On the Continent the era of defensible castles was mostly over in the fifteenth century due to the development of gunpowder and cannons (and many a castle was replaced with an elegant château). But in Scotland castles continued to be used for their original military purpose until the seventeenth century. Sure, they were shot at with cannons, but they shot back.
In some cases this was because the castles were so well positioned for defense that it was almost too hard even to try to attack them. An example is Dunnottar Castle, perched high above the North Sea.
(See more here on inaccessible castle sites.)
The castle of Dunnottar is on a headland reachable only by a narrow isthmus. One has to climb a long way down, almost to sea level (160 steps, we counted), climb partway up the headland, and go into a tunnel, with a few holes in the ceiling where things can be dropped on you, before finally emerging in the castle.
During wars between England and Scotland (the Scots call these wars of independence) the so-called "Honours" of Scotland (the official sword, sceptre, and crown used in the coronation of a Scottish king) were hidden at Donnottar. When it looked like the English would get in (the castle's problem is a shortage of fresh water, making it harder to resist a siege) the Honours were let down the cliff to the sea and smuggled away, being hidden, buried, in a graveyard until things were safe again.
Later, in a very dark chapter in the castle's history, "covenanters" (a group of people opposing the Church of England) were held prison there, packed in so tight they had to stand, but no one wanted to sit down anyway, because there were no "facilities" and the prisoners were standing in their own filth. Christianity has been used as an excuse to do horrible things to other people, which seems (shall we say) misguided, given that the religion is based on a pacifist's preachings about love. Today the castle is clean and wind-swept, with lots of gulls and fulmars and even puffins.
The castle of Urquhart, on Loch Ness, has both a citadel (on the right), probably an Iron Age hill fort in origin and defended throughout the Middle Ages, and the castle proper (on the left). During the seventeenth century, the defenders held out against the Jacobites (let's just say Scottish history is complicated) because the Jacobites had failed to bring cannons with them.
But they promised to come back Very Soon, better equipped. The defenders, not wanting the Jacobites to take the castle and hold it against them, blew up the gatehouse, making the castle far less defensible, and fled. If you look closely, you will see the gatehouse (just past the bridge) is a slightly different color than the rest of the castle, because it has had to be patched back up so tourists can visit.
Children (and me!) love running around castles, but they were not built as happy, fairy-tale places.
© C. Dale Brittain 2018
For more on Britain during the Middle Ages, see my ebook, Positively Medieval: Life and Society in the Middle Ages.
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