Rare book which sheds new light on William Wallace and Stone of Destiny gets new home in Fife

It is being made available to the public for the first time in its 500-year history and has been given a new name.

The St Andrews Chronicles is a startling manuscript. It is largely a handwritten copy of John Mair’s History of Greater Britain – one of the most influential and innovative histories of Scotland and England of the sixteenth century. It also contains an earlier hand-copied pamphlet, chronicling Scotland’s earlier history, including new information about William Wallace, the nation’s time under Guardianship, and even the Stone of Destiny.

Elizabeth Henderson, rare books librarian at the university, said: “It’s really important that a manuscript like this is held in a public institution like St Andrews where it can be cared for in perpetuity and also where it can be made accessible for research.

“It’s a Scottish manuscript about the history of and origins of Scotland and it’s been through a succession of Scottish owners since the 16th century, so there’s a real resonance having it back in a Scottish institution.

“The first name listed as owner describes himself as a ‘chaplain of Edinburgh’. However, some of the names listed as owners of the book potentially correlate to students in St Andrews who were studying in the early 16th century – indicating an even greater correlation with St Andrews than previously thought.”

The St Andrews Chronicles was acquired at auction by the University with generous support from Dr William Zachs and the Friends of the Nations’ Libraries, after being sold by notable Norwegian collector Martin Schoyen, who bought it in 1990. Much of its journey is a mystery, but it was at Balcarres in the East Neuk in the 16th century.

The book is the size of an iPad and joins the archive and rare book collection at the University of St Andrews. Built up over 600 years, the collection contains over 200,000 rare books and many medieval and early modern manuscripts. The collection supports teaching and research at the University and elsewhere.

Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the manuscript has come back to Scotland and particularly to a place with which it has real associations.”

“John Mair taught at our university in the 1520s. The manuscript was also owned during the later sixteenth century by John Lindsay of Balcarres, a notable Fife noble and secretary of state. The University continues to value its links with Balcarres.

“The manuscript is back in Scotland, where it can be readily displayed, and readily studied by a range of scholars and students. Its subject matter, of Scotland’s chronicle history and the history of ideas, is also very much within my own research area, so I do hope to contribute to that.

“We understand our present so much better if we engage with, cherish, and interrogate our past. This manuscript really helps us to do that.”

Sean Rippington, head of archives and rare books at the university, said: “We were waiting patiently for it to arrive by courier, and every time the doorbell went off we all jumped; it took about half a dozen times of the bell going before it actually arrived. When it came it was unassuming and small. I got over excited and took lots of photos of it even before we took it out of its packaging. A group of us gathered around it while Elizabeth unpacked it. There were quite a few gasps.”

Elizabeth Henderson said: “We had seen photos of some of it, but there was nothing like seeing the real thing, and the conversations which were sparking up amongst this group of archivists, librarians and conservators was amazing, we were all seeing different things from the very beginning. It was magical.”

The small book is bound in stamped leather over wooden boards and originally would have been fastened with a clasp. The stamps include an unidentified beast and a hound chasing a hare. The text inside is neatly handwritten Latin script, with capitals and decorations added in red.

Notable scholar of the work, Professor Dauvit Broun from the University of Glasgow, said: “The contents of this home-made pamphlet include a chronicle for the years 1286 to 1327 which has a few bits of new information; for example, seven – not six – guardians were elected to rule Scotland after Alexander III’s tragic death in 1286, as well as Wallace co-leading the attack on the sheriff of Lanark, rather than leading on his own: it also gives us the exact date, May 3, 1297,of when this happened. It also has a copy of what is likely to be the earliest version of the legend about the Stone of Destiny.”

Now the St Andrews Chronicle is digitised and made available online for the first time.

Sean Rippington said: “The digital version opens it up to new forms of investigation and research. We wanted to give democratic access for people to see and connect with it. It’s for being read and researched, not for being observed from afar. The University of St Andrews is its permanent home. It has been in private ownership for its entire existence, meaning relatively few people have seen it, so we are keen to make it available to the wider population in as far as possible.”