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Jul-Oct 2000 Feature 1: Scone Palace Scone PalaceFrom its monastic beginnings as an abbey, Scone Palace is now the family seat of the Earls of Mansfield and has been their home for nearly 400 years. Beside the Palace, the Moot Hill was the ancient Crowning Place of the Kings of Scots and the original site of the Stone of Destiny. The Palace is a major tourist attraction as well as a popular venue for hospitality and high quality private functions.The Heart of Scotland's History Scone is situated at the centre of Scotland geographically. At Scone Palace, in the heartland of Scotland, lies also the heart of Scotland's history. The chroniclers tell us of Druids, of Romans, of fantastic glimpses of kings and king-making. We learn, too, of the High Kings of the Picts in their Kingdom of Scone, of Scotland's legendary kings like Macbeth and Robert the Bruce, of the Stone of Scone - known by some as the Stone of Destiny - on which British monarchs are still crowned. The first recorded Councils or Parliaments of Scotland were also at Scone. History From early times, Scone has held a place at the very heart of Scotland's history. Legends and historical fact weave a compelling tale, telling of Scone's part from the earliest beginnings of the founding of Scotland as a nation, some 400 years before the Wars of Independence. From the time of Kenneth MacAlpin, who brought the Stone of Destiny to Scone in AD 838, until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, all the Kings of Scots were crowned at Scone upon the Moot Hill. The last coronation held in Scotland took place even later, in 1651, when the coronation of King Charles II was held at Scone in open defiance of Cromwell and General Monk. Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scots Scots from Ireland began to settle in Scotland from about the mid 4th century. They settled principally in Argyll and the Western Isles. It was the arrival of the Vikings in the 8th and 9th centuries that finally destroyed the links between the Scots and their origins in Ireland. In the early to mid 9th century, Kenneth MacAlpin, established himself as the first true King of Scots. From his stronghold in Argyll, he extended his borders south, defeating the Picts in a rapid series of campaigns. In about 835 he conquered the Kingdom of Scone. Under Kenneth MacAlpin's rule, the Picts disappeared as a culture and for the first time all of Scotland north of the River Forth was brought under one sovereign. Tradition also suggests that Kenneth MacAlpin brought an ancient sacred stone to Scone - the Stone of Scone (or Stone of Destiny) - and thus established Scone as the crowning place for all subsequent Kings of Scots. All Rights Reserved |
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