CHAPTER XV 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 [pg 77] 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 [pg 78] 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.