Exploring a Scottish Royal Dynasty at Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle is the setting for a wonderful interpretation of Scottish royal life during the Renaissance and tells the amazing story of the Castle and the Royal Stuart dynasty through its architecture, art and cultural history museums.  This castle is history filled and an exciting place (especially for children!) to learn about this fascinating period in Scotland’s history.

As you approach Stirling Castle you can feel how similar the hilltop positioning is to the great castle at Edinburgh. After an initial steep climb from town, the land slopes gently upward on the approach while steep rocky slopes and cliffs protect the other three sides of the fortress.  I can only assume that this was the preferred situation for a royal castle during centuries of turbulence that defined Scottish history. 

Perched on the high cliffs called Castle Rock, a fortress has dominated the countryside below since the 12th century, towering over the Forth valley to the south and east, the wild Highlands to the north and the lands rolling outward toward west.  As the perfect location for a stronghold, the earliest long lost fortifications probably date back more than 3000 years.

The Outer Defenses which stand protective, solid and gray, at the front of the castle compound, were built in 1708 after the Stuart dynasty had been succeeded by the rule of other royal families.   These fortifications were built to reinforce Stirling Castle against the Jacobite Resistance in 1708.  Ironically and sadly, the fighters these walls were built to repel, wanted to restore the Stuarts to the Scottish (and English) throne.

But the royal history of Scotland is filled with famous battles beginning long before the last battlements were built.   One of the most well-known of these battles was the fight at Stirling Bridge in 1297 where during the Wars of Independence, the legendary Scots freedom fighter William Wallace, defeated forces of the English King Edward I.  Many of us know about this historic battle from the movie “Braveheart” with Mel Gibson.    

William Wallace Monument (above and below)

While not as famous in the minds of popular culture, the Battle of Bannockburn is actually known as the greatest battle in Scottish history.  The armies of Edward II of England and King Robert (the Bruce) met on the boggy plain two miles south of Stirling Castle in June of 1314 where Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots defeated Edward II, King of England.

The wars and disputes over centuries, often damaged the castle so it was constantly being repaired and rebuilt.  What you now see as you enter through the Outer Defenses and Foreworks and into the enclosed courtyard is a lesson in Scottish royal architecture.

Since the earliest structures would have been made from wood (with the exception of a no longer standing, stone chapel), the oldest parts of the castle that can still be viewed are the Old North Gate (built in the 1300’s) and the Terraces (some probably from the 1400’s). 

The Foreworks, the Old Royal Lodgings (called the King’s Old Building), and  the Great Hall with huge kitchens under it, were installed by King James IV in the early 1500’s.  

King James IV was a popular and successful king.  He embraced the early Renaissance ideas and art that were beginning to spread through Europe and eclipse the medieval style.  He wanted to place himself in the same league as the French and English kings, Louis XII and Henry VIII so he began an extensive building program at Stirling Castle to create a magnificent setting for his royal court. 

Anyone approaching the castle in the 1500’s would have seen tall, graceful, French influenced round towers topped with cones and crenellated walls where defenders could patrol.  At each end was a square tower where the constable or other security officials would have resided.  Only one tower remains fully intact.  The current stunted gate-house is no longer tall and cone-topped, but you can still see the impressive and graceful beauty this façade would have presented.

As we walked into the courtyard of the royal castle we were thrilled to find beautiful stonework, designed in a romantic mix of Medieval and Renaissance styles.  The best thing about traveling way off season is that you are virtually and wonderfully alone in what during summer would be a tourist-packed attraction, so it was easy to be mentally transported to the days when the Stuart royal family built and lived in the castle.

The Great Hall is strongly medieval in character, with crenellations, a stepped gable, and checkerboard corbels and the hall would have been painted in what was considered the "Royal" gold color as it is today.  It was built to provide an impressive setting for state events.

The great hall was heated by five great fireplaces and spiral staircases connected to a trumpeters’ gallery and a minstrels gallery.  A grand dais for the king and queen occupied the end of the hall and was framed by bay windows.

In order to conveniently serve the great state events as well as feed the large number of palace servants and residents, huge kitchens were built in the vaulted undercroft below the hall.  These are really fun to visit because life-size kitchen tableaux have been installed to recreate the busy activities of the kitchen during those times.

