Castle Sween -Knapdale, Argyll & Bute, Scotland
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- #ABPlace2b #gomadgoCastle Sween is the oldest stone castle in Scotland, built in the late 11th century by Suibhne, son of Hugh Anrahan, brother of the king of Ulster and High King of Ireland, from whom it takes its name.
The castle sits on a low ridge looking over Loch Sween and out to Jura. To its west is a small islet cleared to act as a boat landing, illustrating the vital importance of the sea as a major transport link.
Its curtain wall, 2m thick and 8m high, surrounded a quadrangular courtyard, though the complex was altered and built upon during the next 500 years.
We can tell the castle dates back to the 1100s by the broad buttresses on the outside walls. There is also an absence of windows and other openings, aside from the entrances.
As late as the thirteenth century, the MacSweens possessed the surrounding lands of Knapdale. However, by the second half of the century, these territories passed into the hands of the Stewart/Menteith family.
In 1310, Edward II, King of England, granted John MacSween, and his brothers, the MacSweens' ancestral lands of Knapdale, provided that they oust John Menteith. It is possible that MacSween, and his claim to his family's lost Scottish homeland, may be the subject of the Gaelic poem Dál chabhlaigh ar Chaistéal Suibhne. If so, this poem may well refer to an expedition by MacSween to retake Castle Sween in about 1310.
In 1323, after the death of John Menteith, the Lordship of Arran and Knapdale passed to his son and grandson. In 1376, half of Knapdale, which included the castle, passed into the possession of John MacDonald I, Lord of the Isles, by a grant from his father-in-law, Robert II, King of Scotland.
During the MacDonalds' century and a half of holding the castle, the castellans were first MacNeils and later MacMillans
In 1490, Castle Sween was granted to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, by James IV, King of Scotland.
In 1647, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Castle Sween was attacked and burnt by Alasdair MacColla and his Irish Confederate followers.
In 1933, the castle was put in the care of the Historic Building and Monuments Directorate (HBMD).
Currently Castle Sween is under the protection of Historic Scotland.
Historic Scotland website = www.historicen...
#ABPlace2b #gomadgo #sween #campbel #argyll #history #scotland #knapdale #castle #scotland #campbell #Menteith #MacNeils #MacMillans
Stunning!!! Thank you 😊
Thank you! 😊