Heart of Midlothian (Royal Mile)

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The Heart of Midlothian is a heart-shaped mosaic built into the pavement near the West Door of St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, not far from the Advocates' Library, which was the former Scottish parliament (pre-1707).

Together with brass markers set into the pavement, it records the position of the 15th Century Tolbooth of Edinburgh, demolished in 1817, which was the administrative centre of the town, prison and one of several sites of public execution. The tolbooth features in Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Heart of Midlothian, published in 1818.

Ironically, the Heart is no longer in Midlothian, since Edinburgh council has been separate from it for several decades; it is closer to being the heart of Edinburgh. The city currently incorporates former sections of West and East Lothian within it, but it was formerly the administrative centre of Midlothian, also known as "Edinburghshire" or the "County of Edinburgh" in the past.

[edit] Spitting

Visitors to Edinburgh will often notice people spitting on the Heart. There are a variety of explanations.

One piece of folklore is that the criminal fraternity used to spit on the door of the tolbooth as they passed by, and this tradition is maintained by some people, who spit on the Heart for good luck as they walk past.

Another is that the spitting is carried on partly by Hibernian F.C. fans, who are the rivals of Heart of Midlothian F.C. in Edinburgh, and so spit to demonstrate their feelings about the other football club!

In more recent times, chewing gum has started appearing on the heart as part of this unusual tradition. Also, coins, especially "coppers", are thrown onto it by some people, but these tend not to last too long.