Huntly Castle: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Ruined castle in Scotland}} |
{{short description|Ruined castle in Scotland}} |
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{{Infobox military installation |
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|name = Huntly Castle |
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|built = 12th century |
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|builder = [[Donnchad II, Earl of Fife|Duncan II, Earl of Fife]] |
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'''Huntly Castle''' is a ruined [[castle]] |
'''Huntly Castle''' is a ruined [[castle]] north of [[Huntly, Scotland|Huntly]] in [[Aberdeenshire]], Scotland, where the rivers [[River Deveron|Deveron]] and [[River Bogie|Bogie]] meet.<ref name="HS">{{Cite web|title=History|url=https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/huntly-castle/history/|access-date=2021-02-12|website=www.historicenvironment.scot|language=en}}</ref> It was the ancestral home of the chief of [[Clan Gordon]], [[Earl of Huntly]]. There have been four castles built on the site that have been referred to as Huntly Castle, Strathbogie Castle or Peel of Strathbogie.<ref name="HS" /><ref name="US" /> |
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==Location== |
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Huntly Castle was built on the crossing of the rivers [[River Deveron|Deveron]] and [[River Bogie|Bogie]], north of [[Huntly]] and roughly 40 miles from [[Aberdeen]]. The original wooden castle was built on a [[motte-and-bailey castle|motte]]. The second castle, made of stone, was built on the northern end of the bailey. The third and modern castles were built to the east of the original, at the southern end of the estate.<ref name="US" /> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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The castle was originally built by [[Donnchad II, Earl of Fife|Duncan II, Earl of Fife]], on the Strathbogie estate sometime around 1180 and 1190.<ref name="US">{{Cite web|title=Huntly Castle Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland|url=https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/huntly/huntlycastle/index.html|access-date=2021-02-12|website=www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="HS" /> The castle became known as the Peel of Strathbogie.<ref name="AA">{{Cite web|title=Huntly Castle|url=https://aboutaberdeen.com/Huntly-Castle|access-date=2021-02-12|website=aboutaberdeen.com}}</ref> |
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The Earl Duncan's third son, David, inherited the Strathbogie estate and later, through marriage, became [[Duke of Atholl|earls of Atholl]] around 1204.<ref |
The Earl Duncan's third son, David, inherited the Strathbogie estate and later, through marriage, became [[Duke of Atholl|earls of Atholl]] around 1204.<ref name="HS" /> During the Strathbogie family's time at the estate, [[Robert the Bruce]] was a guest after falling ill at [[Inverurie]]. The family was loyal to him and when he got better, Robert the Bruce went on to win the battle of [[Bannockburn]].<ref name="AA" /> However, around 1314, David of Strathbogie shifted his support to the English right before Robert the Bruce won the battle of [[Bannockburn]]. Robert the Bruce saw this as treachery and granted the castle and estate to [[Adam de Gordon, Lord of Gordon|Sir Adam Gordon of Huntly]] because he was consistently loyal. In 1506, the castle was officially renamed Huntly Castle.<ref name="US" /> |
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===Reign of James IV=== |
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In about 1410, Sir Alexander Seton, later [[Lord Gordon of Badenoch|Lord Gordon]], cleared away the 230 year old wooden castle and replaced it with a stone tower house built at the north end of the bailey. Only the thick-walled foundations of the tower house now remain, visible on the north side of the castle courtyard. The tower house would have been accompanied by a defensive wall around the bailey area, and ranges of other supporting buildings. These remain only as foundations today.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Huntly Castle Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland|url=https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/huntly/huntlycastle/index.html|access-date=2021-02-12|website=www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk}}</ref> This castle was burned by the [[Earl of Moray]] in 1452, a member of the Black Douglas family and an opponent of King James II. In retaliation the Earl of Huntly destroyed the Black Douglas family in Moray. The damaged tower house at Strathbogie was replaced in 1460 by a much grander building on the south side of the site, where all later development was to take place. Today only the cellars under the later palace remains of this 1460 building.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Huntly Castle Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland|url=https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/huntly/huntlycastle/index.html|access-date=2021-02-12|website=www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Although the castle was burned to the ground, a grander castle was built in its place. In 1496, the pretender to the English throne, [[Perkin Warbeck]], was married to [[Lady Catherine Gordon]] the daughter of [[George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly]], witnessed by King [[James IV of Scotland]] at Edinburgh. James IV came to Huntly in October 1501 and gave gifts of money to the stonemasons working on the castle. In October 1503, James IV came again and played in a shooting contest at a target called a "prop".