OF all the castles in Scotland, the most famous is undoubtedly Edinburgh Castle. I think it is entirely fitting, therefore, that
Edinburgh Castle is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland and I have relied on that agency’s considerable research for factual provenance. Any mistakes are mine, it should be noted.
A Brythonic-Celtic tribe, the Votadini appear to have co-existed with the Romans but after the empire abandoned Britain the Votadini gradually moved their headquarters to the Castle Rock which became known as Dyn Eidin, the fort of Eidin, when the Gododdin people, descendants of the Votadini, ruled over the eastern part of what is now the Lothians.
IN a very real sense, then, Edinburgh Castle was the foundation stone of the city of Edinburgh and the evidence of King David’s attachment to the place can be found inside the castle to this day in the form of St Margaret’s Chapel erected around 1130 by the king in honour of his mother – it remains the oldest building in Edinburgh. David moved frequently between the castle and the royal lodgings at Holyrood, thus creating the Royal Mile.
A garrison of 300 English soldiers then occupied the castle until 1313 when Robert the Bruce’s great ally Sir Thomas Randolph led just 30 men on a night raid up the cliffs and over the walls to capture the castle from within. On his return from imprisonment in England, the Bruce’s son, King David II, rebuilt the castle entirely with David’s Tower named after him. He died in the castle’s royal apartments in 1371.
James III made several improvements to the castle, such as the Crown Square, as well as formally making it the seat of government. His son, James IV, built the Great Hall that still stands much as it was during his reign that ended at Flodden Field in 1513. No more royal occupants resided permanently at the castle, though the Royal Palace was beautifully restored for the sole visit of home by James VI and I in 1617.
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