page_title: Mons Meg
section_title: Naming
hierarchical_section_title: Mons Meg / History / Naming
caption_attribution_description: English: The 'Dulle Griet' or 'Mad Meg' is named after the Flemish folklore figure Dull Gret. It is a medieval supergun, a wrought-iron bombard constructed in the 15th century from 32 longitudinal bars enclosed by 61 rings.
context_page_description: Mons Meg is a medieval bombard in the collection of the Royal Armouries, but on loan to Historic Scotland and located at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. It has a barrel diameter of 20 inches making it one of the largest cannons in the world by calibre.
  Mons Meg was built in 1449 on the orders of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and sent by him as a gift to James II, King of Scots, in 1454. The bombard was employed in sieges until the middle of the 16th century, after which it was only fired on ceremonial occasions. On one such occasion in 1680 the barrel burst, rendering Mons Meg unusable. The gun remained in Edinburgh Castle until 1754 when, along with other unused weapons in Scotland, it was taken to the Tower of London. Sir Walter Scott and others campaigned for its return, which was effected in 1829. Mons Meg has since been restored, and is now on display within the castle.
context_section_description: The gun is not called "Mons Meg" in any contemporary references until 1678. In 1489, she first appears in record as "Monss", and in the painter's account of 1539 she is called; "Monce in the castell," the only piece with an individual name. In 1650 she was noted as "Muckle Meg." "Meg" may either be a reference to Margaret of Denmark, Queen of James III of Scotland, or simply an alliteration, while Mons was one of the locations where the cannon was originally tested. McKenzie records that this class of artillery was known as a murderer and Mons Meg was certainly described as such. Mons Meg was made in the town of Mons (now the Walloon French-speaking part of Belgium) or Bergen (in Flemish Dutch as in those days it was part of Flanders). Three cannons were founded: one resides now in Edinburgh, one in the Flemish town of Ghent at the Friday Market and one was in France but disappeared ages ago. The one in Ghent can be visited today, undamaged. The cannon is named "Dulle Griet" which translates into "Mad Meg".
caption: The 'Dulle Griet' on display in Ghent
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