Robert I (1274 - 1329)
© Clydesdale Bank PLC
Scotland is extremely fortunate to have several banks that issue their own bank notes and that the artists engaged to design them have done a superb job in presenting Scottish history and culture via this medium.
We could not resist reproducing three parts of the Clydesdale Bank's £20 note which features a superb rendition of Robert I with places and items associated with him. Please be aware that the copyright of these images lies with the Clydesdale Bank PLC and that this time permission is being sought to reproduce them.
The Faces of Robert the Bruce
Robert L. D. Cooper, B.A., F.S.A. (Scot).
Curator of the Grand Lodge of Scotland Museum and Library
In
the Museum at Freemasons’ Hall there is a cast of the skull of Robert I (1274
- 1329). Robert the Bruce,
as he is often called, has interested me for some considerable time. Was
he a Patriot or a man who sold his soul
to the Devil for a Kingdom?, was he someone who foresaw his destiny or was he a
political opportunist? Whatever he was his place in
the history of Scotland is assured.
How the cast of the skull ended up in our Museum is another story. Museums should hold as much information as possible regarding each item in its collection and hence my interest. You might imagine my reaction when I read in a booklet about Rosslyn Chapel that one of the carvings there was of the face of Robert I.
A
closer reading of the booklet revealed an image with the following caption:
“The carving of the death
mask of Robert the Bruce – Sovereign Grand Master of all Guilds and Orders in
Scotland”. This was a revelation. Never before had I heard that a death mask
of Robert I been made and that it survived for 117 years, from the date of his
death, to c.1446 when the building of the Chapel commenced. Nor was I aware
that this king had been Sovereign Grand Master of all Guilds and Orders in
Scotland – a subject to which I shall return to on another occasion. If a
death mask had been made and which survived to be used in the building of the
Chapel this would be a major historical discovery. A re-examination of information on Robert I’s death and burial (another
interesting tale) confirmed that no one had previously mentioned the existence
of a death mask. How could the existence of such a
significant artifact have remained unmentioned for so long?
The
first task was to check the source, or sources, that this was in fact “The
carving of the death mask of Robert the Bruce… ”,
in an attempt to establish where this was first mentioned. An
immediate problem was encountered as none of the current information regarding
the Chapel provided any details in support of that statement. This was
disappointing but is not unusual especially in Masonic history where many
‘statements of fact’ are made without supporting evidence. But in this case
surely there must be corroborative evidence for such an important claim?
Unfortunately I could find only one other reference and that was also recent
(1993). In that instance, however, the caption accompanying the image stated:
“Supposed death mask of Robert the Bruce”. The writer concerned was not
claiming that it was a carving of the death mask of Robert I but that he
supposed it to be so. That author did not offer any evidence to support his
supposition. Prior to 1993 I could find no references to such a death mask or
any connection between it and
Rosslyn Chapel. The writers of the 17th and
18th centuries wrote and described the Chapel but none, so far as I
can ascertain, made any comment regarding Scotland’s most famous monarch and
the carving said to be in his image.
In
1818 Robert I’s
grave was re-discovered within Dunfermline Abbey. William Scouler, an artist,
was
present when the late king’s skull was revealed. He had been retained to draw
the skeleton but took the opportunity to make a cast of the skull. There was
great excitement and interest, especially in ‘antiquarian circles’ but no
one mentioned the (previous) existence of a death mask. It seems, therefore,
that the claim that the carved face in Rosslyn Chapel is of more recent origin.
What evidence, if any, the claim is based is not presently known. Disappointed
at being unable to confirm that a lifelike image of Robert I had been obtained
at the time of his death I wondered if there were other avenues of investigation
that might help.
In
June 1964, Her Majesty the Queen, unveiled the equestrian statue of Bruce by
Charles P. Jackson at Bannockburn. Jackson had used
Scouler’s a cast of the skull to create the facial features of Bruce. Although
everyone agrees that this is a powerful depiction of Bruce it is generally
considered to be romantic rather than accurate. The art of forensic
reconstruction was then in its infancy but in 1996 the dental and forensic
expert Brian Hill produced his reconstruction also based on Scouler’s cast of
the skull. This was a ‘clean’ reconstruction designed to produce a youthful
face unmarked by time and war.
Dr
Ian MacLeod, a consultant at the Edinburgh Dental Institute, assisted by Dr
Richard Neave, one of
Britain’s foremost forensic medical artists, produced a ‘warts an’ all’
reconstruction of Bruce’s head at the
time of his death. This
reconstruction took account of the obvious scarring, i.e.: a sword wound to the
head, a broken cheekbone, a distended eye socket and upper jaw damage. Drs
MacLeod and Neave were sure that Robert I suffered from leprosy and this too is
reflected in the reconstruction. Dr MacLeod described Bruce thus: “The first
thing that strikes you about Robert the Bruce is that the guy has tremendous
presence. There is almost a Churchillian aura about him. This was a guy you
would not want to get into a fight with. He would have stood out from the crowd.
What we have here is a
battle-scarred old man. You don’t go through wars like
he did without receiving a few knocks”.
Does the carved face in Rosslyn Chapel fit any of these reconstructions?
Sadly, for me, the answer must be no. The carving is that of a young face rather than that of an old man. It is supposed to be a copy of the death mask of Bruce but shows none of the marks of time, none of the scarring, none of the ‘wear and tear’ of 55 years. But compare them for yourself and draw you own conclusions.
© Clydesdale Bank
Details of images (in descending order)
1) Detail from a £20 note issued by the Clydesdale Bank PLC. © 2002.
2) The supposed copy of the death mask of Robert I within Rosslyn Chapel.
3) An early engraving of Robert I, with the axe. (From Tynemouth Castle by George Jamesone).
4) Robert I, King of Scotland. (From Mary Evans Picture Library).
5) Brian Hill's reconstruction of Robert I (The Scottish National Portrait Gallery).
6) The Bannockburn Statue by Charles P. Jackson. (The National Trust for Scotland).
7) MacLeod and Neave's depiction of Robert I.
8) Detail from a £20 note issued by the Clydesdale Bank PLC. © 2002.
9) Detail (below) from a £20 note issued by the Clydesdale Bank PLC. © 2002.
© Clydesdale Bank
(The above is reproduced from the Ashlar Magazine, September 2000,
with the exception of the images © the Clydesdale Bank PLC).
Our thanks go to Robert L. D. Cooper for permission to reproduce the article above.
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