|
The Stone of Destiny
The Celtic name of the
stone upon which the true kings of Scotland have traditionally been
crowned is Lia Fail, "the speaking stone", or the stone which would
proclaim the chosen king.
It was originally used as part of the crowning
ceremonies of the Scots kings of Dalriada, in the west of Scotland,
an area just north of Glasgow now called Argyll.
When Kenneth I, the 36th King of Dalriada united
the Scots and Pictish kingdoms and moved his capital to Scone from
western Scotland around 840AD, the Stone of Destiny was moved there
too. All future Scottish kings would henceforth be enthroned on the
Stone of Destiny atop Moot Hill at Scone Palace in Perthshire.
The stone in question is
no ornately carved megalith, just a simple oblong block of red
sandstone, measuring some 650mm in length by 400mm wide, and 27mm
deep: with chisel marks apparent on its flat top. So where did this
magical or mythical stone originate from, and why was it held in
such reverence by the kings of old?
 One
legend dates back to biblical times and states that it is the same
stone which Jacob used as a pillow at Bethel. Later, according to
Jewish legend, it became the pedestal of the ark in the Temple. The
stone was brought from Syria to Egypt by King Gathelus, who then
fled to Spain following the defeat of the Egyptian army. A
descendant of Gathelus brought the stone to Ireland, and was crowned
on it as King of Ireland. And from Ireland, the stone moved with the
invading Scots to Argyll.
What is sure however, is
that the Stone of Destiny remained at Scone until it was forcibly
removed by the English King Edward I (“Hammer of the Scots”) after
his Scottish victories in 1296, and taken to Westminster Abbey in
London.
The current Coronation
Chair was made to house the stone in 1301 and it was first used at
the coronation of Edward II, and thereafter to crown every
subsequent king and queen of England. Or can we even be sure of
that?
 Still
another interesting legend surrounding this mystical stone suggests
that as King Edward I approached the palace, the monks of Scone
hurriedly removed the Stone of Destiny and hid it, replacing it with
a another stone of similar size and shape. And it was this which the
English King carried off in triumph back to London.
Perhaps this legend is
not so far fetched as it could help to explain why the Coronation
Stone is so geologically similar to the sandstone commonly found
around Scone.
And so it was on St
Andrews Day, 30th November 1996, that 10,000 people lined
Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to witness the Stone of Destiny return to
Scotland for the first time in 700 years.
In a service at St Giles
cathedral the Church of Scotland Moderator, the Right Reverend John
MacIndoe, formally accepted the stone's return. But was this the
real stone?
A still further twist
surrounds the abduction of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster by
Scottish Nationalists on Christmas Day 1950. Although the stone was
eventually returned by the ‘stone-nappers’ in the following April,
modern myth questions whether it was the actual Stone of Destiny
that they returned!
Whether the Stone of
Destiny which is now proudly displayed at Edinburgh Castle is in
actual fact the traditional coronation stone of Scottish kings it
still remains a powerful symbol of Scottish independence.
© HUK
|