All Topics  
Dunfermline Abbey

 
Dunfermline Abbey

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Dunfermline Abbey
 
 
  Topics Dunfermline Abbey Topic Home

Dunfermline Abbey is a large Benedictine
Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy....
 abbey in Dunfermline
Dunfermline

Dunfermline is a town in Fife which had official City_status_in_the_United_Kingdom#Pretenders until 1970. It is located on high ground five miles from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth on the route of major road and rail crossings across the firth to Edinburgh and the south....
, Fife
Fife

Fife is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Dunfermline Abbey'
Start a new discussion about 'Dunfermline Abbey'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Dunfermline Abbey Entrance
Dunfermline Abbey Project Gutenberg Etext 17976
Dunfermline Abbey and Church Scotland Illustration From Cassell's History of England Century Edition Published Circa 1902
Dunfermline Abbey is a large Benedictine
Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy....
 abbey in Dunfermline
Dunfermline

Dunfermline is a town in Fife which had official City_status_in_the_United_Kingdom#Pretenders until 1970. It is located on high ground five miles from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth on the route of major road and rail crossings across the firth to Edinburgh and the south....
, Fife
Fife

Fife is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It was administered by the Abbot of Dunfermline
Abbot of Dunfermline

The Prior, then Abbot and then Commendator of Dunfermline was the head of the Benedictines monastic community of Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland....
. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland

David I or Dabhidh Mac Maol Chaluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later List of monarchs of Scotland . The youngest son of Maol Chaluim Mac Donnchaidh and Saint Margaret of Scotland, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093....
, but the monastic establishment was based on an earlier foundation dating back to the reign of King Máel Coluim mac Donnchada
Malcolm III of Scotland

M?el Coluim mac Donnchada , called in most Anglicisation regnal lists Malcolm III, and in later centuries nicknamed Canmore, "Big Head" or Long-neck , was King of Scots....
 (i.e. "Malcolm III" or "Malcolm Canmore", r. 1058-93). Dunfermline became a centre for the well-promoted cult of St Margaret
Saint Margaret of Scotland

Saint Margaret , was the sister of Edgar ?theling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxons King of England. She married Malcolm III of Scotland, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort....
 (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
Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which evolved into the Gothic architecture style beginning in the 12th century....
 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 Palace

Dunfermline Palace is a former Scotland Scottish royalty palace in Dunfermline, Fife. It is currently a ruin under the care of Historic Scotland and an important tourist attraction in Dunfermline....
.

Dunfermline Abbey, one of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
's most important cultural sites, has received more of Caledonia’s royal dead than any other place in the kingdom, excepting Iona
Iona

Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland that has an important place in the history of Christianity in Scotland and is renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty....
. The northern renaissance
Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance is the term used to describe the Renaissance in northern Europe, or more broadly in Europe outside Italy. Before 1450 Italian Renaissance Renaissance humanism had little influence outside Italy....
 makar
Makar

A makar is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as noble court poet, although the term can be more generally applied....
, Robert Henryson
Robert Henryson

Robert Henryson was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460?1500. Counted among the Scots language makars, he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the northern renaissance at a time when the culture was on a cusp between medieval and renaissance sensibilities....
, is one of the most notable non-royal names to be associated with the abbey.

The tomb of Saint Margaret
Saint Margaret of Scotland

Saint Margaret , was the sister of Edgar ?theling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxons King of England. She married Malcolm III of Scotland, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort....
 and Malcolm Canmore, within the ruined walls of the Lady chapel, was restored and enclosed by command of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was from 20 June 1837 the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and from 1 May 1876 the first Empress of India of the British Raj until her death....
.

