A long way from Arbroath is
the Andalucian town of Teba
- but there is a link. Sir James
Douglas, one of the signatories of
the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320
is to be found 10 years later carrying
in a silver casket the heart of the Bruce
to the Holy Land. On route he offers the services of his army to King Alfonso X1
in an attempt to oust the Moors from the
Castillo de la Estrella. In his last battle
'The Black Douglas' is slain although
the casket containing Bruce's heart is
retreived & returned to Scotland, to be
buried within Melrose Abbey in accordance with the wishes of Bruce's son, King David 11. A later crusading army under the Earl of Selkirk brings with them a one ton slab of Dumfries - shire marble which today remains as a commemoration of Scottish assistance to Christian Spain & enjoys pride of place in the renamed 'Plaza de Douglas'.
It is not however until 1389 that the Castillo de la Estrella (Castle of the star) is finally wrested from Moorish hands.

The editor, his wife & his cousin, visit Teba, Andalucia in November 2007