The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-03-14

to war and the invasion Of Scotland BY
the English. SO the 18th century, which
is taken as the second period, was a
time Of strife and povcrty, Many OF
the great castles were destroyed BY the
English, and resources were lacking 20
rebuild them on their former scale.
Moreover, Bruce forbade, as matter
/ Of policy, the construction Of large cas-.
ties which if taken BY the English would
give them d secure stronghold Thus
the mobiles We're forced To fall back upon
the plan Of the more primitive Norman
keep which had for 200 years been aban-
doned il France and England. They did
not give protection for herds and were
little more than place Of refuge for
the owners family and close retaincrs.
They were entirely Of stone. and con
tanned little that could be burned. The
keep was three-story tower. the en-
trance being at the middle story By a
ladder or movable stair The chief and
his family lived ON the top floor. The
ground floor, windowless, was for stor-
age. When more space was needed, an
ny was added.
In the third period, l400-l542, the
country had begun to recover, and the
demand for better buildings was met
by copying from England and France
In some cases an older keep was taken
as starting point. other castles were
built de novo. The arrangement Of
the rooms, ait FIRST capricious, took on
q settled form illustrated at its best
in the royal palaces Linlithgrow and
Stirling. In the smaller castles the
great hall was in the center with the
kitchen ETC.. at the entrance end, and
the lords private apartment beyond the
iias end In the large castles the build
ing became complete quadrangle about
central court, though no example Of
this in private castle of this period
exists in Scotland While the castles
thus became increasingly comfortable,
all Of this period We're built mainly
for defense, and the exteriors are ragged
and forbidding. Artillery had not been
so far developed as TO make small cas-
ties useless against q strong force.
In the fourth and fral period, after
1912. came a distinct break in style, due
To the Improvement Of cannon. Thus
there came to be an absolute distinction
between great national fortresses like
Dunbar, Edinburgh and Stirling, and the
ordinary stronghold Of a chief, which be-
came merely mansion equipped to
resist sudden attack. A great increase
in building was due to the Reformation
and the appropriation Of the church;
CHOSE who had the power to seize and
keep the lands. that II, the nobility and
gentry, were suddenly enrich, and began
to build new houses or TO enlarge their
old ones AT this time the renaissance
style was introduced into Scotland by
the union with England under James
VII. and had its effect on castles. Thus
the large castles which had become
mere keep in time Of poverty. and had
developed into new style Of fortress
with returning wealth, now became
more and more mere mansion less and
less provided with means Of defense,
even though retaining by courtesy the
title Of castle. such II the general out
line which Mr.. Fraprie works out in
detail by study Of typical
examples. The book Is well illustrated
with pictures and plans; It might well
have had map Of Scotland with the
castles indicated.