Medieval Castles in Scotland Children find castles exciting and many of the most impressive remains are in the care of Historic Scotland. Some occupy dramatic sites, others still display formidable defences, but even the most ruinous help to bring history alive. This resource looks at castles built in Scotland between the 12th–16th centuries. It aims to help teachers gain confidence in using castles with pupils of all ages. Caerlaverock Castle, Dumfriesshire
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Medieval Castles in Scotland
Contents P2 How to use this resource P3-4 Integrating a visit with a classroom study P5 Supporting learning and teaching P9 Timeline: the rise and fall of medieval castles in Scotland P10 Medieval castles in Scotland: background information P13 Castle life P18 Castle warfare P22 Map of selected sites in the care of Historic Scotland
How to use this resource This resource is aimed at teachers and designed to link Historic Scotland sites with classroom studies focussing on castles built in Scotland between the 12th–16th centuries. NB These notes are not intended to be copied and distributed to pupils. The resource aims to provide: • a clear indication of how visits to historic sites can bring to life studies about medieval castles and provide support for the 5–14 National Guidelines • information on the historical background of medieval castles for the non-specialist teacher • a selection of sites which best illustrate different periods of development.
Bringing the past to life Visits to historic sites fire the imagination and inspire learning. Pupils can stand on the site of a castle and experience the strategic position it holds. They can gain an understanding of what it might have been like to live in a castle in peacetime and to defend a castle during an attack. The list of castles in the care of Historic Scotland on page 23 gives a brief description of each and is intended to help you choose a site to visit which best supports your topic. It is also intended to raise awareness of important but lesser-known sites that may be on your doorstep.
How to book a visit Historic Scotland operates a yearround free admission scheme for educational visits (except Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle where a charge is levied during May–August inclusive). To find out how to book a class visit please visit the education pages on the Historic Scotland website: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk or telephone 0131 668 8793.
Pupils at Stirling Castle build a siege engine to attack the castle wall
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Medieval Castles in Scotland
Integrating a visit with classroom studies Educational visits have the greatest value if they are built into the original planning of a topic. We recommend you plan your visit somewhere in the middle, giving your pupils time to become familiarised with why castles were built, who lived in them and what life was like. One way to introduce a project on castles is to assemble raw materials and objects to illustrate castle life and to demonstrate how it differs from today. The materials in the table below are easily available.
At this stage you may also like to: • Familiarise pupils with words to do with castle life by asking them to compile an illustrated dictionary of castle words • Look at maps of the area around the castle you are going to visit. Discuss with pupils why they think castles were built in that location • Talk about what it must have been like to live in a castle in the Middle Ages • Discuss what important events took place there • Discuss with pupils what kind of weapons would have been used and what the fighting would have been like.
Resource
Talk about…
Leather (use old shoes from charity shops)
Leather was widely used in the Middle Ages for everyday purposes and as protection from weather and fire. (Wet leather was used to protect vulnerable parts of timber castles from attack by fire)
Fleece (from farms or wire fences alongside fields)
Spinning and weaving
Heather and rushes
How floors were covered to keep down mud and dust, but trapped food thrown down for dogs, spilt beer (ale) and animal mess
Logs
How fires provided hot water, heat for cooking and warmth
Oats and barley
How cereals were used to brew ale and to make substantial meals such as porridge and bread
Herbs (fennel, garlic, rosemary, borage, mint, parsley) and spices (root ginger, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cloves and nutmeg)
How food was flavoured
Honey
How food and drink was sweetened
Fruit and vegetables (apples, cherries, crab apples, pears, almonds, leeks, onions and cabbages)
What fruit and vegetables were available in the Middle Ages
Pottery shards (your local museum or archaeological unit may allow you to borrow some)
How clay was used to make a wide variety of everyday objects
Horseshoes
How horses were valuable and used in battle, in entertainment (tournaments and the hunt), and to carry messengers
Candles
How castles were lit (candles made of beeswax were expensive so lights made from rushes [rush-lights] were widely used)
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Pottage You will need: 2 handfuls of oatmeal; honey Method 1 Soak the oatmeal overnight in water 2 The next day simmer gently in a saucepan 3 Add honey to sweeten.
