Scientists reveal king’s leprosy secret

BRITAIN: Robert the Bruce really did suffer from leprosy, scientists have concluded after reconstructing his face.

For years, historians have argued about whether the 14thcentury Scottish king was infected with the disease, with some believing there was a medieval coverup so he would not have to relinquish the throne, while others suggest he was the victim of a smear campaign.

Experts at the Robert the Bruce Heritage Centre said it would have been impossible for him to attend mass, hold court or drink from his local well - all of which he did - if he had suffered from the illness.

But a new project to reconstruct his face by the University of Glasgow and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has found that his skull shows the telltale signs of leprosy, including a disfigured jaw and nose.

Professor Caroline Wilkinson, director of the Face Lab at LJMU, who also reconstructed the face of King Richard III of England, said: ‘‘We could accurately establish the muscle formation from the positions of the skull bones to determine the shape and structure of the face.

‘‘We produced two versions one without leprosy and one with a mild representation of leprosy. He may have had leprosy, but if he did, it is likely that it did not manifest strongly on his face.’’

Bruce’s skull was unearthed during excavations at Dunfermline Abbey in 1818, and a plaster cast was taken for the Royal College of Surgeons’ Hunterian Museum in London.

Leprosy is not specifically mentioned in documents from the period, nor do contemporaneous historians mention a disfigurement. Images of Bruce, such as a statue at Bannockburn unveiled in the 1960s, and a terracotta model unveiled two years ago in the National Portrait Gallery, have always portrayed the king without the condition.

However, records do recall that Bruce suffered from a mystery ailment which laid him low several times during his reign and probably killed him. In Ulster in 1327, he was said to be so weak that he could only move his tongue.

No reliable visual depictions of Robert the Bruce were made when he was alive, and written records tell us nothing about his appearance, so it is the first time his face has been seen for more than 700 years. - Telegraph Group

Scientists have reconstructed Robert the Bruce’s face, starting with the muscle formation, based on his skull, left, and determining that he most likely had brown hair and brown eyes, right. The project has confirmed rumours that the famous Scottish...