Description

From analysis of MS1 it has been concluded that this is a liturgical manuscript, likely from the 15th century and of Spanish or Portuguese origin. It consists of Psalm 95, the Office of the Dead and the Antiphony of the Divine Office. Because of the liturgy and the saints' feast days included (including that of Mary Immaculate) it quite likely has Roman/Franciscan roots. It may have been transported to England after the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s when British volunteers returned home. It appears to be a "compound manuscript" that is made up of separate folios stitched together. There is no way to discover when this was done.

Who was the donor?

Hugh Andrew MacDougall, OMI was born on November 8, 1922 on Christmas Island, Cape Breton, N.S. the son of Donald Daniel J. MacDougall and Mary Ann Gillis. The family had likely immigrated from Scotland in the 19th century at the time of the Scottish Highland Clearances. Christmas Island had originally been settled by the Mi'kmaw peoples and then the Acadians. It is a very small community that still has a few Gaelic-speaking elders. Its only claim to fame is its popularity every Christmas season when people come to its post-office to have the Christmas Island postmark attached to their mail.

In 1945 Hugh MacDougall received his Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. It was the only location for university-level education in the area. No record was found for where he was or what he was doing from the period of 1945 to 1952. It is known that from 1955 to 1956 he attended the National University in Ireland where in 1956 he graduated in Honours History. In 1960 he received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Christ's College, Cambridge University in the U.K. His doctoral thesis was entitled: The Acton-Newman Relations: the Dilemma of Christian Liberalism (which was published in 1962).

From 1952 to 1955 MacDougall taught at St. Patrick's College High School in Ottawa. From 1960 to 1967 he was an associate professor at St. Patrick's College, University of Ottawa and remained an associate professor until 1971 after St. Patrick's became a part of Carleton University. From 1971 to 1979 he was a full professor at St. Patrick's College, Carleton University, including a stint as the Dean. From 1979 to 1982 he was a professor in the History Department at Carleton. He taught courses in British history (Tudors and Stuarts); a European history survey course (1789-1945); the European Revolutionary Tradition (1789-1848) and (1848-1945); and for two years a unified Liberal Arts program.

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

It is known that MacDougall was a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). The missionary religious community was founded in France in 1816. How he became a member of the community is based on speculation. From information on the OMI, we find that at the age of 18, young men could meet with other like-minded males to share their religious experiences and to discover how God was calling them. It is quite likely that he became involved with them once he entered SFX. OMI required their recruits to live for two to four years in an OMI community to experience the life (postulancy/pre-novitiate). This would allow them to decide if they were suited for the religious life and for the religious community to assess the candidates' strengths and weaknesses. Then followed the novitiate year where the candidates prepared to take their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Longer periods of time would be given over to prayer, spiritual reading and silence to reflect on God's calling. At the end of the year they could make a simple profession and become full members of the Congregation. Their studies would be continued during their post-novitiate/scholasticate period. Vows were renewed annually and after three years they could request their final vows. Today the OMI operates on five continents and is very active on issues of social justice and peace and is involved with indigenous people and Catholic education. They are also very active in religious and secular publishing, helping to establish a number of church, community and ethnic newspapers in Canada, including Ottawa's francophone newspaper, Le Droit. This is likely the path that MacDougall followed from the time of his graduation in 1945 until 1952 when he can be traced to university in Ireland.

His publications

He published several books and articles. Besides his PhD dissertation on Lord Acton, he published Racial Myth in English History: Trojans, Teutons and Anglo-Saxons (1982) and St. Patrick's College (Ottawa) (1929-1979): Ethnicity and the Liberal Arts in Catholic Education (paper presented to CCHA ;in 1982).

Later life

Some time prior to 1975 he must have given up the priesthood since in that year he married one of his former students and consequently had two children. He died in Ottawa on September 3, 2012 after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease for 20+ years. He is buried back home in the cemetery of the Church of St. Barra, Christmas Island (Diocese of Antigonish). The church was built in 1818 and is of the Roman Catholic (Latin) rite.

Where and how did Fr. MacDougall discover and obtain his manuscript?

It is assumed that the manuscript was likely donated to St. Patrick's College in 1960 after his return from Cambridge. It would then have been transferred to Carleton University after St. Patrick's became a part of the University in 1967. It is quite likely that he found the manuscript in England, likely in London possibly in one of the many bookstores on Charing Cross Road. The cost would have to have been minimal since he was a student living a life vowed to poverty. Or he may have been given the manuscript by someone, knowing he was OMI who thought he might be interested particularly with the section on Mary Immaculate. There is also a possibility that he purchased it at a book auction but again the cost would have had to be low.

We were unable to locate anyone who knew Dr. MacDougall or who was willing to talk about his life (including his widow).

Origin and Provenience

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