#rocks #legends #rituals #coronation #chair #milesians
THE STONE OF DESTINY
Stone of Scone, also called Stone of Destiny, Scottish Gaelic Lia Fail, stone that for centuries was associated with the crowning of Scottish kings and then, in 1296, was taken to England and later placed under the Coronation Chair.
Legend. Various theories and legends exist about the stone’s history prior to its placement in Scone. One story concerns Fergus, son of Erc, the first King of the Scots (c. 498 – 501) in Scotland, whose transport of the Stone from Ireland to Argyll, where he was crowned on it, was recorded in a 15th-century chronicle. Some versions identify the stone brought by Fergus with the Lia Fáil (Irish for “stone of destiny”) used at Tara for inaugurating the High Kings of Ireland. Other traditions contend that the Lia Fáil remains at Tara. (Inis Fáil, “The Island of Destiny”, is one of the traditional names of Ireland.) Other legends place the origins of the Stone in Biblical times and identify it as the Stone of Jacob, taken by Jacob from Bethel while on the way to Haran (Genesis 28:10–22). This very same Stone of Jacob was then supposedly taken to ancient Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah.
Oh. How we love our legends and rituals.