The Old Royal Lodging, also called the King’s Old Building, dates back to 1496.  From this part of the castle, the King would have been able to view across Flanders Moss towards Loch Lomond. It was originally used as bachelor lodgings until the King married Margaret Tudor in 1503.  At that time, space was allotted for the queen as well. 

By the 1600’s, the royal family had stopped using the rooms and the building was used as quarters for military families.  

Today, you won’t see any of these rooms because the building now houses the Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Southerland Highlanders.  But don’t be disappointed, because this museum is really interesting!  It displays the history of the regiment, including weapons, regalia, and spectacular regimental presentation silver, and battle dioramas to help understand it all.

Embodying the strict regularity and symmetry of the Renaissance, the palace of King James V is one of the earliest and most innovative Renaissance structures in Britain. The palace is designed using Renaissance architectural and mathematical rules.  The facade is sculptural, alternating between large windows and life-sized statues while still appearing strong and fortress-like. 

The statues themselves reflect knowledge of European Renaissance art and literature while having a uniquely Scottish interpretation and were meant to portray the king as a powerful, learned and just monarch.

The east and north statuary were intended to impress courtiers and ambassadors entering the courtyard to visit the king.  King James V himself looks down from the corner of the palace.  He is accompanied by the Classical gods Saturn and Venus which would have been understood during that time by anyone who was educated, as a reference to the king’s legitimate right to reign.  He would have been stating that his royal lineage stemmed from an ancient dynasty.  It also subtly refers to a new golden age of peace and plenty during his reign.

This design was created as part of the king’s desire to set himself and the royal family above and apart from the nobles in an effort to emulate the great royal families of England and France.

The interior of the Royal Palace is where you are presented with an well researched interpretation of what the décor and furnishings would have been like when James V and Mary of Guise live in the residence.  The ceiling paintings, wall friezes, coats of arms and tapestries have all been extensively studied in order to accurately represent how the palace would have most likely been decorated.

James V died early on in the palace decoration and may have never enjoyed them, so his rooms are left mostly empty, but the rooms of Queen Mary of Guise, who lived on in the palace as regent to her young daughter Mary Queen of Scots, are full of sumptuous tapestries and furnishings.    

Helpful living-history guides in full costume are available in each room to answer any questions and inform you in “historical-character speak” about how life would have been for both servants and royals at the palace.  It is loads of fun to talk with them! 

After a lengthy protective stay in France, the young Queen Mary returned to Scotland to marry.  When she gave birth to James VI, she returned to Stirling Castle to protect her new royal baby.

Interestingly, the palace has been used as a royal “Nursery” since the 14th century, protecting the royal infants with its fortress walls and high cliffs.  Since James IV, the nursery resided in the Princes Tower.  The Princes Tower was originally part of the original Forework and was incorporated into the south side of the palace.  You can walk outside the tower to a small elevated courtyard to get an up-close look at the sculptural grotesques decorating that side of the palace.

If you want to get a really in-depth look at the courtiers, take a few minutes to visit the “Stirling Heads” gallery.  These round portraits would have decorated the ceiling of the palace and portray the royal lineage and the most important courtiers these portraits reinforced the dynastic right to rule.  Brightly painted replicas have been made of many of the original portraits. 

Our last stop at Stirling Castle was the Chapel Royal which was built in 1594 by James VI, for the baptism of his son Prince Henry.  It is said that the ceiling would have been covered with gold and walls painted with religious scenes related to baptism.  The colorful chapel friezes you see today were from a later 1628 renovation and were restored in 1930.

Deep in the vaulted tunnels below the palace are several interpretive centers where kids can explore castle culture with exhibitions featuring musicians, painters, tailors, carvers and even the court jesters.

Stirling Castle has been wonderfully interpreted for 21st century visitors and provides a glimpse into the fascinating history of what would have been the glittering courts of James IV, James V, Mary Queen of Scots and James VI.

* specific historical references provided by the Historic Scotland Official Souvenir Guide: Stirling Castle, Argylll's Lodging and Mar's Wark.