The most famous physical object associated with Scottish royalty is undoubtedly the Stone of Scone, now thankfully ensconced in Edinburgh Castle after a somewhat lengthy sojourn in London. Another famous physical icon associated with Scotland and her monarchy has disappeared forever. This was the religious treasure enshrined in an ebony and gold box, the iconic Black Rood of Scotland.
The measure of its value to the royal house of Scotland can be judged by the following two deathbed scenes. In the year 1093 Queen Margaret, wife of King Malcolm Canmore was on her deathbed. Canmore had invaded northern England a short while before, 'harrying with more wantonness than behoved him,' according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. But they were countered by Robert, Earl of Northumbria. The Scots kings was taken unawares at Alnwick, possibly slain by some treachery, and his killer was named as a knight named Arkil Morel of Bamburgh. Also slain was Malcolm's eldest son and heir, Edward.
By coincidence, or the stress of her husband's campaign, or divine synchronicity, the queen's life also suddenly veered towards its conclusion and she lay dying within Edinburgh Castle. It seems that news of her husband's demise had filtered north, although it was possibly not confirmed. It was enough, however, to haste her sudden decline. The scene was vividly portrayed by her biographer, Turgot, prior of Durham Cathedral:
The queen's body grew cold, though she audibly maintained her constant praying. Her hands still firmly clenched the Black Rood. Her son David, who had become king after the death of his father, entered the bedchamber. He had come to tell his mother about the death of her husband and other son, Edward, but hesitated to do so until the queen compelled him. The end was not long coming.
'splendid' as well as simply 'black'.
David founded the church of the Holy Rood near Edinburgh in 1128 and here he may have kept the holy relic of the cross. (This is according to the late 15th century historian Hector Boece.) In May 1153 David, King of the Scots, became ill. Aelred (who knew the king from childhood) says on the sixth day of his sickness he became violently worse and he was unable to stand. He summoned priests and asked for the sacrament. When they prepared to bring the host to him, David asked instead that they carry him before the altar. The priest and attendant knights carried him to hear the mass and afterwards he asked that the Black Rood be brought to him.
The Black Rood was taken to England by King Edward I in 1291 along with other royal possessions. Encased in a gold-gilt silver box in Edinburgh Castle, it was among the items deposited by the king at Berwick were several things wrapped in a linen cloth, including 'a complete old vestment lacking a chausuble [and] a shrine of gilded silver wherein reposes the cross called La Blak Rode'. Strangely, in another act of cultural appropriation, the despotic Edward had also stolen another cross, the 'Croes Naid' of Wales, which had been sacred to the native princes there.
As part of the peace settlement between England and Scotland following the Wars of Independence, negotiations were begun about the return of certain artefacts to Scotland. First among these was the Stone of Destiny which the people of London would not allow the king's guardian, Sir Roger de Mortimer, to return. But the Black Rood and other items were sent north in 1328. The duration of the relic's stay in Scotland was not to last long. As part of an alliance with France, the Scots under David II invaded and ravaged northern England in 1346, but were surprised and heavily defeated by an English force at the battle of Neville's Cross near Durham. The king was captured and spent eleven years as a captive in England. The Rood meanwhile was taken to Durham Cathedral and, according to most accounts, remained there until the Reformation in 1540, at which time it disappeared.
But there are alternative tales about the fate of the relic. Some stories insist that the relic, or at least part of it remained in Scotland. The custodian of Melrose Abbey, George Smith, told author Pat Gerber that the Black Rood was broken when the abbey was destroyed in 1385 and he believed that part of it was buried under the high altar when rebuilt.
The measure of its value to the royal house of Scotland can be judged by the following two deathbed scenes. In the year 1093 Queen Margaret, wife of King Malcolm Canmore was on her deathbed. Canmore had invaded northern England a short while before, 'harrying with more wantonness than behoved him,' according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. But they were countered by Robert, Earl of Northumbria. The Scots kings was taken unawares at Alnwick, possibly slain by some treachery, and his killer was named as a knight named Arkil Morel of Bamburgh. Also slain was Malcolm's eldest son and heir, Edward.
