Brooch of Lorn facts for kids
The Brooch of Lorn, or Braìste Lathurna in Gaelic, is a famous old brooch from Scotland. People used to think it was taken from Robert the Bruce (Robert I of Scotland) during the Battle of Dalrigh in 1306. However, experts now believe it was made much later than that time.
In the middle of the brooch is a large, special quartz stone. This stone might have belonged to Robert the Bruce. It was also used to hold a relic, which is a special item, often from a saint. The brooch is owned by the MacDougall of Dunollie Preservation Trust. It was rarely shown to the public until it was displayed at the British Museum in London in 2012.
What Does the Brooch Look Like?
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The Brooch of Lorn is one of three special silver brooches from the West Highlands of Scotland. These brooches were made in the 1500s. They are called "turreted" because they have small tower-like shapes. Each one has a "charmstone" in its center. These stones were likely very old and famous even before the brooches were made.
The other two similar brooches are the Lochbuy Brooch, which is in the British Museum, and the Ugadale or Lossit Brooch, which is still privately owned. All three were shown together at an exhibition in London in 2012. Later, a copy of the Brooch of Lorn was shown in libraries around Argyll.
The silver disc at the back of the brooch is about 11.5 centimeters (4.5 inches) wide. It has a hinged pin to fasten it, which was added later. Underneath the main stone, there is an empty space. This space was probably made to hold a relic. The central stone sits high above the base. It is surrounded by eight separate "turrets," which are like small towers. Each turret is about 3 centimeters (1.25 inches) tall and has a Scottish freshwater pearl on top.
The brooch is decorated with many fancy silver patterns. These include star-shaped designs and twisted borders. The way it is decorated seems to be influenced by jewelry styles from other parts of Europe. It does not have the older Scottish designs seen on some other items from that time. "Turrets" were a popular decoration on jewelry back then. However, the Brooch of Lorn uses them in a much more detailed way than most.
Experts have different ideas about exactly when the Brooch of Lorn was made. But they all agree it was made long after Robert the Bruce lived. The British Museum says it was made in the late 1500s. They believe it uses older rock crystal charmstones. David Caldwell, a curator from the National Museums of Scotland, thinks it is from the mid-1400s. He said it is a very important piece of art. He also suggested that maybe the original brooch broke, and this one was made to replace it. Another expert, Catherine Gillies, believes it was reset around the third quarter of the 1500s.
The Brooch's Journey Through History
In 1306, the Battle of Dalrigh took place. During this battle, Robert the Bruce was attacked by John of Argyll, who was the chief of the Clan MacDougall. This attack was revenge because Robert the Bruce had killed John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch. Comyn was a cousin of John of Argyll and also wanted to be King of Scotland.
According to old stories, the attackers tried to pull Robert the Bruce off his horse. They only managed to pull off his cloak and his brooch. The brooch was then kept at Dunollie Castle. Later, it was moved to Gylen Castle on the island of Kerrera. This happened during the Covenanter Wars. In 1647, the castle was captured and burned by David Leslie, Lord Newark. The brooch was taken during this attack.
The brooch was then hidden for a long time. It was found in the early 1800s by Major Campbell of Bragleen. He found it in a chest after he returned from fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. A document confirmed that the Campbells had taken it from Gylen Castle. The MacDougall clan chief saw the brooch before Major Campbell died in 1819. In 1824, it was given back to the MacDougall family by General Duncan Campbell of Lochnell.
Queen Victoria saw the brooch in 1842. She visited the MacDougall clan chief and held the brooch in her hand, looking at it closely. The MacDougall chief also wore the brooch when Elizabeth II visited Oban in 1956. This was another rare public appearance for the brooch.
The Brooch in Literature
The "Broach of Lorn" was written about by Sir Walter Scott in his poem The Lord of the Isles (1815). He wrote about it in sections XI-XIII of the second part of the poem. When he wrote it, no one had seen the brooch for over a hundred years. People thought it was lost. Because of this, his description was not very accurate. For example, he called the brooch "gold":
- Whence the broach of burning gold
- That clasps the Chieftain's mantle-fold,
- Wrought and chased with rare device,
- Studded fair with gems of price,...
