In St. Edward's Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London, sits an ancient, nondescript wooden chair. Covered with graffiti and worn with age, this chair surrounds and encloses an even more ancient block of sandstone known as the "LIA FAIL" or Coronation Stone of the Scots. For more than a thousand years the kings and queens of England and Scotland have been crowned over this stone and, as the history of IRELAND reveals, the Milesian kings before them.

British-Israel proponents, and the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong, claimed that this stone was brought to Ireland by Jeremiah the Prophet after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. In the Church booklet entitled "The United States and Britain in Prophecy" -- which enjoyed a circulation reaching into the millions -- the following statement is made: "Besides the royal family, Jeremiah brought with them some remarkable things, including a harp, an ark, and a WONDERFUL STONE CALLED 'LIA FAIL,' or 'STONE OF DESTINY.'....many kings in the history of Ireland, Scotland, and England have been coronated sitting over this stone -- including the present Queen. The stone rests today in Westminster Abbey in London, and the coronation chair is built over and around it. A sign beside it labels it 'JACOB'S PILLAR-STONE' (Genesis 28:18). (P.100).

No Evidence of Jeremiah

"There is no question that this stone has an ancient and legendary history. But what the IRISH LEGENDS say about the Lia-fail, as distinguished from British-Israel theorists [and the late Herbert W. Armstrong of the WWCG], is that the stone was brought to Ireland BY AN ISRAELITE IN THE TIME OF MOSES....Scripture also says NOTHING about Jeremiah lugging around a huge, special stone from place to place." ("Afterword on British-Israelism," by Greg Doudna. P.127).

This is true. I have personally consulted literally DOZENS of books dealing with ancient Irish and Scottish history, and have found NOT EVEN A FOOTNOTE discussing Jeremiah's purported trip to Ireland with the Lia Fail and the daughters of Zedekiah. COMPLETE SILENCE! If Jeremiah had traveled to Ireland as claimed, you would think such a momentous event as this would be recorded in all the Irish annals as a highlight in their long and illustrious history!

Who Took the "Stone" to Ireland?

"The Westminster Abbey Official Guide" and Scottish traditions state HOW the stone ACTUALLY reached the shores of Ireland:

Tradition identifies this stone with the one upon which JACOB rested his head at Bethel...Jacob's sons CARRIED IT TO EGYPT AND FROM THENCE IT PASSED TO SPAIN WITH KING GATHELUS, SON OF CECROPS, THE BUILDER OF ATHENS....(Quoted by Raymond McNair in his unpublished manuscript, "In Search of the Lost Ten Tribes.")

According to SCOTTISH LORE, PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER SCOTA [who married Gathelus], CARRIED IT TO ALBION [British Isles] and MOSES foretold that victory should follow the stone wherever it went. In the IRISH TRADITIONS we find mentioned that "There [in the British Isles] it was placed upon the SACRED HILL OF TARA, and called LIA-FAIL, the 'FATAL' STONE, or 'STONE OF DESTINY...." ("Chronicles of Eri," Trinity College, Dublin).

Who was this CECROPS, the "builder of Athens," and his son GATHELUS? Let's turn to the annals of Ireland and Scotland, as recorded by competent historians, for the answers! According to The Harmsworth Encyclopedia, Cecrops was none other than CALCOL of I Chronicles 2:6 -- the SON OF ZARAH and GRANDSON OF JUDAH! It is stated that Calcol was the LEADER OF A BAND OF HEBREW COLONISTS FROM EGYPT, who evidently left before the Exodus of the Bible. Herman L. Hoeh, in his "Compendium of World History," states that "Athenian history commences with the founding of the city by CECROPS in 1556 [B.C.]." (Vol. I, p.390).

While ruling Athens CALCOL had a son by the name of GATHELUS, who became famous throughout GREECE for his wisdom and learning. Geoffrey Keating, in his work "The History of Ireland," uncovers the background of this man:

....his [Gathelus'] success against the tyrants and robbers of that country was so great, that he became very much beloved by the inhabitants. When King Refloir perceived this, he was seized with fear, lest MILEDH [another name for Gathelus] might rise up against himself, and strive to deprive him of the KINGDOM OF SCYTHIA. For this reason he plotted the death of Miledh, notwithstanding the fact of his being his own son-in-law. But Miledh heard of the plot, and thereupon seized upon a favourable opportunity, and put King Refloir to death first. -- Translated by John O'Mahony. P.M. Haverty, N.Y. 1857. P.176.

Gathelus Sails For Egypt!

He then called together and assembled his own faithful followers, and put out to sea with the crews of THREE SCORE SHIPS. And he steered straight over the MEDITERRANEAN SEA, until he reached the MOUTHS OF THE NILE. There he landed, and sent an embassy to PHARAOH NECTONIBUS, letting him know of his arrival; and the king sent ambassadors of his own to meet MILEDH, and to conduct him to his presence. And when Miledh appeared before the king, he was made welcome to the land, and a territory was granted to him and his people to dwell thereupon. It is in record of this VOYAGE OF MILEDH, from [GRECIAN] SCYTHIA TO EGYPT, that Gilla-Caemhan composed the following rann [poem]:

"Miledh, the sire of our goodly clans,

Slew King Refloir, the well-befriended

Then hastily fled he yon hostile land,

And found other fields by the bounteous Nilus."

....At this time, there was A GREAT WAR BETWEEN PHARAOH AND THE KING OF ETHIOPIA. Pharaoh made Miledh the commander of his army, when he had estimated his bravery and valor, and sent him to meet the forces of Ethiopia therewith. Then there ensued many engagements and conflicts, between the forces under the command of Miledh and those of the Ethiopians. In these he was so successful that his fame and renown spread through all nations, whereupon PHARAOH GAVE HIM ONE OF HIS OWN DAUGHTERS TO WIFE. THIS LADY WAS CALLED SCOTA....She bore her husband TWO SONS IN EGYPT, namely EBER FINN and AMERGHIN.

As soon as ever Miledh had landed in EGYPT, he sent TWELVE of the young men that had accompanied him, to learn the principal arts of Egypt. Thus each of them had become expert in his own particular profession, by the end of the SEVEN YEARS THAT MILEDH RESIDED IN THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS. -- Ibid, Pp.176-177.

Gathelus and Moses

While in Egypt, Gathelus made contact with his brethren the Israelites, and befriended Moses and Aaron when they returned from Midian. There is a tradition that one day, while swimming in the Nile, Gathelus was bitten by a venomous snake. He was immediately taken to Moses by his kindred, and healed by the leader of the Israelites.

JACOB'S PILLAR-STONE, which was carried to Egypt by Jacob and his family when they joined Joseph there, was given into the custody of Gathelus by Moses. Gathelus' wife SCOTA took a special interest in the stone and, "according to Scottish lore...carried it to ALBION...." ("The Chronicles of Eri." Trinity College, Dublin).

Gathelus soon incurred the wrath of the Pharaoh because of his friendship with Moses and the Israelites. According to Keating: "Pharaoh INTUR [son of Nectonibus] and the Egyptians... remembered their old grudge to...the family of GAEDAL [Gathelus], namely their resentment for the FRIENDSHIP the latter had formed with the children of Israel. They, then, MADE WAR UPON THE GAELS, WHO WERE THEREBY COMPELLED TO EXILE THEMSELVES FROM EGYPT." ("History of Ireland From the Earliest Period to the English Invasion," pp.153-156).

About this time Moses, at the command of God, was bringing down upon the Egyptians the plagues of God. Hector Boece, in his "Chronicles of Scotland," notes that "Gathelus, no less concerned by the present plagues that were the terrible response of God, resolved to leave Egypt for ANOTHER ABODE and enter into extreme danger rather than endure the obvious vengeance of God." (Vol. I. William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., Edinburgh & London. MCMXXXVIII. Pp.21. Translation mine).

Gathelus Flees Egypt!

"A short while afterwards he provisioned a ship and sailed out of the mouth of the River Nile with his wife, friends and servants -- Greeks and Egyptians -- for the fear of the plagues of God." (Ibid, pp.22-24).

Along with the passengers and crew, and all their belongings, went JACOB'S PILLAR- STONE!

The dangerous journey from Egypt to SPAIN is recorded by Keating:

He [Gathelus] then set sail from the mouth of the Nile, into the Mediterranean, and landed on an island near Thrace. It is called IRENA, and there it was that IR, SON OF MILEDH, was born.-- "The History of Ireland." Vol. I. Irish Texts Society, London. 1902. P.205.

Keating doesn't mention it, but several historians state that the first stop-over from Egypt was on the island of CRETE. This makes sense since Crete is in a direct line between Egypt and Thrace and would thus be a natural port of call.

The island called IRENA is believed to be SAMOTHRACE in the Aegean Sea -- close to the entrance into the Black Sea. This island was peopled with Pelasgians, Thracians, and PHOENICIANS. It was famous in the ancient world for its RELIGIOUS MYSTERIES. Its soil was held to be SACRED, and therefore was an INVIOLABLE ASYLUM TO ALL FUGITIVES.

Thomas Moore, in his "History of Ireland," mentions that "From time immemorial, the small isle of SAMOTHRACE, in the Aegean, was a favourite seat of idolatrous worship and resort; and on its shores the Cabiric Mysteries had been established by the Phoenicians. These rites were dedicated to the deities who presided over NAVIGATION; and IT WAS USUAL FOR MARINERS TO STOP AT THIS ISLAND ON THEIR WAY TO DISTANT SEAS, AND OFFER UP A PRAYER AT ITS SHRINES FOR PROPITIOUS WINDS AND SKIES." (Vol. I. Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, London. 1846. p.15).

It seems that Gathelus stopped at this island for several reasons: To seek a place of refuge from any possible Egyptian harassment while his wife delivered his child; and to offer up prayers for a safe journey to his destination. But WHY travel all the way to the northern Aegean Sea if he was going to head WEST through the Mediterranean Sea -- which seems the logical thing to do? This would require a lot of BACKTRACKING that would INCREASE the dangers of the voyage for his people.

The mystery deepens as Keating relates the next segment of Gathelus' voyage:

Thence [from IRENA or SAMOTHRACE] he sailed to AN ISLAND CALLED GOTHIA, IN THE STRAIGHT LEADING INTO THE NORTHERN OCEAN. There he made some stay, and there it was that SCOTA bore him a son, namely, COLPA, styled the Swordsman. -- "The History of Ireland," p.205.

GOTHIA was the ancient name for the area now occupied by NORWAY AND SWEDEN. The "island called Gothia" is now the island off the east coast of Sweden known as GOTLAND. And in what OCEAN is Gotland located? The BALTIC SEA!

Sailing From the Black Sea to the Baltic?!

We see Gathelus reaching the BALTIC SEA from the NORTHERN AEGEAN SEA by way of THE STRAIGHT LEADING INTO THE NORTHERN OCEAN (BALTIC SEA). How could this be? Ancient geographers reveal that at one time THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE WAS SEPARATED FROM ASIA BY THE SEA!

Notice what author S. Gusten Olson says: "At this point, one VERY SIGNIFICANT topographical factor must be taken into consideration. From the time the Phoenicians were the chief mariners until our time, DEFINITE CHANGES HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN THE LAND SURFACE OF EUROPE. It was initially a residual effect-extending shorelines, diminishing lakes and DISAPPEARING WATERWAYS." ("The Incredible Nordic Origins." Nordica S.F. Ltd., Kent, England. 1981. P.57).

When discussing the amber trade of ancient times, Olson notes that "there is evidence that it [the amber] WAS TRANSPORTED FROM THE REGIONS OF THE NORTH SEA AND THE BALTIC TO THE AEGEAN SEA. One route traversed through Denmark and Germany, finally reaching the ports of the NORTH-CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN....In earlier times than has previously been realized, THE NORTH OF EUROPE has been CONNECTED BY WATERWAYS.... Thus it was possible for merchandise to regularly have been shipped FROM THE BALTIC TO THE LEVANT [the eastern land region of the Mediterranean Sea-- particularly Syria, Lebanon, and Israel] AND EGYPT!" (Ibid, p.57).

Modern scholars ridicule this idea, but the evidence abounds in the geographical features of eastern Europe. If you look at a detailed map of eastern Europe you will notice vast areas of MARSHLAND in a line from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea -- from DAN-ZIG at the mouth of the VISTULA RIVER to ODESSA at the mouth of the DNIESTER. Also, the area southeast of DANZIG is peppered with small lakes indicating the area, at one time, was under water.