<ref>[[James Balfour Paul]], ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. xlix-l, 124, 401, for "prop" see [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/ 'Prop', ''Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue'']</ref> He came back again in the following October, on his way south, accompanied by four Italian minstrels and an African drummer known as the "[[More taubronar]]".<ref>James Balfour Paul, ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland: 1500-1504'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. 462-4: Imtiaz Habib, ''Black Lives in the English Archives, 1500-1677'' (London, 2008), p. 29.</ref> James IV played cards at the castle on 10 October 1505 and gave a tip to masons working on the building. These visits were part of his annual [[pilgrimage]] to the shrine of [[Saint Duthac]] at [[Tain]].<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland: 1506-1507'', vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), pp. 165, 168.</ref> Architecturally the [[L-plan castle|''L plan'' castle]] consists of a well-preserved five-story tower with an adjoining great hall and supporting buildings. Areas of the original ornate [[facade]] and interior stonework remain. Wings were added to the castle in the 16th and 17th centuries. |
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===Reign of Mary, Queen of Scots=== |
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| ⚫ | Although the castle was burned to the ground, a grander castle was built in its place. In 1496, the pretender to the English throne, [[Perkin Warbeck]], was married to [[Lady Catherine Gordon]] the daughter of [[George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly]], witnessed by King [[James IV of Scotland]] at Edinburgh. James IV came to Huntly in October 1501 and gave gifts of money to the stonemasons working on the castle. In October 1503, James IV came again and played in a shooting contest at a target called a "prop".<ref>[[James Balfour Paul]], ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. xlix-l, 124, 401, for "prop" see [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/ 'Prop', ''Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue'']</ref> He came back again in the following October, on his way south, accompanied by four Italian minstrels and an African drummer known as the "More |
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| ⚫ | [[William Mackintosh, 15th of Mackintosh|William Mackintosh]] was executed on 23 August 1550 at "Castle Strathbogie", as a conspirator against the Earl of Huntly, the queen's lieutenant in the North.<ref>James Balfour, ''Annals: The Historical Works of James Balfour'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1824), 297: ''Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1830), 92.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The English diplomat [[Thomas Randolph (diplomat)|Thomas Randolph]] stayed two nights in September 1562,<ref>[[John Guy (historian)|John Guy]], ''The Life of Mary Queen of Scots'' (Fourth Estate, 2009), p. 163.</ref> and wrote that the castle was "fayer, beste furnishede of anye howse that I have seen in thys countrie."<ref>''CSP. Foreign, Elizabeth'', vol. 5 (London, 1867), nos. 648, 688, 718, 823: ''CSP. Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 652.</ref> [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] decided to take the castle, giving as a cause that the Earl withheld from her a royal cannon lent to him by [[Regent Arran]].<ref>[[David Hay Fleming]], ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (London, 1897), 77.</ref> She sent her half-brother [[John Stewart, Commendator of Coldingham]] to arrest the [[George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly]] at Huntly Castle in October 1562. On the day [[William Kirkcaldy of Grange]] and the Tutor of Pitcur arrived first and surrounded the house. While Kirkcaldy was talking to the castle porter, the castle watchman on the tower spotted Coldingham and the Master of Lindsay and their troops a mile off. He alerted the Earl, who ran without "boot or sword" and hopped over a low wall at the back of the castle and found a horse before Pitcur could stop him. [[Elizabeth Gordon, Countess of Huntly|Elizabeth Keith, Countess of Huntly]] then welcomed the queen's men and gave them a meal and showed them around the place. She still had her chapel furnished for Roman Catholic worship.<ref>Joseph Bain, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 654-5, 657-8.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly died after the [[Battle of Corrichie]] on 28 October 1562, and the castle was garrisoned for [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] by Charles Crawfurd and twenty soldiers. Furnishings including beds and 45 tapestries were carted to Aberdeen and shipped in barrels to Edinburgh for the [[Scottish Royal tapestry collection|royal collection]] and refurbishment by [[Servais de Condé]].<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), p. 214, 217: Michael Pearce, [https://regionalfurnituresociety.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/a03-pearce-offprint.pdf Michael Pearce, '"Beds of 'Chapel" form in sixteenth-century Scottish inventories: the worst sort of beds', ''Regional Furniture'', vol. 27 (2013), pp. 78-91]</ref> After the surrender of Mary, Queen of Scots, at the [[battle of Carberry Hill]], the [[James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell|Earl of Bothwell]] came north to meet [[George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly]] at "Stawboggye", and moved on to [[Spynie Castle]] after Huntly deserted his cause.<ref>[[Joseph Stevenson]], ''Selections'' (Glasgow, 1837), p. 217.</ref> In July 1570 the exiled [[Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland|Earl of Westmorland]] found refuge at Huntly.<ref>William Boyd, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1903), p. 274.</ref> |
