Stone of Scone

Replica of the Stone of Scone

The Stone of Scone (pronounced /ˈskuːn/), also commonly known as the Stone of Destiny or the Coronation Stone is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, the monarchs of England, and, more recently, British monarchs. Historically, the artifact was kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey in Scone, near Perth, Scotland. Other names by which it has sometimes been known include Jacob's Pillow Stone and the Tanist Stone, and in Scottish Gaelic, clach-na-cinneamhain, clach Sgàin, and Lia(th) Fàil.[1] Its size is about 26 inches (660 mm) by 16.75 inches (425 mm) by 10.5 inches (270 mm) in size and weighs approximately 336 pounds (152 kg). The top bears chisel-marks. At each end of the stone is an iron ring, apparently intended to make transport easier.

Contents

Tradition and history

Origin and legends

In the 14th century, the English cleric and historian Walter Hemingford described the Scottish coronation stone as residing in the monastery of Scone, a few miles north of Perth:

Apud Monasterium de Scone positus est lapis pergrandis in ecclesia Dei, juxta manum altare, concavus quidam ad modum rotundae cathedreaie confectus, in quo future reges loco quasi coronatis.

In the monastery of Scone, in the church of God, near to the high altar, is kept a large stone, hollowed out as a round chair, on which their kings were placed for their ordination, according to custom.

Various theories and legends exist about the stone's history prior to its residence at Scone:

This latter tradition, though fanciful on its face, has an interesting scientific hold. The stone taken by Edward I of England to Westminster has been believed by geologists to be a "lower Old Red Sandstone" quarried in the vicinity of Scone[2]. This account has, of course, limiting its history to that land. While many have differed on the specific Scottish-Pictish origin of the Old Red Sandstone of which the artifact is comprised [3], the Irish geological origin has been precluded. [4]

However, the Stratigraphy of stone's makeup, particularly the of the quantity and type fossil particulates and silicates, diminish a precise match to Old Red Sandstone. That the composite could have origins outside of the British Isles, though contextually dismissed, should be considered.

Geologist, Edward Faraday Odlum, M.A., B. Sc., F.R.F.S. (b.1850, d.1935)

Professor Odlum, a geologist (and Professor of Theology at an Ontario University), made microscopic examinations of the Stone, comparing it to similar stone from Scotland (including Iona and the quarries of Ireland) and found them dissimilar, and intrigued with the idea of a Palestine source investigated and discovered a stratum of sandstone near Bethel, a geological match. A series of requests were made by him for a sample of the Coronation Stone for more rigorous chemical tests, but all were denied. [5]. Identification of the original Bethel is also an issue. [[1]].

A lesser folk legend holds that Robert the Bruce gave a portion of the stone to Cormac McCarthy, king of Munster, in gratitude for Irish support at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314). Installed at McCarthy's stronghold, Blarney Castle, it became the Blarney Stone.[6] Although colourful, this folk legend cannot be true if the stone was removed from Scotland 18 years before Bannockburn. Some people think that the stone which Edward removed was not the true stone as it did not well match existing descriptions such as not being hollowed out. In that case, a false replacement stone would probably have been local stone. There is no evidence one way or the other on this.

Westminster Abbey

The Stone of Scone in the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey, 1855.

In 1296 the Stone was captured by Edward I as spoils of war and taken to Westminster Abbey, where it was fitted into a wooden chair, known as King Edward's Chair, on which most subsequent English sovereigns have been crowned. Doubtless by this he intended to symbolise his claim to be "Lord Paramount" of Scotland with right to oversee its King. Underlining this symbolism, he once referred to the Stone contemptuously as a 'turd'.[7]

Some doubt exists over the stone captured by Edward I. The Westminster Stone theory posits that the monks at Scone Palace hid the real stone in the River Tay or buried it on Dunsinane Hill, and that the English troops were fooled into taking a substitute. Some proponents of the theory claim that historic descriptions of the stone do not match the present stone.[8] If the monks did hide the stone, they hid it well; no other stone fitting its description has ever been found.

In The Treaty of Northampton 1328, between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, England agreed to return the captured Stone to Scotland. However, it was to remain in England for another six centuries. In the course of time James VI of Scotland came to the English throne as James I of England but the stone remained in London; for the next century, the Stuart Kings and Queens of Scotland once again sat on the stone — but at their coronation as Kings and Queens of England and Scotland.

Suffragette attack

On the 11th of June, 1914, a lady's handbag containing an explosive device was hung on the back of King Edward's Chair. It exploded at around 5:50pm, blowing off part of the carved work at the back of the chair. Although no individual was charged with carrying out the attack, the suffragettes were blamed.[9] The initial police report indicated that the damage to the chair was minor but did not say whether there was any damage to the stone.

Removal and damage

On Christmas Day 1950, a group of four Scottish students (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson, and Alan Stuart) took the Stone from Westminster Abbey for return to Scotland.[10] In the process of removing it from the Abbey, the students discovered the stone was broken and probably had been for hundreds of years. After hiding the greater part of the stone with travellers in Kent for a few days, they risked the road blocks on the border and returned to Scotland with this piece, which they had hidden in the back of a borrowed car, along with a new accomplice John Josselyn. The smaller piece was similarly brought north a little while later. This journey involved a break in Leeds, where a group of sympathetic students and graduates took the fragment to Ilkley Moor for an overnight stay, accompanied by renditions of "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at". The Stone was then passed to a senior Glasgow politician who arranged for it to be professionally repaired by Glasgow stonemason Robert Gray.

