Sir Symon Locard, 2nd of Lee (1300–1371) was a Scottish knight who fought in the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

. According to Lockhart family tradition, he accompanied Sir James Douglas in their curtailed attempt to carry the heart of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

in 1330.

Mission to the Holy Land

Following the death of

in 1329, his companion Sir James Douglas (aka the "Black Douglas"), set out to fulfil the King's last wish, that his heart be taken to the

, to be deposited in the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. King Robert's heart was placed in a silver casket, which was carried by Sir James. It is claimed by a Lockhart family historian that Sir Symon Locard was entrusted with the key: “In 1329 a band of Scottish knights set out to fulfil the last wish of their dead King. Their leader, Lord James Douglas, carried the King's heart in ‘ane cas of silver fyn, enamilit throu subtilite’ hung about his neck. Beside him rode Sir Symon Locard, carrying the key of the casket. Sir Symon had won fame and distinction in the wars against the English; and now he was entrusted with the key of the precious casket.”.Lockhart, Simon Macdonald. ''Seven Centuries - A History of the Lockharts of Lee and Carnwath''. Scotland, 1976

Notes

References

* Sir Robert Douglas, ''The Baronage of Scotland'', 1798 * Simon Macdonald Lockhart, ''Seven Centuries - A History of the Lockharts of Lee and Carnwath,'' 1976 * Forbes Macgregor, ''Famous Scots - the Pride of a Small Nation''

External links

Lockhart Family HistoryClan LockhartFirst Lockharts of Record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Locard, Sir Symon 1300 births 1371 deaths Medieval Scottish knights 14th-century Scottish people People of the Wars of Scottish Independence