The "Encyclopedia Britannica" comments on these MARSHLANDS:

The PEIPUS REGION on the Estonian-Latvian borders of Russia...abounds in MARSH related to the distribution of boulder clay while FURTHER SOUTH are the PRIPET MARSHES. Here the VISTULA-DNIEPER LOW-ZONE north-east of the Carpathians crosses the European plain, and the PRIPET MARSHES are the north-west part of the Dnieper basin towards the indefinite boundary between the DRAINAGE SYSTEMS OF THE BLACK SEA AND THE BALTIC. These great areas of marsh have had great influence in ISOLATING CENTRAL RUSSIA, ESPECIALLY FROM THE WEST, and they determine to a large extent the HISTORIC WAYS OF COMMUNICATION from the west into Russia, that of Vilna-Smolensk north of, and that of Lemberg-Kiev south of the Pripet marshes. -- 1943 edition. Vol. 8, p.831.

At the time of the Exodus the area from the Black Sea to the Baltic was under water and deep enough to allow the shipping of the day to pass through. Gathelus, therefore, traveled from Irena to the island of Gothia by passing into the Black Sea through the DARDANELLES, then to the Baltic by way of the "straight leading into the NORTHERN OCEAN."

M. Paul du Chaillu, in his early history of the English-speaking Nations, "The Viking Age," CLEARLY brings the SCANDINAVIANS (tribe of Dan) from the region of AR-SARETH or DACIA and GETOE -- which is a locality to the NORTH-WEST OF THE BLACK SEA. From here, according to Chaillu, they traveled TO THE NORTH COAST OF EUROPE THROUGH SOUTH RUSSIA, POLAND AND PRUSSIA. This was precisely the route taken by Gathelus and Scota.

Since "Dan abode in ships" and were a SEAFARING PEOPLE from before the time of the Exodus, why would they suddenly beach their ships and take a land route across Europe to the Baltic? THEY DIDN'T!! They traveled the same waterway or "straight" which separated Europe from Asia -- following in the wake of Gathelus and his people!

Only with this knowledge can sense be made of the ritual on the island of Samothrace. This island marked the BEGINNING of voyages to the Northern Oceans by way of the Black Sea and the waters that separated Europe from Asia.

A Waymark of Gathelus!

As Gathelus and his people proceeded through the waterway to the Baltic, some of them remained behind and founded a colony known as GAL-ICIA -- named after their leader. This colony encompassed the later Polish provinces of Crakow, Lwow, Stanislawow and Tarnopol, and lay along the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. The present-day DNIESTER RIVER runs through this area -- the remnant of the ancient waterway that carried Gathelus and Jacob's Pillar-stone to Israel's appointed place in the ocean!

Up until recent times, the majority of the urban population of GALICIA was JEWISH -- descendants of those left behind by Gathelus! (See the "Encyclopedia Britannica," 1943 edition. Vol. 9, p. 976).

Gathelus Arrives in Norway

Notice, now, the next leg of Gathelus' voyage:

Thence [from the island of Gothia in the Baltic] he set sail into the northern straight which SEPARATES EUROPE FROM ASIA, and passed onward, LEAVING EUROPE ON THE LEFT, TO THE WEST, until he reached Cruthintuath, i.e. the land of the Cruthnigh or Picts, which is called ALBA [SCOTLAND]. -- "The History of Ireland," by Geoffrey Keating. Vol.I. Irish Texts Society, London. 1902. P.205.

To travel to the WEST -- with Europe on his left -- Gathelus must have passed through the Baltic to the North Sea and thence to Scotland. He made, however, ONE MORE STOP before heading across the ocean to Alba or Scotland:

....when they saw the PEOPLE OF SYRIA [the Amalekites] prevailing over the people of the country [Egypt], they, in one band, depart from that territory, for fear of them, and they made no stay till they came to the COUNTRY OF LOCHLONN, i.e. Fionn-Lochlonn, viz. THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY, where they got welcome from the people of the country for the extent of their SCIENCE AND OF THEIR VARIED ARTS [learned in Egypt]....Indeed, they obtained FOUR CITIES, so as to be teaching the young folk of that country [NORWAY] in them. The names of the cities here: FAILIAS, GORIAS, FINIAS, and MURIAS. [They placed] FOUR SAGES [of the 12 sent out by Gathelus to learn the Egyptian sciences while in Egypt] in those cities to teach the sciences and the varied arts they had to the youths of the country; SEMIAS in Murias, and ARIAS in Finias, and EURUS in Gorias, and MORIAS in Failias. After being a while of their time in these cities, THEY PROCEED TO THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND, so that they were SEVEN YEARS AT DOBHAR AND AT IARDOBHAR. -- Ibid.

With Gathelus, when he left NORWAY, was the famous stone:

They [Gathelus and his people] had FOUR NOBLE JEWELS, which they brought FROM THESE CITIES, namely, A STONE OF VIRTUE FROM FAILIAS; it is it THAT IS CALLED 'LIA FAIL'; and it is it that used to roar under EACH KING OF IRELAND on his being chosen by them up to the time of Conchubhar [time of Christ], and it is to that stone is called in Latin 'SAXUM FATALE.' It is from it, moreover, is called INIS FAIL TO IRELAND. So that it is therefore a certain antiquary composed this verse:

The stone which is under my two heels,

From it Inis Fail is named;

Between two shores of a mighty flood,

The plain of Fal (is for name) on all Ireland.

[This STONE which is called 'LIA FAIL'], another name for it (is) THE STONE OF DESTINY; for it was in destiny for this stone whatever place it would be in, that it is a MAN OF THE SCOTIC NATION, i.e. OF THE SEED OF MILEADH OF SPAIN, that would be in the sovereignty of that country, according as is read in Hector Boetius in the history of Scotland. Here is what he says, viz. --

The Scotic nation, noble the race,

Unless the prophecy be false,

Ought to obtain dominion,

Where they shall find the LIA FAIL. -- Ibid, p.206.

On to Spain!

After staying in the northern parts of Scotland for seven years, Gathelus " plundered the coasts of that country, and thence sailed along the coast of Great Britain, LEAVING IT ON THE RIGHT, until he reached the mouth of the river REN (i.e. the RHINE); thence, SAILING WESTWARD AND SOUTHWARD, he leaves France ON HIS LEFT, and at length LANDS IN BISCAY [a province in the northwest angle of SPAIN, lying on the Atlantic Ocean, and bordering on France]." ("The History of Ireland," by Geoffrey Keating. P.177).

The British historian Nennius, speaking of this same voyage, says it TOOK SOME 42 YEARS to complete: "He [Gathelus] was expelled [from Egypt] and HE WANDERED FOR 42 YEARS...and came to SPAIN, and there they lived for many years...." ("Nennius: British History and the Welsh Annals," translated by John Morris. Phillimore and Co. Ltd., London & Chichester. 1980. P.21).

A Respite in Spain

When Gathelus landed in Spain -- or what is now called PORTUGAL (PORT-OF-GAEL [GATHELUS]) -- he had to overcome the warlike tribes who were harassing his kinsman ITH (ETHAN, BROTHER OF CALCOL), Prince of Breogan. Keating relates the story:

Now, when he [Gathelus] had arrived in this land [SPAIN], his kinsmen came to bid him welcome, and they tell him that the Gothi, and several other foreign nations, were harassing both their country and all Spain. Upon hearing this, Miledh [Gathelus] summoned his own partisans throughout Spain, and when they had come together he marched with them, and with the forces he had brought with him in his fleet, against the foreigners and the Gothi; and routed them in fifty-four battles, and thus drove them completely out of Spain. After this, both he and his kinsmen, the sons of Breogan...held the sovereignty of the greater part of that country. -- "The History of Ireland," by Geoffrey Keating. P.178.

According to Hector Boece, Gathelus "soon afterward...built a town upon the river of MUNDE, then called BRACHARA -- now BARSALE.... [After a major battle with the Spaniards] they [the Spaniards] therefore asked GATHELUS for a peace conference and quickly gave him...part of their land in the NORTH PART OF SPAIN, NOW CALLED GALYCIA, because they had a prophecy that said a strange people would sometime come to dwell there....with the close collaboration of the inhabitants, [GATHELUS] built the TOWN OF BRYGANCE -- now called COMPESTELLA....Following this GATHELUS NAMED ALL HIS SUBJECTS SCOTS, IN HONOUR AND AFFECTION FOR HIS WIFE, WHO WAS CALLED SCOTA, with whom he had two sonsHIBER AND HEMECUS...." And, peace having been secured, "Gathelus sat in his CHAIR OF MARBLE [STONE] within his city of BRYGANCE [COMPOSTELLA] -- governing his people in justice. This CHAIR OF MARBLE had such fortune and destiny, that wherever it was found in any land, that land would become the native land of the SCOTS...." ("Chronicles of Scotland," Vol. I. William Blackwood & Sons. Pp. 21-24).

In view of this, it is not at all surprizing that the apostle JAMES (son of Zebedee, brother of John) should visit GALICIA centuries later and preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the descendants of Gathelus and his people still living in the area! James also evangelized the area around SARAGOSSA in the EBRO VALLEY (ZARAH-GASSA -- "STRONGHOLD OF ZARAH") which was also colonized by Gathelus.

Tradition relates that, after the martyrdom of James, his remains were taken to his beloved Spain and interred in the town of COMPOSTELA -- the very town founded by Gathelus!

The possible reason for Jame's interest in the Jewish colonies left behind in Spain by the Milesians is revealed by E.A. Wallis Budge: "According to the Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles Zebedee was of the house of Levi, and his wife of the HOUSE OF JUDAH. Now, because the father of James loved him greatly he counted him among the family of his father Levi, and similarly because the mother of John loved him greatly, she counted him among the family of her father JUDAH. And they were surnamed 'Children of Thunder,' for they were of both the priestly house and of the ROYAL HOUSE.'" ("Contendings of the Apostles," II, 49).

Continuing, author E. Raymond Capt states that "it is reasonable to assume the 'MARBLE CHAIR' referred to was the CORONATION STONE or the BETHEL STONE, still in the hands of the sons (descendants) of JACOB when in the care of GATHELUS AND HIS QUEEN SCOTA." ("Jacob's Pillar." Artisan Sales, Thousand Oaks, CA. 1977. P.31).

Andrew of Wyntown (circa 1400 A.D.) in his book "Chronykil of Scotland," gives this account of the STONE in Gathelus' possession:

This king [Gathelus] had at that time a FAMOUS STONE which was used as his THRONE, and was REGARDED AS A PRICELESS JEWEL IN SPAIN. He gave it to Simon, and directed him to take it with him to IRELAND and win that country for occupation, and to hold the STONE-THRONE perpetually. -- Wyntown Chronykyl lib.III, cap.16.

Spying Out the Land!

With peace secured in Spain, the Milesians under Gathelus grew in number and prosperity. After a while, however, conflicts with tribes moving into Spain resumed; and it seemed, in order to live in peace, they would have to move on to new lands. Keating describes what Gathelus resolved to do next:

Not satisfied, however, with the greatness of their power there, they resolved upon extending their sway over other lands. They had also another motive for this. There was, at that period, A SCARCITY OF FOOD IN SPAIN, WHICH LASTED FOR TWENTY-SIX YEARS; it was caused by the great drought of the seasons. They were prompted to it, also, by the number of conflicts they had to maintain with the Gothi, and the several other foreign nations, with whom they had to contend for the sovereignty of Spain. They then held council as to what country they should invade, and as TO WHOM THEY SHOULD SEND TO RECONNOITRE IT. Upon this, THEY RESOLVED TO CHOOSE ITH [ETHAN -- BROTHER OF CALCOL AND DARDA], SON OF BREOGAN [ZARAH]...who was a valiant champion and an intelligent man, well instructed in the sciences, to reconnoitre the ISLE OF ERI. The place where they adopted this counsel was the TOWER OF BREOGAN IN GALLICIA. Thus it happened that they SENT ITH TO ERI. -- "The History of Ireland," p.179.