Pokerounce You will need: 10 fingers of toast; 2 tbsps of clear honey; a small pinch of ground black pepper; a large pinch of ground ginger; a large pinch of cinnamon; pine nuts. Method 1 Put the honey and spices into a small pan and heat gently for 3 to 4 minutes 2 Pour the honey mixture on to the toast fingers and spread 3 Decorate each toast finger with pine nuts.
Before the visit • Log on to the Historic Scotland website: www.historicscotland.gov.uk for more information about your chosen site and any sitespecific or relevant themed resource material available. Many sites also offer programmes of curriculum linked on-site activities. • If possible, make a free planning visit before taking a class to your chosen site so that you familiarise yourself with the site and the evidence it offers. To book a free planning visit to Edinburgh or Stirling Castles telephone 0131 668 8793. Planning visits to other sites can be booked direct with the site.
The evidence record can ask pupils to use the headings ‘I see’, ‘I hear’, and ‘I feel’ at chosen locations, to look for clues to explain what went on at the site, and to look for evidence of castle life, development and damage. Pupils can record by: • taking notes of factual information • making quick diagrams of specific details • taking photographs of significant features or views • using tape-recorders to describe what they see, hear, feel and smell.
Working on site
Suggestions for follow-up work
Your pupils’ task should be to look for physical evidence of the history of the castle. Useful starting points are:
Following the visit your pupils should pool their findings to form a broad view of what it would have been like to live in a castle both in peacetime and under siege. Pupils can be asked to look at the clues and work out what they definitely know and what they can reasonably guess.
• what materials were used to construct it? • what does the building tell us about the people who lived there? • what evidence is there for everyday life eg cooking, heating, toilets and storage? • how was the castle defended under attack? • is there any evidence to show that the castle was besieged? • have any changes been made to the castle since it was built and why? • who looks after the castle today? As pupils explore the building, they can compile an evidence record in words and pictures about the site. The aim of the evidence record should be to encourage development of observational, descriptive and recording skills rather than to look for answers to specific questions which
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they can equally well find out from books in the classroom.
This can form the basis for a wide range of language and expressive arts activities, such as role-play and drama, compiling their own guidebook or leaflet, or interviewing local historians/ museum curators. These activities can: • develop skills and techniques in language and the expressive arts • consolidate and expand knowledge and understanding about people in the past • help to develop informed attitudes about the ways in which our heritage is preserved. Practical work could include: • cooking simple dishes adapted from authentic recipes, (see box, left).
Medieval Castles in Scotland
Supporting learning and teaching
Environmental Studies – Social Subjects: People in the past
This resource complements the Social Subjects and Technology components of the 5–14 Environmental Studies Guidelines. It focuses mainly on the attainment outcome People in the past at levels A–D. The suggested activities can be easily adapted for all levels of pupils. The resource also suggests ways in which medieval castles can be linked to Education for Citizenship and provides activity suggestions to support learning both in, and through, the Expressive Arts (Art and Design, Drama and Music).
Knowledge and Understanding – Strands
Teaching Activities
Learning Outcomes
People, events & societies
Use a wide range of resources including visits to castles to look for physical evidence
Know about castle life & events linked to castles
Change, continuity, cause & effect
Use maps to study the position of castles
Understand why castles were built in certain places; recognise that castles have changed in response to society, technology & warfare
Time & historical sequence
Look at how castles have developed over time
Understand the chronology of castles
Nature of historical evidence
Compare site-based evidence with other sources eg paintings and illustrations
Understand the importance of physical evidence and the role of Historic Scotland and similar organisations in preserving our heritage
Environmental Studies: Technology The following examples show how a topic on medieval castles might be enhanced through activities related to technological capability.
