2023 - November and December - page 5
Image details
| Issue number | 395 |
|---|---|
| ISSN | 2632-7171 |
| Publication date | 1st November 2023 |
| Transcription |
Opening Lines magazine Opening lines The Display of the Declaration of Arbroath: Behind the scenes with the National Records of Scotland Conservation team with Hazel de Vere. he Conservation department has many roles and duties within the National Records of Scotland, the institution responsible for archives that have national importance to Scotland. One of these tasks is the care of the Declaration of Arbroath, 6 April 1320. Simply put, it is a letter, written to Pope John XXII and sent in the name of 39 earls and barons of Scotland and in the name of the rest of the nobility of Scotland, referred to collectively as ‘community of the realm’. The letter sought to demonstrate to the Pope that Robert I should be recognised as the legitimate king of a sovereign kingdom of Scotland. At the time, neither the Pope, nor the English King Edward II recognised Robert, while Edward believed the Scottish Crown should be subservient to the English throne. A 700 year anniversary programme was devised, which included the display of the original document within the National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic this was cancelled twice, but in 2023 we were able to go ahead with the four week exhibition. Here are some of the behind the scenes activities and processes that made it all possible. David Frank and Linda Ramsay with the facsimiles and original 5 |