Crown,Capital,and Metropolis

Abstract

This article considers the topography of two neighboring Scottish burghs—Edinburgh and Canongate. Sited alongside each other, they sat on a tail-like ridge running down from the volcanic rock that housed Edinburgh’s castle. From the castle, a single street stretched about a mile down to Holyrood Abbey at the east end of the burgh of Canongate. Both the castle and abbey were temporary homes to kings and queens of Scotland throughout the Middle Ages; by the sixteenth century, Holyrood was established as a palace and Edinburgh was the sole capital of Scotland. This royal palace with an urban court was the home of Scots kings, whereas Edinburgh housed the tools of a capital—parliament, law courts, and university. The two burghs became the stage for ceremony—royal entries, processions, and “riding the parliament” followed the processional route, the Royal Mile. Topography determined that route and does so to this day.