The "Leabhar Gabhala," or the "Book of the Conquests of Ireland," states that ITH sailed from the Tower of Breogan and landed in Ireland. There he met with the chiefs of the island and, on his way back to the ship, was waylaid and attacked by their warriors. The chiefs, evidently, had perceived that he might be the spearhead of an invasion -- so they ordered him intercepted and killed. In the ensuing battle Ith was killed; and LUGAIDH, the son of Ith, carried his father's body back to the ship and returned to Spain. "....it was there [the Tower of Breogan] that LUGAIDH, THE SON OF ITH, landed when he returned from Ireland with his father's dead body, to exhibit it to the SONS OF MILEDH and to the descendants of Breogan." (The Recension of Micheal O Cleirigh, part I. Edited by MacAlister & MacNeill, Dublin. Pp.243-247.)

The Invasion of Ireland

Infuriated by the death of Ith, "the SONS OF MILEDH...mustered an army for the invasion of Ireland, both to wreck vengeance upon the [inhabitants] for the murder of Ith, and to seize upon that kingdom for themselves. THEIR ENTIRE FLEET NUMBERED THIRTY SHIPS, in each of which there were thirty warriors, without counting their wives and their attendants. The number of chieftains who held command was forty, as we read in the...duan, composed by Eocaidh O'Floinn...." ("The History of Ireland," p.195).

While Ith was reconnoitering Ireland GATHELUS DIED IN SPAIN; SO SCOTA, NOW THE SOLE CARETAKER OF JACOB'S PILLAR-STONE, ACCOMPANIED HER EIGHT SONS TO IRELAND!

In "The Brut" or "The Chronicles of the Kings of Britain," we are told that GWRGANT, SON OF BELI, KING OF BRITAIN, was on his way back from a trip to Denmark when he encountered the sons of Gathelus -- and their fleet of thirty ships -- in the area of the Orkney Isles:

On his return [meaning Gwrgant's return to England] as he was passing through the Orkney Isles, he came up with [against] THIRTY SHIPS, which were full of men and women; and finding them there, he seized THEIR CHIEF, whose name was BARTHLOME. Thereupon this chief prayed for protection, telling him that they "were called BARCLENSES," had been DRIVEN FROM SPAIN, and were roving on the seas to find a place of settlement; and that he therefore entreated Gwrgant to grant then permission to abide in some part of the island [of IRELAND] as they had been at sea for a year and a half. Gwrgant [King of Britain] having thus learned hence they were, and what was their purpose, DIRECTED THEM with his goodwill ...TO IRELAND....Thither therefore they went, and there they settled, and peopled the country; and THEIR DESCENDANTS are to this day IN IRELAND. (P.60).

A footnote, on the same page in "The Chronicles of the Kings of Briton," CLEARLY shows the ISRAELITISH ORIGIN OF THESE SCOTSsailing with their thirty ships towards the island of Erin! Notice:

He [Barthlome the chief of the 30 ships] had his NAME from a RIVER OF SPAIN CALLED EIRINNAL, on the banks of which they had lived. This chief related to the king the whole of their adventures, FROM THE TIME THEY HAD BEEN DRIVEN FROM ISRAEL (PALESTINE) THEIR ORIGINAL COUNTRY, and the manner and circumstances in which [they]...had dwelt IN A RETIRED PART OF SPAIN, NEAR THE EIRNIA, from whence the SPANIARDS drove them to sea to seek another abode.

Raymond McNair comments that "This is one more VITAL LINK OF HISTORICAL PROOF, connecting some of the ANCIENT PEOPLE OF IRELAND (who, in other accounts are called 'MILESIAN SCOTS') DIRECTLY WITH THEIR ORIGINAL HOMELAND OF ISRAEL IN PALESTINE!" ("In Search of the Lost Ten Tribes," a unpublished manuscript. Copyright 1981. P.157).

From the Orkneys, the Milesian Scots traveled down the west coast of Scotland and struck tragedy as they approached Ireland:

Miled [Gathelus] having DIED IN SPAIN, his eight sons, WITH THEIR MOTHER, SCOTA [and the STONE OF DESTINY], their families and followers, at length set out on their venturous voyage to their Isle of Destiny.

In a DREADFUL STORM... when they attempted to land in Ireland, FIVE OF THE SONS OF MILESIUS, with great numbers of their followers, were lost, their fleet was dispersed and it seemed for a time as if none of them would ever enjoy the Isle of Destiny....

Eventually they made land -- EBER with the survivors of his following LANDING AT INVER SCENI, IN BANTRY BAY...but losing their own QUEEN SCOTA IN THE FRAY [with the inhabitants of the island] -- and EREMON with his people at INVER COLPA (MOUTH OF THE BOYNE). -- "The Story of the Irish Race," by Seumas MacManus. The Devin-Adair Co. N.Y. 1949. P.10.

"The Chronicles of Eri," by Milner, show that JACOB'S PILLAR-STONE MADE IT SAFELY TO IRELAND:

It's [the stone's] bearers had resolved, at starting, to 'move on the face of the waters, in search of their brethren.' Shipwrecked on the coast of Ireland, they yet CAME SAFE WITH LIA FAIL...Eochaidh [Eremon -- who had landed at a different part of the island] sent a car for Lia Fail, and he himself was placed thereon. And Erimionn was SEATED ON LIA FAIL, and the CROWN WAS PLACED ON HIS HEAD, and the MANTLE UPON HIS SHOULDERS, and all clapped and shouted. And the name of that place, from that day forward, was called "TARA." -- Trinity College, Dublin. II, 3 (p.89).

Unfortunately SCOTA, who was killed in a battle with the inhabitants of the island when her ship was wrecked on the coast, never got to see her son Eremon crowned FIRST KING OF THE SCOTS on Irish soil.

The Division of the Land

After the inhabitants of Ireland were brought under the sway of the remaining sons of Gathelus, the island was divided up into FIVE TERRITORIES by Eber and Eremon:

The TWO MUNSTERS were assigned to EBER, and LEINSTER AND CONNAUGHT formed the territory of ERIMHON. The principality of ULSTER was given to EBER, SON OF IR, SON OF MILEDH, and to some others of the chieftains, that came over [from Spain] with the children of Miledh; and the territory of Corca Luighe (Corca Looee), in South Munster, was given to LUGAIDH, SON OF ITH....("The History of Ireland," by Keating. P.207).

The famous TEA of Irish history, whom the British-Israelites and various Churches of God erroneously claim to be the daughter of King Zedekiah of Judah, received some land close to the present-day city of Dublin. This land became known as the Hill of Tara. The "Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland" by the Four Masters states that "TEA [TEAH], THE DAUGHTER OF LAGHALDH [LUGAIDH] SON OF ITH, whom EREMON MARRIED IN SPAIN, was the Tea who requested of Eremhon a choice HILL as her dower, in whatever place she should select it, that she might be interred therein. The hill she selected was DRUIMCAEIN, i.e., TEAM HAIR [TARA] (in Ireland)." (Vol. I, p.31).

The "Compendium of World History" says that "the BROTHERS EBER AND GEDE THE HEREMON founded a town after gaining possession of Ireland. To be the new CAPITAL OF IRELAND, they named it TEA-MUR, the TOWN OF TEA. At different times in history it has borne other names, the most common being TARA (cp. the Hebrew word TORAH, meaning "Law"). (Vol. I, p.425).

The peace that fell upon the island, following the subjugation of its indigenous peoples, was broken within a year. Eber's wife became dissatisfied with her husband's allotment and decided that she must possess the "three pleasantest hills in eirinn", or otherwise she could not remain in Ireland. "Now the pleasantest of all the Irish hills was TARA, which lay in EREMON'S HALF. And Eremon's wife would not have the covetousness of the other woman satisfied at her expense. So, because of the QUARREL OF THE WOMEN, the beautiful peace of the Island was broken by battle. EBER was beaten, and the HIGH SOVEREIGNTY SETTLED UPON EREMON...." ("The Story of the Irish Race," p.11).

Eremon's victory over Eber did little to solidify his claim to the High-Kingship of Ireland. For hundreds of years afterwards, the battle was refought time and time again as the advantage went sometimes to the Eremonians and sometimes to the Eberians. During this time the internecine rivalry caused the descendants of the sons of Gathelus to leave their original territories and move into other parts of Ireland.

Fergus Conquers Argyll

Three hundred and thirty years before Christ, a small colony landed in southwestern Scotland. This colony, however, DID NOT come from Ireland -- but from distant SCYTHIA! Notice!

In 331 Alexander the Great overthrew the Persian realm. Many nations who had been held in virtual slavery gained their own freedom. One of these people was the HOUSE OF ISRAEL. Israel was invaded in 721 by Shalmaneser of Assyria. After a three-year siege her people were taken into captivity....Ezekiel, over a century later was given a vision in which he saw that the House of Israel would not be released from their enslavement until 390 years had elapsed from the time of the siege of Samaria (Ezekiel 4:3-5). It was PRECISELY 390 years from 721, when the siege against Samaria began, to 331, the date of the final overthrow of Persia and the deliverance out of captivity of the Hebrews. Some of them immediately commenced a migration to the land settled long before by their brethren. IN THE YEAR 331-330 THEY JOURNEYED OUT OF SCYTHIA TO SCOTLAND.... ("Compendium of World History," by Herman L. Hoeh. Vol.II. Ambassador College, Pasadena. 1963. P.70).

Upon landing in southwestern Scotland they found the Pictish inhabitants too strong to dislodge. After suffering many reversals, the colony sought help from the high-king at TARA. Hector Boece records the king's response:

....ambassadors were sent to IRELAND [from Scotland] to complain of the treason and danger done by the PICTS, and to seek support against them. FERQUHARD, who was at that time king of the SCOTS IN IRELAND, became angered by the harassment received by his friends the SCOTS IN SCOTLAND. He therefore sent his son FERGUS, a wise and valiant prince, to their support.

Notice WHAT ELSE the king sent:

Also, to make them have the appearance of permanent fortune, FERGUHARD sent with his son the STONE OF DESTINY. FERGUS was warmly received by the Scots because their very existence was in great danger due to an upcoming battle. After his arrival, a council was held in ARGYILLE, where FERGUS said the following....When FERGUS' speech was concluded, the council thought a plurality of leaders was unprofitable and condescended, with one consent, to ELECT A KING to govern and have authority over them all during their present crisis. To remove all suspicion of hatred, and because each tribe wanted a king of their own lineage, THEY CHOSE FERGUS KING because of his NOBLE [ROYAL] BLOOD and excellent virtues....FERGUS...was CROWNED UPON THE STONE OF DESTINY which he brought with him, by the will of the gods, to stabilize his realm in Scotland. FERGUS was the first king that reigned over the SCOTS IN THAT REGION....

The kingdom of the SCOTS rising in this manner in Scotland, KING FERGUS set about resisting his enemies with great diligence. -- "The Chronicles of Scotland," compiled in 1531. Translated into Scots by John Ballenden. Pp. 35-37. Translation (from the Scots) mine.

The place where Fergus was crowned after his arrival in Argyll is the hill-top FORT OF DUNADD in the Kilmartin valley. This valley is a great center of Bronze Age monuments and art; and upon the summit of the fortress one can gaze out to the north and see an ancient row of MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS. On the summit of this fortress of Dunadd is a FOOTPRINT carved in stone, and next to it a bowl-shaped hollow and the figure of a WILD BOAR. The hollow contained water used in ceremonial bathings; and the figure of the boar probably represented kingly courage and fierceness. Behind the footprint is a place for a STONE. While Fergus was being crowned, HE SAT ON A STONE with his foot in the footprint, looking out over the megalithic monuments in the distance. "No stone now exists there upon which a ruler might have been enthroned, but an unprovable tradition holds THAT ONE WAS USED, and met with a glorious destiny. For this, the story holds, was THE STONE which was later MOVED TO SCONE and upon which ALL THE KINGS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND WERE CROWNED." ("The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles," by Ronald Hutton. Basil Blackwell, Inc. Cambridge, MA. 1991. P.173).

Elsewhere in his "Chronicles of Scotland" Boece adds some details: "Fergus, son of Ferchard, was first King of the Scots in Scotland, and brought the CHAIR from Ireland to Argyll, and was crowned on it. He built a town in Argyll called Beregonium, in which he placed it. From him proceeded FORTY KINGS of Scotland. The twelfth king, Evenus, built a town near Beregonium, called after his name Evonium, NOW CALLED DUNSTAFFNAGE, to which the STONE was removed, and the remainder of the forty kings are all crowned in Dunstaffnage, reign there, and are buried there." (Boethii Scotorum Hist., ed. 1527. Bellenden's Croniklis of the Scots).

