The Stone of Scone is one of the sacred relics of Scotland, on which Scottish and English monarchs were crowned for centuries. According to legend, this mysterious stone has a unique gift: it is able to distinguish a true monarch from a false pretender to the throne. If this happens, the stone will crack, making a terrible sound …
Skunsky Kamen is a sandstone block with metal hooks and weighing 152 kg. It is also often called Jacob's Pillow, the Stone of Destiny or the Coronation Stone according to the existing legends about it …
This relic, now stored in Edinburgh, is controversial. What is it - a genuine Stone of Destiny from biblical myths or a simple cobblestone that has no value?
The Skuna Stone witnessed the anointing of all the English autocrats to the kingdom until 1603, and after that - all the kings and queens of the united, Great Britain, including the current monarch - Her Majesty Elizabeth II.
When you look at the Stone of Destiny, - archaeologist Richard Wilander shares his thoughts, - you see in front of you just a large stone, a piece of sandstone, and you think - after all, the king should have a throne, or at least something more majestic. But I think that those whom we consider to be the first princes of the Scottish people took this Stone with them everywhere, carried it from place to place, not by chance. There was something very important about him. Somehow, he personified royalty and Scotland.
Jacob's Ladder
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Legends associate the Stone of Destiny with the name of the biblical patriarch Jacob, who lived more than three thousand years ago. Jacob was the youngest of the twin sons of Patriarch Isaac and his wife Rebekah, who first conceived after twenty years of fruitless marriage.
According to the Book of Genesis, the boy came out of his mother's womb, grabbing the heel of his brother Esau, and therefore received a name derived from "akev" - "heel, trace". Literally, in Hebrew, the name "Jacob" means "he will follow", and in the Semitic dialects of the Middle East - "the Lord protected".
It was Jacob, who begged for the birthright from his father, who was destined to become the ancestor of the Israeli people, and he lived only 147 years … It is interesting that this patriarch is revered under different names in three world religions at once - Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
So, says the Holy Scriptures, once Jacob put a stone under his pillow, and on the same night a vision appeared to him:
This is a very meager sacrifice, says biblical scholar Dmitry Shchedrovitsky, but it was the only one that Jacob could bring to God at that moment, because he had nothing with him except a staff and, perhaps, very small supplies for the road.
Perhaps it was bread, which in ancient times poor people smeared with a drop of oil and ate. He poured this oil, with which he moistened his bread, on the stone, as a type of those temple libations, which later accompanied the sacrifice offered.
So an unremarkable-looking piece of sandstone, undoubtedly put at the disposal of Jacob by the Higher Powers, turned out to be something like a magical artifact, contributing to the foresight of the future …
Pharaoh's daughter - the progenitor of the Scots?
About the further fate of the Stone of Destiny, as biblical historians dubbed it, we know only from legends. One of them says that after the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, Scotus, the daughter of Pharaoh Ramses II, also departed. In search of the promised land, she reached the shores of Albion and married the Scythian king Gatela. It was from them that the tribe of Scots originated - the ancestors of modern Scots (by the way, not at all militant and impulsive in a European way).
However, there is another version. According to a number of researchers, the relic was brought to Scotland by a certain family of Israelis. And some experts are inclined to believe that the stone first came to the territory of ancient Ireland and was used in Celtic rites, and only after the blessing of St. Patrick was it sent to Scotland under the name of Jacob's Pillow.
Coronation symbol
It is known that in 847 the Scottish king Kenneth I ordered to place the stone in the cathedral of the city of Skun. Since then, he served as a symbolic throne for monarchs during coronations and received the name Skunsky Stone.
In 1296, the British invaded Scotland, led by Edward Longlegs. Among other trophies, they captured the relic and transported it to London. From now on, she lay under the throne of St. Edward, on which the kings of England were crowned. This symbolized the rule of England over Scotland.
It is still unclear what connection exists between the Stone of Destiny and the coronation ceremony. Perhaps, the cult of veneration of stones, characteristic of the ancient British, affected here. It is not without reason that there are so many ancient stone structures of ritual purpose on the territory of modern Great Britain - take at least the famous Stonehenge.
But … is the Skunk Stone genuine? That is, he undoubtedly is a stone, but is it the same cobblestone that the ancestor of the Israeli people once reverently laid under his pillow? Moreover, the weight of the stone from Edinburgh is 152 kg. It is hard to imagine that St. James slept on such a colossus … Although … he was not a mere mortal!
However, it is possible that during the invasion of the British, the skunky monks hid the real relic, not allowing it to fall into the hands of the enemy, and replaced it with another stone.
It is not known for certain when and why the Scottish kings chose this particular stone. It is not very attractive in appearance, and apparently, from the very beginning, it was intended for sitting, for use as a coronation chair. There is fairly early evidence that the kings of Scotland sat on it as a throne in Skun during their coronation.
