DUNNOTTAR CASTLE, KINCARDINESHIRE.
In the rich history of the Castle we find that in 1528 James V. invested it with 20,000 men and a formidable battering train, the structure itself being supplied with large artillery. The siege lasted twenty days and proved unavailing, the great thickness of the walls resisting the efforts of the gunners. It underwent another siege in 1639 when the Earl of Angus made a stand in it against the Covenanters. General Monk invested it and found after two days that his mortars had no effect; he then tried heavy siege guns which breached the wall, but the garrisons retreated into the central tower where they were safe, and were allowed to capitulate upon good terms. The fortress fell into ruin in the beginning of the eighteenth century.
[CHAPTER XI]
THE SIEGE AND DEFENCE OF A MEDIEVAL CASTLE
A work upon castellation would undoubtedly be incomplete if it omitted to deal with the interesting subject of the means by which the medieval knight defended his castle, and of the methods he employed for attacking his neighbour's, or an enemy's town, whether in a private feud or legitimate warfare.
Through the almost universal habit of perusing medieval romances the general public has formed a mental picture of the hero and his followers riding round a castle and summoning it to surrender, or challenging the garrison to emerge from their retreat and essay mortal combat in the open. As the engineer and captain of the sappers and miners, the director of the artillery, the designer of movable towers, and the general head of the various artifices calculated to bring the besieged to their senses, the hero is less well known.