Culdees
The name given to a body of religious men which was attached to the medieval church in Ireland and Scotland. It means 'friends, or servants of God' and is derived from the Old Irish 'Celi De'. The Culdees practised abstinence and strict observance of the liturgy; many lived together in small communities or alone as hermits, while others attached themselves to monastic orders as scribes. The main centres in Scotland were at St Andrews and Dunkeld. By the 11 th century the order had been brought under the control of canonical rule.
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