EDINBURGH CASTLE
Edinburgh Castle has a history that stretches far back till it is lost
in the misty realm of legend. The great rock upon which it is built
could not fail to have appealed to all the successive rulers of the
land as of great strategic importance. It rises abruptly from the
low-lying land, and dominates the country for many miles around, from
the Forth on the north to the Pentland Hills on the south. Its Celtic
name of _Maidun_, meaning the fort of the plain, became corrupted in
later times to Maiden's Castle, the name being responsible for the
tradition that the castle was used by the royal Princesses, during
times of great danger.
[Illustration: Edinburgh Castle, from the North.]
Though Edwin, the King of Northumbria, is the reputed founder of
the town whose name is commonly derived from him, the clear light of
history only begins to shine upon it in the days of Malcolm Canmore
and his sainted Queen. At that time a Celtic Castle stood upon the
rock, of which there are no remains except St. Margaret's Chapel, a
little Norman building, named after Malcolm Canmore's English wife.
Malcolm, the Big Head, a brave but illiterate Prince, was so devoted
to his beautiful wife, that through her teaching he learned religion,
and used to take part with her in the religious services of which she
was so fond. Unable to read himself, he caused her prayer-books and
missals to be splendidly bound, and would listen to her while she read
to him, submitting at the same time to refinements in dress and table
customs which were quite innovations in the rude northern Court. Queen
Margaret was in the castle in 1093, when her warlike husband and her
eldest son went off with a large army to fight the English. She was
lying very ill when the news came to her that both husband and son
had been slain, the shock causing her death. As there was considerable
disaffection in the country, her body was carried with great secrecy
across the Forth to Dunfermline, a miraculous mist kindly enveloping
the party, so that no one saw them escape.
Another Queen Margaret, also an English Princess, a century and a half
later, came as a girl-wife to the grim castle on the rock. She was the
daughter of Henry III. of England, and had been married to Alexander
III., a mere boy, with great splendour at York, her father hoping by
the marriage to gain more influence over Scotland.
All the troubles of the War of Independence during the fourteenth
century arose from King Alexander III. leaving no male heir. His two
sons had died before him, and his grand-daughter, the Maid of Norway,
was his only heir. Disasters came thick upon Scotland soon after the
death of Alexander III., who had fallen over a cliff on the coast of
Fife when riding too near the edge on a very dark and stormy night.
For the next fifty years Edinburgh Castle was constantly being taken
by the English and recaptured by the Scottish people. Everyone knows
the story of how Sir Thomas Randolph surprised the English garrison
in the castle, by climbing up the precipitous side of the rock with a
party of thirty bold men. After this capture, Robert Bruce, according
to his usual policy, destroyed the castle, so that it should no longer
serve as a stronghold for the English. But when Edward III. obtained
it again in 1334 he rebuilt it.
It was not until the early Stuart Kings, that Edinburgh Castle really
became a palace, in the more peaceful sense of the word. When James I.
returned to Scotland after his long captivity in England, he spent a
considerable amount of money on building the Parliament House, (now
used as the armoury), and many of the private apartments. He had
doubtless, during his residence at Windsor and Westminster, learnt to
enjoy the greater beauty and dignity of the English palaces. His son,
James II., continued his work of rebuilding.
During the minority of James II., a time when several parties in the
State were endeavouring to capture their young monarch and to rule in
his name, a great tragedy took place within the castle. William, Earl
of Douglas, a lad of about eighteen, was then the head of the most
wealthy and powerful family in Scotland, and being of royal descent,
might even make a claim to the throne.
As he did not join himself to either the party of Sir William Crichton
or that of Sir Alexander Livingstone, these two leaders, usually at
deadly enmity with one another, united to destroy the young Earl.
In the year 1440, the Earl and his brother David were invited to the
castle, on the pretext that the young King wanted their congenial
company. Accompanied by their aged tutor, Sir Malcolm Fleming, the two
boys came to Edinburgh, where they were received with real pleasure by
James II., and with false hospitality by Crichton and Livingstone. But
the real purpose of the visit was evident when a black bull's head was
placed upon the dinner-table, in Scotland as much a symbol of death
as the Judge's black cap in a modern trial. Taken unawares, the
unfortunate boys were hurried to the castle walls, where, after a mock
trial, they were beheaded, Fleming also suffering a similar fate.
After the time of Flodden Field, the monarchs very seldom used the
castle for anything but a stronghold against their enemies, Holyrood
Palace becoming their favourite residence. The last Prince to be born
in the castle was James VI., his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, having
chosen to be within the protection of its strong walls. The small
room in which he was born can still be seen, a memorable room, for the
infant Prince was to bring peace to his realm, putting an end at last
to centuries of conflict, not indeed by any wisdom or foresight of his
own, but by succeeding to the throne of England.