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)

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Documentary marks 700th anniversary of The Declaration of Arbroath

It has been an understandable, but deeply disappointing development, that the Declaration of Arbroath cannot be put on display this year by the National Records of Scotland because of the current coronavirus pandemic (see https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2020/declaration-of-arbroath-display-postponed).

Image: National Records of Scotland

The document celebrates 700 years since its signing on Monday April 6th 2020, and is arguably Scotland's most famous and most important historic document. It not only provides an understanding of Scotland's history at the point of its signing in 1320, it also became an important catalyst worldwide in the acceptance of Scotland as a legitimate nation state, one in which the people would be sovereign, as opposed to any Crown or Parliament. It is believed by many to be a major influence on the United States' very own Declaration of Independence of 1776, with many of its signatories being of Scots and Ulster Scots descent.

Although most celebrations of the document have been postponed for now, Scottish broadcaster and journalist Lesley Riddoch (@Lesleyriddoch) and film maker Charles Stuart (@cherlieboy) were determined not to see the moment pass unmarked, and have quickly put together a fascinating documentary about the significance of the declaration. Declaration: The Letter of Liberty features interviews with several historians and famous folk, including actor Brian Cox and historian Fiona Watson, and music from award winning film composer Patrick Murray. The documentary is available online only just now, at Vimeo, via http://vimeo.com/401599947, and is reproduced below for your convenience.

The Declaration of Arbroath from Charlie Stuart on Vimeo.

As Lesley states on Twitter, by way of an introduction "Why does the #DeclarationofArbroath matter? Just a bunch of Barons protecting themselves? Or the letter that finally won peace & made history - the first medieval document to define a nation as its people, with the right to self determination. You decide."

The NRS has placed the text of the original declaration online in Latin at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/research/declaration-of-arbroath/declaration-of-arbroath-transcription-and-translation.pdf, with an English translation following.

Enjoy - and remember, "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"!

Happy Birthday to the Declaration of Arbroath.

(With thanks to all who made this happen - there's more from Lesley about the programme at https://www.lesleyriddoch.co.uk/2020/04/declaration-the-letter-of-liberty-a-new-film-celebrating-the-700th-anniversary-of-scotlands-most-important-historic-docu.html)

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Declaration of Arbroath will not go on display for now

From the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk):

Following advice from the UK and Scottish Government to help delay the spread of Covid-19/Corona virus we have taken the decision, in consultation with the National Museum of Scotland, to postpone the exhibition of the Declaration of Arbroath later this month.

We understand that many people have been looking forward to seeing this iconic document but our top priority at this time is public safety and the wellbeing of staff.

Further news will be made available on this in due course at www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2020/declaration-of-arbroath-display-postponed

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.