The delicate printed pages have survived five centuries of Scottish history; through the age of Mary, Queen of Scots, Jacobite Rebellions, the Acts of Union and the birth of the new Scottish Parliament.

Inside the Aberdeen Breviary is page after page of Latin chronicling the heroic lives of Scottish saints, their stories carefully collected from the length and breadth of the country.

Its prayers, readings and hymns would play a pivotal role in establishing a uniquely Scottish approach to the routines and rituals of Christian worship for the nation’s clergy, while the book sealed its place in history as the nation’s first printed book.

Now the rarest of the four remaining copies is set to go on display for a single day at the Kelvin Hall as part of the nation’s St Andrews Day celebrations – the first time it has been seen in Glasgow for 500 years.

It is the only version to have an extra item bound at the back of one volume. The 16-page order of service called the Compassio Beate Marie is thought to have been printed around 1520 for a Glasgow-based monk, Nicholas Ferguson, who matriculated in 1519, to be used by him and other clergy at the city’s St Mungo’s Cathedral.

The Aberdeen Breviary brought together stories of Scotland’s saints, documenting their incredible powers and heroic abilities along with fascinating historic details of Scottish life. As well as laying out rituals for worship, prayers and hymns, it relates the arrival of St Andrew’s relics into Scotland – the first mention of the nation’s patron saint in print.

It documents the Machar, a 6th century Irish saint who arrived in Iona with Columba and was said to have preached in Mull, then Aberdeen where he was described as its first Bishop.

Another, St Triduana, is said to have sailed to Scotland from Greece with some of the bones of St Andrew. She went on to live in Restalrig – today a thriving suburb of Edinburgh – where she was credited with restoring the sight of people who sought her help. Today St Triduana’s Chapel can be found in Restalrig Collegiate Church, with water from a nearby spring said to be linked to curing eye problems.

The book also relays the story of St Teneu. Pregnant as the result of rape, she survived being thrown from Traprain Law by her furious father and made her way to Culross in Fife where she delivered her son, Kentigern. Nicknamed Mungo, he went on to become the founder and patron saint of Glasgow.

Although the book gets its name from Aberdeen where it was compiled, it was the first Scotland-wide service book.

Rare Books Curator Dr Anette Hagan said: “This book is a huge deal. We managed to secure it for the national collections five years ago and are delighted to be taking it back to the city where it was first used centuries ago.

“There are only three other surviving sets of the Aberdeen Breviary.”

The copy destined for the National Library of Scotland at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow was bought from the Earl of Strathmore’s library at Glamis Castle in Angus. The only remaining copy in private hands at the time, it is considered by some scholars to be the best surviving example and is thought to be worth a six-figure sum.

The Aberdeen Breviary was compiled in the early 1500s under the direction of Bishop William Elphinstone. Bishop of Aberdeen, founder of Aberdeen’s King’s College, and counsellor to James III and James IV, he had spent around 30 years studying Scotland’s saints.

Scottish clergy had relied upon the English-based ceremonies of the ancient Saram Rite as a basis for their worship since the 12th century. However, eager for a more distinctly Scottish approach to the liturgical year, King James IV ordered a Scottish version, and granted a printing licence for the Aberdeen Breviary to Scotland’s first printing house, Chepman and Myllar in Edinburgh.

The first copies of the Aberdeen Breviary rolled off the press in 1509.

The new technology meant books could be printed with moveable type rather than having to be copied out by hand, enabling their mass production albeit still on a very small scale.

But while it revolutionised publishing, the Aberdeen Breviary was embedded in the past; written in Latin it combined centuries of legend and ancient traditions.

None of the remaining books is the same, with various tiny errors and incorrectly bound pages cropping up between the four last copies.

Dr Hagan added: “The way this book was put together tells us a lot about how printing developed in Scotland.

“It was printed by Walter Chepman in 1509, and we can clearly see the corrections and modifications he made as he was developing the process.

“The Breviary was the reason James IV granted a licence for the first printing house – Edinburgh-based Chepman and Myllar – and it is a fine example of Scottish Renaissance education and culture.”

She added that the book was not intended for public service, but instead was to help clergy with their devotions.

“It was for clergy and meant they could include a Scottish twist to their devotions.

“Until then they had used the Saram, which was English.”

As a result, the Aberdeen Breviary is regarded as a pivotal point in developing Scotland’s national identity.

The copy on display was bound in the 19th century. Little is known about the Compassio addition, other than it was printed by a man called John Story. It is the only known copy in existence and the only evidence that printing continued in Scotland between 1510 and 1532.

Visitors to the National Library of Scotland, Kelvin Hall on Saturday (NOV 30) will be able to see pages from both the Breviary and Compassio.

It will be on display from 10am to 4pm.