Knowledge and Understanding – Strands
Teaching Activities
Learning Outcomes
Needs and how they are met
Making simple siege engines. Historic Scotland offers a resource pack that contains detailed information about siege warfare and instructions on how to make siege engines.
Understand how technology, tools and resources helped people in the Middle Ages to create solutions to practical problems to meet their needs.
Making rush lights. Gather rushes late in autumn. Strip off the green outer layers and soak in melted animal fat for 24 hours. Take the rushes out of the fat and leave to dry. Compare with candles to see which lasts longer.
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Education for Citizenship A topic on medieval castles offers opportunities to integrate learning about citizenship issues such as democracy and social and environmental responsibility.
The differences between medieval feudalism and democracy in Scotland today
Teaching Activities
Learning Outcomes
Use the Feudal System diagram on page 7 to discuss the merits of feudalism and its disadvantages, e.g people owed services to someone superior but got protection and justice in return. Discuss how Scotland is governed today and construct a comparable diagram.
Understand ways in which life in a feudal society would have been different from the way we live in today’s democratic society
Preserving our heritage for future generations
Teaching Activities
Learning Outcomes
Ask pupils to list the things they treasure most. Why do they value them? Do they remind them of a special event/person? Have they been handed down through the family? Are they gifts or souvenirs?
Recognise the value of preserving our heritage as a means of remembering the past
Ask pupils to think about an historic site, museum or gallery they have visited and list reasons why what they saw might be particularly valued. What people or events were they associated with? Ask pupils to imagine that a distant relative has died and left them a castle. What would they like to do with it?
Recognise that we have a collective responsibility to look after our heritage. Organisations like Historic Scotland have a professional role, but we all have a part to play
Pupils could take the role of owners applying for planning permission, local towns-people welcoming or disapproving of the plans, and officials giving reasons for refusing or granting permission.
Animal rights
Teaching Activities
Learning Outcomes
Find out about medieval pastimes. Compare pastimes such as hunting, shooting, fishing for pleasure today with baiting animals in medieval society. Discuss the necessity of hunting and catching animals for food in the Middle Ages and in other parts of the world today
Recognise that what is morally acceptable varies across time and cultures
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Know that animals have rights too
Medieval Castles in Scotland
The Feudal System In the Middle Ages every man or woman who held land did so in return for ‘services’ owed to his or her superior. Everyone believed that God appointed the king.
THE KING ruled the whole kingdom
BARONS swore loyalty to the king in return for vast estates. They controlled armies of knights
KNIGHTS gave military service in return for land
FREEMEN gave 20 days a year of service such as administrative duties, but were free to move from place to place
UNFREEMEN (serfs or peasants) had no rights and were tied to one lord
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Expressive Arts The following examples show how a topic on medieval castles might be enhanced through Expressive Arts activities originated on site visits.
Knowledge and Understanding – Strands Art and design Investigating visually and recording
Creating and designing
Teaching Activities
Learning Outcomes
Visit sites to make accurate drawings
Know that drawing is a method of recording information accurately
Create art and crafts based on castle architecture, tapestries, heraldry and stained glass windows
Know that new works of art can be created to communicate personal responses to site visits
Create posters and ideas for souvenirs Drama Creating and designing
Music Evaluating and appreciating
Role-play to act out castle life and events that happened there
Deepen understanding of castle life
Listen to ballads, experiment with simple musical instruments eg recorders, drums, Jews’ harp
Understand that music played a part in life in the Middle Ages
Storytelling brings Edinburgh Castle to life
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Investigating the weapons and armour of medieval knights at Bothwell Castle
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Timeline: the rise and fall of medieval castles in Scotland 12th century onwards
The first castles are wooden buildings surrounded by a large circular ditch (ringwork). Very little remains of ringworks today.
