IT is 752 years this month since Sweetheart Abbey was founded.
In April 1273, Dervorguilla of Galloway was one of the richest and most powerful people of her time, with extensive lands in Scotland and England.
The daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway and Margaret, she married John de Balliol in 1233 and they became a hugely influential power couple, while she was known for being a devoted wife.
And due to her descent from David I, Dervorgilla’s son, Lord John Balliol, became King of Scots in 1292. However, he was deposed in 1295, although his son, Edward, briefly seized the throne in 1333.
Yet the reason she remains so well-known still today is that upon the death of her beloved husband in 1268, Dervorguilla had his heart embalmed and enclosed in an ivory casket, which she kept for the rest of her life.
Furthermore, she founded friaries at Dumfries and Wigtown and, of course, Sweetheart Abbey.
Lord John was reinterred at the new abbey, and when Dervorguilla died in 1289, she was buried alongside him along with the casket containing his heart.
To this day, Dervorguilla’s tomb chest, pictured, survives at the abbey – though not in its original form or position. On top lies an effigy depicting her, still clasping the casket.
- Image courtesy of Historic Scotland
