Scottish History to the First War of Scottish Independence |
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Introduction and Early History
Dumfries became entangled in many aspects of the Great Cause and the First War of Scottish Independence, so here's a brief history of the shenanigans surrounding the rulers and aristocracy up to the early 13th centuries. Our so-called leaders today are hardly a bunch to be proud of, but (most of the time) they don't go around ransacking the land and killing off their rivals and their rivals' supporters.
In prehistoric times, massive stone monuments were constructed, and because of their size and nature many have been preserved into modern times, and archaeology has been able to draw conclusions on how the peoples of the time lived. This is particularly true of the more remote areas, Lewis and the Orkneys, but of course there is no written record. Ancient runes have been deciphered, but these don't date from earlier than around 150, so any early records rely heavily on the perspective of the Romans because they wrote things down, and others didn't, but the Romans only got as far as the south of Scotland, and didn't stay too long, so even Roman sources aren't extensive.
Unlike virtually every other country in Europe, Scotland has no surviving written records from before Roman times.
The Greek scholar Ptolemy is generally considered the most authoritative resource of this era, and while his maps were good for the time, they aren't accurate to modern standards - the map shown here is a modern interpretation of Ptolemy's work. Even so there is little further information available about the tribes he names, and the settlements/forts are really pure speculation.
At the time of the Romans, the lands to the North of their area of influence - essentially north of the Forth and Clyde - was the territory of the Picti - the Picts, so-called because they painted themselves
Post Roman times, records are few and far between - and mostly relate to England - the other problem being that those who could read and write at the time were often entirely the clergy:
Ancient history (or myth?) has it that Erc of Dalriada was king of Irish Dál Riata until 474 - one of his sons was Fergus Mór, who is regarded as the founder of Scotland - and rulers of Scotland have claimed descent from him ever since. Moving forward 300 years or so we get to Cináed mac Ailpin commonly anglicised as Kenneth MacAlpin and known in most modern regnal lists as Kenneth I (810 – 13 February 858), was a king of the Picts who, according to national myth, was the first King of Scots. He may also have been King of Dál Riata.
By the end of the first millennium there were several Kingdoms and Mormaers (earldoms) that covered modern day Scotland, including Alba, Strathclyde (which at that time extended into Cumbria), Galloway, Moray and Northumbria (which extended as far as the Firth of Forth).
{The Kingdom of Fife was a Pictish kingdom, that would have been part of Alba by this time - though the term survives to this day}.
Macbeth, the Scottish King that everyone thinks they know about thanks to Willie Shakespeare's publicity campaign on his behalf is involved right in the middle of all this.
The kingdoms of Strathclyde and Northumbria which straddled the modern border, but gradually the shape pf the modern countries began to emerge.
The story of the Lords of the Isles impinges lightly on this - the Kingdom of Scotland didn't really properly include many of the Isles and parts of the western mainland until the late 15th century.
In prehistoric times, massive stone monuments were constructed, and because of their size and nature many have been preserved into modern times, and archaeology has been able to draw conclusions on how the peoples of the time lived. This is particularly true of the more remote areas, Lewis and the Orkneys, but of course there is no written record. Ancient runes have been deciphered, but these don't date from earlier than around 150, so any early records rely heavily on the perspective of the Romans because they wrote things down, and others didn't, but the Romans only got as far as the south of Scotland, and didn't stay too long, so even Roman sources aren't extensive.
Unlike virtually every other country in Europe, Scotland has no surviving written records from before Roman times.
The Greek scholar Ptolemy is generally considered the most authoritative resource of this era, and while his maps were good for the time, they aren't accurate to modern standards - the map shown here is a modern interpretation of Ptolemy's work. Even so there is little further information available about the tribes he names, and the settlements/forts are really pure speculation.
At the time of the Romans, the lands to the North of their area of influence - essentially north of the Forth and Clyde - was the territory of the Picti - the Picts, so-called because they painted themselves
Post Roman times, records are few and far between - and mostly relate to England - the other problem being that those who could read and write at the time were often entirely the clergy:
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was written in Wessex in around 900 - anglo-saxon territory extended to Northumbria
Ancient history (or myth?) has it that Erc of Dalriada was king of Irish Dál Riata until 474 - one of his sons was Fergus Mór, who is regarded as the founder of Scotland - and rulers of Scotland have claimed descent from him ever since. Moving forward 300 years or so we get to Cináed mac Ailpin commonly anglicised as Kenneth MacAlpin and known in most modern regnal lists as Kenneth I (810 – 13 February 858), was a king of the Picts who, according to national myth, was the first King of Scots. He may also have been King of Dál Riata.