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Architecturally the [[L-plan castle|''L plan'' castle]] consists of a well-preserved five-story tower with an adjoining great hall and supporting buildings. Areas of the original ornate [[facade]] and interior stonework remain. |
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===John Gordon, Earl of Sutheerland=== |
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[[John Gordon, 11th Earl of Sutherland]] and his wife Marion Seton were poisoned at [[Helmsdale|Helmsdale Castle]] in 1567 by Isobel Sinclair, the wife of Gordon of Gartly.<ref>Fraser, William, ed., [https://archive.org/details/sutherlandbook01fras ''Sutherland Book'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1892), pp. 121-4, 127-9]</ref> Isobel Seton's own son also died, but the fifteen-year-old heir of Sutherland, [[Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland|Alexander Gordon]] was unharmed. He was made to marry the Earl of Caithness' daughter Barbara Sinclair. In 1569 he escaped from the Sinclairs to Huntly Castle and remained at Huntly until he came of age in 1573. Barbara Sinclair died, and Alexander Gordon, now [[Earl of Sutherland]], married [[Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell|Jean Gordon]], former wife of the [[James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell|Earl of Bothwell]], who had also found a refuge at Huntly Castle.<ref>Margaret Sanderson, ''Mary Stewart's People'' (Mercat Press: Edinburgh, 1987), pp. 42-3.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly died after the [[Battle of Corrichie]] on 28 October 1562, and the castle was garrisoned for [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] by Charles Crawfurd and twenty soldiers. Furnishings including beds and 45 tapestries were carted to Aberdeen and shipped in barrels to Edinburgh for the [[Scottish Royal tapestry collection|royal collection]] and refurbishment by [[Servais de Condé]].<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), p. 214, 217: Michael Pearce, [https://regionalfurnituresociety.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/a03-pearce-offprint.pdf Michael Pearce, '"Beds of 'Chapel" form in sixteenth-century Scottish inventories: the worst sort of beds', ''Regional Furniture'', vol. 27 (2013), pp. 78-91]</ref> In July 1570 the exiled [[Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland|Earl of Westmorland]] found |
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===A fatal football match=== |
===A fatal football match=== |
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An |
An early description of the death of [[George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly]] in 1576, compiled by [[Richard Bannatyne]] gives some details of how the castle was used.<ref>[[John Graham Dalyell]], ''Journal of the Transactions in Scotland, by Richard Bannatyne'' (Edinburgh, 1806), pp. xviii, 483-492.</ref> The Earl suffered a stroke, or a collapse caused by food poisoning, while playing football outside the Castle on the Green. He was taken through the outer gate to his bedchamber in the round tower of the palace block, which was then called the "New Warke of Strathbogie." The Earl's bedchamber was adjacent to his "Grit Chalmer", the Great Chamber. After the Earl died, his body was laid out in the "Chamber of Dais", another name for the Great Chamber, and his valuables were secured in the bedchamber. After the Earl's steward left the castle, a number of alleged supernatural events occurred beginning with the sudden collapse of one of the servants in the "Laich Chalmer", Low Chamber. This "Laich Chalmer" was in another part of the castle, under a stair opposite the "Auld Hall." On the following day, a servant went up to the Gallery at the top of the "New Warke" where spices (which were precious) were stored. This servant and two companions also collapsed and when revived complained of feeling cold. After the Earl's body was embalmed and taken to the chapel, his brother sat on a bench in the Hall by the Great Chamber door, and heard unexplained sounds from the chamber. It was said that "there is not a live thing bigger than a mouse may enter in that chamber with the door locked."<ref>Pitcairn, Robert ed., [https://books.google.com/books?id=hawVAQAMAAJ ''Bannatyne's Memorials of the Transactions in Scotland''] (1834), 334-5: [[Charles McKean|McKean, Charles]], ''The Scottish Chateau'' (Sutton, 2001), 109.</ref> |
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[[File:Scotia_Depicta_-_Huntly_Castle_-Plate-.jpg|thumb|300px|Engraving of the castle by [[James Fittler]] in Scotia Depicta, published 1804]] |
[[File:Scotia_Depicta_-_Huntly_Castle_-Plate-.jpg|thumb|300px|Engraving of the castle by [[James Fittler]] in Scotia Depicta, published 1804]] |
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[[File:Huntly Castle, view from rear of site - geograph.org.uk - 13972.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Rear courtyard ruins of Huntly Castle]] |
[[File:Huntly Castle, view from rear of site - geograph.org.uk - 13972.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Rear courtyard ruins of Huntly Castle]] |
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===James VI slights the castle=== |
===James VI slights the castle=== |
