St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of King David I of Scotland and was the chief house of that order in the country until the Reformation. It was headed by the abbot or commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.[1]
The east end of the abbey was completed in 1146. Other buildings in the complex were added over the next 50 years. The abbey was built in the Gothic manner and in the form of a St. John's Cross. A considerable portion of the abbey is now in ruins. A structure dating from 1590 is maintained as a museum open to the public.
Alexander II and other Scottish kings and nobles are buried at the abbey. A lead container believed to hold the embalmed heart of Robert the Bruce was found in 1921 below the Chapter House site; it was found again in a 1998 excavation and documented in records of his death. The rest of his body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey.
The abbey is known for its many carved decorative details, including likenesses of saints, dragons, gargoyles and plants. On one of the abbey's stairways is an inscription by John Morow, a master mason, which says, Be halde to ye hende ("Keep in mind, the end, your salvation"). This has become the motto of the town of Melrose.
^Historic Environment Scotland. "Melrose Abbey (SM90214)". Retrieved 21 February 2019.
St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136...
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At the beginning of the 13th century, like its near neighbour MelroseAbbey, the abbey of Dryburgh commenced on a rebuilding programme on a grander scale...
David II. Robert's body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, while his heart was interred in MelroseAbbey, and his internal organs embalmed and placed in St...
in the writing shows that it most likely was written by the monks at MelroseAbbey. The chronicle begins on the year 735 and ends in 1270, consisting of...
which he declined. He died at MelroseAbbey on 3 August 1159. Following the death of Waltheof, his successor as Abbot of Melrose, Abbot William, refused to...
Catholic Church). Cuthbert grew up in or around Lauderdale, near Old MelroseAbbey, a daughter-house of Lindisfarne, today in Scotland. He decided to become...
California, on August 5. Her ashes were interred in her mother's crypt at MelroseAbbey Memorial Park & Mortuary in Anaheim, California. She donated her Morticia...
founded in 1150 by King David I and was first colonised by monks from MelroseAbbey. It received its Papal Bull from Pope Alexander III in 1174, and later...
by monks from MelroseAbbey. The patron was King David I of Scotland (with his son Henry). Its church was dedicated in 1234. The abbey was burned by English...
in Lanarkshire. The Kirk of St Bride at Douglas, along with MelroseAbbey and the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés holds the remains of many of the Earls...
marked by the original part of the so-called "foundation charter" of MelroseAbbey, which records Walter as a witness. Walter served as David's dapifer...
Borders abbeys (established by David I of Scotland) along its way: Kelso Abbey, Jedburgh Abbey, MelroseAbbey and Dryburgh Abbey. These abbeys were homes...
Island Lake. It is of Gothic design and is patterned after the famous MelroseAbbey in Scotland that was built in the 13th century. The sanctuary is situated...
hermit, though still receiving many visitors. He grew up near the new MelroseAbbey, an offshoot from Lindisfarne which is today in Scotland, but was then...
The Abbot and then Commendator of Melrose was the head of the monastic community of MelroseAbbey, in Melrose in the Borders region of Scotland. The abbots...
Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides. He died there in 1249 and was buried at MelroseAbbey. The Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar records additional information, in that...
similarities to other monastery drains, such as Fountains Abbey, Dundrennan Abbey and MelroseAbbey. A virtual tour of the drain is available on YouTube....
of Melrose before becoming Bishop of Glasgow, Scotland. He was probably born in the 1130s, and in his teenage years became a monk of MelroseAbbey. He...
most recent Dukes (the 8th and 9th) are buried among the ruins of MelroseAbbey in Melrose. Dukes of Buccleuch are invariably granted the honour of Knight...
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