Magazine
This is one of the many articles featured in our Issue No.7 Magazine.
James Wyness looks to the
THE HONOURS OF SCOTLAND
The Scottish Honours are the oldest Royal Regalia in Britain.
They comprise a crown, a sword and a sceptre. They all date from the 15th and 16th centuries.
At present they are held and can be seen in Edinburgh Castle.In 1540 the crown was refashioned for James V in its modern form from an older, lighter, damaged crown by the royal goldsmith John Mosman. It has two arches (or four half-arches) on which a golden monde sits, topped by a cross. The crown bears, arranged alternately, four fleur-de-lys and four strawberry leaves. The base circlet is made from Scottish gold and encrusted with 22 gemstones and 20 precious stones taken from the previous crown; freshwater pearls from Scotland’s rivers were also used.
The silver-gilt sceptre is the oldest item in the Scottish Regalia, made in 1494. It was presented to James V by Pope Alexander VI. It was remodelled and lengthened in 1556.
The sword was presented to James IV by Pope Julius II in 1507 and is of superb Italian craftsmanship. Its handle is silver gilt, richly decorated with oak leaves and acorns. The break in the blade of the sword occurred in 1652, when it was snapped in two, while being hidden from Cromwell’s troops. The scabbard is covered in red velvet, richly decorated with filigree work of silver. The belt is of silk and gold thread.
The regalia were first used together at the coronation of the infant Mary Queen of Scots in 1543. The last occasion on which they were used was the coronation of Charles II as King of Scots at Scone on 1st January 1651.
The traditional story about the saving of the Regalia is not a simple one; it was part of the national history of the English Civil Wars also the religious wars raging in Britain, England, Scotland and Ireland.
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (15th April 1599 - 3rd September 1658)
Cromwell was an English military leader and politician. After leading the overthrow of the British monarchy, he ruled England, Scotland and Ireland as Lord Protector from 16th December, 1653 until his death almost five years later, which is believed to have been due to either malaria or poisoning.
At the outset of the English Civil War, Cromwell began his military career by raising a cavalry troop, known as the Ironsides Cavalry, which became the basis of his New Model Army. He was brought to great prominence by his outstanding leadership in 1644 at the Battle of Marston Moor. As a leader of the Parliamentary cause, and commander of the New Model Army The Roundheads, he defeated King Charles I, thus bringing to an end the monarchy and the Stewart’s claims to absolute power.
Oliver Cromwell was religious and had a profound sense of divine destiny. A puritan, he disliked the ritual and ceremonies of the established church. He objected to the authority of bishops and of the King in religious affairs. He supported a state church along Presbyterian lines. Religious freedom was important to him, although he did not tolerate Catholics. In 1646 he officially allowed Jews to re-settle in England.
A quiet and sober man, yet he commanded respect from those who served him and created a disciplined army that defeated the royalists in the English Civil Army.
Cromwell tried to adopt a conciliatory attitude towards the King, proposing to restore him to power in the interests of achieving a peaceful settlement; however the King’s refusal to compromise on religious and God’s given rights to rule ended any thoughts of compromise.
Charles 1
In 1649 Charles I was tried for treason, found guilty and executed on 30th January at Whitehall in London.
Cromwell refused to be made King but eventually accepted Lord Protector for life and was formally installed at Westminster Hall on 16th December 1653. In April 1654 he moved into Whitehall Palace, former residence of King Charles I.
The Scottish Covenant
Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh
The National Covenant was written in 1367 by a Fife minister, Alexander Henderson and an Edinburgh advocate, Archibald Johnston. It was signed on 28th February 1638 in Greyfriars Church Edinburgh.
The Covenant was signed in opposition to the new prayer book of King Charles I, which Scots saw as verging on Roman Catholicism. Within a few weeks it had been signed by representatives of all the counties and all but three of the towns.