By coincidence, or the stress of her husband's campaign, or divine synchronicity, the queen's life also suddenly veered towards its conclusion and she lay dying within Edinburgh Castle. It seems that news of her husband's demise had filtered north, although it was possibly not confirmed. It was enough, however, to haste her sudden decline. The scene was vividly portrayed by her biographer, Turgot, prior of Durham Cathedral:
Her face had already paled in death when she bade me, and the other attendants of the sacred altar along with me, to stand beside her, and to commend her soul to Christ with song. She also commanded to bring her the cross that she used to call the Black Cross, and which she used always to hold in the greatest veneration. And when the shrine in which it had been enclosed could not be opened very quickly, the queen groaned heavily, and said: 'Oh wretch that we are, and guilty! We shall not be judged worthy to see again the holy Rood!' When, however, it was brought out of the case, and taken to her, she received it with reverence; and set to embracing and kissing it, and signing with it very frequently her eyes and face.
The queen's body grew cold, though she audibly maintained her constant praying. Her hands still firmly clenched the Black Rood. Her son David, who had become king after the death of his father, entered the bedchamber. He had come to tell his mother about the death of her husband and other son, Edward, but hesitated to do so until the queen compelled him. The end was not long coming.
The Relic
What was the Black Rood and where did it come from? Margaret and other members of her kin undoubtedly believed that the relic contained part of the original cross. It is likely that her family brought the object back to Britain from their time in eastern Europe. Some sources state that it was brought to Scotland from Waltham Abbey. Aelred describes the object as follows:Now this cross has the length of a palm and is made of purest gold, of wonderful workmanship; and it shuts and opens in fashion of a case. In it is seen a certain portion of the Lord's cross (as it has often been proved by the argument of many miracles), having the image of our Saviour carved in hardest ivory, and wondrously decorated with golden adornments.The colour of the relic may have been because its outer wooden casing developed a black patina through age or from the carbon deposit of candles when it was held for a considerable period in a confined setting in a church. In the records of Edward I it is termed 'la Blakerode d’Escoce '. Julianna Grigg points out that Anglo-Saxon terminology allowed the word blác to signify ‘bright’, 'shining' or
'splendid' as well as simply 'black'.
King David and the Black Rood
 |
| David I |
Theft by Edward I and Return
The Black Rood was taken to England by King Edward I in 1291 along with other royal possessions. Encased in a gold-gilt silver box in Edinburgh Castle, it was among the items deposited by the king at Berwick were several things wrapped in a linen cloth, including 'a complete old vestment lacking a chausuble [and] a shrine of gilded silver wherein reposes the cross called La Blak Rode'. Strangely, in another act of cultural appropriation, the despotic Edward had also stolen another cross, the 'Croes Naid' of Wales, which had been sacred to the native princes there.
As part of the peace settlement between England and Scotland following the Wars of Independence, negotiations were begun about the return of certain artefacts to Scotland. First among these was the Stone of Destiny which the people of London would not allow the king's guardian, Sir Roger de Mortimer, to return. But the Black Rood and other items were sent north in 1328. The duration of the relic's stay in Scotland was not to last long. As part of an alliance with France, the Scots under David II invaded and ravaged northern England in 1346, but were surprised and heavily defeated by an English force at the battle of Neville's Cross near Durham. The king was captured and spent eleven years as a captive in England. The Rood meanwhile was taken to Durham Cathedral and, according to most accounts, remained there until the Reformation in 1540, at which time it disappeared.
But there are alternative tales about the fate of the relic. Some stories insist that the relic, or at least part of it remained in Scotland. The custodian of Melrose Abbey, George Smith, told author Pat Gerber that the Black Rood was broken when the abbey was destroyed in 1385 and he believed that part of it was buried under the high altar when rebuilt.
