The Kirkwall Scroll: What It Is and What the Evidence Shows

Overview

The Kirkwall Scroll is a painted linen floor cloth kept by Lodge Kirkwall Kilwinning in Orkney. Carbon dating suggests some of the linen may be fifteenth century. The painting carries the Antients’ arms and King James Bible quotations, so it dates from the later eighteenth century, probably from the 1780s.

This guide sets out what is known about the Kirkwall Scroll and what has only been claimed. It describes the painted panels and side strips, the 1785 minute recording William Graeme’s arrival from an Antients lodge, and his gift of a floor cloth about seven months later. It explains the medieval theory put forward by Andrew Sinclair and Robert Lomas and what the Oxford carbon dates do and do not prove. It then weighs the evidence on the scroll itself, from the Antients’ arms to the King James Bible quotations. It ends with the open questions, advice for visiting Brethren and the mistakes to avoid.