In ancient times, the leaders of the Picts and Scots were crowned in an open place, on a rock, where they had to step on a trail carved in stone, and after that they were proclaimed by their people rulers and commanders. But as Scotland gradually began to leave the gloom of the Celtic worldview behind, it was decided to transfer the ancient rite to the walls of a Christian temple.
It is possible that in Scotland the coronation ceremony was moved indoors later than elsewhere in Europe. But the Scots did not want to part with the ancient tradition. So, it may be that the emergence of the Coronation Throne became a kind of attempt at churching an ancient rite. Therefore, it is likely that the Stone of Jacob fell into the wooden chair in Westminster.
For a long time the Scots asked for the return of the Sacred Insignia to them, saying that it was their Shrine, their ancient symbol of national unity.
Stealing the relic
In the winter of 1954, on Christmas Eve, a group of students were able to sneak into Westminster Abbey. They managed to remove the stone from the throne, break it into 2 parts and drag it to the back entrance to the monastery. Then they hid him in an open field, in Essex, near London, until the intensive search stopped. And three months later, they threw the Stone under the doors of Arbroath Abbey, 100 kilometers from Edinburgh, where the police found it and took it back to London.
Despite the fact that the students regarded their act as an act of patriotism, it caused a wave of public outrage among the Scots. On April 11, 1951, the stone was returned to Westminster Abbey and placed again at the base of the Coronation Throne. However, experts believe that the kidnappers could easily replace the Stone of Destiny with an ordinary cobblestone.
In 1974 they wanted to kidnap him again. A certain intruder who was hired as an archaeologist tried to drag the Stone out of the Abbey with his own cloak, but was caught.
Homecoming"
In 1996, the British government decided to return the stone to the Scots, on the condition that the British would borrow it for the time of coronations. On November 30 of the same year, on St. Andrew's Day, the Skunk Stone was transported to Scotland and placed in a solemn ceremony in Edinburgh Castle next to the regalia of the Scottish kings.
On the late evening of November 13, 1996, a small group of historians and archaeologists arrived in London. The scholars entered Westminster Abbey when the main lights were already extinguished and all visitors left the temple.
Above the throne made by master Walter and representing a magnificent example of medieval art, a special lifting mechanism was installed. The main task of the group of researchers was to remove a very heavy stone from this ancient throne, the weight of which exceeded one and a half centners.
A complex operation was carried out for several hours, after which the famous Jacob's Stone was put by scientists in a bag specially prepared for it.
When the convoy that accompanied the stone crossed the border bridge, archaeologist Richard Wilander recalls, he was greeted with joy by eyewitnesses who gathered here in great numbers.
About two weeks have passed since we took the stone from London and until the moment when on the day of St. Andrew the Apostle we opened it to all the people of Scotland. And during these two weeks we continuously protected and took care of the Shrine, photographed it, recorded all the information, because the Jacob's Stone has never been properly studied.
So we measured it, photographed it, but in general terms, to make sure that it is in good condition.
On November 30, 1996, the Stone of Jacob was delivered to Edinburgh Castle, continues Richard Wilander. A grandiose ceremony took place, about 10 thousand people gathered on the Royal Mile, there were horse troops, a parade - it was just a magnificent sight. An amazing story of coming home!
History endows the currently existing Stone with special strength, special charm. He bears the stamp of spiritual and historical events of world importance, and it is easy to believe that he was the heart of every coronation ceremony up to this day. And henceforth he will always be an indispensable participant in the coronations of the monarchs of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and for this he will be specially taken to Westminster Abbey again and again.
But where is the real Stone of Destiny? In Edinburgh? Or somewhere else in Scotland? And how to check the authenticity of the relic?
By the way, a block of sandstone is built into the wall of Blarney Castle in Scotland, which is also considered part of the Skunk Rock.
According to legends, this piece was donated in the XIV century. the owner of the castle, King Robert the Bruce for his support in the fight against the English king Edward II. There is also a belief that whoever kisses the stone of Blarney Castle will receive the gift of eloquence.
"Stone of Speech" is located in the upper part of the tower and it is there that the main stream of tourists flows to kiss the legendary stone.
Legend has it that once Cormac McCarthy, king of Munster, who occupied the castle at the time, sent 4,000 of his subjects to help Robert the Bruce during the Battle of Bannockburn. According to legend, after the victory, Robert the Bruce donated half of the Skunk Stone to Cormac in gratitude. The stone was set into the castle wall.
The funny thing is that it is quite difficult to kiss a stone without assistance, well, if you do not want to fall from the tower, so a person works on the tower who holds the tourists kissing the stone. I wonder what this post is called?