By the end of the first millennium there were several Kingdoms and Mormaers (earldoms) that covered modern day Scotland, including Alba, Strathclyde (which at that time extended into Cumbria), Galloway, Moray and Northumbria (which extended as far as the Firth of Forth).
{The Kingdom of Fife was a Pictish kingdom, that would have been part of Alba by this time - though the term survives to this day}.
Macbeth, the Scottish King that everyone thinks they know about thanks to Willie Shakespeare's publicity campaign on his behalf is involved right in the middle of all this.
The kingdoms of Strathclyde and Northumbria which straddled the modern border, but gradually the shape pf the modern countries began to emerge.
The story of the Lords of the Isles impinges lightly on this - the Kingdom of Scotland didn't really properly include many of the Isles and parts of the western mainland until the late 15th century.
1000 - The Kingdom of Alba
At the turn of the millennium, Cináeda mac Duib (Kenneth III) was King of Alba (possibly jointly ruling with a son Giric, records are rather vague at this time). What seems certain is that Kenneth (and Giric if he existed) was/were defeated and killed at the Battle of Monzievaird, close to Glenturret Distillery just outside Crieff in 1005 by Malcolm II (the Destroyer), who was Kenneth's nephew. A Cairn was erected to Kenneth to mark where he died.
The Northumbrians appear to have been finally vanquished by the Kings of Scotland (Alba) and Strathclyde at the Battle of Carham in 1018 - the King of Strathclyde, Owen the Bald, who may have died in the battle - the King of Alba was Malcolm II, grandfather of his successor, Duncan I who ruled a part of Scotland until he was killed whilst invading Moray, which was Macbeth's territory, in 1040. Being killed in his sleep by Macbeth as suggested by Shakespeare is probably bardic license. Macbeth who was also a grandson of Malcolm II, was "defeated and mortally wounded or killed" at the Battle of Lumphanan near Banchory in 1057, by the future Malcolm III (son of Duncan I). Malcolm's first wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, was the widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson (the Mighty), Earl of Orkney, this marriage helped him to have a peaceful relationship with the north and west of Scotland. She was the mother of future king Duncan II. His second wife, Saint Margaret (the Queen who established Queensferry on the Firth of Forth), was granddaughter of English King Edmund Ironside and sister of Edgar Ætheling proclaimed, but never crowned, King of England in 1066 on the death of Harold Godwinson. A Kingdom of the Cumbrians had been re-established in 1054, which Malcolm III (known as Canmore - from the Gaelic "ceann mòr" - "Great Chief") set out to conquer, and it was in his control by 1070. Once William I of England had subdued the north of his new kingdom, he took an army and a fleet north to confront Malcolm. Peace was arranged, with Malcolm accepting the overlordship of William, and handing over his eldest son Duncan as a hostage. This didn't stop Malcolm's raids into England - in support of his brother-in-law Edgar's claim to the crown, until a further peace was agreed.
On his accession to the throne, William Rufus (William II) of England appointed strong barons to control northern Northumbria to prevent further Scottish incursions, but Malcolm still tried to extend his territory southwards until he and his eldest son, Edward, were killed at the Battle of Alnwick in 1093, Saint Margaret died a few days later (some sources say of "a broken heart", others suggest she was already dying anyway), and another son, Æthelred, Lay Abbot of Dunkeld died shortly afterwards.
