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22 EUROPE Stirling Castle
Rising high on a rocky crag, this magnificent castle was prominent in
Scottish his tory for centuries and remains one of the finest examples
of Renaissance architecture in Britain (Renaissance Style, seep. 131).
Legend has it that King Arthur wrested the original castle from the
Saxons, but there is no historical evidence of a castle at this location
before 1124. The present building dates from the 15th and 16th
centuries and was last defended in 17 46 against the Jacobites, who
were mainly Catholic Highlanders wishing to restore the Stuart
monarchy to the throne. Between 1881 and 1964, the castle was
used as a depot for recruits into the Argyll and Sutherland
High Ia nders, a I though it serves no military function today.
A Stirling Castle in the Times of the Stuarts,
painted by Johannes Vorsetermann (1643-99)
Elphinstone Tower King's Old Building
In 1689, this defensive tower The Regimental Museum of
was reduced to half its original the Argyll and Sutherland
THE EARL OF DOUGLAS
size to provide the base for a Highlanders is housed here.
gun platform.
The eighth Earl of Douglas was
suspected of treachery and murdered
in 1452 by James II, who threw his
tortured body out of a window into
the gardens below These are now
known as the Douglas Gardens.
Forework
Palace
The otherwise sparse
interiors of the royal
apartments contain the
Stirling Heads (right).
These Renaissance-era
roundels depict 38
figures, thought to
~ Robert the Bruce Statue French Spur
This modern statue in the esplanade In the mid-16th century, a new line of be contemporary me~
shows Robert the Bruce sheathing his defenses, including this artillery spur, was bers of the royal court.
sword after the Scottish victory at the constructed to protect the castle against
Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. enemies equipped with modern weaponry.