King David I (1124–1153) builds many more castles in Scotland. They are timber towers built on hills, rocks or on mounds of earth (mottes), and surrounded by strong timber fences (palisades)
Duffus Castle, Morayshire
13th century onwards
Castles begin to be built with stone
14th century onwards
Tower houses become popular Balvenie Castle, Banffshire
Smailholm Tower, Borders
15th century onwards
As times become more peaceful, some castles are adapted to become comfortable homes with gardens
Some castles damaged in war are never repaired. The stone is often reused in other buildings
Edinburgh Castle
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Background information The rise and fall of castles During the Middle Ages, the country we now call Scotland was very different from today. It was made up of many different groups of people and was not under the control of one king or queen. From 1124 to 1153, David I ruled over Scotland. Although there were a few castles in Scotland before he became king, David encouraged building many more and used them as an important part of his strategy for ruling his kingdom. He gave his most trusted nobles the right to build castles and to govern on his behalf. He also appointed certain nobles as sheriffs of royal castles, and the areas they looked after were called shires. Since the king could not be in more than one place at a time, he relied on his sheriffs to collect taxes and keep law and order. It also meant that he had somewhere safe and comfortable to stay when he travelled round the country. David also gave barons, knights and bishops the right to build castles. In return they provided men to fight for the king when he needed them. Scottish castles were fortresses built to protect people from invasion from England and also from Viking raids which continued until the mid-13th century. All castles were built to defend important river and border crossings, major seaports, land or valuable assets (eg silver mines), so careful consideration of the site was very important. Many were built on hill-tops or rocky outcrops, others were built on islands or peninsulas making them as difficult to attack as possible.
Stirling Castle was a royal stronghold
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Dunstaffnage Castle was built to protect important sea lanes
Earth and timber castles The castles built during the 12th century and earlier usually consisted of a wooden defensive tower for the lord and lady, built on top of either a natural outcrop or an artificially raised mound of earth (motte) and protected by strong timber walls (palisades). Castle buildings such as the Great Hall, stores, stables and pens for animals, a chapel, accommodation for people who lived in the castle, kitchens and workshops were grouped together in a courtyard (bailey), at the base of the motte. The whole castle was encircled by an earth bank, ditch or moat. Today, only mottes, banks and the ditches sometimes remain, the timber buildings having long rotted away.
Duffus Castle was built on a motte
Medieval Castles in Scotland
Stone castles Earth and timber castles were quick and easy to construct but rotted in damp conditions and were easily destroyed with fire. In the 13th century, castles with high walls (curtain walls) built of stone appeared. These gave extra protection against arrows and other weapons of attack. Many stone castles were built in response to knights who returned from the Crusades having seen how easily the mighty stone fortifications of the castles in the Holy Land withstood the battering from their own artillery. Moreover, castle owners realised that not only was stone stronger, fireproof and more permanent, it made themselves look grander too.
Existing castles were often adapted to incorporate these new ideas and, as weapons became more efficient, extra defences such as flanking towers and fortified gatehouses were added.
Tower houses Bitter hostilities on both sides of the border, especially after the attempt to conquer Scotland by the English in the late 13th century, and frequent clan wars, meant that everyone who could build a tower house did so. Even in peacetime, lords on both sides of the border stole cattle so if people were not able to afford a tower house they fortified their houses as best they could. Tower houses were usually smaller than curtain-walled castles but they included most of the features of larger castles. The lord and his family lived in the tower and a small barmkin or courtyard adjacent contained a hall, kitchen, barn, stables and workshops. The entrance was often at first- floor level and reached by steps or a ladder that could be pulled up into the tower in times of attack.
The fortified gatehouse of Caerlaverock Castle The main pattern of building was a great tower and other smaller towers linked by high ‘curtain’ walls. Smailholm Tower is a towerhouse set within a barmkin
The curtain wall still stands at Bothwell Castle
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The decline of the castle
Castles today
The design of castles changed both in response to changes in society and technical advances in weaponry. Castles were difficult to defend against guns that could blast through castle walls and the peace that prevailed when James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603, meant that style and comfort became more important than defence. Owners added fashionable wings and gardens, built in the Renaissance style, to existing castles and tower houses.
