 As a response to the power of medieval monastiscm, the rulers of Scotland—in common with many other Northern European states—tried to control the power of the church by encouraging local magnates to commission secular houses of worship within their lands and often within their own fortalices.These churches were often considered as private fiefdoms within certain families as a means to ensure prayers for their souls and for the glory and immortality of their lines.Establishing previous monastic establishments as "Collegia" of Canons helped to "temporalise" authority over large areas of valuable land and increase the power of the crown.