After a three-year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the planned display of the Declaration of Arbroath will go on display at the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) in the summer of 2023.
The exhibition in Edinburgh, originally scheduled for the Declaration’s 700th anniversary in 2020, will now take place from 03 June – 02 July 2023.
The Declaration is a letter written in 1320 by the barons and whole community of the kingdom of Scotland to the Pope, asking him to recognise Scotland's independence and acknowledge Robert the Bruce as the country's lawful king.
The document contains the iconic phrases:
"As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself".
Kenneth Gibson MSP commented:
“I am delighted that the precious Declaration of Arbroath will be on display for the first time in 17 years, as this means an entire generation that hasn’t had the change to view it, will now be able to have a look up close.
"I look forward to seeing this inspiring document again, which is so important to the independence movement."
The Herald obtained the dates through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request into correspondence between NMS and National Records of Scotland (NRS), the Declaration’s keeper.
To learn more about the Declaration of Arbroath, visit the NRS website.
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