Dunfermline Abbey
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Dunfermline Abbey, main entrance. |
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Dunfermline Abbey, circa 1919 |
[[Image:Dunfermline Abbey and Church - Scotland - Illustration from Cassell's History of England - Century Edition - published circa 1902.jpg|thumb|Dunfermline Abbey and Church
Illustration from Cassell's History of England, circa 1902]]
Dunfermline Abbey is the remains of a great
Benedictine abbey in
Dunfermline,
Fife,
Scotland, founded in
1070 by Queen
Margaret, wife of
Malcolm Canmore and granddaughter of
Edmund Ironside,
King of England. The foundations of her church are under the present superb nave, built in the 12th century in the
Romanesque style.
Robert the Bruce was buried in the choir, now the site of the present parish church.
The Abbey was sacked in
1560, and fell into disrepair, although part of the church continued in use.
Substantial parts of the Abbey building remain, including the vast refectory. Next to the Abbey is the ruin of
Dunfermline Palace.
This was the birthplace of
Charles I, the last British monarch born in Scotland.
Dunfermline Abbey forms one of the most important sites in
Scotland. Excepting
Iona it has received more of Caledonia’s royal dead than any other place in the kingdom. Within its precincts were buried Queen Margaret and Malcolm Canmore; their sons
Edgar,
Alexander, with his queen, and
David and his two queens;
Malcolm IV;
Alexander III, with his first wife and their sons David and Alexander;
Robert Bruce, with his queen Elizabeth and their daughter Matilda; and Annabella Drummond, wife of
Robert III and mother of
James I.
Bruce’s heart rests in
Melrose, but his bones lie in Dunfermline Abbey, where (after the discovery of the skeleton in
1818) they were reinterred with fitting pomp below the pulpit of the New church. In
1891 the pulpit was moved back and a
monumental brass inserted in the floor to indicate the royal vault.
The tomb of Saint Margaret and Malcolm Canmore, within the
ruined walls of the Lady chapel, was restored and enclosed by command of Queen
Victoria.
During the winter of 1303 the court of
Edward I of England was held in the abbey, and on his departure next year most of the buildings were burned. When the
Reformers attacked the abbey church in March
1560, they spared the nave, which served as the parish church till the 19th century, and now forms the vestibule of the New church. This edifice, in the Perpendicular style, opened for public worship in
1821, occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts, though differing in style and proportions from the original structure.
The old building was a fine example of simple and massive
Norman, as the nave testifies, and has a beautiful doorway in its west front. Another rich Norman doorway was exposed in the south wall in 1903, when masons were cutting a site for the
memorial to the soldiers who had fallen in the
Second Boer War. A new site was found for this monument in order that the ancient and beautiful entrance might be preserved. The venerable structure is maintained publicly, and private munificence has provided several stained-glass windows.
Of the monastery there still remains the south wall of the refectory, with a fine window.
The current church building (on the site of the old Abbey's choir) remains in use as a Parish Church in the
Church of Scotland, still with the name Dunfermline Abbey. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister (since 1991) is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine.
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Abbeys and priories in Scotland*
List of Church of Scotland parishes*
Dunfermline Abbey (Church of Scotland congregation)
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Catholic Encyclopedia article