Many Scottish castles survive only as ruined buildings. Some are in the care of Historic Scotland, the government agency that has responsibility for the built heritage and which looks after certain buildings of special historical or architectural interest. Others are looked after by local authorities, The National Trust for Scotland, a charity, or are privately owned – some even in the hands of the same families who built them.
James V added a Renaissance palace behind the curtain wall at Stirling Castle Some castles, deliberately pulled down (slighted) after they were captured, were never repaired and owners built more comfortable houses elsewhere. Others were plundered for building materials. Moreover, during the 17th century, the first regular army was introduced in Scotland. Soldiers were full-time, properly trained, well equipped and stayed in barracks. The new armies preferred to fight in the open field with field cannon, longbows and pikes.
Kildrummy Castle was first slighted early in the 14th century
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Edinburgh Castle is a major tourist attraction today Edinburgh Castle attracts over a million tourists every year but even the remotest castles attract hundreds of people prepared to seek them out. Opening a castle to the public involves ways of demonstrating how the castle worked and has changed over time. This might be achieved through guides, costumed actors, interactive displays, guide books and leaflets, information panels, videos, audio guides or special exhibitions. Most castles actively encourage school parties so provision has to include special facilities for schools eg educational resources and perhaps a school room or education centre. All visitors also need toilets, cafes, signs, warnings about possible dangerous spots eg steep falls. Provision for people with disabilities such as wheelchair ramps, hearing loops and guides with large type is also very important.
Medieval Castles in Scotland
A great castle household ‘The household was largely male comprising men from all levels of society. There were knights, squires and men-at-arms providing the lord with his quota of military service; senior officials who managed his affairs; a large group of lesser office-bearers who carried through the wide range of functions required to sustain the lifestyle of a great nobleman; and a vast underbelly of ‘gofers'. Females constituted the lady of the castle and her ladies-in-waiting, the nurses and perhaps the laundress and an alewife who produced the ale.’ Source: Chris Tabraham, Principal Inspector of Ancient Monuments with Historic Scotland
Castle Life Castles differed in size and scale according to the rank of those building and occupying them. But all medieval castles served the same purpose: to protect the owner, provide a home, to act as a centre for official business and to provide a base for the administration of the estates. All castles had to be fitted out for the daily life of the lord/lady, his/her family and servants. The greater the lord/lady the more people he/she had living in the household. There might be as many as 150 people living and working in and around the castle of a great lord. He would spend much of his time travelling, and attending the king, while the lady would spend her time running the castle with the help of the steward. The sons of noble families were usually sent away to be educated and trained to be knights in other great families; daughters were educated in the castle.
The household The most important members of the domestic staff, all of whom had their own complement of helpers, were: • the steward: the most important member of staff in charge of the household and the estates. He represented the lord when he was away and kept accounts of taxes and rents • the constable: responsible for the security of the castle especially when the owner was there and in charge of any military staff present and permanent staff such as the porter, gaoler and watchmen • the marshal: in charge of travel arrangements, horses and outdoor staff such as grooms, smiths, carters and hunstmen • the chancellor or chaplain: in charge of the chapel and wrote the lord’s personal and business letters. Churchmen were amongst the few who could read and write in the Middle Ages.