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In March 1584 an English recusant Catholic [[Sir Thomas Gerard, 1st Baronet|Sir Thomas Gerard]] of [[Bryn Hall, Ashton-in-Makerfield|Bryn]] was sent by [[Janet Scott, Lady Ferniehirst|Lady Ferniehirst]] to find refuge at Huntly.<ref>William Boyd, ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland: 1584-1585'', vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 36.</ref> [[George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly|George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly]] was a Catholic and [[James VI of Scotland|James VI]] decided to subdue his power in the north. The king arrived at Huntly on 26 April 1589 after spending a night at Kintore. The [[George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly|Earl of Huntly]] had fled to the mountains, stripping the countryside and emptying the house of furniture. James brought 100 workmen to demolish the castle. Huntly sent the king an offer to spare the house and surrendered.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 51-2.</ref> |
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In March 1593 a royal garrison of 16 men commanded by Archie Carmichael was to be put in Huntly Castle.<ref>[[Annie Cameron]], ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 72 no. 43.</ref> In May 1593 the Earl captured a man called Pedder in the lands of Atholl. Pedder was hanged and dismembered and his body parts displayed on poles at Huntly.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 91.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In July 1594 Huntly was overseeing the building of a new hall and gallery.<ref>[[Annie Cameron|Annie I. Cameron]], ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 375.</ref> Following the [[battle of Glenlivet]], James VI came with workmen again and his master of works [[William Schaw]], and planned to blow up the "gret old tower" which had been "fourteen years in building" on 29 October 1594.<ref>[[Annie Cameron]],''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 470.</ref> The kirk minister [[Andrew Melville]] was with the king and a vocal advocate for demolition.<ref>[[Robert Pitcairn (antiquary)|Robert Pitcairn]], ''Autobiography and diary of James Melville'' (Edinburgh, 1842), pp. 314, 319.</ref> Aberdeen town council bought twenty stones in weight of gunpowder for the demolition of Huntly and other places,<ref>[[David Masson]], ''Register of the Privy Council'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 183-4.</ref> and sent the stonemason John Fraser and other workmen to the demolition work at Huntly and [[Old Slains Castle]], equipped with new shovels.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044025671272&view=1up&seq=149 ''Spalding Club Miscellany'', vol. 5 (Aberdeen, 1852), pp. 61-2]</ref> |
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The royal council met at Terrisoule to discuss the planned demolition on 28 October. Some Lords wanted the fortress kept to hold a loyal garrison. James VI still wished the whole castle, the new and old work, to be slighted.<ref>[[David Masson]], ''Register of the Privy Council'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 185-6.</ref> It was decided not to completely demolish Huntly and Slains Castle and other houses, but preserve them for the convenience of the royal garrisons. It was also said that the pleas of the Countesses of Huntly and Erroll to save the houses were successful.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 471 no. 398.</ref> [[Sir David Foulis, 1st Baronet|David Foulis]] wrote to [[Anthony Bacon (1558–1601)|Anthony Bacon]] that [[Henrietta Stewart]], Countess of Huntly, watched the demolition at Huntly and was not allowed to have an audience with the king to plead her case.<ref>[[Thomas Birch]], ''Memoirs of the reign of Queen Elizabeth'', vol. 1 (London, 1754), p. 192.</ref> The king made his friend Sir John Gordon of [[Pitlurg Castle|Pitlurg]] the keeper of the remaining buildings at Huntly.<ref>''Miscellany of the Spalding Club'', vol. 1 (Aberdeen, 1841), p. 9.</ref> |
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===Restored for a Marquess=== |
===Restored for a Marquess=== |
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| ⚫ | Huntly spent large sums restoring and enlarging the castle in April 1597.<ref>''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 512 no. 412.</ref> The restored |
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The Marquess of Huntly restored and rebuilt the castle.<ref>''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 512 no. 412: [[Charles McKean]], ''Scottish Chateau'' (Sutton: Stroud, 2001), pp. 216-7.</ref> In 1746, an English soldier, [[James Ray (historian)|James Ray]], saw the ruins and commented on ceilings, still decorated with "[[Scottish Renaissance painted ceilings|history-painting]]".<ref>James Ray, [https://archive.org/details/ajourneythrough00raygoog/page/n188/mode/2up ''A Journey Through Part of England and Scotland'' (London, 1747), p. 184]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In 1640 the Castle was occupied by the Scottish |
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| ⚫ | Huntly spent large sums restoring and enlarging the castle in April 1597.<ref>''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 512 no. 412.</ref> The restored facade of the main block was carved with the names and titles of the marquess, "George Gordon" and his wife, "Henrietta Stewart" who was a favourite of the queen, [[Anne of Denmark]].<ref>Charles McKean, ''Scottish Chateau'' (Stroud, 2001), pp. 216-7.</ref> In February 1603 James VI made plans to resolve the Marquess's feuds including a royal visit to Huntly with [[Anne of Denmark]] and the [[James Stuart, 3rd Earl of Moray|Earl of Moray]] later in the year. The visit did not take place because of the death of [[Elizabeth I]] and the subsequent [[Union of the Crowns]].<ref>[[John Duncan Mackie]], ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', 13:2 (Edinburgh, 1969), p. 1106 no. 897.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In 1640 the Castle was occupied by the Scottish Covenanter army under Major-General [[Robert Monro (d. 1680)]]. James Gordon Parson of Rothiemay tells us how the house "was preserved from being rifled or defaced, except some emblems and imagery, which looked somewhat popish and superstitious lycke; and therefore, by the industry of one captain James Wallace (one of Munro's foote captaines) were hewd and brocke doune off the frontispiece of the house; but all the rest of the frontispiece containing Huntly's scutcheon, etc, was left untouched, as it stands to this daye." |
