Is This Scotland’s Best Castle? The Pictish-Medieval Dunnottar Castle (History and Scenery)
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2023-05-28

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Is This Scotland’s Most Stunning Castle? The Pictish-Medieval Dunnottar Castle (History and Scenery)

Scotland is known for its stunning castles, but this one behind me really takes the micky…

This is Dunnottar Castle, a fortress on the east coast of Scotland near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, looking out over the North Sea. If you’ve visited to Dunnottar Castle before, please let me know in the comments below… And while you’re there, what is your favourite castle in Scotland? 
Needless to say, if you’re planning on visiting Scotland, or you’re Scottish and never been hear (guilty as charged before today), this place is defo worth a visit. It’s absolutely stunning, and it’s clear that it has been an important site for centuries in Scotland.

But what is the history of this masterpiece? The surviving buildings visible today are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. The story starts with the Picts, as all good stories do. One of the earliest references to the castle is found in the Annals of Ulster which records two sieges of 'Dún Foither' in 681 and 694 AD. Although there is some debate, as some argue it may refer to a nearby site, many consider Dún Foither to be the Dunnottar Castle of today. Although there isn’t much context to these sieges, the main interpretation is that it was associated with Bridei son of Beli, the King of the Picts and of Fortriu, the main Pictish kingdom, to extend his power.

Although we often view Pictland as one territory, there was multiple Pictish kingdoms or provinces at one point, potentially 7, with conflict between kingdoms probably a feature. These different kingdoms or provinces seemed to unified at some point or that some sort of over-kingship developed, and King Bridei’s siege may have been part of this unification or checking a rival power.

Just north of Dunnottar Castle is the sea stack of Dunnicaer, part of which has fallen into the sea over the centuries. Although little remains of this today, this is was an important site of Pictish power in its day, and Pictish stones have been discovered at the site. Considered one of the oldest Pictish forts in Scotland, built around 1,700 years ago, the University of Aberdeen released an animation a few years ago showing how it potentially looked in its day, and it is thought it was built for a King and was meant to have served as a signal of power. Roman pottery and glass have been found at Dunnicaer amongst other artifacts. 

But lets turn our attention back to Dunnottar Castle. There are numerous interesting aspects in its history. In the 5th century AD, St Ninian, an early Christian missionary, established a chapel at Dunnottar. According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, King Donald II of Scotland, was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. Given its geography on the east coast of Scotland, it seems there probably would have been various run ins with the Vikings over the years.  

In the 10th century, the first King of England, Æthelstan, led a force into Scotland in 934, and is said to have reached as far as Dunnottar. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. 

Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time.

Sources:

DUNNOTTAR CASTLE https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/dunnottar-castle-p245751 

Dunnottar Castle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnottar_Castle#Early_Middle_Ages 

Stunning video shows how ‘earliest Pictish fort’ could have looked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGLFr8cXb6Q&t=185s 

Scotsman, Dig underway at Dunnicaer, Scotland's oldest Pictish fort https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/dig-underway-at-dunnicaer-scotlands-oldest-pictish-fort-1478320 

Gordon Noble and Nicholas Evans - Picts: Scourge of Rome and Rulers of the North (Birlinn 2022) 

Dunnottar Castle https://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/history 

#scotland #dunnottarcastle #history Scottish Castle Dunnottar Castle Documentary and History 

Chapters:
0:00 Ancient Pictish Roots 
3:01 History of Dunnottar Castle 
4:48 The Honours of Scotland and Oliver Cromwell