Malcolm's brother then took the throne as Donald III (known as "Domnall Bán" - "Donald the White", anglicised as Donalbain in Shakespeare's Macbeth). Malcolm and Margaret's remaining sons, Edmund, Edgar, Alexander and David fled to England and joined their half-brother, future King Duncan II at the court of William Rufus. In 1094 Duncan with English allies deposed his uncle briefly, but Donald III was soon back in power, possibly jointly with Edmund; and Duncan was murdered - his son, William fitz Duncan fled to England. In 1097, King Edgar with Edgar Ætheling defeated Donald, blinding and imprisoning him; and forcing Edmund to become a monk. Edgar did make peace with Magnus Barelegs (or Barefoot), King of Norway, that gave him control of the Western Isles and Kintyre (the latter he claimed as an island by having his longboat dragged across the Tarbert). He also moved the royal residence from Dunfermline to Edinburgh. Malcolm III's daughter Matilda (of Scotland) married Henry I of England in 1100, when he succeeded his brother William II. The rightful heir was his older brother, Robert, but he was on crusade, so Henry needed to consolidate his power base - he did so by the marriage, and also by arranging David's marriage to Maud, Countess of Huntingdon - her father was the last remaining Anglo-Saxon Earl to retain power after 1066, but was also great-niece of William I - and had vast Estates in England. Henry gave him more land, both in England and Normandy, and David had supported Henry in his Normandy campaigns.
Malcolm III's other daughter, Mary, married Eustace of Boulogne, they had a daughter, Matilda (of Boulogne), who would later become Queen of England, married to King Stephen, who seized power on Henry I's death.
On Edgar's death in 1107, he was succeeded by his brother Alexander I, though his youngest brother, David I, was given authority over the former kingdom of Strathclyde, which was also known as Cumbria after 870 and may have ruled parts of the modern English region of Cumbria in the 10th and 11th centuries. He was given the title Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113, and granted extra lands - Lothian and parts of Tweedale and Teviotdale. During Alexander's reign there appears to have been a very cordial relationship with England and he married his brother-in-law, Henry I 's illegitimate daughter Sybilla of Normandy - they had no children, but Alexander did have a previous illegitimate son Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair (Malcolm son of Alexander).
John of Fordun says of Alexander I: "Now the king was a lettered and godly man; very humble and amiable towards the clerics and regulars, but terrible beyond measure to the rest of his subjects; a man of large heart, exerting himself in all things beyond his strength." Alexander died in 1124.
Though there were other possible claimants to the throne, David I was backed by Henry I of England, but he was forced to engage in warfare against his nephew Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair, taking 10 years to subdue him. In 1130 "Óengus with Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair invaded Gaelic Scotia with 5000 warriors. The Moravians (inhabitants of Moray) were met by King David's general, an old Anglo-Saxon noble named Edward Siwardsson, causing the Battle of Stracathro. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reported "a great slaughter" . The Annals of Ulster tells that 4000 Moravians were killed, and only 1000 Gaels." Óengus, who was the grandson of Lulach, stepson of Macbeth, was thus the last King of Moray, and David was then able to take control of Moray and other distant regions theoretically part of his Kingdom. Another possible claimant to the throne, Duncan II's son, William fitz Duncan was kept onboard with territorial concessions, including that of Moray after the death of Óengus.
In the SW, the Kingdom of Galloway, was not part of David's Kingdom, though he was allied with Fergus of Galloway in the 1130s. In 1124 however, David had felt the need to have a buffer zone between his Kingdom and Galloway, so a border lordship of Annandale was given to one of his friends and military companions from his days in Normandy, a Norman nobleman Robert de Brus, who had already held some land in Yorkshire from the early days of the 12th century. The 7th Lord of Annandale would become better known as Robert The Bruce.
When his patron Henry I died in 1835, Henry's wish for the succession was his daughter the Empress Matilda (whose brother William had died in the sinking of the White Ship in 1120). Stephen had the backing of the Church and was crowned. With David's backing the Empress Matilda (she'd previously been married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor) sought to take the Crown in 1139, and though she captured King Stephen in 1141, her efforts to be crowned fell apart, but she controlled SW England until 1148, when she returned to Normandy which her husband Geoffrey of Anjou had by then conquered. Her son became English King Henry II in 1154.
The weakness of the English Crown during The Anarchy, as the conflict between Stephen and Empress Matilda has come to be known, gave David the opportunity to extend his borders as far as the Ribble and the Tyne, though he was unsuccessful in taking Durham, York and the remainder of Northumbria.
Back in Scotland, as well as extending his sphere of influence, David was making changes to Scotland - "the Francization of aristocratic martial, social and inheritance customs; the de-Scotticisation of ecclesiastical institutions; the imposition of royal authority over most of modern Scotland; and the drastic drift at the top level from traditional Gaelic culture".