When the area had been pacified, Fergus decided to divide the land of Argyll among the people. After a speech to this end, the following was decided:

When Fergus had ended this speech, the people promised faithfully that they would only allow themselves to be governed by the SOVEREIGNTY OF A KING in the times ahead. They also promised to have only those of the LINEAGE AND BLOOD OF FERGUS reign over them; and, if they failed in this, they prayed that the gods would send the same vengeance on them and their posterity as fell on their ELDERS IN EGYPT AND SPAIN in the past, when they broke the commands of the gods. King Fergus got charters and evidence that the CROWN OF SCOTLAND belonged to him and his successors, and had them engraved in marble with the images of beasts in the form of letters -- which were used in his day. He then gave them to the most religious priests to be observed in all their temples. -- "The Chronicles of Scotland," by Hector Boece. P. 46.

After dividing the land up into TWELVE areas, Fergus left Argyll for Ireland to quell some disturbances that were threatening the peace of the island. While crossing the Irish sea, his ship was caught in a terrible storm and driven upon a rock off the coast of Ireland. There he perished in the raging sea along with all his nobles. This rock is now called CRAGFERGUS in his memory.

Increasing Rivalries

As time wore on, rivalries between the descendants of Gathelus in Ireland increased. The LINE OF IR, SON OF GATHELUS -- to whom ULSTER had been apportioned -- ruled in the north for A THOUSAND YEARS. According to Seumas MacManus, "the power, and might, and courage of ULSTER had ever acted as a brake on the ambitions of their NEIGHBOURING ROYAL DEPREDATORS, and especially the ROYAL AGGRESSORS OF CONNAUGHT, who were made to fear Ulster's name.

But in the BEGINNING OF THE FOURTH CENTURY, Ulster's power was irrevocably broken, and by far THE GREATER PORTION OF HER TERRITORY WRESTED FROM HER -- her people driven into miserably NARROW BOUNDS from which, ever after, they can hardly be said to have emerged." ("The Story of the Irish Race." P.76).

The sagas of the Ulster Cycle reveal the rivalry that took place for the hegemony of Ireland BETWEEN THE ULSTER AND THE CONNAUGHT KINGS. "In time the CONNAUGHT DYNASTY gains ground. Its kings CROSS THE SHANNON and occupy Uisnech, DOMINATING THE FERTILE MIDLAND PLAIN, probably in the 2ND CENTURY [A.D.]. In the 3RD CENTURY they ANNEX THE BOYNE VALLEY AND MAKE TARA THEIR CAPITAL. These conquests break up the PENTARCHY [FIVE DIVISIONS OF IRELAND] and give a DECIDED HEADSHIP TO THE KINGS OF TARA....About A.D. 350, the CONNAUGHT-TARA DYNASTY CAPTURED EMAIN AND ANNEXED THE GREATER PART OF ULSTER. It reached the height of its power under NIALL OF THE NINE HOSTAGES at the beginning of the 5TH CENTURY. His sons took possession of the WESTERN PART OF ULSTER, and their kindred now ruled all the northern half of Ireland EXCEPT THE EASTERN STRIP FROM THE MOUTH OF THE BANN TO THE MOUTH OF THE BOYNE...." ("Encyclopedia Britannica," 1943 edition. Vol.12, p.599).

The Two Dalriadas

This eastern strip of Ulster became known as DAL RIADA. Dal Riada was named after CARBRI RIADA the son of CONARI -- monarch of Ireland in the THIRD CENTURY A.D. Conari (Conaire II, son-in-law of Conn of a Hundred Battles) was famed as the "FATHER OF THE THREE CARBRIS, NAMELY CARBRI MUSC, from whom was named the territory of Muskerry, CARBRI BAISCIN, whose descendants peopled Corca-Baiscin in western Clare, and, most notable of them, CARBRI RIADA, who when there was a FAMINE IN THE SOUTH, led his people to the EXTREME NORTHEAST OF IRELAND...." ("The Story of the Irish Race," p.43).

Carbri Riada didn't stay long in the Irish Dal Riada -- he soon led some of his people across the Mull of Kintyre to join his brethren already established in the southwest of Scotland! "Carbri Riada...led...some of them [his people (SCOTS)] across to the nearest part of Scotland where they settled, forming the first [new] important colony of Scots (Irish) IN ALBA [since the arrival of the group from Scythia], and driving there the edge of the IRISH WEDGE which was eventually to make the whole country known as the LAND OF THE SCOTS (Irish). The Irish territory which Carbri Riada's people settled, the northeast of ANTRIM, and the territory opposite to it IN ALBA, into which his people OVERFLOWED, became known as the TWO DAL-RIADAS. And though divided by sea, these two territories were, for many centuries, to be as one Irish territory, administered and ruled over by the ONE Irish prince." (Ibid, p.44).

Following the reestablishment of a viable new SCOTTISH COLONY in Scotland, several movements followed across the sea to strengthen the new colony. "FATHADH CANANN, son of Mac-Con, went to Alba...and conquered an inheritance for himself therein. IT IS FROM HIM THAT THE RACE OF MAC ALIND (ALLEN) and its correlative branches have sprung.

Again, COLLA UNAIS and his brothers proceeded to ALBA, and there acquired large possessions; and FROM THIS COLLA UNAIS ARE SPRUNG THE MACDONALDS, BOTH OF ALBA AND OF ER. CRIMTHANN, son of Fidach, went to make the conquest of Alba whilst he was monarch of Ireland," ("The History of Ireland," by Keating. Pp. 377-379).

According to Moore:

The colony planted in those regions [southwest Scotland] by CARBRI RIADA, in the middle of the third century, though constantly fed with supplies from the PARENT STOCK (THE DALRIADIANS OF ANTRIM), had run frequent risks of extirpation from the superior power of their neighbours and rivals, the PICTS. -- "The History of Ireland."

During the reign of the last of the forty kings descended from Fergus (Eugenius I. 364-376 A.D.), the colonies, including that which originated in Scythia, were overrun by the Picts and their Roman allies. Eugenius was killed in battle and the kingdom in the southwest of Scotland was OBLITERATED! According to Herman L. Hoeh Eugenius "was killed in battle against the Romans and their Pictish allies....The dead king's brother, with his son ERC, and his grandson, FLED TO DENMARK where he was received by Sivaldus III. The Scottish population scattered throughout SCANDINAVIA." ("Compendium of World History," p.79).

Boece reveals that the ROYAL RACE OF THE SCOTS was expelled to Ireland ("The Coronation Stone," by William F. Skene. P.14).

With the colonies thus dispersed, the SCOTS RETURNED TO IRELAND WITH THE CORONATION STONE!

However, after conquering Argyll, the Romans began oppressing the Cruithne -- a people who were living alongside the Picts in the area. "The Cruithne were miserably oppressed. After THREE DECADES they came to an agreement with the SCOTS and promised to restore the Scots to the throne if they would deliver them from oppression." ("Compendium of World History," p.80). The SON OF ERC, or ERP, returned from Scandinavia and, at the head of a Scottish army, delivered the Cruithne and RESTORED THE THRONE to the Scots. The SON OF ERC (who was called DRUST) thus became the new king of the Cruithne, and died in 453 A.D. after a reign of 45 years.

IN THE YEAR 503, however, the DALRIADIAN PRINCES of Ireland, aided by the then all-powerful influence of the HY-NIAL FAMILY, were enabled to transplant a NEW COLONY into North Britain, which, extending the limits of the former settlement, set up, for the first time, A REGAL AUTHORITY, and became, in a single century, sufficiently powerful to shake off all dependence upon Ireland. -- "The History of Ireland," by Thomas Moore.

E. Raymond Capt comments on this new infusion of the Scottish Dal Riada:

About A.D. 500 some immigrants led by FERGUS MOR MCERC (the great), from the IRISH GAELIC KINGDOM OF DAL RIADA, invaded the western coasts of Scotland, the land of the Picts. In George Buchanan's "History of Scotland," we read where Fergus of Ireland, after INVADING SCOTLAND AND RETURNING HOME (to Ireland) victorious: "the Scots confirmed the Kingdom (SCOTTISH DAL RIADA) to him and his POSTERITY by an oath" (Vol. I, p.160). Being a believer in the old prophecy attached to the STONE OF DESTINY CALLED LIA FAIL, that, "wherever the stone is found the Scottish race will reign." Fergus desired that he be CROWNED UPON THE STONE. -- "Jacob's Pillar," p.43.

Shortly thereafter, Fergus built a church at IONA, an island off the western shores of Argyll, and commanded it to be the SEPULCHRE OF THE KINGS OF SCOTLAND from that time forward.

Before the century's end the Scottish colony of Dalriada, in the southwestern part of Scotland, was strong enough to demand its COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE from the mother country (Ireland) -- a demand which, in 576, KING AEDH carried to the CONVENTION OF DRIMCEATT in Ireland.

The Royal Saint

There now enters on the scene a man who left LARGE footprints in the colorful history of Ireland and Scotland -- ST. COLUMBA. When you study the life of this man, it becomes apparent that he was used by God to further His design in the land of Scotland. Columba was born on December 7, 521, at Gartan in County Donegal, Ireland. He was of IRISH ROYAL STOCK, very close in the line of succession to the kingship of TIR-CONAILL in Ulster, and the HIGH-KINGSHIP of all of Ireland. One of his biographers affirms that "He had the natural RIGHT to the kingship of Ireland, and it would have been offered him had he not put it from him for God's sake."

According to Seumas MacManus:

He was a DESCENDANT IN THE THIRD DEGREE FROM CONAL GULBAN, the founder of the principality of TIR-CONAILL, and consequently in the fourth degree from NIALL OF THE NINE HOSTAGES. He was born a NEPHEW of the then reigning High-king, MUIRCERTACH MACERCA. And a High-king who reigned later in COLM'S [Irish name for Columba] career, AINMIRE, was his cousin. His father FEIDLIMID, was chieftain of the particular territory of TIR-CONAILL, in which he was born. And his mother, EITHNE, was daughter of a Munster chief, of the line of Cathair Mor. It was only in a time when, as then, the fires of Christianity glowed at white heat, that a man of such, and so many ROYAL ENTANGLEMENTS could turn his back upon wealth, rank and power, and give himself to God. -- "The Story of the Irish Race." The Devin-Adair Co., N.Y. 1949. P.160.

Columba studied under the distinguished Finian of Clonard and, in 551, was ordained a priest of the CELTIC CHURCH. During his residence in Ireland, he founded a number of churches and the famous monasteries Daire Calgaich (Derry) on the banks of Lough Foyle, and Dair-magh (Durrow) in King's county. As a member of the Celtic church, which was founded DIRECTLY upon the teachings of the apostles of Christ who reached Britain shortly after the death of Christ, Columba observed the CORRECT PASSOVER and evidently kept God's true SABBATH day.

In 561, an incident occurred that was to change Columba's life and bring the STONE OF DESTINY to a mysterious island off the coast of western Scotland! Curan, the son of KING AED of Connaught, who happened to be a hostage at TARA at the time, killed the son of the High-king's steward during a game of caman. He fled from Tara and sought REFUGE with Columba at the monastery of St. Ruan. "King DIARMUID commanded that the young prince should be taken forcibly from Colm [Columba] and put to death -- which was done. For this unforgivable outrage against TRADITIONAL SANCTUARY".... "[Colm] and his monks cried aloud against the sacrilegious violation; and proceeding in solemn procession to the PALACE, pronounced a curse upon its walls. 'From that day,' say the annalists, 'NO KING EVER SAT AGAIN AT TARA...' " ("The Story of the Irish Race," by McManus, and "The History of Ireland," by Moore).

McManus continues:

Colm, eluding a guard that had been put over him [by King Diarmiud], quitted Diarmiud's domain, and made his way over the mountains to his home in the TIR-CONAILL. His kinsmen, the PRINCES OF THE TIR-CONAILL and TIR-EOGAIN, took up his quarrel, and joining their army to that of AED, King of Connaught, father of the prince who had been put to death, met Diarmiud and his forces at CUILDREMNE, fought and defeated him, with terrible slaughter -- three thousand dead, some say, being left on the field. -- "The Story of the Irish Race." Footnote #4, p.163.

Tara Falls Silent!

