Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey shares the fate of all the great abbeys in the border region between England and Scotland. Because of the many wars, they survive only as ruins.

As early as the 6th century, there was an older abbey dedicated to St Aidan about two miles east of the current monastery. It was destroyed by Kenneth I of Scotland in 839.
Melrose Abbey was built in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of the Scottish King David I. The monastery was a daughter foundation of Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire from the filiation of the primary abbey of Clairvaux. The abbey became the mother church of the order in Scotland. Robert the Bruce chose it as the final resting place for his heart.

A small town slowly grew up around the abbey, which was attacked by Edward II of England in 1322, destroying large parts of the abbey. It was rebuilt with the help of Robert the Bruce.

In 1385, the abbey was burnt down by the army of Richard II of England when he forced the army of David II of Scotland back to Edinburgh. The abbey was rebuilt over a period of 100 years .

In 1544, when English troops again swept through Scotland, the abbey was badly damaged and was never fully restored. This led to its decline as an inhabited monastery. In 1590, the last monk of Melrose Abbey died.

The abbey buildings survived a final attack by Oliver Cromwell, who had them bombarded during the English Civil War. In 1610, part of the abbey was made the parish church for the village of Melrose until a new church was built in the centre of the town 200 years later.

Bernhard von Clairvaux, probably the most influential abbot the Cistercians ever had, wanted Cistercian buildings to be characterised by simplicity and austerity. This was intended to promote spiritual concentration, which should not be distracted by external ornamentation. Melrose Abbey is one of the rare exceptions to this rule, as it even contains many artistic sculptures.
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