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Captured in October 1644, the castle was briefly held by [[James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose]] against the [[Duke of Argyll]]. In 1647 it was gallantly defended against General [[David Leslie (Scottish general)|David Leslie]] by Lord Charles Gordon, but its 'Irish' garrison was starved into surrender. Savage treatment was meted out, for the men were hanged and their officers beheaded. In December of the same year the [[George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly|Marquess of Huntly]] himself was captured and on his way to execution at [[Edinburgh]] was detained, by a refinement of cruelty, in his own mansion. His escort was shot against its walls. |
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An inventory made by the garrison shows the state rooms were still fully furnished, including the earl's 'chapel bed'.<ref>Michael Pearce, '"Beds of 'Chapel" form in sixteenth-century Scottish inventories: the worst sort of beds', ''Regional Furniture'', vol. 27 (2013), pp. 84-5: Michael Pearce, Whispers from An Age Gone By', ''Historic Scotland Magazine'', (Winter 2016), pp. 16-18: Maria Hayward, ''Stuart Style'' (Yale, 2020), p.p. 244-5.</ref> In 1650 [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] visited briefly on his way to the [[Battle of Worcester]], defeat and exile. The Civil War brought an end to the Gordon of Huntly family's long occupation of the castle. |
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In 1689, during the [[Jacobite rising of 1689|first Jacobite rising]], the castle was briefly the headquarters for [[Viscount Dundee]] and his Jacobite army, at the end of April, just after the start of the revolt. However, by the early eighteenth century the castle was already in decay and providing material for predatory house builders in the village. In 1746, during a [[Jacobite rising of 1745|later Jacobite rising]], it was occupied by British government troops. Thereafter, it became a common quarry until a groundswell of antiquarian sentiment in the 19th century came to the rescue of the noble pile. |
In 1689, during the [[Jacobite rising of 1689|first Jacobite rising]], the castle was briefly the headquarters for [[Viscount Dundee]] and his Jacobite army, at the end of April, just after the start of the revolt. However, by the early eighteenth century the castle was already in decay and providing material for predatory house builders in the village. In 1746, during a [[Jacobite rising of 1745|later Jacobite rising]], it was occupied by British government troops. Thereafter, it became a common quarry until a groundswell of antiquarian sentiment in the 19th century came to the rescue of the noble pile. |
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[[Pure Strength I]], a major international [[Strongman (strength athlete)|strongman]] competition, was held on the grounds of Huntly Castle in 1987. The winner of the contest was [[Jón Páll Sigmarsson]] of [[Iceland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://strongestman.billhenderson.org/other/ps87.html|title=1987 Pure Strength Contest|website=strongestman.billhenderson.org}}</ref> |
[[Pure Strength I]], a major international [[Strongman (strength athlete)|strongman]] competition, was held on the grounds of Huntly Castle in 1987. The winner of the contest was [[Jón Páll Sigmarsson]] of [[Iceland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://strongestman.billhenderson.org/other/ps87.html|title=1987 Pure Strength Contest|website=strongestman.billhenderson.org}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*Historic Environment Scotland: [https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/huntly-castle Visitor guide] |
*Historic Environment Scotland: [https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/huntly-castle Visitor guide] |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080522201531/http://gallery.mcmillan.net.nz/v/Travels/Scotland07/HistoricPlaces/HuntlyCastle/ More photographs of Huntly Castle] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080522201531/http://gallery.mcmillan.net.nz/v/Travels/Scotland07/HistoricPlaces/HuntlyCastle/ More photographs of Huntly Castle] |
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*[https://360castles.com/huntly-castle Take a 360 Virtual Tour of Huntly Castle Grounds] |
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*Engraving of [http://digital.nls.uk/74582426 Huntly Castle] by [[James Fittler]] in the digitised copy of [http://digital.nls.uk/scotia-depicta/ Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland], 1804 at [[National Library of Scotland]] |
*Engraving of [http://digital.nls.uk/74582426 Huntly Castle] by [[James Fittler]] in the digitised copy of [http://digital.nls.uk/scotia-depicta/ Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland], 1804 at [[National Library of Scotland]] |
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*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9SEsMXzw1g Video images and narration - Huntly Castle & Huntly Lodge] |
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9SEsMXzw1g Video images and narration - Huntly Castle & Huntly Lodge] |
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[[Category:Historic house museums in Aberdeenshire]] |