The writer Jeff Nisbet details the tradition that one Simon Sinclair retrieved the Scottish icon from Durham Cathedral and brought it back to be hidden in Rosslyn Chapel, a place associated both with his family and with an array of esoteric traditions and folklore. However, as Nisbet points out, there is little proof that Simon actually existed. But he points out a connection between the widow of King James V, Mary of Guise, and William Sinclair of Rosslyn in 1546. The two had a discussion about some object which was presumably at Rosslyn and Mary swore to keep the details of it secret. Nobody knows what the thing was, though speculation has been rise over the years that it may have been the Black Rood. The writer states he has seen photographs of an item at Rosslyn which may support this tradition.
The same writer also notes the record of two crosses being brought to the battle of Neville's Cross - one requiring to be carried by several men and the other small enough to be carried in the palm of a hand. He further speculates that the Rood's cross contained part of the royal crown of the kings of Hungary. But, equally, given Margaret's background in both Anglo-Saxon England and Hungary, the Black Rood may have originated among the sacred possessions of her great uncle, King Edward the Confessor. Despite her family's exile in Hungary, Margaret was conspicuously and self-consciously of Anglo-Saxon heritage and it is highly likely that any holy heirloom she possessed and passed down to her son would have reflected this cultural lineage.
The same writer also notes the record of two crosses being brought to the battle of Neville's Cross - one requiring to be carried by several men and the other small enough to be carried in the palm of a hand. He further speculates that the Rood's cross contained part of the royal crown of the kings of Hungary. But, equally, given Margaret's background in both Anglo-Saxon England and Hungary, the Black Rood may have originated among the sacred possessions of her great uncle, King Edward the Confessor. Despite her family's exile in Hungary, Margaret was conspicuously and self-consciously of Anglo-Saxon heritage and it is highly likely that any holy heirloom she possessed and passed down to her son would have reflected this cultural lineage.
Other Traditions
E. L. G. Stones points out that the Rood may not have been returned to Scotland in 1328 as is generally thought. He discovered that one official English record noted on 7th January 1346 that the Black Rood was taken from its box in the Tower of London and given to then keeper of the king's wardrobe, to be 'kept by the side of the king'. The capture of the relic at the battle is apparently based on evidence that is open to question. So we are left with a variety of dates for its relocation to England and three possible locations for it: Durham, Rosslyn and London. The various crosses at Durham are detailed by David Willem, including the crosses associated with its patron, St Curthbert, and the cross which was allegedly the Black Rood of Durham. St Cuthbert and his see of Durham had a long and complicated history with Scots royalty. Durham also had a propensity to display Scottish royal knick-knacks. Stirrups from king James IV were displayed here after his death at the battle of Flodden in 1513.
Some Sources
Pat Gerber, Search for the Stone of Destiny (Edinburgh, 1992).
Julianna Grigg, 'The Black Rood of Scotland: a social and political life,' Viator, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 38, Issue 3 (2017), pp. 53-78.
Jeff Nisbet, 'The Black Cross of Scotland: Has the Long-Lost Relic Been Found At Last?' Atlantis Rising Research Group
Jeff Nisbet, 'The Black Cross of Scotland: Has the Long-Lost Relic Been Found At Last?' Atlantis Rising Research Group
E. L. G. Stones, 'Allusion to the Black Rood of Scotland in 1346,' The Scottish Historical Review, 38, No. 126, Part 2 (October 1959), pp. 174-5.
David Willem, 'Two ways ‘St Cuthbert’s cross’ could be the Black Rood of Scotland,' https://davidwillem.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/two-ways-st-cuthberts-cross-could-be-the-black-rood-of-scotland/
David Willem, 'Two ways ‘St Cuthbert’s cross’ could be the Black Rood of Scotland,' https://davidwillem.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/two-ways-st-cuthberts-cross-could-be-the-black-rood-of-scotland/
David Willem,'What did the Black Rood look like?' https://davidwillem.wordpress.com/2018/05/02/what-did-the-black-rood-look-like/
