Whack all imperialists
2008-06-16 21:31:59 UTC
On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:19:47 -0700 (PDT), The Highlander
possibly better documented than the stone's history.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
I regularly called upon a former Chairman to officiate at formal mealsAlex Salmond dropped a cultural bombshell yesterday when he claimed
that the Stone of Destiny, one of Scotland's most famous relics, was a
medieval fake.
Scottish, English and British monarchs have been crowned on the
ancient coronation stone since the ninth century.
It spent 700 years under the chair in Westminster Abbey after it was
seized in 1296 by King Edward I, and was finally returned to Scotland
12 years ago.
It has since been viewed at Edinburgh Castle by tens of thousands of
people, and is regarded as a symbol of Scottish independence.
Article continues
According to legend, Jacob used the ancient stone as a pillow when he
dreamt of a ladder to heaven.
But Scotland's First Minister is convinced that it may be no more than
a worthless lump of Perthshire sandstone.
He believes it was passed off as the real coronation stone when Edward
stormed Scone Abbey in 1296.
Mr Salmond said: "If you're the abbot of Scone and the strongest and
most ruthless king in Christendom is charging toward you in 1296 to
steal Scotland's most sacred object and probably put you and half of
your cohorts to death, do you do nothing and wait until he arrives or
do you hide yourself and the stone somewhere convenient in the
Perthshire hillside? I think the second myself."
He is not even convinced that the "fake" stone plundered from Scone
was the same one that was returned to Scotland by Michael Forsyth, the
then Tory Scottish Secretary, in 1996.
On Christmas Day 1950, the Stone of Destiny was stolen from below the
coronation chair in Westminster Abbey by a group of radical
nationalist students.
There have long been rumours that a Glasgow stonemason, Baillie Robert
Gray, made copies of the stone when he was asked to repair it after it
broke in two during the raid.
After a brief sojourn north of the border it was later handed back to
British authorities and was used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth
II in 1953.
"There's no question that Bertie Gray made copies," said Mr Salmond.
"It's like the Loch Ness monster, it's certainly a puzzle and a
mystery which is best not definitively answered."
The First Minister revealed his views on the eve of the premiere of a
Hollywood film about the theft of the stone. The film stars Robert
Carlyle and Billy Boyd, and the SNP hopes the movie will help boost
its campaign for independence.
Ian Hamilton, a QC who was one of the four students who stole the
relic 58 years ago, said he remained convinced it was the real thing.
"Had it been a substitute for Edward to carry off it would have been
produced when the king (Robert the Bruce) regained his kingdom. It
wasn't," said Mr Hamilton, whose book, the Stone of Destiny, is
published this week.
A spokesman for Westminster Abbey said she had always believed the
stone was genuine.
They also believe that somebody once turned water into wine, an eventthat the Stone of Destiny, one of Scotland's most famous relics, was a
medieval fake.
Scottish, English and British monarchs have been crowned on the
ancient coronation stone since the ninth century.
It spent 700 years under the chair in Westminster Abbey after it was
seized in 1296 by King Edward I, and was finally returned to Scotland
12 years ago.
It has since been viewed at Edinburgh Castle by tens of thousands of
people, and is regarded as a symbol of Scottish independence.
Article continues
According to legend, Jacob used the ancient stone as a pillow when he
dreamt of a ladder to heaven.
But Scotland's First Minister is convinced that it may be no more than
a worthless lump of Perthshire sandstone.
He believes it was passed off as the real coronation stone when Edward
stormed Scone Abbey in 1296.
Mr Salmond said: "If you're the abbot of Scone and the strongest and
most ruthless king in Christendom is charging toward you in 1296 to
steal Scotland's most sacred object and probably put you and half of
your cohorts to death, do you do nothing and wait until he arrives or
do you hide yourself and the stone somewhere convenient in the
Perthshire hillside? I think the second myself."
He is not even convinced that the "fake" stone plundered from Scone
was the same one that was returned to Scotland by Michael Forsyth, the
then Tory Scottish Secretary, in 1996.
On Christmas Day 1950, the Stone of Destiny was stolen from below the
coronation chair in Westminster Abbey by a group of radical
nationalist students.
There have long been rumours that a Glasgow stonemason, Baillie Robert
Gray, made copies of the stone when he was asked to repair it after it
broke in two during the raid.
After a brief sojourn north of the border it was later handed back to
British authorities and was used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth
II in 1953.
"There's no question that Bertie Gray made copies," said Mr Salmond.
"It's like the Loch Ness monster, it's certainly a puzzle and a
mystery which is best not definitively answered."
The First Minister revealed his views on the eve of the premiere of a
Hollywood film about the theft of the stone. The film stars Robert
Carlyle and Billy Boyd, and the SNP hopes the movie will help boost
its campaign for independence.
Ian Hamilton, a QC who was one of the four students who stole the
relic 58 years ago, said he remained convinced it was the real thing.
"Had it been a substitute for Edward to carry off it would have been
produced when the king (Robert the Bruce) regained his kingdom. It
wasn't," said Mr Hamilton, whose book, the Stone of Destiny, is
published this week.
A spokesman for Westminster Abbey said she had always believed the
stone was genuine.
possibly better documented than the stone's history.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
by saying "Grace before meals". He invariably prayed:
"Jesus, who at the wedding feast of Caanah, at Mary's behest to spare
the embarrassment of the hosts, converted water into wine, please help
us all today reverse the process"
PS
I believe Alex