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The History of Edinburgh Castle, Scotland |
Updated: Wednesday, 30th April, 2008 |
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850 BC |
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Edinburgh History and Edinburgh Castle history begins on the rock on which Edinburgh Castle stands.The rock was formed 70 million years ago. Recent archaeological excavations in Edinburgh Castle have uncovered evidence that Bronze-Age man was living on the rock as long ago as 850 BC. Two thousand years ago, during the Iron Age, the rock had a hill-fort settlement on its summit.
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| AD
600 |
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In about AD 600, three
hundred men gathered around their King. Mynyddog,
in his stronghold of Din Eidyn. This is the first
mention of the name of the place, which we call
Edinburgh. The war-band was preparing to attack
the Angles, recent heathen invaders from Europe.
The war-band pledged themselves to die for their
King and almost all did die, on a raid into the
territories of the Angles, in Yorkshire. Shortly
after, in AD 638, Din Eidyn was besieged and taken
by the Angles and the place seems then to have received
the English name which it has kept ever since -
Edinburgh.
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| AD
1093 |
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In
1093 Queen Margaret wife of Malcolm III was seriously
ill in Edinburgh Castle. She was brought the news
that her husband had been killed at Alnwick in Northumberland.
Broken-hearted, she too died. Husband and wife were
buried side by side in the church at Dunfermline.
Queen Margaret was made a saint by Pope Innocent
IV in 1250. A tiny chapel, built on the summit of
the castle rock in the early twelfth century, is
dedicated to her memory and is the oldest building
in Edinburgh Castle.
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| AD
1296 |
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In
1296 Edward I of England invaded Scotland. He besieged
and captured Edinburgh Castle.
On the night of 14 March 1314, Sir Thomas Randolph,
the nephew of King Robert the Bruce, and his men
climbed the precipitous north face of Edinburgh
Castle rock, took the English garrison by surprise
and won the castle back. Robert the Bruce immediately
ordered that Edinburgh castle be dismantled "lest
the English ever afterwards might lord it over the
land by holding the castles". Three months
later, on 24 June 1314 near Stirling, the Scottish
army crushed the English at the Battle of Bannockburn.
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| AD
1449 |
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In
1449, James II married Mary of Gueldres in Holyrood
Abbey. That same year a great siege gun, made for
the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Burgundy, was tested
at Mons (now in Belgium). In 1457 Mons Meg (as she
is now called) was shipped to Scotland as a present
to the King and Queen. Three years later the King
was dead, killed at the siege of Roxburgh Castle
by one of his guns (not Mons Meg). Mons Meg was
kept with the rest of the royal guns in Edinburgh
Castle. She was used against the English and against
rebellious Scottish noblemen. Her enormous bulk
(she weighs over 6 tons) soon made her obsolete
as a siege gun, but she was put to good use firing
ceremonial salutes. In 1681, during a birthday salute
for the Duke of Albany (later James VII and II,
the last Stewart King) her barrel burst open and
she was unceremoniously dumped beside Foog's Gate
in Edinburgh Castle. The restored Mons Meg can proudly
be viewed now on the upper levels of the Castle.
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| AD
1565 |
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In
July 1565 Mary Queen of Scots married her first
cousin and second husband, Henry, Lord Darnley.
Almost a year later on 19 June 1566, she gave birth
to their child, Prince James in Edinburgh Castle.
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| AD
1568 |
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On
16 May 1568 Mary, Queen of Scots fled to England
and her infant son James became King of Scots. She
left behind a divided nation. Sir William Kirkcaldy
of Grange was keeper of Edinburgh Castle, in 1571
when he decided to come out openly in support of
the exiled Queen. The King's supporters immediately
laid siege to the castle, but since the best artillery
was inside the castle it proceeded inconclusively
for two years - hence its name - the "Lang
(long) Siege". Kirkcaldy's stout defence of
the castle came to an end only after England had
sent a large force and heavy artillery at the request
of the King's party, led by the Regent Morton. In
May 1573, after a devastating eleven-day bombardment,
the east defences of the medieval castle came crashing
to the ground. Kirkcaldy surrendered and was executed.
Almost immediately the Regent Morton put in hand
the work of rebuilding the shattered castle. Much
of what you see today dates from this time, including
the mighty Half-Moon Battery and the Portcullis
Gate.
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| AD
1688 |
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Late
in 1688 the Protestant William of Orange landed
in England and the Catholic James VII of Scotland
and II of England, the last Stewart King, fled into
exile. William and his wife Mary (James VII's elder
daughter) were proclaimed joint sovereigns of England.
The Scots were undecided. The governor of Edinburgh
Castle at the time was the Duke of Gordon, a firm
supporter of King James, who prepared the place
for defence. The siege began in March 1689 and lasted
for three months, during which time William and
Mary were offered, and accepted the Scottish Crown.
On 13 June Gordon surrendered Edinburgh Castle.
It proved to be the last real action the castle
saw. In the subsequent Jacobite Risings of 1715
and 1745, Edinburgh Castle was picketed by the supporters
of the "Old Pretender" and "Bonnie
Prince Charlie" but was never seriously threatened.
Peace has reigned at Edinburgh Castle ever since.
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| AD
1707 |
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On
19 March 1707 the Act uniting Scotland and England
was passed in the Scottish Parliament. When it rose,
the Crown, Sword and Sceptre were brought back to
Edinburgh Castle and locked away. In time people
wondered whether the honours of Scotland, as they
were known really survived at all. In February 1818
Sir Walter Scott, with permission from the Prince
Regent, broke into the room where the Honours had
supposedly been locked away. He found them lying
at the bottom of a chest covered with linen cloths
"exactly as they had been left". They
were immediately put on display in the room where
they were discovered, so beginning Edinburgh Castle's
new role as Scotland's premier visitor attraction.
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Edinburgh Fringe Festival Accommodation |
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Edinburgh Festival Accommodation
8 Blenheim Place
Edinburgh EH7 5JH
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Phone:
+44 (0)131 478 0007
E-mail: info@edinburghmedia.com |
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| Entry Added: 28 July 2004 |
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Holiday Inn - Edinburgh City Centre
Picardy Place
Opposite Omni Centre/Playhouse Theatre
Edinburgh
EH1 3JT
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BOOK ONLINE NOW
click on the picture
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The new Express by Holiday Inn Edinburgh City Centre is a listed Georgian building which has been transformed into a welcoming hotel perfect for the business and leisure traveller. A swhort walk from Princes Street and Waverley Railway Station, the hotel is an ideal base for your stay in Edinburgh. |
| Entry Added: 8th June 2004 |
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EDINBURGH HISTORY
Trace Your Ancestors Tour, Edinburgh |
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Trace Your Scottish Ancestors Tour
Edinburgh
EH1 XXX
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Phone: +44 your number here
E-mail: info@Your Scottish Ancestors Tour.com |
Genealogy search for your family history here. Genealogy is the name of the process for tracing your family history. |
| Entry Added: 26th April 2004 |
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