Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone ( English Stone of Scone ; [stəʊn əv skuːn] ) is also known under the terms Coronation Stone ( German " Coronation Stone " ), Stone of Destiny ( German "Stone of Providence / Determination" ) or Irish Lia Fáil . The stone played a role in the Scottish and now in the British coronation ritual . It is a block of red sandstone about 66 cm × 41 cm × 27 cm in size and weighing about 152 kg.
origin
The last nicknames can also be found with the Stone of Tara in Ireland , which, like the Stone of Scone , is identified with the legendary Fal stone . The Stone of Scone is believed to come from County Antrim , and Kenneth MacAlpin , the first king of united Scotland and 36th King of Dalriada , brought it from there to Scone via Argyll .
According to Gaelic legends, the stone is said to have been brought to the island by Scota , according to Lebor Gabála Érenn, a daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh (Intuir after Geoffrey Keating ).
According to Christian legend (which tried to occupy the pagan myth around the stone) the head of the biblical ancestor Jacob is said to have rested on this stone when he had the vision of the ladder to heaven ( Gen 28: 10-22 EU ), which is why it is also known as the Jacob's pillow referred to as. According to another legend, he was part of the throne of King David . These legends made the Stone of Scone a symbol for part of the Anglo-Israeli and the segregationist Christian identity movement .
history
The Stone of Scone was in early medieval kingdom of the Picts in the north east of Scotland a magical stone that played a significant role in the coronation ritual. The near Perth located Scone was the cult center of the Picts, where the stone in the abbey of Scone on to 1296 Moot Hill was kept.
Each king was led to the stone by a nobleman, from the 12th century by the Earl of Fife , and crowned standing or sitting on the stone. The stone was seen as a sign of the rulers' bond with the country and the people. It is still considered one of the most important symbols of the Scottish nation today. Documented is the coronation of Alexander II (1214), Alexander III. (1249) and John Balliol (1292).
After his victory in the Anglo-Scottish War , the English King Edward I ordered the stone to be brought to Westminster in the early summer of 1296 . He deliberately bequeathed one of the most important symbols of the Scottish nation to his namesake, Eduard the Confessor, who was honored in Westminster Abbey . In the church, the stone was installed under the coronation throne of the English kings, so that from now on the English kings sat pictorially on this stone at the coronation. This was seen as an affront by the Scots. Since then it has been regarded by the English as a symbol of the unity of the kingdoms of England and Scotland .
At Christmas 1950 the stone was kidnapped from Westminster by Scottish students and smuggled into Scotland. Since it broke in two during removal, it was secretly repaired. After it was announced where the stone was, the police seized it and brought it back to London.
In 1996, after 700 years, the stone was brought back to Scotland in a solemn ceremony to Edinburgh Castle , where it is displayed alongside the Scottish Crown Jewels ; however, it is to be returned to Westminster Abbey for future coronations.
When British Prime Minister John Major announced the return in July 1996, this was sometimes portrayed in the press as a shameless election maneuver. A newspaper wrote, loosely based on a Jesus word ( Mt 7,9 LUT ):
"The Scots asked for a parliament and John Major gave them a Stone"
"The Scots asked for a parliament and John Major gave them a stone"
reception
In the fantasy novel The Fifth Elephant from the Discworld cycle by the English author Terry Pratchett , the “ Scone of Stone”, the best-known version of dwarf bread, is the crowning stone of the dwarfs of Überwald. In the German translation ("Steinsemmel") this allusion to the scone stone is lost.
The Stone of Scone plays an important role in the novel Das Königsprojekt (1974) by Carl Amery . The Vatican undertakes to change history using a time machine ("MYST") constructed by Leonardo da Vinci. The aim of the Congregatio secreta ad purificandos fontes (CSAPF) is to conquer the crown of England for the Wittelsbach family through a series of minimal historical manipulations (and the robbery of the Stone of Scone).
In the television series Gargoyles - On the Wings of Justice , the stone plays a role in the episode The Stone of Exkalibur and is mentioned or briefly shown in other episodes.
In the television series Highlander , the Stone of Scone plays a role in the episode The Throne of Scotland (Original title: The Stone of Scone , Season 5, Episode 15). In the final double episode Destiny (season 3, episodes 7 and 8) of the Scottish television series Hamish Macbeth , the title character searches the Highlands for the original Stone of Scone.
In 2008 Charles Martin Smith filmed the 1950 story of the theft from Westminster Abbey under the title Stone of Destiny . In the film adaptation, the break that the stone allegedly suffered during the theft is only discovered by the Scottish students, but not caused.
There are several stones of this type. In a letter from the second half of the 16th century, the English poet Edmund Spenser notes that he has seen many "footprint stones" in Ireland. The most famous was the Lia Fáil , the "stone of destiny", which stands at the religious and spiritual center of Ireland in Tara . It was one of the treasures that are said to have been brought to Ireland by the Túatha Dé Danann . This stone is said to have started screaming when the true king stepped on it. The most famous orcadian stone is the Ladykirk Stone . It is located on South Ronaldsay in the Ladykirk of Burwick.
See also
- Stone of Mora as the coronation place of the Swedes
- Fal Stone (Lia Fáil)
- Tara with the "Stone of Destiny" as the coronation place of the Irish
- the Leac na Rí the O'Neill in Tullahogue
literature
- Peter Sager : Scotland. Verlag Schöffling & Co, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-89561-672-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Decorations of the Kingdom - The Story of the Scottish Crown Jewels. Info leaflet from Historic Scotland. MD Print & Design, Edinburgh. (German edition)
- ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 103.
- ↑ A stumbling block , article in Nürnberger Nachrichten / Sonntagsblitz from December 18, 2010