Stone of Scone - Stone of Destiny
This 'stone' steeped in history was recently given 'back' to the Scots. It marked the end of a long wait when John Major PM in July announced its return from Westminster Abbey, London, its most recent resting place. It was situated under the Coronation Chair in the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor upon which every monarch had been crowned since Edward 2nd except for Edward 5, who ended up in the tower and Edward 8 who abdicated.
It's a reddish coloured sandstone, named after an ancient abbey of the same name in Perthshire, Scotland. Scone was the capital of the ancient kingdom of the Picts subsequently it became the seat of the kings of Scotland. These kings were crowned seated upon the stone. Even in those days the stone was aleady thousands of years old and had travelled thousands of miles to reach its then location.
Legend of origin traces the stone back to the holy land where it is reputed to have been Jacob's pillow. He rested upon it and dreamt of a ladder rising to heaven with angels ascending and descending it.
Another legend traces the stone back to Egypt and Spain and from there to lreland while some claim that Israelte refugees carried the stone with them to lreland in 586B.C. when king Nebuchadnezzer destroyed the old temple in Jerusalem.
lrish legend proclaims it to be the original Lia Fail or Stone of Destiny, formerly situated on the Mound of the Hostages at Tara. The High Kings of lreland were crowned seated upon
it and the stone was supposed to have groaned aloud when a true King seated himself but
remained silent when the King was a usurper.Scotland's earliest inhabitants were the Picts, the Scots were in fact lrish colonists. At the beginning of the 6th century three chieftains, the sons of Erc, settled in what later became Argyll. Of the three brothers, Aengus occupied Islay and Loarn occupied the north of the present Argyll, with his seat near Oban. It was the third brother, Fergus, who reputedly had the Lia Fail carried to Argyll so that he could be crowned upon it. The brothers had been converted to Christianity by St. Patrick and they brought missionaries across with them. It is said that Fergus was blessed by the saint when he was young. His great grandson, Conal, was King of the Scots when St. Columba began to preach to the northern Picts. In 850 A.D. the Picts were finally subdued by Kenneth MacAlpine who became the first King of all Scotland. He removed the seat of power and the stone of Scone and there it remained until1296 when Edward 1 of England over-ran Scotland. He carried off the stone of Scone as a symbol of the subjugation of the country and placed it in Westminster Abbey. A special chair was made to enclose the stone. It now lies empty as yet again it has moved on to create yet another mystery or legend for the future generations to chew on! lt seems that the stone, be it Jacob's pillow, the Lia Fail or the stone of Scone, will continue to be a most powerful emblem.
As coincidence has it, this stone IS connected to the Hill of Tara. As on the very same morning John Major PM announced the return of the stone of Scone to Scotland, some people were attempting to steal a stone from the exact spot where it is reputed to have sat while in Ireland, the Mound of the Hostages, Tara. They were unsuccessful as the stone they tried to remove was too much for them to move (1.5 ton). Is this just a coincidence or is it trying to tell us something? - we're all stone mad!
lnformation from Ireland's Own
Is ceirín
do gach créacht an fhoighne
Patience is a poultice for all wounds
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