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Latest revision as of 16:00, 17 October 2024
| Huntly Castle | |
|---|---|
| Huntly, Aberdeenshire | |
 Huntly Castle | |
  Huntly Castle | |
| Coordinates | 57°27′18″N 2°46′52″W / 57.45488°N 2.78117°W |
| Type | L-plan tower house |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Strathbogie family (1100-1314) Clan Gordon (1314- ) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 12th century |
| Built by | Duncan II, Earl of Fife |
Huntly Castle is a ruined castle north of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the rivers Deveron and Bogie meet.[1] It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly. There have been four castles built on the site that have been referred to as Huntly Castle, Strathbogie Castle or Peel of Strathbogie.[1][2]
Location
[edit]Huntly Castle was built on the crossing of the rivers Deveron and Bogie, north of Huntly and roughly 40 miles from Aberdeen. The original wooden castle was built on a motte. The second castle, made of stone, was built on the northern end of the bailey. The third and modern castles were built to the east of the original, at the southern end of the estate.[2]
History
[edit]The castle was originally built by Duncan II, Earl of Fife, on the Strathbogie estate sometime around 1180 and 1190.[2][1] The castle became known as the Peel of Strathbogie.[3]
The Earl Duncan's third son, David, inherited the Strathbogie estate and later, through marriage, became earls of Atholl around 1204.[1] During the Strathbogie family's time at the estate, Robert the Bruce was a guest after falling ill at Inverurie. The family was loyal to him and when he got better, Robert the Bruce went on to win the battle of Bannockburn.[3] However, around 1314, David of Strathbogie shifted his support to the English right before Robert the Bruce won the battle of Bannockburn. Robert the Bruce saw this as treachery and granted the castle and estate to Sir Adam Gordon of Huntly because he was consistently loyal. In 1506, the castle was officially renamed Huntly Castle.[2]
Reign of James IV
[edit]Although the castle was burned to the ground, a grander castle was built in its place. In 1496, the pretender to the English throne, Perkin Warbeck, was married to Lady Catherine Gordon the daughter of George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, witnessed by King James IV of Scotland at Edinburgh. James IV came to Huntly in October 1501 and gave gifts of money to the stonemasons working on the castle. In October 1503, James IV came again and played in a shooting contest at a target called a "prop".[4] He came back again in the following October, on his way south, accompanied by four Italian minstrels and an African drummer known as the "More taubronar".[5] James IV played cards at the castle on 10 October 1505 and gave a tip to masons working on the building. These visits were part of his annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Duthac at Tain.[6] Architecturally the L plan castle consists of a well-preserved five-story tower with an adjoining great hall and supporting buildings. Areas of the original ornate facade and interior stonework remain. Wings were added to the castle in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Reign of Mary, Queen of Scots
[edit]William Mackintosh was executed on 23 August 1550 at "Castle Strathbogie", as a conspirator against the Earl of Huntly, the queen's lieutenant in the North.[7]
The English diplomat Thomas Randolph stayed two nights in September 1562,[8] and wrote that the castle was "fayer, beste furnishede of anye howse that I have seen in thys countrie."[9] Mary, Queen of Scots decided to take the castle, giving as a cause that the Earl withheld from her a royal cannon lent to him by Regent Arran.[10] She sent her half-brother John Stewart, Commendator of Coldingham to arrest the George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly at Huntly Castle in October 1562. On the day William Kirkcaldy of Grange and the Tutor of Pitcur arrived first and surrounded the house. While Kirkcaldy was talking to the castle porter, the castle watchman on the tower spotted Coldingham and the Master of Lindsay and their troops a mile off. He alerted the Earl, who ran without "boot or sword" and hopped over a low wall at the back of the castle and found a horse before Pitcur could stop him. Elizabeth Keith, Countess of Huntly then welcomed the queen's men and gave them a meal and showed them around the place. She still had her chapel furnished for Roman Catholic worship.[11]
George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly died after the Battle of Corrichie on 28 October 1562, and the castle was garrisoned for Mary, Queen of Scots by Charles Crawfurd and twenty soldiers. Furnishings including beds and 45 tapestries were carted to Aberdeen and shipped in barrels to Edinburgh for the royal collection and refurbishment by Servais de Condé.[12] After the surrender of Mary, Queen of Scots, at the battle of Carberry Hill, the Earl of Bothwell came north to meet George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly at "Stawboggye", and moved on to Spynie Castle after Huntly deserted his cause.[13] In July 1570 the exiled Earl of Westmorland found refuge at Huntly.[14]
John Gordon, Earl of Sutheerland
[edit]John Gordon, 11th Earl of Sutherland and his wife Marion Seton were poisoned at Helmsdale Castle in 1567 by Isobel Sinclair, the wife of Gordon of Gartly.[15] Isobel Seton's own son also died, but the fifteen-year-old heir of Sutherland, Alexander Gordon was unharmed. He was made to marry the Earl of Caithness' daughter Barbara Sinclair. In 1569 he escaped from the Sinclairs to Huntly Castle and remained at Huntly until he came of age in 1573. Barbara Sinclair died, and Alexander Gordon, now Earl of Sutherland, married Jean Gordon, former wife of the Earl of Bothwell, who had also found a refuge at Huntly Castle.[16]
