Today we took the train into Dunfermline to visit the Abbey and Palace.
This is Queensferry:
Also saw a Rinkadink Beauty Shoppe.
Love the way the moss grows into the carvings:
Dunfermline Palace
King Malcolm III (Canmore) had a palace at Dunfermline to
which he brought the Saxon Princess Margaret who had been rescued from a
shipwreck on the rocks below Dunfermline, now named Queensferry after her. They married in 1070 in the church at
Dunfermline and she founded the first Benedictine priory—still visible under
the nave. The Nave of the Church still
stands. She was the granddaughter of the
English King Edmund Ironside and she introduced culture and learning into the
Scottish Court. Their daughter, Matilda
Greystoke, is my 27 GGM and their son, David I, King of Scotland, is my 28th
Great Uncle. He was buried here in 1153
with his queen, Maud, Countess of Huntingdon in 1130.
In a corner of the town centre car park are steps down to
the cave where she would go to secretly pray—St. Margaret’s Cave. Margaret was buried before the high altar in
1093, but she was canonized in 1250 and she and her husband were moved to a new
shrine against the East wall of the restored church. Her bones were moved to N. France for
safekeeping during the Revolution.
Robert the Bruce’s bones were found during a rebuild of the
abbey choir in the early 19th c.
It had been buried in 1329 in the choir and was in a stone coffin with
his skeleton wrapped in a gold cloth.
The breastbone and ribs had been sawn away to remove his heart so it
could be taken to the Holy Land. The
heart now rests at Melrose Abbey. His
skeleton was reinterred beneath the pulpit on the site of the present parish
church in 1891, and the tower on the outside reads KING ROBERT THE BRUCE at the
top in stone.
Also buried here are Duncan II, King of Scotland, buried in
1094, and my 28th Great Uncle; Edgar, King of Scotland, buried 1107,
also my e8th Great Uncle. Alexander I of
Scotland (buried 1124) and Sybilla de Normandy, his wife, buried in 1122—my 28
great uncle and aunt.
Other burials include Malcom IV of Scotland—1165, Alexander
III of Scotland (1286) and his wife, Margaret of England (1275)—she was the
daughter of Henry III, my 23GGF—and their sons, David of Scotland and Alexander
of Scotland. Matilda of Scotland,
daughter of Robert I of Scotland, was buried here in 1353. This was the birthplace of Charles I in 1600,
the last British monarch born in Scotland.
Dunfermline Abbey is from the Middle Ages with Romanesque
architecture. Very pretty stained glass here. Dunfermline is a town which by some is dated
as far back as the Bronze Age, which means that it is an ancient
settlement. The Abbey Church of Dunfermline actually
contains two completely different churches connected into one. The effect is
unexpected and unusual and at the same time is considered an icon of Scottish
architecture.
Dunfermline Abbey:
We were so lucky in that almost as soon as we entered the
Abbey Church, Willie, the guide approached us and asked if we would like to
hear about the abbey. That began the
most interesting history lesson ever—made even more so because this part of
Scottish history is also part of my own history in that King Malcolm III and
Queen Margaret were my 28th Great Grandparents.
grave of Robert the Bruce, also a relative of mine:
Parishioners KNITTED these scenes--they were incredible:
Skull casting of Robert the Bruce:
At one point, Robert the Bruce was forced into hiding after
Edward I of England invaded. There is a famous legend that when his spirits
were at a particularly low point Robert took refuge in a cave. There, he
watched as a spider tried over and over again to build her web before
eventually succeeding. This is said to have inspired Robert to carry on fighting
the English. He did so, and after the death of Edward I in 1307, he went on to
defeat Edward II's forces at Battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314. This was a
significant Scottish victory in the First War of Scottish Independence. The
part that a humble spider played in this landmark in Scottish history remains
the stuff of legend. Here beside his likeness in stained glass is the spider:
Margaret:
Malcolm III:
Banner of Malcolm and Margaret. She never wanted to marry and only wanted to be a nun. They ended up having 8 children together.
In the cellar of the Palace--so peaceful with the sound of the stream rushing past.
Dufermline Abbey: carved in stone around the top of the back tower are the words--KING ROBERT THE BRUCE
left to right--William Wallace, Malcolm III, St. Margaret, Robert the Bruce:
From the Abbey grounds, you can see all three bridges over the Forth of Firth:
St. Margaret's Shrine:
on the City Chambers building:
Clock Tower atop City Chambers:
Statue of Andrew Carnegie in Pittencrief Park. As a boy a man yelled at him and told him he couldn't play there, so when he became rich, he bought the park and donated it to the city and installed his statue there:
Two of the bridges over the Forth of Firth--we were in the train on the rail bridge:
This evening, we walked down to Princes Street Gardens and St. Cuthbert's Kirkyard:ddddd
This is the tombstone that I saw the "ghost" approach and sit down upon years ago:
The ghost:
Edinburgh Castle all golden at sunset:
The Miss Katie Cupcake store appears to be a clothing shoppe:
And here is the Archibald Scott tombstone that I looked for in Greyfriars yesterday. Found it online:
Totally exhausted from all the walking today.
Sunset with Scott Monument and Castle from Waverley Bridge:
