THE CORONATION STONE

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4313, 23 March 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE CORONATION STONE

AN HISTORIC PEBBLE. In Westminster Abbey, against the altar screen, stand two ancient wooden chairs of Gothic design, which, except for their antiquity and apparent discomfort, would harly command interest. But these are the Coronation Chairs famous in our history, being the King’s and Queen’s chairs used at the coronation. The' Queen’s chair is not of much interest, being comparatively modern, for it was made for the coronation of Mary the Second. It is the King’s dhair which. is so interesting, not the chair in itself, but for the famous Coronation Stone, or “stone of .destiny,” which is placed on a shelf just under the 'seat. The chaSr itself is of oak, and'is said to date from Edward I. 1

The piece of stone known as the Coronation Stone was brought from Scone, the ancient crowning place of the old Kings of Scotland, and has a most interesting authentic-histoi-y, as: well as a marvellous legendary one. The famous stone is in colour of a whitey-grey, and is of a sandy granular formation, consisting principally of quartz, but with an intermixture of felspar, mioa and hornblende. It measures in inches 20 x XGi; x 101. > Whiled the English were conquering Britain a body of Scots from Ireland landed on the west coast of Caledonia, about 600 A.D., and- set up a little kingdom there, their chief fortress being near the modern Dumbarton, and went on fighting with the Piets till ■ about 836, when; ! their- Royal families having jntermarrxcu', Kenneth MacAlpin became the heir to both crowns, from which time ' the kingdom of Piets and Scots began to bo called Scotland,' and all its people Scots. At some nnkonwri time during the period when the Scots were effecting a footing in Caledonia was brought over from Tata, where the ancient Ard-rigs, or bver-Kiugs, of Ireland were ; crowned, a stone which was said to form the’coronation seat of the ancient Kings. At the coronation of Kenneth MacAlpin as King of 'the Piets -and Scots, this’ holy stone / would seem to have been removed to the ancient Pictish capital, and. there remained till Edward" I. carried it off, together., with the Cross .of, St, Marto Westminster, in, ,1297, where the stone was set into a chair for the mass priest: at the high altar, .and the Scottish crown. Sceptre and St. Margaret’s cross were laid at, the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor. Presently this chair, with, the stone under .it, beoanje ’ used for ithe King’s coronation, lint the date of its being first so used is unknown., In f Westminster-;it has-'re-mained till this 'day', . and it will be used for the coronation of King Edward VII. So far for the authentic and semiauthentic history of this famous stone. But it-has a legendary history’ l which goes back-to the patriarchal ages. ■ From Scotland it can be fairly traced to lreland, to which island it is said to have been carried* from Spain by > Simon Brek; the son of, a Scottish-or Milesian king,' whom his father had sent with an army to conquer-Erin. The story of* how it came to Spain is still more marvellous, for according to legend it was taken from Solomon’s Temple at and carried to Spain -by Jeremiah the Prophet, who also took with him a daughter of the Jewish king, who event! ually married the -over-King of the Milesians. Tracing the legend further back, wo are told that 1 this‘holy stone was the very, stone. that the. Patriarch Jacob used for a pillow at, the place which-; he " afterwards named 'Bethel— p the House of God—-in commemoration of the dreaiu_.or, .vision which came to him and! comforted him- by assuring hiih of the favour , and protection of Yahweh or Jehovah, and the mighty destiny of his seed. , J

According ,to an Irish legend . Jeremiah himself is said to have come, over to Ireland, and to; have performed the marriage ceremony of _ Jus royal ward with the Milesian King at the . famous hill of Tarai i A much less: romantic legend states the stone to have been hauled' up out of the sea, .in.’the form of an already-cbnstruotea ,chair, by the sailors'of Simon "Brek himself. (

it is, of Interest that the .late Queen Victoria . firmly believed in the legend above narrated, and, possessed a genealogy of herself- tracing lier• descent thro ugh-this Jewish .‘Princess' to. King ; David. And there are .'many others who believe" in the truth of thri legend, for only- a few years-ago-a Welsh clergyman of - an- antiquarian : turn of - mind constructed-a. genealogy of Queen- Victoria showing her - .descent from - the Royal House of Judah,- and'-received a warm letter of-thanks from-the Queen’s private ; secretary,!, together with::the- as-surance;-that Her Majesty was - quite aware of such. descent, and had for many" years possessed; a copy, of a similar genealogy, ,Jt may be said, on the other hand, that the present. Bishop of Oxford, one; of, our most learned antiquarians, when as" Begin s; Professor, of History of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, frequently made-mention of the Jewish Milesian- legend. But he ,-was wont to treat it purely as a legend, picturesque, but wholly without foundation. i