Romancing the Stone

The Stone of Scone is neither ornate nor decorative, but rather is plain, heavy, and unwieldy. Yet this stone’s plain appearance is not matched with a plain history; it has been stolen, broken, cracked, and chipped, blown up by Suffragettes, declared a fake, and is the subject of at least one symphony. This is a well-loved stone, but it is also a highly contested object due to its extraordinary function: it can transform men and women into kings and queens. Since time immemorial the stone was key to the inauguration of Scottish monarchs, and it was due to its monarch-making capabilities that the stone was stolen by the English king in 1296, and transported to Westminster Abbey, where it was incorporated into British coronation rituals. This chapter considers the stone’s significance in the context of material culture and emotions, tracing its long, affective history.