Bishop being always respected.
If, therefore, in time to come, any person, lay or clerical, shall knowingly and wilfully attempt to contravene this charter or institution, let him - unless, after a second or third admonition, he shall acknowledge his fault, and make worthy amends - be treated without the dignity due to his position and rank; and let him know that he is guilty, in the Divine estimation, because of the wrong he has done; and let him be denied all communion with the most holy body and blood of our God and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ; and, in his last agony, let him be exposed to the Divine vengeance.
But on all and sundry who respect the rights of the said place, let there rest the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ; so that, in this life, they may reap the fruits of their good deeds, and, in the end, receive the reward of eternal peace at the hands of an unbending Judge. Amen!
I, Alexander, Bishop of the Catholic Church, subscribe: I, Numaldus, Bishop of Hostia, subscribe: I, John, Presbyter Cardinal of St. John and St. Paul, subscribe. Given, at the Lateran, by the hand of Albert, Presbyter Cardinal and Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, on the 11th day of March, in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord one thousand one hundred and seventy-eight, and in the twentieth year of the pontificate of our Lord, Pope Alexander the Third.