The Great Hall at Caerlaverock Castle
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The Lord’s Household
Freindis (social equals)
Kin (blood relations)
Lord
Constable
Marshal
Gunners Blacksmiths
Carters
Doorwards
Men-at-Arms
Farriers
Muleteers Messengers
Armourers
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Porters Boatmen
Stable Lads
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Medieval Castles in Scotland
Tenentis (tenants)
Tenentis (tenants)
Lady
Chaplin
Clerk of the Writing Office
Clerk of the Chapel
Steward
Cooks
Bard
Piper
Doctor
Gentlemen Servants
Ladies-inWaiting
Carpenters Asssistant Clerks
Choir Boys
Sacristan
Wardrobers
Stonemasons
Tailor
Laundress
Musicians
Undercooks
Larderers
Poulterers
Bakers
Gardeners
Alewife
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Living conditions
Prisons and prisoners
By modern standards castles were damp, cold, dark and draughty. Heating depended on log fires and lighting on candles, rush-lights (rushes soaked in animal fat) and torches (rope treated with pitch). Furniture and furnishings were simple and constructed so they could be dismantled and packed up and moved with the lord on his travels round the country. Only the lord and his immediate family had beds – most people slept near to fires on floors strewn with rushes. Castle garderobes (toilets) were communal, men and women urinated wherever convenient. The smells of animals and cooking, rotting bits of food thrown down for dogs, smoke and unwashed bodies crowded together would make most castles smelly and unpleasant for people today.
The lord of the castle had responsibility for law and order. Depending on their social status, wrong-doers were held in cells or pits until they were tried in the Great Hall. Then depending on the crime, prisoners were fined, maimed in some way, or hanged. Beheading was reserved for disgraced nobility. Prisoners of war were also held in castles. In the Middle Ages these were usually men of noble birth who were held captive until a ransom was paid. Since ransoms were extremely lucrative, it paid to keep these political prisoners alive and in comfort.
Eating and drinking Hunting provided an important source of fresh meat (venison, boar and game-birds such as partridges). The castle estates provided mutton, beef, pork and small birds (larks, blackbirds) caught in traps. Fish and eels came from rivers, lochs and the fish and mill ponds on the castle estates. For special occasions there was roast peacock and swan. Food was preserved for winter use by salting, smoking or drying. Fruit (apples, pears, plums, quinces and medlars), vegetables (leeks, cabbages, onions, peas) and herbs were grown on the castle estates, whilst spices (ginger, cinnamon, pepper) imported from abroad added flavour. Honey from the castle’s beehives was used as a sweetener. Most people, including children, drank ale brewed in the castle but the lord and his guests had wine imported from France.
Entertainment Tournaments, in which a knight aimed to injure his opponent by knocking him off his horse, were popular as was all forms of hunting and hawking. Travelling musicians and troubadours toured the country performing at feasts and celebrations in castles. Children amused themselves with simple toys such as tops and hoops and played games that children still enjoy today such as ‘hide and seek’ ‘blind man’s buff’ and ‘tag’. Popular activities unacceptable today included bear-baiting, cock-fighting and hunting wild animals such as wolves, badgers and native wild cats.
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The prison at St Andrews Castle. Nobility were held in the secure upper rooms, ‘free’ men were imprisoned on the ground level and below that is the infamous bottle dungeon into which ‘unfree’ men were thrown and left to die
Medieval Castles in Scotland
Inside Dirleton Castle Lord’s hall: for more private hospitality and family meals
The screens passage: food was bought here from the kitchens
The Great Hall: for tax and rent collection, trials and large scale entertainment
The Chapel: for daily worship
Garderobes (toilets): channelled waste into a cesspit or emptied outside the walls
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Castle Warfare
Mangonel: a smaller weapon firing smaller stone shot, bought closer to walls in order to pick off defenders
Attacking a castle Castles were usually taken by siege, although sometimes attackers would take a castle by surprise, perhaps because someone inside the castle had helped them. A siege could last for a day or several years. Attackers aimed to enter the castle forcibly by breaking down the walls. If this failed they could try and starve defenders out or spread disease and hope that defenders would fall ill and die. Low morale would also persuade the constable to surrender. Most castles, especially the smaller ones, did not have the resources to be defended adequately in any full-scale conflict. Even the strongest castles such as Stirling fell after prolonged sieges by a large and powerful army. Sieges were costly and both besiegers and the besieged tried to avoid them by entering into negotiations. A typical deal might be agreeing to lift the siege for a set number of days during which the defenders tried to get reinforcements. If the garrison was unable to get help in this time, they agreed to surrender.