With the death of King Diarmiud after a reign of twenty-one years, the CROWN OF IRELAND reverted to the Eugenian branch of the NORTHERN NIALS -- and the HALLS OF TARA fell silent! Also, with Diarmiud's passing, the last king of the line of Gathelus-who professed the old pagan Celtic religion -- was removed; and a line of CHRISTIAN KINGS commenced in the DALRIADA OF SCOTLAND.

Thomas Moore notes that in the reign of Diarmait "the ancient HALL OR COURT OF TARA, in which, for so many centuries, the TRIENNIAL COUNCILS OF THE NATION had been held, saw, FOR THE LAST TIME, her kings and nobles assembled within its precincts; and the cause of the desertion of this LONG HONOURED seat of legislation shows to what ENORMOUS HEIGHT the power of the ecclesiastical order had then risen." ("History of Ireland," p.255).

Ronald Hutton also comments on the FALL of the PAGAN Irish kingship:

During the SIXTH CENTURY, Irish paganism seems to have collapsed. The LAST KING to celebrate a FEIS, the symbolic marriage to a tutelary goddess, was DIARMAIT [Diarmiud] MAC CERBAILL AT TARA IN 560. Diarmait himself had...a bad reputation in Irish Christian legend, AS AN ENEMY OF SAINTS AND PATRON OF DRUIDS...("The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles." Basil Blackwell Ltd. Oxford. 1991. P.263).

Columba Removes the Stone

Columba immediately set about retrieving LIA FAIL from the hill of Tara and, with TWELVE of his disciples, set out across the sea to the tiny island of IONA. They sailed into a bay on the island of ORONSAY in the southern Hebrides, and from there made their final landing on IONA.

The island of Iona was part of the SCOTIC DALRIADA colonized and ruled by the SCOTS. KING CONAL, who at this time reigned there, was a direct descendant of Fergus Mor McErc and of the TIR-CONAILL family. He was, in fact, Columba's own kinsman! To this CARRIER OF LIA FAIL the king made a grant of land where Columba and his disciples could build a home and establish a monastery.

One of the first things Columba did upon his arrival was to place the Pillar-stone of Jacob in the church previously built by Fergus. He then expelled the PAGAN DRUID PRIESTS who inhabited the island. Iona had been known as INNIS NAN DRUIDHNEAH ("THE ISLAND OF THE DRUIDS"), and was a sacred spot long before Columba made landfall in 563.

After a small settlement was constructed, Iona "developed into the most famous centre of CELTIC CHRISTIANITY, the MOTHER COMMUNITY of numerous monastic houses, whence missionaries were dispatched for the conversion of Scotland and northern England...."("Encyclopedia Britannica." 1943 edition. Vol.12, p.573).

Was Columba an Evangelist?

After everything was in order and the buildings under way, Columba started undertaking journeys from Iona into PICTLAND, visiting the Pictish monarch BRUIDE on at least one occasion. Most history books claim that Columba's primary goal was to convert the Picts to Christianity; but there is a problem with this belief. The "Encyclopedia Britannica" observes:

The SCOTS had come from Ireland, A CHRISTIAN LAND, and had brought their religion with them, and Christianity had PERSISTED FROM ROMAN TIMES, or had been revived, in Strathclyde. In the beginning of the 5th century, St. Ninian had preached in Strathclyde and had sent his disciples to CONVERT PICTLAND, and it is probable that many of the religious foundations in the north-east of Scotland, generally ascribed to St. Columba, REALLY DATE FROM AN OLDER MISSIONARY EFFORT. Some years before St. Columba landed in Iona, a great Christian teacher, known as St. Kentigern or St. Mungo, was labouring in Strathclyde, and to HIS MISSION is traced the foundation of the future city of Glasgow. ST. COLUMBA, THEREFORE, CANNOT BE SAID TO HAVE CONVERTED SCOTLAND.... (1943 edition. Vol.20, pp.154-155).

Author Charles Thomas also notes this strange anomaly:

Elsewhere in the Life [of Columba], a FEW Pictish families, among a nation depicted as OVERWHELMINGLY PAGAN, were converted and baptized. The Irish or DALRIADIC VIEW of Columba's life and work at Iona, WHICH MUST BE SET AGAINST THE PICTISH VERSION and which is what Adomnan [7th century biographer of Columba] gives us, implies that IONA, MULL AND THE DALRIADIC ARGYLL REGION WERE ALREADY THE LANDS OF THE SCOTI, ceded by (or won from) the Picts IN EARLIER TIMES. The status of Iona [then] emerges as that of the PRINCIPAL MONASTIC CENTRE FOR THE IRISH COLONIES, contact with the Picts being a SECONDARY ELEMENT.

The late Kathleen Hughes, in a PENETRATING ANALYSIS, concluded that it is NOT EVEN CLEAR that Columba converted and baptized the PICTISH MONARCH, STILL LESS that he was in any sense a national evangelist. The (late 6th-and 7th-century) Columban foundation from Iona in Pictland were little more than 'MINOR CELLS, established WITHOUT royal patronage, exercising LITTLE INFLUENCE on society.' Had Columba's Pictish mission been rapidly and widely a success, rivalling the then-retrospective Irish INFLATION of Patrick's life-work; had he CONVERTED the Pictish king Bruide and his court; had he established churches and monasteries throughout Pictland in constant touch with the mother-house at IONA -- then in 690 Adomnan would have said so. BUT HE DOES NOT, and we must accept Dr. Hughes' conclusions. Our first evidence that Christianity was a MAJOR INFLUENCE in Pictish society comes AFTER Adomnan's death (704), with the negotiations between King Nechton and the Northumbrian church. -- "Celtic Britain." Thames and Hudson, Inc. N.Y. 1986. P.104.

If this is true WHY, then, did Columba travel to Iona if not to evangelize the heathen peoples of Scotland? HE WENT TO ESTABLISH THE THRONE OF JUDAH IN SCOTLAND and to cater to the spiritual needs of his people the SCOTS!!

The "Liber Vitreus"

Nine years after Columba arrived in Iona with the CORONATION STONE Conal, king of the Dalriadic Scots in the west of Scotland, passed away. AIDAN, the son of Gauran, succeeded to the throne. Columba was held in such high regard by the clergy and the people, and related to the recently departed king, that he was selected to perform the CEREMONY OF INAUGURATION on the accession of the new king. According to tradition "Columba had been, at first, unwilling to perform this ceremony [crowning of AIDAN on the LIA FAIL]; but AN ANGEL, as his biographers say, appeared to him during the night, HOLDING A BOOK CALLED 'THE GLASS BOOK OF THE ORDINATION OF KINGS,' which he put into the hands of the Saint, and ORDERED HIM TO ORDAIN AIDAN KING, according to the directions of that book. This LIBER VITREUS is supposed to have been so called from having its cover encrusted with glass or crystal." ("The History of Ireland," by Thomas Moore. Footnote p.247).

As E. Raymond Capt notes, "Aidan was crowned king of Scotland in a CORONATION RITE THAT HAS BEEN USED EVER SINCE by the succeeding monarches of Scotland and England. The ritual included a CONSECRATION declaring the future of Aidan's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, exactly as was done by JACOB when he blessed his sons before he died." ("Jacob's Pillar," p.45).

A man by the name of Martene, who was a researcher and writer on church antiquities, refers to this inauguration of Aidan by Columba as the MOST ANCIENT INSTANCE OF THE BENEDICTION OF KINGS IN CHRISTIAN TIMES that he had come across in the course of his reading. Indeed, this was a MILESTONE in God's plan regarding the ROYAL LINE OF JUDAH that was to rule over a large number of His people ISRAEL in their appointed home in the centuries ahead!

The Council of Drumceatt

Shortly after the coronation Aidan, whose claim to the throne of the Dalriadic Scots in Argyll was based on his descent from the ancient princes of Dalriada (Carbre Riada in particular), asserted his hereditary right to the sovereignty of IRISH DALRIADA. The Irish monarch AIDUS contested this claim. It was agreed that the difference between them should be submitted to the states-general of Ireland at the NEW CENTER of the Irish monarchy in DRUMCEATT, ULSTER. "Setting out in a small vessel, attended by a few monks, the Saint [Columba] and the king directed their course to the north; and, AFTER ENCOUNTERING A VIOLENT STORM in the open sea, landed at the mouth of the river which runs into Lough Foyle, and from there proceeded to Drumceat." ("The History of Ireland," by Thomas Moore, p.247).

When King Aidan and Columba arrived at Drumceatt, the assembly met to pronounce their judgment upon the question at issue between the two kings:

On the grounds of his descent from Carbre Riada, to whom, as we have seen, a grant had been made, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE THIRD CENTURY, of all those parts of the COUNTY OF ANTRIM [in Ulster] which formed the territory called, from thenceforth, Dalriada, king Aidan ASSERTED HIS HEREDITARY RIGHT to the sovereignty of that territory, and maintained that, as belonging to his family, it should be exempt, if not in the whole, at least in part, from the PAYMENT OF TRIBUTE to the king of Ireland, and from all such burdens as affected the rest of the kingdom. The IRISH MONARCH, on the other hand, contended that the territory in question formed a portion of his dominions, and had always, equally with the rest, been subject to imposts and contributions; that, before the Dalriadians became sovereigns in Britain [Scotland], such tribute had been always paid by that principality, nor could the election of its princes to a throne in North Britain make any difference in its relations to the Irish monarchy. Notwithstanding his known attachment to king AIDAN, so great was the general trust in Columba's sense of justice, that to him alone the decision of the question was first referred. On his declining, however, to pronounce any opinion respecting it, the task of arbitration was committed to St. Colman -- a man deeply versed, as we are told, in legal and ecclesiastical learning,who, on the obvious grounds, that Dalriada, being an Irish province, could not but BE SUBJECT, in every respect, to the MONARCH OF ALL IRELAND [AIDUS], gave his decision AGAINST the claim of king Aidan. -- Ibid, Pp.248-250.

From this time forward, the SCOTTISH COLONY IN ARGYLL WENT ITS OWN WAY AND BECAME INDEPENDENT OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY, IRELAND.

Columba and King Aidan took their leave of the council in Ulster and returned to Iona.

In the year 597 death came to Columba. During the May of that year, he visited the farm on the west side of the island where his brethren grew the crops necessary for the survival of the settlement. "On SATURDAY of that week he visited the great barn in which was stored the community's stock of food, and rejoiced in the great store he found there, which would insure plenty for his beloved ones for that year. With exceeding earnestness he blessed the barn that it should ever hold and give in plenty to the ardent servants of God. Then he said to those who stood around him: 'THIS DAY IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES IS CALLED SABBATH, which means rest. And this day is indeed SABBATH TO ME, for it is the last day of my laborious life, AND ON IT I REST. And this night...I shall go the way of my fathers.'...At the end of the day, when it came time for the SABBATH VIGILS [evening prayers], having reached the end of a page, he laid down his pen, saying: 'Let Baithen write the rest.' And his last written words were those of the thirty-third psalm -- 'They that seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good.'

So that the first words which his successor...Baithen, was to write were: 'Come, ye children, and harken unto me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.'" ("The Story of the Irish Race," by Seumas MacManus. Revised edition. The Devin-Adair Co., Connecticut. 1992. Pp.172-173).

Shortly afterwards, this remarkable man of God, and guardian of the Stone of Destiny, went to his rest.

Burial Place of Kings!

It is uncertain how long the CORONATION STONE remained on Iona. It must, however, have been removed before the devastating VIKING RAID on the island in 793. "Within a period of FIVE YEARS, Norse freebooters PLUNDERED AND SLEW at Lindisfarne and Jarrow in Northumbria, Morganwg in South Wales, Lambey Island (Rechru) north of Dublin in Ireland, in Kintyre and the Isle of Man, AND AT THE SACRED ISLAND OF IONA ON THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND....All this was a PRESAGE of calamity which the future would not belie." ("A History of the Vikings," by Gwyn Jones. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1984. P.195).

Columba apparently had the gift of prophecy. Apart from declaring the future of KING AIDAN'S posterity, he seems to have predicted the future of the holy island of Iona beyond the devastations of the Vikings: "Unto this place, small and mean though it be, great homage shall yet be paid, not only by the kings and peoples of the Scots, but by rulers of foreign and barbarous nations and their subjects. In great veneration too, shall it be held by men of other churches." THIS PROPHECY HAS BEEN AMAZINGLY FULFILLED! Since Columba's time a steady stream of visitors from all over the civilized world have visited Iona. For generations, the remains of kings and noblemen have been interred at this ROYAL SEAT of the Scotic nation -- just as TARA was the center of burial prior to the death of King Diarmiad.

