page_title: Scone, Scotland
section_title: Scone and Scotland
hierarchical_section_title: Scone, Scotland / Scone and Scotland
caption_attribution_description: Coronation of King Alexander on Moot Hill, Scone. He is being greeted by the ollamh rígh Alban, the royal poet of Scotland, who is addressing him with the proclamation "Benach De Re Albanne" (= Beannachd Dé Rígh Albanaich - "God Bless the King of Scots"); the poet goes on to recite Alexander's genealogy. Malcolm II, Earl of Fife, depicted holding the sword standing beside King Alexander. (Albannaich is the plural form of Albannach, "Scot" or "Scotsman" and refers to the Scots collectively [as a nation]. The unique title of the Scots monarchs has long been "King of Scots" rather than "of Scotland" as opposed to the monarchs of England and other countries, who are titled "King [or Queen] of England" etc.. This style is ancient, and reflects the Gaelic tradition of the chief as "father" of his "clann" [lit. children]. As the monarch is the "Chief of Chiefs" he or she is the "father" or "mother" of the people, not merely the ruler of the land.)
context_page_description: Scone is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The medieval town of Scone, which grew up around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th century when the residents were removed and a new palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield. Hence the modern village of Scone, and the medieval village of Old Scone, can often be distinguished.
  Both sites lie in the historical province of Gowrie, as well as the old county of Perthshire. Old Scone was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Scotland. In the Middle Ages it was an important royal centre, used as a royal residence and as the coronation site of the kingdom's monarchs. Around the royal site grew the town of Perth and the Abbey of Scone.
context_section_description: In Gaelic poetry Scone's association with kings and king-making gave it various poetic epithets, for instance, Scoine sciath-airde, "Scone of the High Shields", and Scoine sciath-bhinne, "Scone of the Noisy Shields". Scotland itself was often called or shown on maps as the "Kingdom of Scone" (or "Sconiana"), Righe Sgoinde. Similarly, Ireland was often called the "Kingdom of Tara"; Tara, like Scone, was a ceremonial inauguration site. Scone was therefore the closest thing the early Kingdom of Scotland had to a capital city. In either 1163 or 1164 King Malcolm IV described Scone Abbey as in principali sede regni nostri, "in the principal seat of our kingdom". By this point, however, the rule of the King of the Scots was not confined to the Kingdom of Scotland, which then only referred to Scotland north of the river Forth. The king also ruled in Lothian, Strathclyde and the Honour of Huntingdon, and spent much of his time in these localities too. Moreover, the king was itinerant and had little permanent bureaucracy, so  Scone's role was totally unlike that of a modern capital city. But in the medieval sense Scone can in many ways be called the "capital of Scotland", and was often referred to as "the Royal City of Scone". Many comparisons can be drawn between the City of Westminster and the "City" of Scone. Both were medieval centres of royal power. Both were located beside crossing points of major rivers – the highways of the medieval period – and in geographic locations central to their respective kingdoms.
  The origins of a settlement of any kind at Scone are unknown, although thought to be early medieval. The origins could be pre-Roman, as there is much evidence of a well-established and sophisticated Iron Age people flourishing in this part of Scotland. Direct evidence however is lacking and so Scone's story is thought to begin in the wake of the Roman exit from Scottish history. Thus there may have been a village, a religious centre, or even a seat of power based at Scone from as early as the 5th century AD, with Scone coming into real and recorded prominence in the 9th century during the amalgamation of the Pictish and Gaelic peoples and kingdoms. Scone at this point played a crucial role in the formation and governance of the ancient Kingdom of Scotland. In the 9th century Kenneth MacAlpin came east to Scone, bringing with him a holy relic and coronation stone. As the stone was kept at Scone, it acquired the name, the Stone of Scone. In the 12th century, various foreign influences prompted the Scottish kings to transform Scone into a more convincing royal centre. Many historians have argued that the monastery or priory was founded specifically in 1114 by Alexander I of Scotland. This is strictly speaking correct, but it seems clear that this charter was simply a reaffirmation of Scone's status, and of the religious institutions there, rather than a sudden founding or establishment. There is growing evidence that there had been an early Christian cult called the Culdees based at Scone dating from at least the 9th century and possibly earlier. The Culdees were eventually merged with the Augustinian canons who arrived from Nostell Priory in Yorkshire as part of the 1114 "re-establishment". This "re-establishment" and drive to confirm Scone's status at the heart of the emerging Scottish kingdom and nation continued in 1124 when Alexander I of Scotland wrote to "all merchants of England" (omnibus mercatoribus Angliae) promising them safe passage and protection if they bring goods to Scone by sea to trade. Scone at this time lay on a navigable part of the river Tay. This was at times a major disadvantage, as the Vikings came across the North Sea to launch their lightning raids. Using the River Tay as a water route into the heart of Scottish held territory throughout the 9th and 10th centuries, these raiders pillaged towns and villages as well as religious houses such as the abbey at Dunkeld. In 904 a battle was fought in the vicinity of Scone, often referred to as the Battle of Scone, between the Scots led by King Constanti
caption: Scone was the ancient capital of Scotland and the coronation site of Scotland's kings, or the Kings of Scots. This MS illustration depicts the coronation of King Alexander III of Scotland on Moot Hill, Scone. He is being greeted by the ollamh rígh, the royal poet, who is addressing him with the proclamation "Benach De Re Albanne" (= Beannachd Dé Rígh Alban, "God Bless the King of Scotland"); the poet goes on to recite Alexander's genealogy.
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