Dunfermline Abbey

Today we went to the Dunfermline Abbey Church.









The most famous part of this church is the tomb of King Robert the Bruce.

Here is a brief history about Robert the Bruce:

He was the King of Scotland from 1306-1329. He was one of Scotland's greatest kings. He fought for the independence of Scotland.

The only problem with this is that Robert did not have a large army. This was an issue because when his army took castles they had to destroy them otherwise the English army would just come and rebuild it, thus Robert would have to come back and re-destroy it.

Robert the Bruce's tomb was lost after his death until the city of Dunfermline found it in 1817 when the city was expanding the Abbey Church. They could only identify him in one way, he had broken ribs over his heart. This is because when Robert the Bruce died he had his heart removed by his friend sir James Douglas. Douglas did this in order to complete Bruce's crusade to build a united Scotland

His body was not the only one found in the ruins of the castle, they also found about 10 others, sadly they were unable to identify them so they are unknown but still are buried in the church today.

Robert the Bruce's actual tomb is made out of gold and purple marble. The tomb has many meaning to it, here are a few;





First, his sword is pointing down. This shows that he had finished what he promised to complete. He wasn't able to do this in life, but his heart did it in death.

Second, he has lion by his feet. This represents that he was a king or high ruler. If you were a knight or a lower ruler, you would have a dog by your feet but, as a king, you needed to show strength and power so he has a lion.

Lastly, Roberts crown is on his head which means that he is actually in the tomb. If the crown hovers it means there is no body in the tomb, it is only a memorial.

So, as you can see, the Dunfermline Abbey Church is built around Robert the Bruce. He is loved by all of Scotland and the people today still honor him and everything he did for his country.



Marin-

Location:Dunfermline, Scotland