In Buchanan's "History of Scotland," we find the following record:

In the Abbey of Saint Columba, the bishops of the Isles fixed their residence, after their ANCIENT SEAT IN EUBONIA was taken possession of by the English. Amidst the ruins there remains still a BURYING PLACE OR CEMETERY, common to all THE NOBLE FAMILIES OF THE WESTERN ISLANDS, in which, conspicuous above the rest, stand THREE LARGE TOMBS, at a little distance from each other; on these are placed sacred shrines TURNED TOWARD THE EAST, and on their Western sides are fixed small tables, with the inscriptions indicating to whom the tombs belong. That which is in the middle, has as its title, "TUMULUS REGUM SCOTIAE" the TOMB OF THE KINGS OF SCOTLAND, for there FORTY-EIGHT kings of the Scots are said to have been buried. The one upon the right is inscribed, "TUMULUS REGUM HIBERNIAE," the TOMB OF THE KINGS OF IRELAND, where FOUR Irish kings are reported to rest. And upon the one on the left is engraved, "TUMULUS REGUM NORVEGIAE," the TOMB OF THE KINGS OF NORWAY, general rumour having assigned to it the ashes of EIGHT Norwegian kings. -- P.47.

According to Gerhard Herm: "In the cemetery are buried ALL the kings of Scotland UP TO THE ELEVENTH CENTURY, including Duncan I. and his murderer, Macbeth [of Shakespeare fame]." ("The Celts," p.256).

Lia Fail Goes to Argyll

According to E. Raymond Capt: "On IONA, the 'STONE LIA FAIL' continued to be used as the CORONATION STONE OF THE DALRIADIC KINGS until its removal to DUNSTAFFNAGE [a castle on LOCH ETIVE], ON THE MAINLAND OF SCOTLAND JUST EAST OF IONA, where the Lords of Scotland were made princes." ("Jacob's Pillar," p.47). There is a curious Scottish tradition that says the CLAN MAC DOUGALL was made custodian of the Coronation Stone at Dunstaffnage until its removal to SCONE in Perthshire:

....if a true descendant of the MAC DOUGALL'S with red hair and without freckles should stand in the ancient chapel of Dunstaffnage and shout the battle cry of the Scots, "STRIKE FOR THE SILVER LION," instead of an echo he will hear a ghostly voice say, "Where is the Stone?"

After the stone's removal to DUNSTAFFNAGE, this castle then became the CENTER of the Scottish line of kings.

Eventually the PICTS became supreme in the north of Scotland and, after much fighting, gained control over both the Scots of Dalriada and the British of Strathclyde. The Pictish supremacy was short-lived. "Then the Picts were WEAKENED by the attacks of the NORSEMEN, who first attacked the coasts in the end of the 8th century, and, about 835, began to make PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS." ("Encyclopedia Britannica," 1943 edition. Vol.20, p.155).

In 843, while the Picts were thus engaged in trying to hold off the Viking incursions, the SCOTS threw off their Pictish overlords and made claim to the Pictish throne. In this same year KENNETH MACALPIN, the king of the Scots, was CROWNED ON THE STONE LIA FAIL as the first King of the UNITED KINGDOM OF THE PICTS AND THE SCOTS.

Kenneth Moves Stone to Scone

Kenneth MacAlpin's actions, upon receiving the crown of the United Kingdom, are noted by E. Raymond Capt:

One of his first acts as King was to FOUND A CHURCH AT SCONE (near Perth, Scotland) because it was there that he had gained his principal victory over the Picts. Kenneth then had THE "STONE LIA FAIL" BROUGHT FROM DUNSTAFFNAGE and placed on an adjoining hill named "Moot Hill" or "Hill of Credulity." -- "Jacob's Pillar," p.47).

L.G. Pine, in his book "The Highland Clans," notes that "SCONE was the SACRED PLACE of the Pictish kingdom and became the capital of the NOW UNITED REALM IN PLACE OF DUNSTAFFNAGE IN ARGYLL, which had been the centre of the Scottish line of kings. It has often been said that the STONE was that on which the HIGH KINGS OF IRELAND were crowned AT TARA and, EVEN MORE REMARKABLE, that the IRISH CORONATION STONE WAS THAT ON WHICH JACOB RESTED HIS HEAD AT BETHEL." (Charles E. Tuttle, Inc. Rutland, Vermont. 1972. P.25).

"The History of Scotland Its Highlands, Regiments and Clans," by James Brown, states that "The change of the seat of government by KENNETH [MacAlpin] on ascending the PICTISH THRONE, from INVERLOCHAY, the capital of the SCOTS, to ABERNETHY, also followed by the REMOVAL OF THE MARBLE CHAIR, THE EMBLEM OF SOVEREIGNTY, FROM DUNSTAFFNAGE TO SCONE, appears to have occasioned no detriment to the GAELIC population of the Highlands....(Vol.I. Francis A. Niccolls & Co. Edinburgh, London & Boston. 1909. P.155).

The "Encyclopedia Britannica" relates the history of this NEW CENTER of the line of Judah:

SCONE, a parish of Perthshire, Scotland, containing OLD SCONE, the site of an historic abbey and PALACE, and New Scone, a modern village, 2 miles north of Perth, near the left bank of the [river] TAY....It became the CAPITAL OF PICTAVIA, the kingdom of northern Picts, in succession to Forteriot....The ABBEY was founded in 1115 by Alexander I., but long before this date SCONE had been a centre of ECCLESIASTICAL ACTIVITY and the seat of a monastery. KENNETH [MacAlpin] is alleged to have brought the STONE OF DESTINY, on which the CELTIC KINGS WERE CROWNED, FROM DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE ON LOCH ETIVE, AND TO HAVE DEPOSITED IT IN SCONE, WHENCE IT WAS CONVEYED TO WESTMINSTER ABBEY (where it lies beneath the coronation chair) by Edward I. in 1296. MOST OF THE SCOTTISH KINGS WERE CROWNED AT SCONE, the last function being held on Jan.1, 1651, when Charles II. received the crown. The abbey and the house of Scone were burned down by the Reformers in 1559, and next year the estates were granted to the Ruthvens. -- 1943 edition. Vol.20, p.135.

An Early Coronation

Author E. Raymond Capt writes about an early coronation ceremony in the Abbey of Scone:

One of the EARLIEST records of a CORONATION is preserved in the account of John of Fordun, the Scottish chronicler who died about A.D. 1384. He tells us that the STONE was used in the coronation of Alexander III. in A.D. 1249:

"....and, having there placed him in the REGAL CHAIR, decked with silk clothes and embroidered with gold, the Bishop of St. Andrew's, the others assisting him, consecrated his king, the king himself sitting, as was proper, UPON THE REGAL CHAIR -that is, THE STONE -- and the earls and other nobles placing vestments under his feet with bent knees, BEFORE THE STONE. This stone is reverently preserved in that monastery [in SCONE] for the consecration of kings of Scotland; nor were any of the kings in wont to reign anywhere in Scotland, unless they had, on receiving the name of king, first SAT UPON THIS ROYAL STONE IN SCONE, which was constituted by ancient kings the 'SEDES SUPERIOR' or PRINCIPAL SEAT." -- "Jacob's Pillar," p.48.

Previously, King Kenneth II., who died in 995, had the CORONATION STONE placed on a wooden pedestal in front of the high altar of the Abbey of Scone. "This pedestal had a wooden shaft which could be raised or lowered according to the height of the monarch to be crowned, enabling the king to sit with comfort and dignity, his kilt being arranged to COVER THE CORONATION STONE COMPLETELY. At the same time, the King had an inscription engraved ON ONE SIDE OF THE STONE:

Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque,

Invenient lapidum regnare tenentur ibidem.

Translation:

"If fate go right, where'er this STONE is found,

The SCOTS shall monarches of that realm be crowned."

This prophecy was certainly fulfilled when KING JAMES VI. OF SCOTLAND became JAMES I. OF ENGLAND. It should be noted that the present ROYAL HOUSE OF BRITAIN is descended from the Scottish kings, through Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, the daughter of James VI., whose daughter Sophia married the Elector of Hanover; their son became BRITAIN'S KING GEORGE I." (Ibid,. P.48).

Edward I. Seizes the Stone

Alexander III. died in 1286, leaving the throne to his infant granddaughter and only living descendant. Known as the Maid of Norway, the infant died in 1290 at the age of seven. This produced a POLITICAL CRISIS in Scotland, with no less than thirteen descendants of former monarches laying claim to the throne of Judah. The Scots asked EDWARD I. OF ENGLAND, noted for his wisdom, to arbitrate. This he agreed to do -- on the terms that the Scots recognize him as "overlord"; and he intervened on behalf of John de Baliol, a grandson of David I. and chief pretender to the throne of Scotland. A certain number of the Scottish nobility formerly recognized Edward's "overlordship" in the dispute and, in 1292, after leading an English army into Scotland, Edward proclaimed John de Baliol the new king of Scotland.

The coronation of John Baliol is described by William Rishanger in his Chronicle, written about 1327: "John de Balioll, on the following feast of St. Andrew's, placed upon THE REGAL STONE, WHICH JACOB PLACED UNDER HIS HEAD when he went from Bersabee to Haran, was solemnly crowned in the church of the canons regular at Scone...."

However many Scottish nobles, and the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of the Scottish people, bitterly resented English interference in their national affairs. Giving in to the wishes of the people for a termination of English control in the land, Baliol formed an alliance with the French in 1295. At this time the French were at war with England. Baliol then summoned the Scottish people to revolt against Edward, who summarily crushed Baliol's army at Dunbar in April, 1296. As a result, Edward decreed the annexation of Scotland to England; and John de Baliol was deposed. Scotland was immediately placed under military occupation.

In order to THWART the Scottish royal line, Edward then seized the CORONATION STONE and ordered it to be transported to Westminster Abbey in London:

It is said that Edward noted the Scots reverence for the "STONE OF SCONE." He was aware of the TRADITION inspired by the ancient inscription of King Kenneth II. that wherever the STONE should be, a king of GAELIC BLOOD would reign. SEEKING TO DEFEAT THIS TRADITION, he had the STONE transferred to WESTMINSTER ABBEY, where, ever since, it has been reverently cherished.

Not only was the STONE offered to Edward for safe-keeping but also the GOLDEN SCEPTER, the CROWN OF SCOTLAND and some CROWN JEWELS. To show his respect for the STONE OF SCONE, Edward had built a BEAUTIFUL CHAIR OF HARDWOOD, six feet, seven inches high, in which to HOLD THE STONE. Known as "Saint Edward's Chair" or the "Coronation Chair," it has ever since been kept in the chapel named for him.

It [the stone] was later claimed by the SCOTS, in connection with the Treaty of Northampton, in 1328, that EDWARD II. promised to restore the STONE to Robert the Bruce. The CROWN, SCEPTER, emeralds, pearls, and rubies were returned. But the STONE was held in such respect by the people of London that THEY WOULD NOT ALLOW IT TO BE REMOVED. In SPITE of its location today, the ANCIENT TRADITION that wherever the Stone should be, "a king of Gaelic blood would reign" HAS NOT FAILED. KING JAMES VI. OF SCOTLAND was crowned on the Stone in Westminster Abbey when he became JAMES I. OF ENGLAND; and, today Britain's lovely Queen is SCOTTISH. -- "Jacob's Pillar," p.53.

Not only is Queen Elizabeth II. Scottish, SHE IS OF THE ROYAL LINE OF JUDAH!

Brigadier G. Wilson, in his tract "Co-Incidences? Pointers to Our Heritage," adds a few more details:

It is not generally known that when EDWARD I. seized the CORONATION STONE from the Scots he also carried off their highly treasured symbols and regalia of kingship and national sovereignty, as well as all the DOCUMENTS that could be found relating to Scotland's freedom and independence.

In response to the Scots earnest entreaties for their return there is reason to believe that Edward at least considered returning the 'ARCHIVES' and symbols of sovereignty, including their treasured 'White Wand or Rod' and their 'Rood Cross': but he FLATLY REFUSED to return the CORONATION STONE. Nothing was done about it until the young EDWARD III. came to the throne. Younger and just beginning his reign he was more ready to compromise than his grandfather Edward I. He negotiated the TREATY OF NORTHAMPTON with The Bruce, and a MARRIAGE was arranged between Bruce's son and heir and Edward's sister. Edward III. agreed to return the 'Archives' and all the other national symbols which are mentioned in the Treaty, but there is (conspicuously) NO MENTION of returning the STONE -- presumably because this was 'not negotiable'! It was reported that the CITIZENS OF LONDON refused to allow him to consider parting with it! -- P.6.

