Malcolm's Tower
Encyclopedia
Malcolm's Tower is traditionally accepted as a historic site in the Scottish
city of Dunfermline
. The tower stood on a highly defensible peninsular outcrop of rock above a deep ravine and is the site from which the city derives its name. It was effectively the seat of royal power in Scotland after Malcolm III of Scotland
shifted the centre of government from Forteviot
to Dunfermline
in the mid 11th century. The site was also close to a religious centre which had begun as an Culdee
establishment in the 9th century. The first mention of the tower in the historical record is from 1070 when Malcolm III married his queen, Princess Margaret
. As queen, Margaret introduced innovations which changed the course and identity of the Church in Scotland
. Not far to the east of the tower's location are the remains of Dunfermline Abbey
and later royal palace.
All that survives of the tower today are foundational fragments of wall
, but an image of the building was adopted at an early date as the burgh arms for Dunfermline. Old wax seals suggest it to have been a building of two storeys with an attic
. It might have contained around twenty small apartments. Before the western access road to Dunfermline was built, Malcolm's Tower would have been an almost impregnable fortress, perhaps rather like a broch
, and this almost certainly explains Dunfermline's motto Esto rupes inaccessa (Be an inaccessible rock).
The opening lines of the traditional "Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
" are thought to refer to the tower:
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
city of Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
. The tower stood on a highly defensible peninsular outcrop of rock above a deep ravine and is the site from which the city derives its name. It was effectively the seat of royal power in Scotland after Malcolm III of Scotland
Malcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
shifted the centre of government from Forteviot
Forteviot
Forteviot is a village in Strathearn, Scotland on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross...
to Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
in the mid 11th century. The site was also close to a religious centre which had begun as an Culdee
Culdee
Céli Dé or Culdees were originally members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland and England in the Middle Ages. The term is used of St. John the Apostle, of a missioner from abroad recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters at the year 806, and of Óengus...
establishment in the 9th century. The first mention of the tower in the historical record is from 1070 when Malcolm III married his queen, Princess Margaret
Saint Margaret of Scotland
Saint Margaret of Scotland , also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England...
. As queen, Margaret introduced innovations which changed the course and identity of the Church in Scotland
Religion in Scotland
Christianity is the largest religion in Scotland. At the 2001 census 65% of the Scottish population was Christian. The Church of Scotland, often known as The Kirk, is recognised in law as the national church of Scotland. It is not an established church and is independent of state control. However,...
. Not far to the east of the tower's location are the remains of Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey is as a Church of Scotland Parish Church located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine...
and later royal palace.
All that survives of the tower today are foundational fragments of wall
Wall
A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...
, but an image of the building was adopted at an early date as the burgh arms for Dunfermline. Old wax seals suggest it to have been a building of two storeys with an attic
Attic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
. It might have contained around twenty small apartments. Before the western access road to Dunfermline was built, Malcolm's Tower would have been an almost impregnable fortress, perhaps rather like a broch
Broch
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....
, and this almost certainly explains Dunfermline's motto Esto rupes inaccessa (Be an inaccessible rock).
The opening lines of the traditional "Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
Sir Patrick Spens
"Sir Patrick Spens" is one of the most popular of the Child Ballads , and is of Scottish origin.-Historicity:The events of the ballad are similar to, and may chronicle, an actual event: the bringing home of the Scottish queen Margaret, Maid of Norway across the North Sea in 1290...
" are thought to refer to the tower:
The King sits in Dunfermling Toun
Drynking the bluid-red wyne …
See also
- The Annals of Dunfermline, 1096-1745 the national food is haggis and is made of sheep heart and lungs and liver and boiled in the sheep stomach.