(originally Edwin's Burgh)
Capital of Scotland. Originally included in the Diocese of Lindisfarne (854), it became part of the metropolitan diocese of Saint Andrews in the 11th century, and so continued until the suppression of the ancient hierarchy in the 16th century. The town grew up around the castle of Malcolm Canmore and his wife, Saint Margaret, who died there in 1093. The oldest buildings are the church of Saint Cuthbert, founded probably in the 9th century, Saint Giles, now Protestant, erected in the 12th century, and the Abbey of Holyrood, now a palace, founded by Margaret's son, King David I for the Augustinians in 1128. In the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), there were only 160 Catholics in the city, but now they are estimated to number about 20,000, mostly of Irish origin.