Frommer's Scotland 8th Edition - To Parent Directory

THE BEST RUINS 13Scotland’s only complete medievalcathedral, with a form basedextensively on the pointed arch. Inthe 1600s, the Calvinists strippedit of anything hinting at papistidolatry, although a remarkable setof sculptures atop its stone navescreen, said to be unique in Scotland,still represent the sevendeadly sins. See p. 189.• Dunfermline Abbey and Palace(Fife): During the 1100s, in itsrole as Scotland’s WestminsterAbbey, Dunfermline became oneof Europe’s wealthiest churches.Three kings of Scotland were bornhere, and 22 members of the Scottishroyal family were buried here.In the early 1800s, its ruinedpremises were partially restored towhat you see today. Several yearslater, a different kind of benefactor,Andrew Carnegie, was bornwithin the cathedral’s shadow. Seep. 240.9 The Best Ruins• Linlithgow Palace (Lothian):These ruins brood over an islandin a loch, an unhappy vestige ofwhat was the most glamorousroyal residence during Scotland’sgolden age of independence in theearly 1500s. Mary Queen of Scotswas born here, but tragedy seemedto permeate the palace, as roofscollapsed from lack of maintenanceand early deaths in the royalfamily hastened an inevitableunion of Scotland with England.In 1745, after it was occupied byBonnie Prince Charlie and histroops, a mysterious fire sweptover it. See p. 120.• Dryburgh Abbey (the Borders):Begun in 1150 against a meanderingcurve of the River Tweed, Dryburghwas once home tothousands of monks who transformedthe surrounding forests• Dunblane Cathedral (Fife):Partly because the site had beenholy since the days of the Celts,David I founded a church here in1150. Despite later alterations andadditions, Dunblane is still one ofthe country’s best examples ofGothic architecture from the1200s. See p. 265.• St. Magnus Cathedral (theOrkney Islands): The most spectacularmedieval building in theOrkneys, St. Magnus features anodd imposition of the NormanGothic style on a territory administeredduring the time of its construction(the 1100s) by theNorwegians. The bodies of St.Magnus, patron saint of theOrkneys, and his nephew EarlRognvald, the church’s builder, areburied inside. See “The OrkneyIslands: An Archaeological Garden”in chapter 12.into arable fields and drainedmany local swamps. The abbey’sposition astride the much-troubledborder with England resulted in itsdestruction in three episodes(1322, 1385, and 1544), the lastof which included the burning ofthe nearby village (Dryburgh) aswell. Today, the red-sandstonerocks are dim reminders of a longagomonastic age. See p. 136.• Elgin Cathedral (Grampian):This cathedral was built during the1100s, and although many otherchurches were erected in Scotlandat the time, Elgin was believed tohave been the most beautiful.Burned and rebuilt twice (1290and 1370), it deteriorated after theReformation, along with manyother Catholic churches, to thepoint that the belfry collapsed in1711, shattering most of the roof