The Bruce Tree was an oak tree that stood in the grounds of Strathleven House, Dunbartonshire, Scotland.[1] This estate was owned by a young Robert the Bruce, before he became King of Scotland; it is rumored that he planted the tree.[1] By the early 21st century, the tree's trunk was 8.8 metres (29 ft) in girth and reached 5.5 metres (18 ft) in height. It was thought to have been between 700 and 1,000 years old and was one of the oldest oaks in Scotland.[2] The tree was subject to an arson attack in May 2004, when a fire was lit within its trunk, and it fell the same month.[2]
A local history society, the Strathleven Artizans, originally made the connection between the tree and Robert the Bruce and took custody of its timber.[2] The trunk was cut up, and members of the society claimed to be able to see the face of the Bruce in its cross section. A petrified acorn was also found in the timber. The society planned to carve a heart out of the oak to take to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It was one of the Bruce's last requests that his heart be taken there by his champion James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, as he had not been able to fulfil his wish go on a crusade to the Holy Land. However, whilst carrying the heart, Douglas was killed in battle against the Moors at the Battle of Teba in 1330, so was unable to complete the task.[2]
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