Ruins of Malcolm Canmore's Tower, Dunfermline

Malcolm's Tower, also known as Malcolm Canmore's Tower, is a historic site in the Scottish town of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. It consists of the foundations of a rubble built, rectangular tower enclosed by an oval shaped modern wall and is protected as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. It is located in

Pittencrieff Park Pittencrieff Park (known locally as "The Glen") is a public park in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It was purchased in 1902 by Andrew Carnegie, and given to the people of Dunfermline in a ceremony the following year. Its lands include the historic ...

. The tower stood on a highly defensible peninsular outcrop of rock above a deep ravine and is the site from which the city derives its name. It was effectively the seat of royal power in Scotland after

Malcolm III of Scotland Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...

shifted the centre of government from

Forteviot Forteviot ( gd, Fothair Tabhaicht) (Ordnance Survey ) is a village in Strathearn, Scotland on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross. The population in 1991 was 160. The pres ...

in the mid 11th century. The site was also close to a religious centre which had begun as a

Culdee The Culdees ( ga, Céilí Dé, "Spouses of God") were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and subsequently in Scotland, attac ...

establishment in the 9th century. The first mention of the tower in the historical record is from 1070 when Malcolm III married his queen,

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

. As queen, Margaret introduced innovations which changed the course and identity of the Church in Scotland. Not far to the east of the tower's location are the remains of

Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland Parish Church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Refor ...

and later

royal palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. All that survives of the tower today are foundational fragments of

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

, but an image of the building was adopted at an early date as the burgh arms for Dunfermline. Old wax seals suggest it to have been a building of two storeys with an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

. It might have contained around twenty small apartments. Before the western access road to Dunfermline was built, Malcolm's Tower would have been an almost impregnable fortress, perhaps rather like a

broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin ...

, and this almost certainly explains Dunfermline's motto ''Esto rupes inaccessa'' (Be an inaccessible rock). The opening lines of the traditional " Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens" are thought to refer to the tower:

The King sits in Dunfermling Toun
Drynking the bluid-red wyne …''The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens''
/ref>

References

External links

{{coord, 56.0699, -3.4670, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Towers in Scotland Buildings and structures in Dunfermline Ruins in Fife Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Fife