During the fifteenth century many altars were erected and endowed by the burgesses, and the Chapel of St. Mirin, which occupies part of the site of the south transept, was erected in 1499, and endowed by James Crawford of Kylwynet, a burgess of Paisley, and his wife.
At the decease of Abbot Tervas, Pope Pius II. decreed that the disposition of the office of abbot and of the whole revenues of the monastery should fall to the Pope. A commendator thus came to be appointed, and the rights of the abbey began to be invaded. However, Abbot George Shaw (1472-1498) endeavoured to guard the possessions of the monastery from encroachments. He also succeeded in having the village of the abbey erected into a burgh, with the usual privileges. Abbot Shaw like-*wise improved the buildings of the abbey. He erected a refectory and other structures, and reared a lofty tower over the principal gate, and enclosed the grounds and gardens of the convent with a wall of ashlar, about one mile in circuit, and adorned it with statues and shields.
Abbot Shaw placed his arms on several parts of this wall, and in the middle of the north portion he inserted three shields—the central one bearing the royal arms; that on the right the Stewart arms, for the founder; and that on the left the abbot's own arms. He also erected a tablet on the north-west angle, containing his name and the date of erection. Only a small portion of this wall remains, but the panels containing the royal arms and the inscription are preserved in the Coates Museum. The latter is as follows:—
"Ya callit ye Abbot Georg of Schawe
About yis Abbay gart make yis wav
A thousande four hundereth zheyr
Auchty ande fywe the date but veir
[Pray for his saulis salvacioun]
Yat made thys nobil fundacioun."[1]
Mr. Chalmers[2] is of opinion that this inscription was designed by John Morow, whose name appears on a tablet at Melrose Abbey.[3] "The character of the lettering in design and workmanship is the same as at Melrose. The references to the building operations, the poetical form of the compositions, the manner in which the names are introduced—'Callit was I,' and 'ye Callit'—and the devout expressions with which they close, make it clear that the inscriptions are the work of the same author." Whether that is so, or whether the inscriptions simply reflect the style, both literary and artistic, of the period is questionable. In any case, the idea is ingenious. Mr. Chalmers points out that the fifth line, which is erased, was probably cut out by the Reformers, as being out of keeping with their religious views, while the remainder indicates the care with which the historically valuable part was preserved.
