Many readers of the site "VO" were interested in the history of the Battle of Bannockburn: they say, the Scots taught the English a lesson there. However, in addition to this battle itself, the name of Stirling Castle, or Stirling, as the Scots themselves call it, flashed in the material about it. The questions rained down: "Why not tell about this castle too?" Indeed, the history of this castle deserves a separate story about it.
Sterling Castle. View from the valley. As you can see, talking about its inaccessibility, albeit not 100%, is far from empty words. Getting close to him from this side was far from easy.
Well, and the story about this castle should begin, of course, like this: the one who, by the will of fate at least once in his life, was brought to Scotland, to its central part, Sterling Castle should be sure to see. Powerful walls, majestic views, amazing architecture and even more amazing history - that's it, Stirling Castle!
Undoubtedly, this castle is one of the most grandiose structures in Scotland. It is difficult to list all the advantages of the castle. He stuns with his harsh grandeur from the first minute of acquaintance. One gets the impression that the castle gazes intently from a high and impregnable cliff at the ancient city of Sterling, which was once the capital of the Scottish kingdom.
Once upon a time Mary Stuart was crowned in it. Chroniclers write that during the ceremony, Maria wept bitterly. And it is not surprising, because the queen at that time was only nine months old.
But in fact, the history of these places dates back to long before the Stuart dynasty, and it is also very special.
Bird's eye view of the castle. You can clearly see the rocky base of the wall and a well-chosen place for its construction - at the very top of the hill.
First of all, the place for the construction of the castle was chosen not quite usual: the top of a long-extinct volcano 75 meters high. It was she who served as an excellent construction site. From the top, there was a stunning view of the winding Fort River below, the spreading fields, and the hills covered with forest. This small piece of land, from which one could paint on pastoral themes, if desired, was idyllically beautiful, but at the same time strategically important for Scotland. At one time, both the Celts and the Romans visited here, who, from the top of these rocks, looked at the lands they had not conquered. After the Romans left, this land became a stumbling block between the Picts, Scutts, Britons and Angles.
Lawn in front of the palace. Now it has become a place for national songs and dances.
In all likelihood, Scotland became unified after the defeat of the Picts in 843 by the Scottish monarch Kenneth MacAlpin. Subsequently, in the process of merging, the Picts mixed with the Scots, as a result of which a new nationality arose - the Scots.
The chronicle history of the castle dates back to the 11th century. In the records of King Malcolm III of Canmore, Sterling is referred to exclusively as a military facility. In 1072, the troops of William the Conqueror and the warriors of Malcolm III fought here. The battle did not take place because … the parties went to the "world". The result of the peace agreement was the tribute that Scotland had to pay to the English monarch.
Here, perhaps, even the Gauls would not have climbed …
In the XII and XIII centuries.the castle belonged to the Scottish kings, peace and economic stability reigned in Scotland, but despite this, construction work was in full swing at the castle - although, as they say, nothing foreshadowed trouble. In 1286, the monarch dies suddenly, and four years later, in 1290, on his way from Norway to Scotland, his granddaughter Margaret dies, eight years old, who at that time was the only heir to the throne. Scotland is left without state power. And there were more than enough people who wanted to sit on the throne. Trouble was brewing in the country …
A struggle for power began to unfold among the nobles. In an effort to save the country from strife, Edward I of England was invited as an arbitrator, who swore an oath that he would recognize the Scottish crown. In 1291 he briefly arrived in Sterling. It was then that the Scottish nobility and gave him an oath and swore allegiance. A year later, the throne passed to the loyal England John Balliol, although there was another candidate for the crown - Robert the Bruce.
At the end of the 13th century, Sterling again found itself in the center of the military confrontation between England and Scotland. In 1296, the castle was captured by the English king Edward I. The castle was in his hands for less than a year, until the brave Scots, having gathered forces, went to war against the British king and returned Sterling back.
Edward, naturally, was not going to give up what he had won so easily. For six years, he tried to crush the rebellious Scots, and recapture the castle. And in April 1304, Edward pulled up an army under the walls of the fortress. In addition to well-armed soldiers, the British army had at its disposal several special throwing machines numbering 17 units. For four months the castle was in a state of siege, continuously fired by lead and stone cannonballs and watered with "Greek fire", which was a hellish fluid mixture of crude oil, sulfur and oil! Not even the "Greek fire" did not help Eduard, and he then threw trebuchets into battle - colossal stone-throwing machines capable of firing 140-kilogram stone cannonballs and breaking powerful fortress walls with them.
