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Stone of Scone
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Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone (/ˈskuːn/; Scottish Gaelic: An Lia Fàil, meaning Stone of Destiny, also called clach-na-cinneamhuinn; Scots: Stane o Scone) is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century when it was plundered by Edward I during the First War of Scottish Independence and taken to England. Thereafter, it was used in the coronation of English and later British monarchs.
It is considered an ancient symbol of the Scottish monarchy and the Kingdom of Scotland, with its first recorded use being in 1249 for the coronation of Alexander III of Scotland. The Stone measures 26 by 16.7 by 10.5 inches (66 cm × 42 cm × 27 cm) and weighs approximately 335 lb (152 kg; 23.9 st). A cross is roughly incised on one surface, and an iron ring at each end aids with transport. Monarchs sat on the Stone of Scone itself, until a wooden platform was added to the Coronation Chair in the 17th century.
The artefact was originally kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey in Scone, near Perth. In 1296, the forces of Edward I of England captured it during Edward's invasion of Scotland. The Stone has subsequently been used in the coronation of English monarchs and British monarchs for over 500 years. In 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland, and kept in Edinburgh Castle with the Honours of Scotland. The stone remains property of the Crown, with Crown Estate Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government responsible for the stone in the rights of the monarch. It is transported to London for use at coronations under the supervision of the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. Since March 2024, it has been on permanent public display in Perth.
In the 14th century the English cleric and historian Walter of Guisborough identified the previous location of the Scottish coronation stone as the monastery of Scone, three kilometres (two miles) north of Perth:
Apud Monasterium de Scone positus est lapis pergrandis in ecclesia Dei, juxta magnum altare, concavus quidem ad modum rotundae cathedrae confectus, in quo futuri reges loco quasi coronationis ponebantur ex more.
At the monastery of Scone, in the church of God, near to the high altar, was placed a large stone, hollowed out as a round chair, on which future kings were placed for their coronation, according to custom.
Various theories and legends exist about the stone's history prior to its placement in Scone. One story concerns Fergus, son of Erc, the first King of the Scots (r. c. 498 – 501) in Scotland, whose transport of the Stone from Ireland to Argyll, where he was crowned on it, was recorded in a 15th-century chronicle. Some versions identify the stone brought by Fergus with the Lia Fáil used at Tara for inaugurating the High Kings of Ireland. Other traditions contend that the Lia Fáil remains at Tara. (Inis Fáil, "The Island of Destiny", is one of the traditional names of Ireland.) Other legends place the origins of the Stone in Biblical times and identify it as the Stone of Jacob, taken by Jacob from Bethel while on the way to Haran (Genesis 28:10–22). This same Stone of Jacob was then supposedly taken to ancient Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah.
Contradicting these legends, geologists have proven that the stone taken by Edward I of England to Westminster is a "lower Old Red Sandstone", which was quarried in the vicinity of Scone. Doubts over the authenticity of the stone at Westminster exist: a blog post by retired Scottish academic and writer of historical fiction Marie MacPherson shows that they date back at least two hundred years.
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Stone of Scone AI simulator
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Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone (/ˈskuːn/; Scottish Gaelic: An Lia Fàil, meaning Stone of Destiny, also called clach-na-cinneamhuinn; Scots: Stane o Scone) is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century when it was plundered by Edward I during the First War of Scottish Independence and taken to England. Thereafter, it was used in the coronation of English and later British monarchs.
It is considered an ancient symbol of the Scottish monarchy and the Kingdom of Scotland, with its first recorded use being in 1249 for the coronation of Alexander III of Scotland. The Stone measures 26 by 16.7 by 10.5 inches (66 cm × 42 cm × 27 cm) and weighs approximately 335 lb (152 kg; 23.9 st). A cross is roughly incised on one surface, and an iron ring at each end aids with transport. Monarchs sat on the Stone of Scone itself, until a wooden platform was added to the Coronation Chair in the 17th century.
The artefact was originally kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey in Scone, near Perth. In 1296, the forces of Edward I of England captured it during Edward's invasion of Scotland. The Stone has subsequently been used in the coronation of English monarchs and British monarchs for over 500 years. In 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland, and kept in Edinburgh Castle with the Honours of Scotland. The stone remains property of the Crown, with Crown Estate Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government responsible for the stone in the rights of the monarch. It is transported to London for use at coronations under the supervision of the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. Since March 2024, it has been on permanent public display in Perth.
In the 14th century the English cleric and historian Walter of Guisborough identified the previous location of the Scottish coronation stone as the monastery of Scone, three kilometres (two miles) north of Perth:
Apud Monasterium de Scone positus est lapis pergrandis in ecclesia Dei, juxta magnum altare, concavus quidem ad modum rotundae cathedrae confectus, in quo futuri reges loco quasi coronationis ponebantur ex more.
At the monastery of Scone, in the church of God, near to the high altar, was placed a large stone, hollowed out as a round chair, on which future kings were placed for their coronation, according to custom.
Various theories and legends exist about the stone's history prior to its placement in Scone. One story concerns Fergus, son of Erc, the first King of the Scots (r. c. 498 – 501) in Scotland, whose transport of the Stone from Ireland to Argyll, where he was crowned on it, was recorded in a 15th-century chronicle. Some versions identify the stone brought by Fergus with the Lia Fáil used at Tara for inaugurating the High Kings of Ireland. Other traditions contend that the Lia Fáil remains at Tara. (Inis Fáil, "The Island of Destiny", is one of the traditional names of Ireland.) Other legends place the origins of the Stone in Biblical times and identify it as the Stone of Jacob, taken by Jacob from Bethel while on the way to Haran (Genesis 28:10–22). This same Stone of Jacob was then supposedly taken to ancient Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah.
Contradicting these legends, geologists have proven that the stone taken by Edward I of England to Westminster is a "lower Old Red Sandstone", which was quarried in the vicinity of Scone. Doubts over the authenticity of the stone at Westminster exist: a blog post by retired Scottish academic and writer of historical fiction Marie MacPherson shows that they date back at least two hundred years.