Mangonel
Mobile siege tower or belfry: for scaling castle walls Battering ram: used to smash down castle gates
Battering ram
Mines and miners: miners Siege tower either hacked through or tunnelled underneath walls, then set fire to the wooden props supporting the tunnel, in an attempt to bring down the wall above
In 1298, Stephen de Brampton, an English commander, found himself and his soldiers besieged in Bothwell Castle. He wrote to King Edward I describing how he had defended the castle: ‘I have defended the castle, against the power of Scotland for a year and nine weeks, to great loss and misfortune, as all companions died in the castle ... taken by famine and by assault’.
Weapons of war
Trebuchet
Trebuchet: a massive long-range sling firing huge stone shot used to ‘soften up’ the garrison by demolishing roofs and battlements
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In 1546–7 attackers hewed a tunnel out of rock underneath St Andrews Castle. The defenders heard them tunnelling and after a couple of false starts, succeeded in digging a counter tunnel to head them off.
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Caerlavelock under seige by the English, 1300
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Defending a castle Ditches, earth banks and moats: made access to castle walls difficult
Portcullis: an iron grille suspended by chains that could be dropped down to trap enemies or prevent them entering the castle Portcullis
Gate Drawbar Drawbridge
Yett: an iron gate normally positioned behind a timber gate so that if the gate was burnt down, the yett would hold
Duffus Castle with earth bank and ditch Gatehouse: the most vulnerable part of the castle and so heavily protected with a combination of gates, towers, murder holes, a portcullis and drawbridge
Murder holes: openings in the ceilings of gatehouse passages positioned so that rocks and boiling liquids could be poured on to attackers Postern or sallyport: the back door of the castle used to fetch help or to ‘sally forth’ to make surprise attacks. It was also used as a ‘tradesman’s entrance’ in peacetime Curtain walls: usually at least 3 metres thick to withstand bombardment from siege machines. They usually incorporated walkways so that armed men could patrol the castle Round towers: constructed so that missiles glanced off more easily than flat surfaces
The fortified gatehouse at Stirling Castle Gate: heavy wooden door reinforced by a drawbar that slotted into square openings in the walls Drawbridge: a bridge that could be pulled up to prevent attackers crossing ditches or moats. Sometimes a wooden bridge was simply removed in times of attack
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The round towers and curtain wall at Caerlaverock Castle
Medieval Castles in Scotland
Hourdes Merlons
Wells: the castle well was sunk in the inner bailey so that it could not be cut off or sabotaged by poisoning
Crenels Arrow loop
Crenellations: gaps (crenels) provided defenders with spaces to shoot through, or hurl missiles and boiling liquids on to attackers; the solid uprights (merlons) gave cover for them to reload
Battered wall
Hourdes: timber projections so that missiles and arrows could be dropped and fired more easily. Later hourdes were made of stone (machicolations)
Battered walls: thick sloping external bases helped to make mining difficult and deflected missiles hurled from above into the face of the attackers Square towers: gave protection to archers who otherwise had to lean out to see the base of the wall
Hand weapons In the Middle Ages defenders depended greatly on the skill of archers, but the most dangerous soldiers were crossbow men who acted as snipers and were paid considerably more than ordinary soldiers. Knights wore ‘hauberks’ (coats of chain mail worn over padded tunics) which protected the wearer from arrows but not from crossbow bolts. This crossbow man can be seen on James V’s palace at Stirling Castle
A crossbow man (left) and a longbow man (right)
Armed knights in armour
High, narrow windows: made it difficult for attackers to get inside Arrow loops: constructed so that defenders The square tower at Threave Castle had maximum room for manoeuvre inside but presented the smallest possible opening on the outside. Most arrow loops were altered later to accommodate handguns (gun loops) The tower (keep): the strongest part of the castle where the lord and lady lived, and to which people could retreat as the last resort. Arms and valuables were stored here.
