Dunfermline Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Illustration from Cassell's History of England, circa 1902
Dunfermline Abbey is a large Benedictine abbey in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It was administered by the Abbot of Dunfermline. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland, but the monastic establishment was based on an earlier foundation dating back to the reign of King Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (i.e. "Malcolm III" or "Malcolm Canmore", r. 1058-93). Dunfermline became a center for the well-promoted cult of St Margaret (Malcolm's wife and David's mother), from whom the monastery later claimed foundation and for which an earlier foundation charter was fabricated. The foundations of the earliest church (the Church of the Holy Trinity) are under the present superb nave, built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style.
The Abbey was sacked in 1560, and fell into disrepair, although part of the church continued in use.
Substantial parts of the Abbey building remain, including the vast refectory. Next to the Abbey is the ruin of Dunfermline Palace.
Dunfermline Abbey forms one of the most important sites in Scotland. Excepting Iona it has received more of Caledonia’s royal dead than any other place in the kingdom.
The tomb of Saint Margaret and Malcolm Canmore, within the ruined walls of the Lady chapel, was restored and enclosed by command of Queen Victoria.
During the winter of 1303 the court of Edward I of England was held in the abbey, and on his departure next year most of the buildings were burned. When the Reformers attacked the abbey church in March 1560, they spared the nave. This was repaired in 1570 by Robert Drummond of Carnock. It served as the parish church till the 19th century, and now forms the vestibule of the New church. This edifice, in the Perpendicular style, opened for public worship in 1821, occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts, though differing in style and proportions from the original structure.
The old building was a fine example of simple and massive Norman, as the nave testifies, and has a beautiful doorway in its west front. Another rich Norman doorway was exposed in the south wall in 1903, when masons were cutting a site for the memorial to the soldiers who had fallen in the Second Boer War. A new site was found for this monument in order that the ancient and beautiful entrance might be preserved. The venerable structure is maintained publicly, and private munificence has provided several stained-glass windows.
Of the monastery there still remains the south wall of the refectory, with a fine window.
The current church building (on the site of the old Abbey's choir) remains in use as a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, still with the name Dunfermline Abbey. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister (since 1991) is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine.
Contents |
[edit] Famous Births, Marriages, & Burials
- Saint Margaret of Scotland was buried here in 1093; on 19 June 1250 following her Canonization her remains were disinterred and placed in a reliquary at the high altar. Her husband, Malcolm III of Scotland remains were also disinterred, and buried next to Margaret.
- Both Duncan II of Scotland 1094, and his wife Ethelreda, were buried here
- Edgar of Scotland was buried here in 1107
- Both Alexander I of Scotland 1124, and his queen Sybilla de Normandy 1122, were buried here
- David I of Scotland was buried here (1153) along with his queen Maud, Countess of Huntingdon (1130)
- Malcolm IV of Scotland was buried here in 1165
- Alexander III of Scotland (1286), was buried here, with his first wife Margaret of England (1275) and their sons David of Scotland (1281) and Alexander of Scotland (1284)
- Elizabeth de Burgh, wife of Robert I of Scotland, was buried here in 1327
- Robert the Bruce was buried, in 1329, in the choir, now the site of the present parish church. Bruce’s heart rests in Melrose, but his bones lie in Dunfermline Abbey, where (after the discovery of the skeleton in 1818) they were reinterred with fitting pomp below the pulpit of the New church. In 1891 the pulpit was moved back and a monumental brass inserted in the floor to indicate the royal vault.
- Matilda of Scotland, daughter of Robert I of Scotland, was buried here in 1353
- Anabella Drummond, wife of Robert III and mother of James I was buried here in 1401
- Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany was buried here in 1420
- Birthplace, in 1600, of Charles I, the last British monarch born in Scotland.
- David Lindsay, 1st Lord Balcarres, son of John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir and father of Alexander Lindsay, 1st Earl of Balcarres, was married here in 1611
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Dunfermline Abbey (Church of Scotland congregation)
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
[edit] Sources
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
|
|||||
