History of Europe

The Stone of Scone:Story of a Myth

As is well known, a monarchy brings with it a lot of peculiar traditions and customs. Funny aristocratic titles, absurd rules of conduct and lots of representative ceremonies that make you shake your head. As usual, the British royal family is a good example of all this. Probably the most important tradition of a monarchy like the British one is the coronation of a new monarch. And at some point the seemingly endless reign of Queen Elizabeth will also come to an end, and then we will once again be able to follow this ancient custom live on television. In addition to all sorts of crown jewels and the obligatory magical anointing oil, a wooden throne will also play a central role in this ceremony. A throne with a solid stone under the seat. It is precisely this stone that is to be discussed today. It is called the Stone of Scone.

But although the Stone of Scone will be on display at the coronation ceremony in London, it actually has very little to do with England. This stone, known in English as the Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny, actually comes from Scotland! And according to Scottish national mythology, the history of this simple stone goes way, way back. No, not just up to the beginning of the Scottish kingdom ... That would be downright sensible and conservative. We're talking about nothing less than Old Testament times!

A stone older than time

If we now try to trace the history of this remarkable object, we will quickly see that there is more to it than just a simple stone. Let's start this search for clues with the obvious. The Stone of Scone is of course not named by accident. It is so named because it was kept in Scone Abbey in eastern Scotland until the Middle Ages. There it was used as a coronation stone for Scottish rulers. This means the future King of Scotland had to travel to the Chapel to be crowned on the Stone of Scone for his coronation. So far the story is quite understandable. In Scottish national mythology, however, this is not where things begin.

By far not! According to Scottish diction, the Stone of Scone is said to have been used as a coronation stone in the early Middle Ages, although not in Scone Abbey but in western Scotland. Even before that, the stone is said to have found its way from Ireland to the Scottish west coast, and much earlier it traveled through ancient world history. The stone is said to have been in Egypt before that, of course, in the Holy Land. Even Jacob, one of the patriarchs of Judaism, is said to have slept on the Stone of Scone or used it as a pillow. Even apart from the rather questionable comfort of this pillow, this is a somewhat abstruse story.

Always those damn Englishmen!

But let's leave these confused mythological interpretations of the stone behind for the moment. The story gets really interesting at the end of the 13th century. That's when the stone was stolen from Scone! And who could have had an interest in stealing a stone from the Scots? Of course, the English! In 1296, the English King Edward I - not coincidentally called "the Schottenhammer" - invaded his neighbors to the north. In addition to all sorts of atrocities that can be perfectly recreated in the film Braveheart (of course without any cinematographic exaggeration), good Edward also had Scone Abbey attacked on this occasion in order to steal the all-important Scots coronation stone and take it to London. There he soon built it into a throne and Edward's successor was already crowned King of England on this new throne.

>Now one can imagine that the Scots were not very happy about this action. Over the centuries there have been repeated attempts by the Scottish side to retrieve the Stone of Scone. But he remained in London through the years, safely kept and guarded in Westminster Abbey. Even the unification of England and Scotland to form the United Kingdom could not change this fact. Because of the personal union, at least the Scottish king was again crowned with the legendary old Stone of Scone. Small consolation for nationally conscious Scots.

When a drunk idea becomes a reality

That all only changed in 1950. But even then it was far from the case that the British government finally decided to finally return the stupid stone to Scotland. Rather, a few Scottish students took matters into their own hands. These four Glasgow University students met - as students do - quite regularly in a pub in the city. There they probably discussed a number of topics, including questions of politics and nation. They all saw themselves as Scottish patriots and eventually decided to go to London together and bring the Stone of Scone back home. It couldn't be that this symbol of Scotland wasted away in the far away English capital!

While that idea might have sounded alright after a few pints in the pub, most people would have realized the madness of the plan by the next day and not pursued it any further. But not these four! Indeed, on Christmas Day 1950, they got into their car and set off on the long journey towards London. And as improbable as it sounds:Once there, they actually managed to break into Westminster Abbey undetected, lift the 150-kilo stone from the throne, carry it to the car and disappear north with it! Although a full-blown search for the lost stone was launched the next day and Scotland Yard took action, the four managed to reach Glasgow with the Stone of Scone in their luggage.

At this point we lose track of the stone. Scotland Yard only received an anonymous tip four months later. The stone's location was revealed to them, so it was eventually brought back to London. Not entirely undamaged, one should say. The students appeared to have broken the Stone of Scone in two in their action. Nevertheless, his rescue came at just the right time, because three years later Queen Elizabeth had to be crowned on him! It then took another forty years, but in 1996 - exactly 600 years after its theft by Edward III. - the Stone of Scone has been officially returned to Scotland and can now be admired in Edinburgh Castle. At least that's the official version of the story.>

Where is the real Stone of Scone?

>The thing with the stone is not that simple. Since the 1950s and his return to London, rumors about the truth about the Scone Stone have not stopped. Allegedly, it was the thieving students themselves who tipped off Scotland Yard. In the four months before that, however, they had of course made a copy, which they now passed on to Scotland Yard. Meanwhile, the real Stone of Scone is said to have stayed in Scotland, in the very bar where the four originally hatched their plan. And indeed:in the Arlington Bar in Glasgow there is a stone that fits the description exactly. Others say the real stone can still be found in Scone. Of course, the abbey monks would not have given Edward's men the real stone either! Lo and behold:You can find a suitable stone there too. This is directly in front of the Abbey, labeled as a "Copy".

But ultimately the question of the authenticity of the stone is almost irrelevant. The fact that this item has a history of thousands of years and has been disputed for centuries, even stolen from a church hundreds of kilometers away, tells a completely different story. The Stone of Scone became a symbol. He became a symbol of the Scottish nation trying to maintain its independence from London. But it has also become a symbol of the British monarchy itself, which sees it as an integral part of its coronation ceremony. And with so many intricacies, it ultimately doesn't matter if the Stone of Scone is real. If that's the cause of a fight, you could really fight about anything.

This article builds on an older podcast, which you can find here. But since I love telling the story, I wanted to dedicate this article to her as well. There's also a feature film dedicated to the Glasgow students' theft, if that's more your thing. But if you would like to hear and read even more exciting stories, I would like to end by recommending the Déjà-vu History Newsletter! There you will receive new stories delivered directly to your e-mail inbox every two weeks. To start, I'll even tell you a little welcome story in several parts. Become part of the déjà vu community. I would be happy to see you there!