David's long reign also saw the establishment of the first Royal Burghs and Abbeys - including Selkirk, Kelso, Jedburgh and Holyrood, but his succession became an issue, when his only son, Henry pre-deceased him in 1152. David himself died the following year, having appointed his 12yo grandson Malcolm IV as his heir. Nicknamed Virgo, as he never married, Malcolm was in poor health for much if his reign and died at the age of 24 in 1165. His relationship with the new King of England, Henry II was difficult, and Henry refused to allow him to keep the titles of Cumbria and Northumbria, but did grant him the Earldom of Huntingdon. His reign had been beset by rebellions from other prospective claimants to the throne, and in 1164 Somerled of Argyll and King of the Isles marched on Glasgow and Renfrew, but were defeated at the Battle of Renfrew where Somerled and one of his sons were killed.
His brother William I (the Lion, or the Rough) succeeded him and reigned for 49 years, but was unsuccessful in regaining the title of Earl of Northumbria that he had inherited from his grandfather. One of his attempts to revolt against the English throne ended disastrously at the Battle of Alnwick in 1174, where WIlliam was captured
and had to agree to an occupation of 5 castles in southern Scotland at Scottish expense, and swear his subordination to Henry II in the Treaty of Falaise. The treaty remained in place for 15 years until Richard the Lionheart withdrew from Scotland in return for payment to finance his Crusade.
The weakness of William's position following Alnwick, encouraged a revolt from Galloway, which lead to the construction of a Castle in Dumfries (which had become a Royal Burgh in 1186), but was ultimately able to come to agreement by diplomacy. He also felt the need to strengthen his presence in the north establishing two castles in the Black Isle to discourage any thoughts of expansion from the Earl of Orkney, but he was unable to prevent Donald MacWilliam (son of William fitz Duncan) taking control of much of the North until William's now ally, Lochlann of Galloway defeated MacWilliam. But he didn't neutralise the Orcadian threat until 1202.
Another consequence of the Treaty of Falaise, was that Henry II could choose William I's bride - a great-granddaughter of Henry I, Ermengarde de Beaumont was chosen - they had 3 daughters and one son who would become Alexander II on his father's death in 1214. William I also had several illegitimate children, whose offspring would become contenders for the throne 80 years later.
See also Undiscovered Scotland History of Scotland page
As with the better known squabbles of the Royal Families of England during the Wars of the Roses (and subsequently), while many of the leading participants were killed in these conflicts, the vast numbers of ordinary folk murdered in their names go unrecorded except in the bloodiest of the battles as numbers to be bandied about to prove how bloody the battle was. Even those that may have thought they were fighting for freedom from the English oppressor, were in most cases simply swapping one oppressive leader for another.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpWmlRNfLck
Tudors
The Northumbrians appear to have been finally vanquished by the Kings of Scotland (Alba) and Strathclyde at the Battle of Carham in 1018 - the King of Strathclyde, Owen the Bald, who may have died in the battle - the King of Alba was Malcolm II, grandfather of his successor, Duncan I who ruled a part of Scotland until he was killed whilst invading Moray, which was Macbeth's territory, in 1040. Being killed in his sleep by Macbeth as suggested by Shakespeare is probably bardic license. Macbeth who was also a grandson of Malcolm II, was "defeated and mortally wounded or killed" at the Battle of Lumphanan near Banchory in 1057, by the future Malcolm III (son of Duncan I). Malcolm's first wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, was the widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson (the Mighty), Earl of Orkney, this marriage helped him to have a peaceful relationship with the north and west of Scotland. She was the mother of future king Duncan II. His second wife, Saint Margaret (the Queen who established Queensferry on the Firth of Forth), was granddaughter of English King Edmund Ironside and sister of Edgar Ætheling proclaimed, but never crowned, King of England in 1066 on the death of Harold Godwinson. A Kingdom of the Cumbrians had been re-established in 1054, which Malcolm III (known as Canmore - from the Gaelic "ceann mòr" - "Great Chief") set out to conquer, and it was in his control by 1070. Once William I of England had subdued the north of his new kingdom, he took an army and a fleet north to confront Malcolm. Peace was arranged, with Malcolm accepting the overlordship of William, and handing over his eldest son Duncan as a hostage. This didn't stop Malcolm's raids into England - in support of his brother-in-law Edgar's claim to the crown, until a further peace was agreed.