The Stone Disappears!

The final chapter in the story of Lia Fail is an intriguing one-- just as exciting and full of mystery as all the previous ones! Let E. Raymond Capt recount the fascinating story:

On Christmas Eve, 1950, the recesses of St. Edward's Chapel in Westminster Abbey echoed to the sweet music of Noel. in the Chapel stood Britain's Coronation Chair, under it the CORONATION STONE, standing just as they had stood for SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS. In the silent, eerie dimness of the early hours of Christmas morning, furtive figures stealthily entered St. Edward's Chapel, then were gone -- AND SO WAS THE CORONATION STONE.

How and by whom, this Stone, weighing over 300 pounds, was so surreptitiously spirited from its resting-place, out of the locked Abbey, was one of Britain's greatest mysteries. A splinter broken from the leg of the Coronation Chair, a short crowbar, some fingerprints, an unidentified wristwatch on the flagstones of the Abbey floor, marks on the altar step's carpet where the Stone had been dragged, and "J.F.S." carved on the chair itself were the ONLY EVIDENCE of the "sacrilegious" crime which shocked all Britain. Naturally, the solving of such a crime became the first priority of Scotland Yard.

Despite the lack of evidence, it was believed that the Stone was stolen by persons having sympathy with the SCOTTISH NATIONALIST MOVEMENT. -- "Jacob's Pillar," p.61.

A week after the theft a Glasgow newspaper -- the Daily Record-- received a letter asking that one copy of the enclosed Petition should go to the police and the other to the press. According to the Scottish Daily Express of December 30, 1950, the Petition stated the following:

The petition of certain of his Majesty's most loyal and obedient subjects to his Majesty King George the Sixth humbly sheweth:

That his Majesty's petitioners are the persons who removed the STONE OF DESTINY from Westminster Abbey:

That, in removing the STONE OF DESTINY, they have no desire to injure his Majesty's property, nor to pay disrespect to the Church of which he is the temporal head:

That the STONE OF DESTINY is, however, the most ancient symbol of Scottish nationality and, having been REMOVED FROM SCOTLAND BY FORCE and retained in England in breach of the pledge of his Majesty's predecessor, King Edward III. of England, and its proper place of retention is among his Majesty's Scottish people who, above all, HOLD THE SYMBOL DEAR:

That therefore his Majesty's petitioners will most readily return the STONE to the safe keeping of his Majesty's officers if his Majesty will but graciously assure them that in all time coming the Stone will remain in Scotland in such of his Majesty's properties or otherwise as shall be deemed fitting by him:

That such an assurance will in no way preclude the use of the Stone in any coronation of any of his Majesty's successors whether in England or Scotland:

That his Majesty's humble petitioners are prepared to submit to his Majesty's Ministers or their representatives proof that they are the people able, willing, and eager to restore the STONE OF DESTINY to the keeping of his Majesty's officers:

That his Majesty's petitioners, who have served him in peril and peace, pledge again their loyalty to him, saving always their right and duty to protest against the actions of his Ministers if such actions are contrary to the wishes of the spirit of his Majesty's people:

In witness of the good faith of his Majesty's petitioners the following information concerning a WATCH left in Westminster Abbey on December 25, 1950, is appended: (1) The mainspring of the watch was recently repaired; (2) The bar holding the right-hand wrist strap to the watch had recently been broken and soldered:

This information is given in lieu of signature by his Majesty's petitioners, being in fear of apprehension.

Out of this theft of the Coronation Stone an interesting story emerged:

In pulling the Stone, by one of the IRON RINGS (one embedded in each of the ends of the Stone), along the Abbey floor, an ancient CRACK in the Stone parted. The STONE OF DESTINY lay in two pieces. Its weight divided into TWO PARTS facilitated its removal from the Abbey.

Soon after the theft, an alarm was given and road-blocks were set up on all roads leading out of England, and everyone was asked to be on the look-out for the Stone -- to report any suspicious circumstances. The car, with the Stone concealed as a cushion in the back seat with a coat covering it made a stop near the Scottish border for gasoline. When the occupants of the car were asked by the station attendant if they had the Stone of Destiny with them, they replied, "Aye sure, its in there, its in the boot [trunk]. Letting the reward of over $2000.00 for information leading to the recovery of the Stone slip through his fingers the attendant laughing said, "Well, the police have been around once asking me what Scotsman I've given petrol to. If they come back, I'll tell them the Stone went through this morning." -- "Jacob's Pillar," pp.62-63.

The Stone was evidently repaired by the high-jackers with doweling and cement. Before marrying the two pieces together, a copy of the SCOTTISH DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE was placed between them. Perhaps, then, this act satisfied Scottish patriotism which cried out for the Stone's restoration to Scone. Actually, the arguments presented in the petition to the Scottish Daily Express are invalid. The TREATY OF NORTHAMPTON, referred to in the petition, was negotiated between Edward III. of England and Robert, King of the Scots -- NOT between the countries of England and Scotland. And, since the rights of BOTH MONARCHES later became vested in Queen Elizabeth II. (the Queen of the UNITED KINGDOM), no transfer of title between them can make a bit of difference today! THE OWNERSHIP OF THE STONE OF DESTINY OR LIA FAIL IS INCONTESTABLE. It belongs to the heirs and descendants of Queen Elizabeth II. who are able to trace their line from both Edward III. of England and Robert, King of the Scots.

Capt concludes by saying that "Eventually the Stone of Destiny was recovered by the English. It was wrapped up in the Scottish flag (St. Andrew's Cross) and left upon the high altar of the ruined Abbey of Arbroath in Scotland, then the British authorities were notified of where it could be found. It was at ARBROATH ABBEY that King Robert the Bruce and the Scottish Barons drew up the famous "Declaration of Independence" which included the following:

"For so long as a hundred of us are left alive we will yield in no least way to English domination. We fight not for glory, nor for wealth nor for honour, but only and alone for freedom, which no good man surrenders but with his life." (Ibid, p.63).

A Chair or a Stone?

If you are at all observant, something in the story of the Coronation Stone should have puzzled you -- some sources call it a STONE, whereas others call it a CHAIR! What is it then, a chair or a stone?

Hector Boece stated that Gathelus placed a CHAIR OF MARBLE in the town of Brigance in Spain; while Andrew of Wyntown mentioned that a son of Gathelus took a STONE-THRONE to Ireland. Boece mentions that when Fergus son of Ferquhard went to the aid of the colony from Scythia, he took the STONE of Destiny with him and was crowned on it. Yet, elsewhere, in the same work, Boece says: "Fergus, son of Ferchard...brought the CHAIR from Ireland to Argyll, and was crowned on it." Following this -- according to Boece -- Fergus "built a town in Argyll called Beregonium, in which he placed it [THE CHAIR]." However Evenus, the twelfth king from Fergus, built a town called Evonium "to which the STONE was removed...."

Centuries later E. Raymond Capt records that: "On Iona the 'STONE Lia Fail' continued to be used as the Coronation STONE of the Dalriadic kings until its removal to Dunstaffnage...." Yet again, however, we have this same contradiction when James Brown claims that the "marble CHAIR, the emblem of sovereignty," was moved by Kenneth MacAlpin "from Dunstaffnage to Scone..."; while the "Encyclopedia Britannica" states that "Kenneth [MacAlpin] is alleged to have brought the STONE of Destiny...from Dunstaffnage...and to have deposited it in Scone...."

In John of Fordun's account of the coronation of Alexander III. in A.D. 1249, we find that the new king was placed "upon the regal CHAIR -- that is, the STONE"! So I ask the question again-- was it a chair or a stone?

Finally, Edward I. of England, when he annexed Scotland to England in 1296, moved the STONE to Westminster Abbey in London where "he built a beautiful CHAIR of hardwood...to hold the STONE." Obviously, it was a stone, not a chair, that was taken to London.

Let Hector Boece, in his "Chronicles of Scotland" (1527 edition), summarize the outline I have just given:

Gathelus, a Greek, the son of either the Athenian Cecrops or the Argive Neolus [the same person], went to Egypt at the time of the Exodus, where he married Scota, the daughter of Pharao, and after the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, fled with her...till he arrived in Portingall [Portugal], where he landed, and founded a kingdom at Brigantium, now Compostella. Here he reigned IN THE MARBLE CHAIR, which was the "lapis fatalis cathedrae instar," or FATAL STONE LIKE A CHAIR, and wherever it was found portended kingdom to the Scots. In after ages it bore the following inscription:

Ni fallat fatum, Scoti, quocunque locutum

Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem.

which Ballenden [translator of Boece's work] thus translates:

The Scottis sall brwke that realme as native ground,

Geif wierdis faill nocht, wherever this CHAIR is found.

....a descendant of Gathelus, brought the CHAIR from Spain to Ireland, and was crowned in it as King of Ireland.

Fergus, son of Ferchard, was first King of the Scots in Scotland, and brought the CHAIR from Ireland to Argyll, and was crowned in it. He built a town in Argyll called Beregonium, in which he placed it [the CHAIR]. From him proceeded forty kings of Scotland. The twelfth king, Evenus, built a town near Beregonium, called after his name Evonium, now called Dunstaffnage, to which the STONE was removed, and the remainder of the forty kings are all crowned in Dunstaffnage, reign there, and are buried there. The Scots are expelled to Ireland under the last of the forty kings, but return under his nephew Fergus Mac Erc, who is crowned in the MARBLE CHAIR. He builds a church at Iona, and commands it to be the sepulchre of the kings in the future.

Kenneth MacAlpin, the last of these kings, conquers the Picts, and brings the FATAL STONE from Argyll to Gowry, and places it in Scone, because it was there that his principal victory over the Picts had taken place. Some say that he then caused the verse to be inscribed on the STONE beginning "Ni fallat fatum."

How, then, do we resolve the puzzle?

Pennant, whom we have already quoted, has the answer! "In the church of the abbey (at Scone) was preserved the FAMOUS CHAIR, WHOSE BOTTOM [SEAT] WAS THE FATAL STONE...." (Tour in Scotland, vol.iii, p.116). This "bottom" was the SEAT or CUSHION that rested in the marble chair! An example of this can be found in the Marmorne Stuhl, or MARBLE CHAIR, in which Charlemagne is said to have sat, and the emperors of Germany were at one time crowned. This chair is still preserved at Aix la Chapelle. It is a plain, heavy chair of white marble on five steps, and is believed to have been covered with plates of gold during a coronation. William F. Skene says that "the Scotch stone may have been similarly raised, and the SEAT ALONE taken to England, and inserted in the wooden chair made by Edward I." ("The Coronation Stone," p.15).

That there was both a MARBLE CHAIR and a STONE SEAT at Scone is made plain by Skene:

We find that the kings of Scotland were not only crowned at Scone, but held parliaments there. these parliaments met on the MOOT HILL OF SCONE. Thus Robert II. was crowned at Scone on the 26th day of March, 1371, by the Bishop of St. Andrews, in presence of the prelates, earls, barons, and other nobles of Scotland, and of a great multitude of the people; and on the following day convened the prelates, earls, barons, and nobles before him, 'the king SITTING, as use is, IN THE ROYAL SEAT, UPON THE MOUNT OF SCONE....'

In a footnote to this passage Skene states:

Rege sedente in Sede Regia super montem de Scone ut est moris.-- Act Parl. Scot., p.181. This "Sedes Regia" must NOT be confounded with the STONE SEAT which was used at the CORONATION only, and was kept in the Abbey church, to which the name of "CATHEDRA" is always applied. The ROYAL SEAT here referred to was placed on the Moot Hill, and used when the king PRESIDED AT A PARLIAMENT or court of justice. It was on this SEAT [CHAIR] ON THE MOOT HILL that Robert Bruce was crowned in 1306, "in sede positus regali," AFTER THE SEAT [CUSHION] CALLED THE "CATHEDRA," OR STONE HAD BEEN REMOVED TO ENGLAND. -- "Fordun a Hearne," vol.IV. P.997.