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Selected sites in the care of Historic Scotland 1
Balvenie Castle, Moray
20
Peel Ring of Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire
2
Bothwell Castle, Lanarkshire
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St Andrews Castle, Fife
Caerlaverock Castle,
Smailholm Tower,
22 Scottish Borders
3 Dumfries and Galloway Carnasserie Castle,
23 Stirling Castle
4 Argyll
Claypotts Castle,
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5 Angus 6
Craigmillar Castle, Midlothian
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Craignethan Castle, 7 Lanarkshire
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Sween Castle, Argyll
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Threave Castle, Dumfries and Galloway
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Castle Campbell, 26 Perth and Kinross
Crichton Castle, Midlothian Crookston Castle,
9 Glasgow
Cubbie Row’s Castle,
10 Orkney
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Dirleton Castle, 11 East Lothian
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13 16
Duffus Castle, Moray
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Dunstaffnage Castle, Argyll
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Huntly Castle, Aberdeenshire
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Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire
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Greenknowe Tower, Scottish Borders Huntingtower Castle, Perth and Kinross
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16
11
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14 Edinburgh Castle 15
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Newark Castle, 19 Renfrewshire
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Medieval Castles in Scotland
The following castles are all in the care of Historic Scotland.
• Huntingtower Castle, Perth and Kinross: two tower houses eventually incorporated into one building
Downloadable images of many Historic Scotland sites are available for educational use from www.scran.ac.uk
• Newark Castle, Renfrewshire: a 15th-century tower house, gatehouse and part of the barmkin wall survive
Earth and timber castles
• Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders: a small rectangular tower set within a barmkin
• Crookston Castle, Glasgow: a 15th-century castle set within 12th-century earthworks • Duffus Castle, Moray: built in 1150, a fine motteand-bailey castle
• Threave Castle, Dumfries and Galloway: a massive tower house, once the centre of a much bigger complex of buildings
• Huntly Castle, Aberdeenshire: has a history of occupation from 12th–17th centuries and a fine motte still survives
Castles to illustrate castle life
• Peel Ring of Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire: an earth and timber castle built about 1250
• Borthwick Castle, Midlothian: the great hall is particularly splendid
Stone castles
Castles to illustrate fortifications
• Balvenie Castle, Moray: a curtain-walled castle built by the Comyns and remodelled by the Douglases in the 15th century
• Caerlaverock Castle, Dumfries and Galloway: the fortified gatehouse still remains. There are also replicas of siege engines on site
• Bothwell Castle, Lanarkshire: the mighty 13thcentury keep is one of the finest castle buildings in Scotland
• Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire: the curtain wall and projecting towers still stand
• Cubbie Row’s Castle, Orkney: built in the mid-12th century probably by a Viking chief
• St Andrews Castle, Fife: the best-preserved mine and counter mine in Europe and the infamous bottle dungeon
• Craigmillar Castle, Midlothian: the ranges round the courtyard and the fishpond survive
• Dirleton Castle, East Lothian: a formidable fortress built about 1240 for the de Vauxs
Royal Castles
• Dunstaffnage Castle, Argyll: a 13th-century castle built on a rock to protect important sea-lanes
• Stirling Castle: has splendid royal apartments first built by James IV and continued by James V and James VI
• Sween Castle, Argyll: Scotland’s oldest castle still standing
Tower houses • Castle Campbell, Perth and Kinross: a fine tower house with a separate hall block • Claypotts Castle, Angus: a complete tower house • Crichton Castle, Midlothian: originally built as a tower house about 1400 but subsequently enlarged to become a courtyard castle • Craignethan Castle, Lanarkshire: begun in 1530s and the last noble castle to be built in Scotland • Carnasserie Castle, Argyllshire: the integrated plan of the tower house and great hall are well preserved • Greenknowe Tower, Scottish Borders: a late tower house built in 1581
• Edinburgh Castle: Scotland’s chief royal castle in the Middle Ages