DUNFERMLINE CASTLE
For peaceful beauty of situation the royal palace of Dunfermline
in Fife excelled all others in Scotland, for though the castles of
Edinburgh and Stirling were majestic, they were too associated with
the troubles of turbulent nobles to have been pleasant residences for
the monarchs. The palace was built high above a wooded glen, its walls
apparently rising out of the cliff-like sides of the winding stream.
Only a fragment now remains, but it is sufficient, with its mullioned
windows and massive buttresses, to show how picturesque and stately
must have been the Stuart palace.
The first monarch to reside at Dunfermline was Malcolm Canmore, who
built a castle on Tower Hill, a little distance away from the later
palace. Its site is still to be seen, though the slight remains of the
walls are probably those of its Norman successor. Queen Margaret
lived the greater part of her reign there, spending her days in pious
devotion, giving food and garments to the poor, or sitting with her
maidens working at rich embroideries to adorn the abbey which she
had founded. No frivolous conversation was allowed among the maidens,
their royal mistress being very severe, yet the Queen was much
beloved, for she combined sweetness with her gravity.
It was the presence of the abbey adjoining the palace which made
Dunfermline so dear to Queen Margaret. She was never tired of
enriching her foundation with every gift that saintly enthusiasm
could suggest, and when she died she was naturally buried in the Lady
Chapel. The abbey buildings were destroyed by Edward I., but were
restored by Bruce, who erected the palace near by, deserting the
castle on the hilltop. The reforming energy of the Protestants, in
1560, led them to pull down most of the beautiful church of the abbey,
fortunately leaving the nave, a fine example of Norman work, to be
used for Presbyterian services. So many royal Princes had been buried
in the abbey, from Malcolm Canmore and his Queen, that it has been
sometimes called the "Scottish Westminster," yet the Reformers did
not spare it, though it contained the grave of Robert Bruce. Bruce's
monument being broken, became indistinguishable among the general
ruin, till at the beginning of the nineteenth century the church was
repaired. Some fragments of the tomb were discovered, and on the grave
being opened, the body of Bruce was found wrapped in some remnants
of cloth of gold, which had served as a winding sheet. A new tomb
was made, and after a solemn service the body was reinstalled. Queen
Margaret's tomb is still to be seen among the ruins of the Lady
Chapel.
Many royal Princes were born within the palace, from the Bruce's
son and heir, David, to Charles I., the last Prince to be born in
Scotland. When James VI. brought his newly-wedded wife to Dunfermline,
a new house was erected, called Queen Anne's house, to serve for
the Queen's use. Three of their children were born there, Princess
Elizabeth, who married the Elector Palatine of the Rhine, Prince
Charles, and a son who died in infancy. Prince Charles was described
as "a very weak child," irritating his nurses with his peevishness.
After James VI. acceded to the Throne of England, he never revisited
Dunfermline, nor did Charles I. see again the place of his birth.
Charles II. came there in 1650, when the Scots were supporting him
against the Commonwealth, and while there, was forced to sign the
Covenant, much against his will.
During the eighteenth century, the palace was absolutely neglected,
and fell into hopeless ruin, Defoe, when he made his tour round Great
Britain in 1724, finding it "the full perfection of decay." In the
following century a private gentleman repaired the ruins, and
claimed possession on account of the expenditure which the repair
had entailed. However, the Crown disputed his claim, and resumed
possession in 1871.