Dunfermline Scots: Dunfaurlin, Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phàrlain) is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground 3 miles (4.8 km) from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. The town's name comes from the Gaelic words "dun" (meaning "fortified hill"), "fearam" (crooked) and "linn" (stream). The area around Dunfermline became home to the first settlers in the Neolithic period, but did not gain recognition, until the Bronze Age as a place of importance. The town was first recorded in the 11th century, with the marriage of Malcolm III, King of Scotland and Saint Margaret at the church in Dunfermline. As his Queen consort, Margaret established a new church dedicated to the Holy Trinity which evolved into an Abbey under their son, David I in 1128. The graveyard of this abbey would become the burial place for many of Scotland's kings and queens.
There have been various interpretations of the name, "Dunfermline".[5] The first element, "dun" translated from Gaelic, has been accepted as a (fortified) hill, which it is assumed to be referring to the rocky outcrop as the site of Malcolm Canmore's tower in Pittencrieff Glen (now Pittencrieff Park).[6] The rest of the name is problematic.[6] The second element, "the ferm" may have been an alternative name for the tower burn according to a medieval record published in 1455 and that together with the Lyne Burn to the south, suggest the site of a fortification between these two watercourses.[5][6]
The first record of a settlement in the Dunfermline area was in the Neolithic period. This evidence includes finds of a stone axe; some flint arrowheads and a carved stone ball which was found near the town.[7] A cropmark which is understood to have been used as a possible mortuary enclosure has been found at Deanpark House, also near the town. By the time of the Bronze Age, the area was beginning to show some importance. Important finds included a bronze axe in Wellwood and a gold torc from the Parish Churchyard.[7] Cist burials from the Bronze Age have also been discovered at both Crossford and Masterton, the latter of which contains a pair of armlets, a bronze dagger and a set necklace believed to have complemented a double burial.[7]
The first historic record for Dunfermline was made in the 11th century.[8] According to the fourteenth-century chronicler, John of Fordun, Malcolm III, King of Scotland (reign 1058--93) married his second bride, the Anglo-Hungarian princess, Saint Margaret at the church in Dunfermline between 1068 and 1070;[9] the ceremony was performed by Forhad, the last Celtic bishop of St Andrews.[8][10]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunfermline
Birth: Jul. 11, 1274
Death: Jun. 7, 1329
Scottish monarch. The son of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and Marjory of Carrick, he was a descendant of Alexander II, King of Scots. He was married to Isabella of Mar in 1295, and Elizabeth DeBurgh in 1302. He was the father of two sons and three daughters. Around 1298, when Scotland was under English rule, he was appointed a Guardian of Scotland along with John Comyn. It was discovered that Comyn intended to sell out his country and become a puppet king under Edward I, and Bruce killed him in 1306. He was then taken to Scone and crowned Robert I in March. He then began a guerilla war against Edward I. While not initially successful, he gradually gained support and captured several castles. In 1314, at the Battle of Bannockburn, although vastly outnumbered, he defeated the English forces. King Edward II agreed to sign the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1328, recognizing Scotland's independence. Gravely ill with leprosy, Bruce died at Cardross the following year. His body was entombed at Dunfermline Abbey, while his embalmed heart was taken on Crusade by Sir James Douglas (Black Douglas) before being returned to Scotland and entombed at Melrose Abbey. (bio by: VampireRed)
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