The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Historic sword belonging to Robert the Bruce goes on display.
exhibition: Items from king’s family will be on display at auction house
A sword said to have been owned by Robert the Bruce is to go on public display in Scotland for the first time in living memory.
The early 14th Century “sword of state” is thought to have been used by the king, although it is unknown whether it was wielded in battle.
It was later kept at Clackmannan Tower, where it was used by his descendent Katherine Bruce to “knight” the poet Robert Burns in August 1787.
The 5ft double-handed weapon with bog oak handle has been kept since 1791 at Broomhall House, the Bruce family seat in Fife and home of the Earl of Elgin.
Lord Charles Bruce, the earl’s son, announced yesterday that from January 22-27, the sword will be the highlight of a week-long exhibition of objects from the property including tartan suits, historic silver and a rare cast of Robert the Bruce’s skull.
The exhibition, Treasures from Broomhall House and the Bruce Family, will be held at Bonhams’ auction house in Queen Street, Edinburgh. None of the objects is for sale.
Lord Bruce said: “This sword was a gift from David II, the surviving son of King Robert.
“His marriages did not produce an heir and realising that the Bruce dynasty would come to an end, he presented his father’s sword to his first cousin, Thomas Bruce of Clackmannan.
“The sword was kept at Clackmannan Tower for 14 generations until 1791 when it passed by descent to the Earls of Elgin and Kincardine.
“This sword is in extraordinarily good condition and doesn’t appear to carry much evidence of being used in battle, but it could easily have been.
“It is the finest tempered steel and beautifully balanced. It would certainly have been a weapon of choice to fight with.
“It remains a very cherished family possession.”
King David II granted Clackmannan to his cousin in 1359. It was there, on August 26 1787, that the sword was used by Lady Katherine to knight the poet Burns.
Lord Bruce said: “Robert Burns spent the summer and early autumn of 1787 travelling around Scotland, and in August was in Clackmannanshire.
“He visited Mrs Bruce at Clackmannan Tower, and she knighted him with this sword.
“The visit had a big impact on Burns, and he felt that there was this tangible connection to the reign of King Robert.
“The next day he went to Dunfermline Abbey and knelt at the place that he thought the king was buried, and kissed the floor.
“When Mrs Bruce died, the sword came to my great-great-grandfather.”
The Clackmannan Tower and mansion were abandoned in 1791 and the sword has remained at Broomhall since.
Lord Bruce added: “It has not really been on public display in Scotland – never in my memory.”
The sword will form the centrepiece of the exhibition at Bonhams.
Lord Bruce added: “There are about 20 different items covering several hundred years of the family’s history.
“The most recent is a gold medal from the Empire Exhibition at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, from 1938, so it is a very eclectic array of items that we are lending to this exhibition.”