During the winter of 1303 the court of Edward I of England
Edward I of England

Edward I , popularly known as Longshanks, the English Justinian, and the Hammer of the Scots , was a House of Plantagenet King of England who achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost succeeding in doing the same to Scotland....
 was held in the abbey, and on his departure next year most of the buildings were burned. When the Reformers
Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
 attacked the abbey church in March 1560, they spared the nave. This was repaired in 1570 by Robert Drummond of Carnock
Robert Drummond of Carnock

Sir Robert Drummond of Carnock was Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland from 1579 to 1583.He was the eldest son of Alexander Drummond, of Carnock and Arnmore, and Marjory Bruce....
. 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
Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock....
, 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
Memorial

A memorial is an object which serves as a memory of something, usually a person or an event.Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures,statues or fountains ....
 to the soldiers who had fallen in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War

The Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902, between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Fre...
. 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
Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland , known informally by its Scots language name, The Kirk, is the national church of Scotland. It is a Presbyterianism church , decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, still with the name Dunfermline Abbey. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister (since 1991) is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine.

Famous Births, Marriages, & Burials


  • Saint Margaret of Scotland
    Saint Margaret of Scotland

    Saint Margaret , was the sister of Edgar ?theling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxons King of England. She married Malcolm III of Scotland, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort....
     was buried here in 1093; on 19 June 1250 following her Canonization
    Canonization

    Canonization is the act by which a particular Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints....
     her remains were disinterred and placed in a reliquary at the high altar. Her husband, Malcolm III of Scotland
    Malcolm III of Scotland

    M?el Coluim mac Donnchada , called in most Anglicisation regnal lists Malcolm III, and in later centuries nicknamed Canmore, "Big Head" or Long-neck , was King of Scots....
     remains were also disinterred, and buried next to Margaret.


  • Both Duncan II of Scotland
    Duncan II of Scotland

    Donnchad mac Ma?l Coluim anglicised as Duncan II was king of Scots. He was son of Malcolm III of Scotland and his first wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Earl of Orkney....
     1094, and his wife Ethelreda, were buried here


  • Edgar of Scotland
    Edgar of Scotland

    Edgar or ?tgar mac Ma?l Choluim , nicknamed Probus, "the Valiant" , was king of Alba from 1097 to 1107. He was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland ....
     was buried here in 1107


  • Both Alexander I of Scotland
    Alexander I of Scotland

    Alexander I or Alaxandair mac Ma?l Coluim , called "The Fierce", King of the Scots or King of Alba, was the fourth son of M?el Coluim mac Donnchada by his wife Saint Margaret of Scotland, grand-niece of Edward the Confessor....
     1124, and his queen Sybilla de Normandy
    Sybilla de Normandy

    Sybilla of Normandy was Queen consort of Scotland due to her marriage to Alexander I of Scotland.Sybilla was the first child of Henry I of England and his Mistress Lady Sybilla Corbet of Alcester ....
     1122, were buried here


  • David I of Scotland
    David I of Scotland

    David I or Dabhidh Mac Maol Chaluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later List of monarchs of Scotland . The youngest son of Maol Chaluim Mac Donnchaidh and Saint Margaret of Scotland, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093....
     was buried here (1153) along with his queen Maud, Countess of Huntingdon (1130)


  • Malcolm IV of Scotland
    Malcolm IV of Scotland

    Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon and Ada de Warenne....
     was buried here in 1165


  • Alexander III of Scotland
    Alexander III of Scotland

    Alexander III , King of Scots, was born at Roxburgh, the only son of Alexander II of Scotland by his second wife Marie de Coucy. Alexander's father died on 6 July 1249 and he became king at the age of eight, inaugurated at Scone, Perth and Kinross on 13 July 1249....
     (1286), was buried here, with his first wife Margaret of England
    Margaret of England

    Margaret of England was a Middle Ages Kingdom of England princess who became Queen consort of Kingdom of Scotland. A daughter of the House of Plantagenet king Henry III of England and his queen, Eleanor of Provence, she was List of Scottish consorts to Alexander III of Scotland, List of Scottish monarchs....
     (1275) and their sons David of Scotland (1281) and Alexander of Scotland
    Alexander of Scotland

    Alexander of Scotland, Prince of Scotland, was the son of Alexander III of Scotland and his Queen Consort Margaret of England, and heir to the throne of Scotland....
     (1284)