On his accession to the throne, William Rufus (William II) of England appointed strong barons to control northern Northumbria to prevent further Scottish incursions, but Malcolm still tried to extend his territory southwards until he and his eldest son, Edward, were killed at the Battle of Alnwick in 1093, Saint Margaret died a few days later (some sources say of "a broken heart", others suggest she was already dying anyway), and another son, Æthelred, Lay Abbot of Dunkeld died shortly afterwards.
Malcolm's brother then took the throne as Donald III (known as "Domnall Bán" - "Donald the White", anglicised as Donalbain in Shakespeare's Macbeth). Malcolm and Margaret's remaining sons, Edmund, Edgar, Alexander and David fled to England and joined their half-brother, future King Duncan II at the court of William Rufus. In 1094 Duncan with English allies deposed his uncle briefly, but Donald III was soon back in power, possibly jointly with Edmund; and Duncan was murdered - his son, William fitz Duncan fled to England. In 1097, King Edgar with Edgar Ætheling defeated Donald, blinding and imprisoning him; and forcing Edmund to become a monk. Edgar did make peace with Magnus Barelegs (or Barefoot), King of Norway, that gave him control of the Western Isles and Kintyre (the latter he claimed as an island by having his longboat dragged across the Tarbert). He also moved the royal residence from Dunfermline to Edinburgh. Malcolm III's daughter Matilda (of Scotland) married Henry I of England in 1100, when he succeeded his brother William II. The rightful heir was his older brother, Robert, but he was on crusade, so Henry needed to consolidate his power base - he did so by the marriage, and also by arranging David's marriage to Maud, Countess of Huntingdon - her father was the last remaining Anglo-Saxon Earl to retain power after 1066, but was also great-niece of William I - and had vast Estates in England. Henry gave him more land, both in England and Normandy, and David had supported Henry in his Normandy campaigns.
Malcolm III's other daughter, Mary, married Eustace of Boulogne, they had a daughter, Matilda (of Boulogne), who would later become Queen of England, married to King Stephen, who seized power on Henry I's death.
On Edgar's death in 1107, he was succeeded by his brother Alexander I, though his youngest brother, David I, was given authority over the former kingdom of Strathclyde, which was also known as Cumbria after 870 and may have ruled parts of the modern English region of Cumbria in the 10th and 11th centuries. He was given the title Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113, and granted extra lands - Lothian and parts of Tweedale and Teviotdale. During Alexander's reign there appears to have been a very cordial relationship with England and he married his brother-in-law, Henry I 's illegitimate daughter Sybilla of Normandy - they had no children, but Alexander did have a previous illegitimate son Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair (Malcolm son of Alexander).
John of Fordun says of Alexander I: "Now the king was a lettered and godly man; very humble and amiable towards the clerics and regulars, but terrible beyond measure to the rest of his subjects; a man of large heart, exerting himself in all things beyond his strength." Alexander died in 1124.
Though there were other possible claimants to the throne, David I was backed by Henry I of England, but he was forced to engage in warfare against his nephew Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair, taking 10 years to subdue him. In 1130 "Óengus with Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair invaded Gaelic Scotia with 5000 warriors. The Moravians (inhabitants of Moray) were met by King David's general, an old Anglo-Saxon noble named Edward Siwardsson, causing the Battle of Stracathro. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reported "a great slaughter" . The Annals of Ulster tells that 4000 Moravians were killed, and only 1000 Gaels." Óengus, who was the grandson of Lulach, stepson of Macbeth, was thus the last King of Moray, and David was then able to take control of Moray and other distant regions theoretically part of his Kingdom. Another possible claimant to the throne, Duncan II's son, William fitz Duncan was kept onboard with territorial concessions, including that of Moray after the death of Óengus.
In the SW, the Kingdom of Galloway, was not part of David's Kingdom, though he was allied with Fergus of Galloway in the 1130s. In 1124 however, David had felt the need to have a buffer zone between his Kingdom and Galloway, so a border lordship of Annandale was given to one of his friends and military companions from his days in Normandy, a Norman nobleman Robert de Brus, who had already held some land in Yorkshire from the early days of the 12th century. The 7th Lord of Annandale would become better known as Robert The Bruce.