Only on July 20, 1304, the siege of the fortress was completed, but it did not surrender, because there was no one to surrender there. Thirty brave warriors, dearly in love with their little Scotland and compatriots, fearless and desperate defenders of the castle died defending their native walls.
But the most significant event in Scotland happened in 1314. Then the battle of Bannockburn took place between the armies of the Scottish king Bruce and the English king Edward. The battle was only three kilometers from Sterling. The result of this battle was the complete defeat of the army of King Edward.
For more than a dozen years, the citadel with enviable constancy passed from the Scots to the British and vice versa. The fortress walls were built on, and then broken, fortified and rebuilt, taking into account the wishes of its next owner, the nature of military operations and weapons used during the battle.
Running a little ahead, it is worth noting that in 1869, in order to pay tribute to the victory of the Scottish troops commanded by William Wallace, the Wallace monument was erected over the British in the battle near the Stirling Bridge, made in the form of a five-tiered tower, reminiscent of the Scottish crown.
The fortress walls overlook the 67-meter monument to the national hero, fighter for Scottish independence, William Wallace, standing in the distance.
Wallace completed his earthly journey in 1305. That year he was captured, brought to London, convicted of betrayal and given to a savage execution - Wallace did not ask for quartering and express remorse before the English king, although in this way he would have begged himself an easier death.
The 15th century was relatively calm for Sterling. The royal family lived in the castle, which did not want to fight, but on the contrary preferred a calm, measured life to wars. Therefore, knightly tournaments were held in the royal residence, guests were received, and there was fun. King James III, who lived here with the august family, passionately loved his residence, and therefore constantly completed something, improved it. Within the castle, Jacob built the Great Hall, called the Parliament Building, and once again remodeled the castle church.
Many buildings of the castle have been restored and look like new, but this does not spoil them.
Under Jacob IV, the fortress walls and the Grand Palace were rebuilt in the castle. Jacob IV was known among his compatriots as a great lover of science, art and literature. During his reign, the castle welcomed everyone who came to the king, among whom there were completely suspicious personalities who warmly assured that they were able to reveal (yes, yes!) The secret of the philosopher's stone, and the sovereign … gave them shelter.
Hall of tapestries in the royal chapel.
King James VI of Scots (James I of England) spent his childhood in Sterling. During the regency period, the fortress was besieged by the champions of Mary Stuart. As a result, some buildings within the boundaries of the fortress were damaged, among them the Royal Chapel. Actually, Jacob was engaged in its restoration, since it was necessary to baptize his son Henry. The ceremony was unusually solemn. And the "highlight of the program" of the holiday in the castle was … a luxurious ship filled with fish. He "floated" into the Great Hall, where the guests invited to the feast were noisy, drinking, eating and dancing. Everyone seemed to be dumbfounded from what they saw. Everyone wanted to personally see, and, if possible, touch such a curiosity with their hands. The ship, as a memory of that event, was kept in the fortress for 200 years.
The interior of the royal palace.
Well, when the celebrations ended, and the king's son received an English name, the sovereign began to claim the English throne, on which Elizabeth I, who had no children, sat at that time.
The tapestries on the walls are redone, but they are exact copies of the old ones.
After James VI moved to London, Sterling began to gradually deteriorate. In such a dilapidated state, it stood for 22 years, and only in 1617, especially for the visit of the king, it was put in order. Jacob visited the residence, wandered through the empty halls and departed. And soon the sad news came that Jacob VI had died. And again for a long 16 years the abandoned castle was empty, and only in 1633 the son of Jacob Charles I arrived in Sterling. Then the castle from the royal residence by the will of fate (and the decision of Charles) again became a fortress.
The quality of the work of both the masters of that time and today's restorers is simply amazing.
Royal hall with a throne.
Having survived many battles and sieges, its walls were badly damaged. In February 1681, the future King James II, having visited Scotland, saw Sterling in a miserable state. The "fort" was repaired, and four years later, in 1685, repaired and rebuilt, the castle received the status of a military base. A little later, an artillery shop was organized here, and, accordingly, part of the outbuildings of the castle was given over to warehouses for weapons and ammunition …
But the "magnet" on the fridge with the image of a castle is made crazy and without imagination - anyhow, just to take money from people!
