The Copy Book

The Black Rood of Scotland

When the Reformers sold off the treasures of Durham Cathedral, they sold a priceless piece of Scottish history into oblivion.

Abridged

Part 1 of 2

1346

King Edward III 1327-1377

A red deer stag on the Ardnamurchan Estates in Western Scotland.

© FieldsportsChannel.tv, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

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The Black Rood of Scotland

© FieldsportsChannel.tv, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

A red deer stag on the Ardnamurchan Estates in Western Scotland.

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A red deer stag on the Ardnamurchan Estate in Scotland. According to legend, the Black Rood came into the possession of the Scottish kings when a ‘fair hart’ charged David I (not David II, despite what the author of the Rites in a forest near Edinburgh, and as the king defended himself the cross appeared in his hands, and hart abruptly vanished.

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Introduction

The Black Rood of Scotland was an heirloom of the Scottish royal family, captured by the English at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346 and added to the treasures of Durham Abbey. After the sixteenth-century Reformers ransacked the cathedral, the cross disappeared. A generation later, the Rites of Durham recalled some of the wonderful history of the vanished relic in a breathless tale, edited here by John Davies in 1671.

In which Battle* a holy Cross taken out of Holy Rood House, in Scotland, by King David Bruce,* was taken from the said King: Which Cross is recorded, by most ancient and credible Writers,* to have come to the said King* most miraculously: Being hunting the wild Hart in a Forest near Edinburgh, upon Holy Rood Day,* commonly called the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the King separated from his Nobles, and suddenly there appeared unto him, as it seemed, a most beautiful Hart, running towards him with full Speed, which so affrighted his Horse, that he violently ran away; but the Hart so fiercely and swiftly followed, that he forcibly threw the King and his Horse to the Ground; who being much dismayed, cast back his Hands betwixt the Tines of the Hart's Horns to stay himself, when the said Cross slipped into his Hands most wonderfully; at the Sight of which the Hart immediately vanished away, and was never after seen, no Man knowing certainly what Metal or Wood the said Cross was made of.*

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* The Battle of Neville’s Cross took place on October 17th, 1346. See The Battle of Neville’s Cross. The Rites mention that it took place in Redhills, about three quarters of a mile west of the City of Durham. Immediately after the battle, leading English general Ralph Neville raised a commemorative cross, and streets around it bear the name Neville’s Cross to this day, though only the pedestal remains.

* The Scots carried two crosses into battle, both captured by the English and both given to Durham Abbey as trophies of war. The larger of the two was carried by two or three men. The smaller, only a palm’s length, was known as ‘the black cross’ and was a treasured heirloom, used by both St Margaret, Queen of Scotland, and her son King David I on their deathbeds. David II would have carried this himself upon his breast.

* Those who find the legend that follows a little too fantastic might prefer the speculation that the Black Rood was a reliquary for a piece of the true Cross of Christ, given (as Simeon of Durham relates) by Pope Marinus I to King Alfred (r. 871-886). Alfred was a direct ancestor of Margaret of Scotland (known before her marriage to Malcolm III Canmore, King of Scots, as Margaret of Wessex) and of their son David I of Scotland. Margaret was a daughter of Edward the Exile, who was a son of King Edmund Ironside of England (r. 1016) — Edward had been driven out of England when Cnut the Great seized the crown from his father. The royal family returned to England to claim their inheritance just too late to prevent the Norman Conquest: see Edward the Exile. It is by no means unlikely that one of England’s crown jewels should have been handed down to Margaret.

* The David in the battle was David II (1324-1371), but the legend of the fair hart which follows has usually been told of David I (1124-1153).

* On September 14th. Rood is the Anglo-Saxon word for a cross. It was widely held that Christ’s cross had been discovered in Jerusalem early in the 330s, and the feast was established to commemorate the event. After the Arab conquest of Jerusalem in the seventh century, the Cross was rescued, broken up, and distributed among the major centres of Christendom as the best way of ensuring that at least some of it survived the turbulence of history. See St Helen Finds the True Cross.

* When the author says no one knew what the cross was made of, he is referring to the relic, not the casket which held it, which he tells us further on was made of silver, tarnished black as if with sooty smoke.

Précis

At the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346, Scottish King David II was captured and lost a jewelled cross to the English. The Rites of Durham recounted a legend that David (properly, his forefather David I) had found the cross between the antlers of a miraculous hart that had menaced his horse during an Edinburgh hunt and promptly vanished. (59 / 60 words)

At the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346, Scottish King David II was captured and lost a jewelled cross to the English. The Rites of Durham recounted a legend that David (properly, his forefather David I) had found the cross between the antlers of a miraculous hart that had menaced his horse during an Edinburgh hunt and promptly vanished.

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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, because, just, may, since, unless, whereas, who.

Word Games

Sevens Based on this passage

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

Why did King David’s horse bolt?

Suggestion

Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.

Jigsaws Based on this passage

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

David fought in the Battle of Neville’s Cross. He wore the Black Rood on his breast. He hoped God would help him win.

Variation: Try rewriting your sentence so that it uses one or more of these words: 1. If 2. Neck 3. Victory

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