In other words, for a coronation the STONE, or Jacob's Pillar, was brought out of the Abbey church and placed IN THE MARBLE CHAIR; and then, after the ceremony, was returned to the Abbey for safekeeping! The MARBLE CHAIR or THRONE was used by the king for state occasions -- without the SEAT or cushion called the Fatal Stone.

William Skene continues: "Dr. Joseph Robertson adds, "that there appears some reason to suppose that THERE WERE TWO STONES AT SCONE -- (1) The STONE OF FATE, now at Westminster; (2) a STONE CHAIR in which it would seem THE STONE OF FATE WAS PLACED when kings were to be inaugurated...." (Ibid).

It is uncertain whether Gathelus brought the MARBLE CHAIR from Egypt to Spain, or whether he had the chair made in Spain as a receptacle for Jacob's stone. There is some indirect evidence in the "Cronicon Rythmicum" that states "that Gaythelus brought the stone, which it calls 'lapis Pharaonis,' or Pharao's stone from Egypt, and applies to it the epithet of 'anchora vite,' probably the origin of Fordun's second account that it was raised with the anchor." ("The Coronation Stone," by William F. Skene. Edmonston & Douglas, Edinburgh. MDCCCLXIX. P.16).

"Fordun's second account" referred to here is a fabulous and mythical story about how Simon Brec, the youngest son of the king of Spain, "having cast anchor on the shore of Ireland, and again weighed anchor in consequence of a storm, raised, with his anchor, a STONE OF MARBLE, CUT IN THE SHAPE OF A CHAIR."

In any event, it seems quite clear that Jacob's Pillar-stone was placed in a MARBLE CHAIR every time a descendant of Judah was crowned king; and between coronations it appears to have been kept in an abbey or church for safekeeping.

Ancient Links

We walked in the shadow of Jacob's Pillar-Stone as it was carried from Luz to Egypt by JACOB and his family; we found our sea legs as GATHELUS AND SCOTA transported the Stone to distant Norway through the "northern straight" that separated Europe from Asia; we brandished our swords as Gathelus and his warriors plundered the eastern shores of Scotland; we searched the horizon for the distant land of Spain; we burned with rage when the body of valiant ITH was returned from the green pastures of Ireland; we prayed to the gods for deliverance from the fearful storm that threatened to disperse the mighty fleet of the invading MILESIANS; we wept with sorrow at the death of loyal SCOTA; we rode into battle with the valiant FERGUS as he conquered the western lands of Scotland; we carried the Lia Fail from Tara to mysterious Iona with COLUMBA and his twelve assistants; we triumph- antly rode with the victorious troops of KENNETH MAC-ALPIN as they mov- ed the Coronation Stone to the Abbey of Scone from the castle of Dunstaffnage; we groaned inwardly as EDWARD I. of England removed the Stone and the royal jewels from their Scottish owners; we marched in the streets of London to protest the proposed return of the Stone of Destiny to Scotland, and we read with fascination the daily news reports of the baffling Christmas Day theft of the Royal Stone.

We have observed almost 3,500 years of history involving a block of red-veined sandstone that has changed the course of events in nation after nation that received this Stone of Destiny as its own. What else could this stone be BUT the one anointed by the father of the Israelites in the plain of Luz? How could a battered and worn stone of such common appearance have changed the ebb and flow of history UNLESS it was ordained and engineered by the great Eternal God?

On June 28, 1837 -- eight days after VICTORIA was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom and Ireland -- the "London Sun" ran an article about the Coronation Chair that CLEARLY links the stone within it to the Pillar-Stone of Jacob:

This CHAIR, commonly called St. Edward's chair, is an ANCIENT SEAT of solid hardwood, with back and sides of same variously painted, in which the KINGS OF SCOTLAND were in former periods CONSTANTLY CROWNED, but, having been brought out of the Kingdom by Edward I., in the year 1296, after he had totally overcome John Baliol, KING OF SCOTS, it has EVER SINCE remained in the Abbey of Westminster, and has been THE CHAIR in which the succeeding kings and queens of this realm have been inaugurated. It is in height six feet and seven inches, in breadth at the bottom thirty-eight inches, and in depth twenty-four inches; from the seat to the bottom is twenty-five inches; the breadth of the seat within the sides is twenty-eight inches, and the depth eighteen inches. At nine inches from the ground is a board, supported at the four corners WITH AS MANY LIONS [SYMBOL OF JUDAH]. Between the seat and this board is ENCLOSED A STONE, commonly called JACOB'S, or THE FATAL MARBLE STONE, which is an oblong of about twenty-two inches in length, thirteen inches broad and eleven inches deep; of a steel colour, mixed with some veins of red. HISTORY RELATES THAT THIS IS THE STONE WHEREON THE PATRIARCH JACOB LAID HIS HEAD IN THE PLAINS OF LUZ.

The stone's ancient link with the Holy Land is recorded by Hollingshed's "Chronicles":

"When our king (Edward I.) went forth to see the mountains [of Scotland], and understanding that all was at peace and quiet [after the occupation], he turned to the ABBEY OF SCONE which was of chanons regular, where he TOOK THE STONE, called the REGAL OF SCOTLAND, upon which the kings of that nation were wont to sit at the time of their coronation for a throne, and sent it to the ABBEY OF WESTMINSTER. The SCOTS claim that this was the stone whereon JACOB SLEPT WHEN HE FLED INTO MESOPOTAMIA."

Historian Weaver, in his essay on "Certain Monuments of Antiquity," pens (on page 118) the following information about the Coronation Stone:

It appears that the IRISH KINGS, FROM VERY ANCIENT TIMES UNTIL A.D. 513, were crowned upon a particular SACRED STONE CALLED 'LIATH FAIL,' 'THE STONE OF DESTINY,' that, SO ALSO, were the SCOTTISH KINGS UNTIL THE YEAR 1296, when Edward I. of England brought it here [to England]. And it is a CURIOUS FACT that this stone has not only remained in England unto now, and is existing still under the coronation chair of our British sovereigns in Westminster Abbey, but that all our kings, from James I., have been crowned in that chair. This being a fact so curious, we shall quote its particulars in a note taken from TOLAND [1670-1722 -- English deist and author], in his 'History of the Druids' (pp.137-9).

Toland's statement is this:

The FATAL STONE (LIAG FAIL) so called, was the STONE on which the SUPREME KINGS OF IRELAND used to be inaugurated, IN THE TIME OF HEATHENISM ON THE HILL OF TARAH; it was superstitiously sent TO CONFIRM THE IRISH COLONY in the north of Great Britain, where it was CONTINUED as the CORONATION SEAT OF THE SCOTTISH KINGS ever since Christianity; till in the year 1300 [1296 A.D.] Edward I., of England BROUGHT IT FROM SCONE, placing it under the coronation chair at Westminster, and there it still continues. I had almost forgot to tell you that it is now called by the vulgar, JACOB'S STONE -- as if this had been Jacob's pillow at Bethel!

The "Westminster Abbey Official Guide," mentioned earlier in this article, states: "The CORONATION CHAIR was made for Edward I. to enclose the famous STONE OF SCONE, which he seized in 1296, and brought from Scotland to the Abbey....Tradition identifies this stone WITH THE ONE UPON WHICH JACOB RESTED HIS HEAD AT BETHEL...Jacob's sons CARRIED IT TO EGYPT AND FROM THENCE IT PASSED TO SPAIN WITH KING GATHELUS, SON OF CECROPS, THE BUILDER OF ATHENS....it appears in Ireland, whither it was carried by the Spanish king's son on his invasion of that island. There it was placed upon the SACRED HILL OF TARA, and called Lia-Fail, the 'FATAL STONE,' or 'STONE OF DESTINY'...."

The popularly-received account of the Coronation Stone is stated in the words of Pennant:

In the church of the abbey (of Scone) was preserved the FAMOUS CHAIR, WHOSE BOTTOM WAS THE FATAL STONE, the palladium of the Scottish monarchy; the stone, which had first served Jacob for his pillow, was afterwards TRANSPORTED INTO SPAIN, where it was used as a seat of justice by GETHALUS, CONTEMPORARY WITH MOSES. It afterwards found its way to DUNSTAFFNAGE IN ARGYLLSHIRE, continued there as the CORONATION CHAIR till the reign of Kenneth II., who, to secure his empire, REMOVED IT TO SCONE. There it remained, and in it every Scottish monarch was inaugurated till the year 1296, when Edward I., to the mortification of North Britain, translated it to Westminster Abbey, and with it, according to ancient prophecy, the empire of Scotland. -- "Tour in Scotland," vol.iii, p.116.

Another old document, probably written by Hector Boece and recorded by Keating in "The History of Ireland," shows the Coronation Stone's ancient origin:

Concerning the STONE, they [the Scots] had it accordingly some space of time, age to age, till it reached after that TO ENGLAND, so that it is there now in the CHAIR in which the king of England is inaugurated, it HAVING BEEN FORCIBLY BROUGHT FROM SCOTLAND, OUT OF THE ABBEY OF SCONE; and the first Edward king of England brought it with him, so that the PROPHECY of that stone has been VERIFIED in the king we have now, namely, THE FIRST KING CHARLES, and in his father, THE KING JAMES, WHO CAME FROM THE SCOTIC RACE (that is to say, from the POSTERITY OF MAINE SON OF CORC SON OF LUGHAIDH, WHO CAME FROM EIBHEAR SON OF MILEADH [GATHELUS] OF SPAIN); who assumed the style of kings of England UPON THE STONE aforesaid. -- Vol. I. Irish Texts Society, London. 1902.

Finally James Logan, in his book "The Scottish Gael," confirms the ANCIENT ORIGIN of the Coronation Stone in Westminster Abbey:

The practice of crowning a king upon a stone is of EXTREME ANTIQUITY. The celebrated CORONATION CHAIR, the seat of which is formed of the SLAB on which the kings of Scotland were inaugurated, is an object of curiosity to those who visit WESTMINSTER ABBEY. The history of this stone is carried back to a period FAR BEYOND ALL AUTHENTIC RECORD [according to Logan]; and the IRISH say that it was FIRST IN THEIR POSSESSION. According to WINTOUN, its original situation was IN IONA. It was certainly in ARGYLE, where it is believed to have remained long at the CASTLE OF DUNSTAFFNAGE, before it was removed to SCONE, the place of coronation for the kings of Scotland, whence it was CARRIED TO LONDON by Edward the First....It was looked on with GREAT VENERATION by the ancient SCOTS, who believed the fate of the nation depended on its preservation. The Irish called it CLOCH NA CINEARNNA, THE STONE OF FORTUNE, and the SCOTS preserve the following oracular verse:

Cinnidh Scuit saor am fine,

Mar breug am faistine:

Far am faig hear an lia fail,

Dlighe flaitheas do ghab hail.

"The race of the free Scots shall flourish, if this prediction is not false: wherever the stone of destiny is found, they shall prevail by the right of Heaven." Its possession was considered of so much importance, that its RESTITUTION was made an express article in a treaty of peace, and the subject of a personal conference between David the Second and Edward. The office of placing the king on this STONE was the hereditary right of the EARLS OF FIFE.

Saxo Grammaticus, lib. 1, says it was the ancient custom in Denmark to crown the kings sitting on a stone. In 1396, in the circle called Morasten, near Upsall, this ceremony was performed. It is curious to find this CELTIC PRACTICE retained in the kingdom of Britain, AND TO FIND ITS REVERED MONARCH A DESCENDANT OF THE ANCIENT KINGS OF THE "FREE SCOTS." -- John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh. Reprinted in 1976. Pp.200-201.

The Stone of Scone has remained at Westminster Abbey in London since 1296 -- except for the brief time when it was stolen by Scots Nationalists. The IRISH and SCOTTISH KINGS, FERGUS and EDWARD I. HIMSELF were ALL DESCENDANTS OF JUDAH THROUGH THE LINE OF ZARAH. In fact history records that Edward I. used to boast of his DESCENT FROM THE TROJANS who were descended from DARDA the brother of CALCOL -- who was the grandson of Judah! This was the joining of two lines of Judah -- a topic to be covered in another article!

This incredible story of the Lia fail, while as intriguing and fascinating as a thriller or adventure novel, serves to show the HAND OF THE ETERNAL GOD in the affairs of nation after nation that received the Pillar-Stone of Jacob upon its soil. In every land the stone passed through, THE ROYAL RACE OF JUDAH ruled over the peoples of Israel as they made their way to the "appointed place" in the West -- the isles of Britain!