It was not until the early Stuart Kings, that Edinburgh Castle really became a palace, in the more peaceful sense of the word. When James I. returned to Scotland after his long captivity in England, he spent a considerable amount of money on building the Parliament House, (now used as the armoury), and many of the private apartments. He had doubtless, during his residence at Windsor and Westminster, learnt to enjoy the greater beauty and dignity of the English palaces. His son, James II., continued his work of rebuilding.
During the minority of James II., a time when several parties in the State were endeavouring to capture their young monarch and to rule in his name, a great tragedy took place within the castle. William, Earl of Douglas, a lad of about eighteen, was then the head of the most wealthy and powerful family in Scotland, and being of royal descent, might even make a claim to the throne.
As he did not join himself to either the party of Sir William Crichton or that of Sir Alexander Livingstone, these two leaders, usually at deadly enmity with one another, united to destroy the young Earl. In the year 1440, the Earl and his brother David were invited to the castle, on the pretext that the young King wanted their congenial company. Accompanied by their aged tutor, Sir Malcolm Fleming, the two boys came to Edinburgh, where they were received with real pleasure by James II., and with false hospitality by Crichton and Livingstone. But the real purpose of the visit was evident when a black bull's head was placed upon the dinner-table, in Scotland as much a symbol of death as the Judge's black cap in a modern trial. Taken unawares, the unfortunate boys were hurried to the castle walls, where, after a mock trial, they were beheaded, Fleming also suffering a similar fate.
After the time of Flodden Field, the monarchs very seldom used the castle for anything but a stronghold against their enemies, Holyrood Palace becoming their favourite residence. The last Prince to be born in the castle was James VI., his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, having chosen to be within the protection of its strong walls. The small room in which he was born can still be seen, a memorable room, for the infant Prince was to bring peace to his realm, putting an end at last to centuries of conflict, not indeed by any wisdom or foresight of his own, but by succeeding to the throne of England.
CHAPTER XV
DUNFERMLINE CASTLE
For peaceful beauty of situation the royal palace of Dunfermline in Fife excelled all others in Scotland, for though the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling were majestic, they were too associated with the troubles of turbulent nobles to have been pleasant residences for the monarchs. The palace was built high above a wooded glen, its walls apparently rising out of the cliff-like sides of the winding stream. Only a fragment now remains, but it is sufficient, with its mullioned windows and massive buttresses, to show how picturesque and stately must have been the Stuart palace.
The first monarch to reside at Dunfermline was Malcolm Canmore, who built a castle on Tower Hill, a little distance away from the later palace. Its site is still to be seen, though the slight remains of the walls are probably those of its Norman successor. Queen Margaret lived the greater part of her reign there, spending her days in pious devotion, giving food and garments to the poor, or sitting with her maidens working at rich embroideries to adorn the abbey which she had founded. No frivolous conversation was allowed among the maidens, their royal mistress being very severe, yet the Queen was much beloved, for she combined sweetness with her gravity.
It was the presence of the abbey adjoining the palace which made Dunfermline so dear to Queen Margaret. She was never tired of enriching her foundation with every gift that saintly enthusiasm could suggest, and when she died she was naturally buried in the Lady Chapel. The abbey buildings were destroyed by Edward I., but were restored by Bruce, who erected the palace near by, deserting the castle on the hilltop. The reforming energy of the Protestants, in 1560, led them to pull down most of the beautiful church of the abbey, fortunately leaving the nave, a fine example of Norman work, to be used for Presbyterian services. So many royal Princes had been buried in the abbey, from Malcolm Canmore and his Queen, that it has been sometimes called the "Scottish Westminster," yet the Reformers did not spare it, though it contained the grave of Robert Bruce. Bruce's monument being broken, became indistinguishable among the general ruin, till at the beginning of the nineteenth century the church was repaired. Some fragments of the tomb were discovered, and on the grave being opened, the body of Bruce was found wrapped in some remnants of cloth of gold, which had served as a winding sheet. A new tomb was made, and after a solemn service the body was reinstalled. Queen Margaret's tomb is still to be seen among the ruins of the Lady Chapel.