Declaration of Arbroath to go on display at National Museum of Scotland

Delayed because of the pandemic, the Declaration of Arbroath is finally to be made accessible to view next week. From the National Records of Scotland:

The Declaration of Arbroath will be displayed at the National Museum of Scotland this summer for the first time in 18 years. The display has been organised in partnership between National Museums Scotland and National Records of Scotland. The famous document will be on show from 3 June to 2 July 2023. 

The Declaration has not been on public display for 18 years, when it was last displayed at the Scottish Parliament. The iconic and fragile 700-year-old document can only be displayed occasionally in order to ensure its long-term preservation.

"As long as a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself".

These are the best known words in the Declaration of Arbroath, foremost among Scotland's state papers and the most famous historical record held by National Records of Scotland. The Declaration is a letter written in 1320 by the barons and whole community of the kingdom of Scotland to the pope, asking him to recognise Scotland's independence and acknowledge Robert the Bruce as the country's lawful king.

For more on the story read the NRS's full article at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/Declaration

The document itself will be on display at the National Museum of Scotland, Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 3, and will be free to view. For further details visit https://www.nms.ac.uk/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/national-museum-of-scotland/declaration-of-arbroath/

Chris   

(Source: Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Arbroath)

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.