A fatal football match
[edit]An early description of the death of George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly in 1576, compiled by Richard Bannatyne gives some details of how the castle was used.[17] The Earl suffered a stroke, or a collapse caused by food poisoning, while playing football outside the Castle on the Green. He was taken through the outer gate to his bedchamber in the round tower of the palace block, which was then called the "New Warke of Strathbogie." The Earl's bedchamber was adjacent to his "Grit Chalmer", the Great Chamber. After the Earl died, his body was laid out in the "Chamber of Dais", another name for the Great Chamber, and his valuables were secured in the bedchamber. After the Earl's steward left the castle, a number of alleged supernatural events occurred beginning with the sudden collapse of one of the servants in the "Laich Chalmer", Low Chamber. This "Laich Chalmer" was in another part of the castle, under a stair opposite the "Auld Hall." On the following day, a servant went up to the Gallery at the top of the "New Warke" where spices (which were precious) were stored. This servant and two companions also collapsed and when revived complained of feeling cold. After the Earl's body was embalmed and taken to the chapel, his brother sat on a bench in the Hall by the Great Chamber door, and heard unexplained sounds from the chamber. It was said that "there is not a live thing bigger than a mouse may enter in that chamber with the door locked."[18]
James VI slights the castle
[edit]In March 1584 an English recusant Catholic Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn was sent by Lady Ferniehirst to find refuge at Huntly.[19] George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly was a Catholic and James VI decided to subdue his power in the north. The king arrived at Huntly on 26 April 1589 after spending a night at Kintore. The Earl of Huntly had fled to the mountains, stripping the countryside and emptying the house of furniture. James brought 100 workmen to demolish the castle. Huntly sent the king an offer to spare the house and surrendered.[20]
In March 1593 a royal garrison of 16 men commanded by Archie Carmichael was to be put in Huntly Castle.[21] In May 1593 the Earl captured a man called Pedder in the lands of Atholl. Pedder was hanged and dismembered and his body parts displayed on poles at Huntly.[22]
In July 1594 Huntly was overseeing the building of a new hall and gallery.[23] Following the battle of Glenlivet, James VI came with workmen again and his master of works William Schaw, and planned to blow up the "gret old tower" which had been "fourteen years in building" on 29 October 1594.[24] The kirk minister Andrew Melville was with the king and a vocal advocate for demolition.[25] Aberdeen town council bought twenty stones in weight of gunpowder for the demolition of Huntly and other places,[26] and sent the stonemason John Fraser and other workmen to the demolition work at Huntly and Old Slains Castle, equipped with new shovels.[27]
The royal council met at Terrisoule to discuss the planned demolition on 28 October. Some Lords wanted the fortress kept to hold a loyal garrison. James VI still wished the whole castle, the new and old work, to be slighted.[28] It was decided not to completely demolish Huntly and Slains Castle and other houses, but preserve them for the convenience of the royal garrisons. It was also said that the pleas of the Countesses of Huntly and Erroll to save the houses were successful.[29] David Foulis wrote to Anthony Bacon that Henrietta Stewart, Countess of Huntly, watched the demolition at Huntly and was not allowed to have an audience with the king to plead her case.[30] The king made his friend Sir John Gordon of Pitlurg the keeper of the remaining buildings at Huntly.[31]
Restored for a Marquess
[edit]The Marquess of Huntly restored and rebuilt the castle.[32] In 1746, an English soldier, James Ray, saw the ruins and commented on ceilings, still decorated with "history-painting".[33]
Huntly spent large sums restoring and enlarging the castle in April 1597.[34] The restored facade of the main block was carved with the names and titles of the marquess, "George Gordon" and his wife, "Henrietta Stewart" who was a favourite of the queen, Anne of Denmark.[35] In February 1603 James VI made plans to resolve the Marquess's feuds including a royal visit to Huntly with Anne of Denmark and the Earl of Moray later in the year. The visit did not take place because of the death of Elizabeth I and the subsequent Union of the Crowns.[36]
In 1640 the Castle was occupied by the Scottish Covenanter army under Major-General Robert Monro (d. 1680). James Gordon Parson of Rothiemay tells us how the house "was preserved from being rifled or defaced, except some emblems and imagery, which looked somewhat popish and superstitious lycke; and therefore, by the industry of one captain James Wallace (one of Munro's foote captaines) were hewd and brocke doune off the frontispiece of the house; but all the rest of the frontispiece containing Huntly's scutcheon, etc, was left untouched, as it stands to this daye."
Captured in October 1644, the castle was briefly held by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose against the Duke of Argyll. In 1647 it was gallantly defended against General David Leslie by Lord Charles Gordon, but its 'Irish' garrison was starved into surrender. Savage treatment was meted out, for the men were hanged and their officers beheaded. In December of the same year the Marquess of Huntly himself was captured and on his way to execution at Edinburgh was detained, by a refinement of cruelty, in his own mansion. His escort was shot against its walls.