  • Elizabeth de Burgh
    Elizabeth de Burgh

    Elizabeth de Burgh was the second wife of Robert I of Scotland .She was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland as the daughter of the powerful Richard ?g de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and his wife Margarite de Burgh ....
    , wife of Robert I of Scotland
    Robert I of Scotland

    Robert I, King of the Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329....
    , was buried here in 1327


  • Robert the Bruce
    Robert I of Scotland

    Robert I, King of the Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329....
     was buried, in 1329, in the choir, now the site of the present parish church. Bruce’s heart rests in Melrose
    Melrose, Scotland

    Melrose is a small, historic town in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area.The town's name is recorded in its earliest form as Mailros, 'the bare peninsula' , referring to the original site of the monastery, recorded by the Venerable Bede, in a bend of the river Tweed....
    , 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
    Monumental brass

    Monumental brass is a species of engraved church monument which in the early part of the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument and effigy carved in stone or wood....
     inserted in the floor to indicate the royal vault.


  • Matilda of Scotland, daughter of Robert I of Scotland
    Robert I of Scotland

    Robert I, King of the Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329....
    , was buried here in 1353


  • Anabella Drummond
    Anabella Drummond

    Anabella Drummond was a queen consort of Robert III of Scotland.She was the daughter of Sir John Drummond of Stobhall and Mary Montifex. She married John Stewart in 1367, and was coronation with her husband at Scone Palace when he came to the throne in 1390....
    , wife of Robert III
    Robert III of Scotland

    Robert III , King of Scots ...
     and mother of James I
    James I of Scotland

    James I was nominal King of Scots from 4 April 1406, and reigning King of Scots from May 1424 until 21 February 1437....
     was buried here in 1401


  • Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany was buried here in 1420


  • Birthplace, in 1600, of Charles I
    Charles I of England

    Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
    , the last British monarch born in Scotland.


  • William Schaw
    William Schaw

    William Schaw was Master of Works to James VI of Scotland, and was an important figure in the development of freemasonry....
    , Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland
    Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland

    The Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland was responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of royal palaces, castles and other crown property in Scotland....
    , was buried here in 1602: his tomb can still be seen.


  • David Lindsay, 1st Lord Balcarres
    David Lindsay, 1st Lord Balcarres

    Sir David Lindsay, 1st Lord Lindsay of Balcarres was a Kingdom of Scotland nobleman. He was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir and Marion Guthrie....
    , son of John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir
    John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir

    John Lindsay of Balcarres was the Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1597 to 1598....
     and father of Alexander Lindsay, 1st Earl of Balcarres
    Alexander Lindsay, 1st Earl of Balcarres

    Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Balcarres and 1st Earl of Balcarres was a Scottish nobleman.The eldest son of David Lindsay, 1st Lord Balcarres, and grandson of John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir....
    , was married here in 1611


  • James Bruce (bishop)
    James Bruce (bishop)

    James Bruce was a 15th century cleric who was bishop of Dunkeld, Chancellor of Scotland, and bishop of Glasgow. He was the son of one Robert Bruce, a middling landowner in Clackmannanshire....


See also

  • Abbot of Dunfermline
    Abbot of Dunfermline

    The Prior, then Abbot and then Commendator of Dunfermline was the head of the Benedictines monastic community of Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland....
  • Abbeys and priories in Scotland
    Abbeys and priories in Scotland

    List of religious houses in Scotland is a link page to any abbey, priory, friary or other religious house in Scotland....
  • List of Church of Scotland parishes
    List of Church of Scotland parishes

    The Church of Scotland, the national church of Scotland, divides the country into presbyteries, which are subdivided into parishes, each served by a parish church, usually with its own Minister of religion....
  • List of places in Fife
    List of places in Fife

    This List of places in Fife is a list of links for any town, village, hamlet , castle, golf course, historic house, hillfort, lighthouse, nature reserve, reservoir, river, and other place of interest in Fife, Scotland....


External links

  • (Church of Scotland congregation)


Sources