A major search for the stone had been ordered by the British Government, but this proved unsuccessful. Perhaps assuming that the Church would not return it to England, the stone's custodians left it on the altar of Arbroath Abbey, on 11 April 1951, in the safekeeping of the Church of Scotland. Once the London police were informed of its whereabouts, the Stone was returned to Westminster. Afterwards, rumours circulated that copies had been made of the Stone, and that the returned Stone was not in fact the original.[11]

Ian Hamilton spoke of the removal and damage of the stone as recently as the 26th July 2009 at The Gathering 2009 in Edinburgh.

Returned to Scotland

In 1996, in a symbolic response to growing dissatisfaction among Scots at the prevailing constitutional settlement, the British Conservative Government decided that the Stone should be kept in Scotland when not in use at coronations. On 3 July 1996 it was announced in the House of Commons that the Stone would be returned to Scotland, and on 15 November 1996, after a handover ceremony at the border between representatives of the Home Office and of the Scottish Office, it was transported to Edinburgh Castle, arriving on 30 November 1996, where it remains. It was interesting that the this was done on St Andrew's Day (patron Saint of Scotland) and that the Queen sent as her representative Prince Andrew. Provision has been made to transport the stone to Westminster Abbey when it is required there for future coronation ceremonies. There was much comment of course that the stone being transferred was not the real stone at all, but a replica which had taken its place either in the 13th century or in the 1950s (see above).

Cultural references

Stone of Scone has appeared in print, television, and film:

The Stone of Scone figures prominent in the plot of "Das Königsprojekt", a 1974 novel by the German writer Carl Amery.

In the episode Pendragon of the Gargoyles second season originally airing in 1996, King Arthur comes to London and encounters the Stone of Destiny at Westminster Abbey. The Stone spoke, telling Arthur that he must prove himself once more worthy of Excalibur, and sent him and Griff to New York for that task. The story of the stone is expanded in the follow-up Gargoyles SLG comics.

In a 1997 episode of the TV show Highlander, the 1950 return was adapted with characters Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), Hugh Fitzcairn (Roger Daltrey) and Amanda Darieux (Elizabeth Gracen) stealing the stone for various reasons. Duncan wishes to see it returned to Scotland, Fitzcairn owes Duncan a debt of honour for cheating at golf and Amanda wants to sell the stone to pay off her gambling debts. Duncan makes a copy of the stone only to have it break when his workbench collapses. This broken stone is returned to Westminster Abbey while the real stone is hidden in plain sight as a conveniently placed seat on the Royal Highlands Golf Course in Scotland.

Terry Pratchett authored the 1999 novel The Fifth Elephant centered around the theft of a Dwarfish coronation seat made from hardened bread and called the Scone of Stone.

In October 2008, a feature film, Stone of Destiny, based on the theft of the stone, was released by Infinity Entertainment of Vancouver. It was written and directed by Charles Martin Smith, and produced by Rob Merilees and the late William Vince. The role of the Scottish nationalist politician was played by Robert Carlyle.

See also

References

  • No Stone Unturned: The Story of the Stone of Destiny, Ian R. Hamilton, Victor Gollancz and also Funk and Wagnalls, 1952, 1953, hardcover, 191 pages, An account of the return of the stone to Scotland in 1950 (older, but more available, look on ABE)
  • Taking of the Stone of Destiny, Ian R. Hamilton, Seven Hills Book Distributors, 1992, hardcover, ISBN 0-948403-24-1 (modern reprint, )
  • Martin-Gil F.J., Martin-Ramos P. and Martin-Gil J. "Is Scotland's Coronation Stone a Measurement Standard from the Middle Bronze Age?". Anistoriton, issue P024 of 14 December 2002.
  • The Stone of Destiny: Symbol of Nationhood by David Breeze, Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments, and Graeme Munro, Chief Executive, Historic Scotland; Published by Historic Scotland 1997: ISBN 1 900168 44 8

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/gaidhlig/images/Briathrachas%20Eachdraidh._tcm4-340576.pdf
  2. ↑ John Prebble, The Lion in the North
  3. ↑ The Scottish Connection
  4. ↑ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008
  5. ↑ [Jacob's Pillar]
  6. ↑ Blarney Castle's legends about the Blarney Stone
  7. ↑ Schama, Simon. 2000. A History of Britain. Episode 4: 'Nations'. BBC.
  8. ↑ Lister, David (2008-06-15). "Stone of Destiny a 'fake to dupe invading English'–Abbot of Scone hid real stone from Edward I, says Salmond". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article4144587.ece. 
  9. ↑ As reported in the New York Times of June 12, 1914
  10. ↑ Ian Hamilton Qc » Blog Archive » Emotion Nationalism And The Brave-Heart Factor
  11. ↑ "Scotland's 'Stone of Scone' finds its way home". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9611/15/stone.of.scone/. Retrieved 24 May 2010. 

External links