An inventory made by the garrison shows the state rooms were still fully furnished, including the earl's 'chapel bed'.[37] In 1650 Charles II visited briefly on his way to the Battle of Worcester, defeat and exile. The Civil War brought an end to the Gordon of Huntly family's long occupation of the castle.
In 1689, during the first Jacobite rising, the castle was briefly the headquarters for Viscount Dundee and his Jacobite army, at the end of April, just after the start of the revolt. However, by the early eighteenth century the castle was already in decay and providing material for predatory house builders in the village. In 1746, during a later Jacobite rising, it was occupied by British government troops. Thereafter, it became a common quarry until a groundswell of antiquarian sentiment in the 19th century came to the rescue of the noble pile.
Huntly Castle remained under the ownership of the Clan Gordon until 1923. Today, the remains of the castle are cared for by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.[38]
Pure Strength I, a major international strongman competition, was held on the grounds of Huntly Castle in 1987. The winner of the contest was Jón Páll Sigmarsson of Iceland.[39]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "History". www.historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Huntly Castle Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland". www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Huntly Castle". aboutaberdeen.com. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. xlix-l, 124, 401, for "prop" see 'Prop', Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue
- ^ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland: 1500-1504, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. 462-4: Imtiaz Habib, Black Lives in the English Archives, 1500-1677 (London, 2008), p. 29.
- ^ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland: 1506-1507, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), pp. 165, 168.
- ^ James Balfour, Annals: The Historical Works of James Balfour, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1824), 297: Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), 92.
- ^ John Guy, The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (Fourth Estate, 2009), p. 163.
- ^ CSP. Foreign, Elizabeth, vol. 5 (London, 1867), nos. 648, 688, 718, 823: CSP. Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 652.
- ^ David Hay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots (London, 1897), 77.
- ^ Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 654-5, 657-8.
- ^ Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), p. 214, 217: Michael Pearce, Michael Pearce, '"Beds of 'Chapel" form in sixteenth-century Scottish inventories: the worst sort of beds', Regional Furniture, vol. 27 (2013), pp. 78-91
- ^ Joseph Stevenson, Selections (Glasgow, 1837), p. 217.
- ^ William Boyd, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1903), p. 274.
- ^ Fraser, William, ed., Sutherland Book, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1892), pp. 121-4, 127-9
- ^ Margaret Sanderson, Mary Stewart's People (Mercat Press: Edinburgh, 1987), pp. 42-3.
- ^ John Graham Dalyell, Journal of the Transactions in Scotland, by Richard Bannatyne (Edinburgh, 1806), pp. xviii, 483-492.
- ^ Pitcairn, Robert ed., Bannatyne's Memorials of the Transactions in Scotland (1834), 334-5: McKean, Charles, The Scottish Chateau (Sutton, 2001), 109.
- ^ William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland: 1584-1585, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 36.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 51-2.
- ^ Annie Cameron, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 72 no. 43.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 91.
- ^ Annie I. Cameron, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 375.
- ^ Annie Cameron,Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 470.
- ^ Robert Pitcairn, Autobiography and diary of James Melville (Edinburgh, 1842), pp. 314, 319.
- ^ David Masson, Register of the Privy Council, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 183-4.
- ^ Spalding Club Miscellany, vol. 5 (Aberdeen, 1852), pp. 61-2
- ^ David Masson, Register of the Privy Council, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 185-6.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 471 no. 398.
- ^ Thomas Birch, Memoirs of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, vol. 1 (London, 1754), p. 192.
- ^ Miscellany of the Spalding Club, vol. 1 (Aberdeen, 1841), p. 9.
- ^ Calendar of State Papers Scotland, vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 512 no. 412: Charles McKean, Scottish Chateau (Sutton: Stroud, 2001), pp. 216-7.
- ^ James Ray, A Journey Through Part of England and Scotland (London, 1747), p. 184
- ^ Calendar of State Papers Scotland, vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 512 no. 412.
- ^ Charles McKean, Scottish Chateau (Stroud, 2001), pp. 216-7.
- ^ John Duncan Mackie, Calendar State Papers Scotland, 13:2 (Edinburgh, 1969), p. 1106 no. 897.
- ^ Michael Pearce, '"Beds of 'Chapel" form in sixteenth-century Scottish inventories: the worst sort of beds', Regional Furniture, vol. 27 (2013), pp. 84-5: Michael Pearce, Whispers from An Age Gone By', Historic Scotland Magazine, (Winter 2016), pp. 16-18: Maria Hayward, Stuart Style (Yale, 2020), p.p. 244-5.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Huntly Castle (SM90165)". Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "1987 Pure Strength Contest". strongestman.billhenderson.org.
External links
[edit]
- Historic Environment Scotland: Visitor guide
- More photographs of Huntly Castle
- Take a 360 Virtual Tour of Huntly Castle Grounds
- Engraving of Huntly Castle by James Fittler in the digitised copy of Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland, 1804 at National Library of Scotland
- Video images and narration - Huntly Castle & Huntly Lodge