When his patron Henry I died in 1835, Henry's wish for the succession was his daughter the Empress Matilda (whose brother William had died in the sinking of the White Ship in 1120). Stephen had the backing of the Church and was crowned. With David's backing the Empress Matilda (she'd previously been married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor) sought to take the Crown in 1139, and though she captured King Stephen in 1141, her efforts to be crowned fell apart, but she controlled SW England until 1148, when she returned to Normandy which her husband Geoffrey of Anjou had by then conquered. Her son became English King Henry II in 1154.
The weakness of the English Crown during The Anarchy, as the conflict between Stephen and Empress Matilda has come to be known, gave David the opportunity to extend his borders as far as the Ribble and the Tyne, though he was unsuccessful in taking Durham, York and the remainder of Northumbria.
Back in Scotland, as well as extending his sphere of influence, David was making changes to Scotland - "the Francization of aristocratic martial, social and inheritance customs; the de-Scotticisation of ecclesiastical institutions; the imposition of royal authority over most of modern Scotland; and the drastic drift at the top level from traditional Gaelic culture".
David's long reign also saw the establishment of the first Royal Burghs and Abbeys - including Selkirk, Kelso, Jedburgh and Holyrood, but his succession became an issue, when his only son, Henry pre-deceased him in 1152. David himself died the following year, having appointed his 12yo grandson Malcolm IV as his heir. Nicknamed Virgo, as he never married, Malcolm was in poor health for much if his reign and died at the age of 24 in 1165. His relationship with the new King of England, Henry II was difficult, and Henry refused to allow him to keep the titles of Cumbria and Northumbria, but did grant him the Earldom of Huntingdon. His reign had been beset by rebellions from other prospective claimants to the throne, and in 1164 Somerled of Argyll and King of the Isles marched on Glasgow and Renfrew, but were defeated at the Battle of Renfrew where Somerled and one of his sons were killed.
His brother William I (the Lion, or the Rough) succeeded him and reigned for 49 years, but was unsuccessful in regaining the title of Earl of Northumbria that he had inherited from his grandfather. One of his attempts to revolt against the English throne ended disastrously at the Battle of Alnwick in 1174, where WIlliam was captured
and had to agree to an occupation of 5 castles in southern Scotland at Scottish expense, and swear his subordination to Henry II in the Treaty of Falaise. The treaty remained in place for 15 years until Richard the Lionheart withdrew from Scotland in return for payment to finance his Crusade.
The weakness of William's position following Alnwick, encouraged a revolt from Galloway, which lead to the construction of a Castle in Dumfries (which had become a Royal Burgh in 1186), but was ultimately able to come to agreement by diplomacy. He also felt the need to strengthen his presence in the north establishing two castles in the Black Isle to discourage any thoughts of expansion from the Earl of Orkney, but he was unable to prevent Donald MacWilliam (son of William fitz Duncan) taking control of much of the North until William's now ally, Lochlann of Galloway defeated MacWilliam. But he didn't neutralise the Orcadian threat until 1202.
Another consequence of the Treaty of Falaise, was that Henry II could choose William I's bride - a great-granddaughter of Henry I, Ermengarde de Beaumont was chosen - they had 3 daughters and one son who would become Alexander II on his father's death in 1214. William I also had several illegitimate children, whose offspring would become contenders for the throne 80 years later.
See also Undiscovered Scotland History of Scotland page
As with the better known squabbles of the Royal Families of England during the Wars of the Roses (and subsequently), while many of the leading participants were killed in these conflicts, the vast numbers of ordinary folk murdered in their names go unrecorded except in the bloodiest of the battles as numbers to be bandied about to prove how bloody the battle was. Even those that may have thought they were fighting for freedom from the English oppressor, were in most cases simply swapping one oppressive leader for another.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpWmlRNfLck
Tudors
In 1296, King John Balliol wrote a letter of surrender from the castle to Edward I of England after a short war which marked the beginning of the wars of Scottish independence. In 1600, the Estates of Parliament ordered the shrieval governance of Kincardineshire to be conducted at the Stonehaven Tolbooth.