Description

Black Rood tells the fascinating story of one of Scotland’s oldest and most significant crown jewels. Once as famous as the Stone of Scone, the Black Rood was a gold and jewel-studded reliquary for a piece of the True Cross. This profound and holy treasure was smuggled into Scotland after the Norman invasion by the sister of the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. On her marriage to King Malcolm III, the Black Rood passed into the Scottish royal family, and so became a symbol of the authority and legitimacy of Scotland’s kingship. Giving its name to the abbey and then the palace and now the parliament of Holyrood, the Black Rood was to help define Scotland as a kingdom which was at least the equal of England in the eyes of God, and in some ways superior to it. David Willem tells the story of the Black Rood though the lives of the kings and queens of Scotland and England who honoured it, treasured it, enacted themselves through it, fought over it, and who sometimes died clutching it, so creating a history in vivid human detail that ranges over a thousand years of Scottish and English history. At the same time, the author tells the story of two other similar reliquaries of the True Cross – the Croes Gneth of Wales and Ireland’s Cross of Cong. Like the Black Rood, these Irish and Welsh crown jewels helped define the autonomy and independence of their nations, and both were to follow similar trajectories through time. The book ends with the mystery of what happened to the Black Rood, and explores the possibility that, like the Cross of Cong, it might still exist and be waiting to be found. Together these stories create a new and compelling perspective on the relationships between Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, just when those relationships are changing again for the first time in hundreds of years.

Black Rood: The Lost Crown Jewel of Scotland

Product form

£16.99

Includes FREE delivery
Usually despatched within days
Paperback / softback by David Willem

2 in stock

Short Description:

Black Rood tells the fascinating story of one of Scotland’s oldest and most significant crown jewels. Once as famous as... Read more

    Publisher: Whittles Publishing
    Publication Date: 31/10/2022
    ISBN13: 9781849955317, 978-1849955317
    ISBN10: 184995531X

    Number of Pages: 144

    Non Fiction , History

    Description

    Black Rood tells the fascinating story of one of Scotland’s oldest and most significant crown jewels. Once as famous as the Stone of Scone, the Black Rood was a gold and jewel-studded reliquary for a piece of the True Cross. This profound and holy treasure was smuggled into Scotland after the Norman invasion by the sister of the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. On her marriage to King Malcolm III, the Black Rood passed into the Scottish royal family, and so became a symbol of the authority and legitimacy of Scotland’s kingship. Giving its name to the abbey and then the palace and now the parliament of Holyrood, the Black Rood was to help define Scotland as a kingdom which was at least the equal of England in the eyes of God, and in some ways superior to it. David Willem tells the story of the Black Rood though the lives of the kings and queens of Scotland and England who honoured it, treasured it, enacted themselves through it, fought over it, and who sometimes died clutching it, so creating a history in vivid human detail that ranges over a thousand years of Scottish and English history. At the same time, the author tells the story of two other similar reliquaries of the True Cross – the Croes Gneth of Wales and Ireland’s Cross of Cong. Like the Black Rood, these Irish and Welsh crown jewels helped define the autonomy and independence of their nations, and both were to follow similar trajectories through time. The book ends with the mystery of what happened to the Black Rood, and explores the possibility that, like the Cross of Cong, it might still exist and be waiting to be found. Together these stories create a new and compelling perspective on the relationships between Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, just when those relationships are changing again for the first time in hundreds of years.

    Customer Reviews

    Be the first to write a review
    0%
    (0)
    0%
    (0)
    0%
    (0)
    0%
    (0)
    0%
    (0)

    Recently viewed products

    © 2024 Book Curl,

      • American Express
      • Apple Pay
      • Diners Club
      • Discover
      • Google Pay
      • Maestro
      • Mastercard
      • PayPal
      • Shop Pay
      • Union Pay
      • Visa

      Login

      Forgot your password?

      Don't have an account yet?
      Create account