Both the King and the English Parliament appealed to the Scots for help. The Scots supported the English Parliament and a Scottish Covenanter army of 20,000 under Alexander Leslie in January 1644 aided Cromwell and his army against the Royalist army at Marston Moor. As it was King Charles’ religious policy the Scots opposed, they supported Cromwell.
However as the Scots became increasingly nervous at the growing power of Cromwell, in 1647, in a dramatic U-turn, they struck a deal with King Charles I in which he committed himself to a Presbyterian Britain. Cromwell’s execution of the King horrified the Scots and at that time accelerated their opposition to Cromwell. They immediately proclaimed Charles II King of Scots, having secured from him a commitment to maintain Presbyterianism.
This act infuriated Cromwell.
Coronation of Charles II in Scone
Cromwell & Scotland
Cromwell invaded Scotland on the 3rd of September, 1650. A Scottish army under Leslie suffered a humiliating defeat by Cromwell’s army. Despite superior numbers, 4,000 Scots were killed and over 10,000 were captured. On the following day, both the town council and kirk sessions of Edinburgh fled.
King Charles II fled to mainland Europe and into exile in France.
The Scottish Regalia had been held in Scone. When Cromwell’s army invaded Scotland, to safeguard the Regalia, and as Cromwell’s army controlled Edinburgh, the Regalia was sent to Dunnotter Castle, hopefully to safety and out of Cromwell’s grasp. As Cromwell was ill General Monck, now in charge in Scotland, marched to Dunnotter hoping to take and destroy the Scottish Regalia and with it destroy Monarchy in Scotland.
Cromwell had already shown his brutality against Scottish opposition and Monck followed in his master’s footsteps. When Dundee had refused to surrender, even although Edinburgh and Stirling had both fallen, Monck decided to make an example of Dundee. He took the town, slaughtered the garrison and allowed his troops to plunder the town for two days. 2,000 were massacred including 200 women and children.
General Monck
Dunnotter Castle was now under siege by Monck. The governor of Dunnotter, Sir George Ogilvy of Barras conceived a daring and dangerous scheme to safeguard the Royal Jewels.
With the assistance of Reverend Grainger, minister of Kinneff Church (nearby Dunnotter Castle) and his wife, a report was circulated that the Scottish Honours had been safely sent to the continent, in the charge of Sir John Keith, brother of the Earl Marischal. This report was so vigorously spread and believed that the strength of the siege was relaxed.
Dunnotter Castle
In these circumstances Mrs Grainger applied to General Monck for permission to remove some bundles of lint from the castle, claiming that the lint belonged to her. Monck was noted for his gallantry (but alas not for his compassion) more so than any other Parliamentary general. He granted Mrs Grainger her request.
The sword and sceptre, enclosed in the lint, was carried by her servant and the crown itself hidden within Mrs Granger’s voluminous clothes. She and her servant walked undetected through the English camp to Kinneff Church. Meantime The Reverend Grainger had removed some of the flagstones in the church floor in front of the pulpit in readiness and when his wife and servant arrived he carefully wrapped the Crown Jewels, buried them under the floor and there they lay for nine years until after the Restoration of Charles II 1660. However, every three months, without fail, the Reverend and Mrs Grainger dug up the Regalia at night to air them before a fire to preserve them from damp and injury.
The Old Church at Kinneff
The Castle finally fell, after a brave defence. The English, still not convinced that the regalia had left the country, were very disappointed when no sign of the jewels were found. The governor was subjected to close examination and it is alleged to torture, but he refused to speak. The minister and his wife were likewise ill-treated but bravely kept their secret.
A Heritage Restored
Sir Walter Scott
With the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament in 1707 the Honours of Scotland were locked in a chest in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle
There they lay forgotten and lost until 4th February 1818, when Sir Walter Scott was given permission by The Prince Regent (later George IV) to search Edinburgh Castle for the Royal Scottish Regalia. They were at last discovered, restored and put on display and have ever since been on view in Edinburgh Castle, where thousands come each year to see the famed and treasured Honours of Scotland.
