An Italian at the Court of King James. Professor Richard Oram. Nestling amidst trees at the roadside in the East Lothian hamlet of Whitekirk is the wonderfully well-preserved medieval parish church of St Mary of Hamere or Whitekirk as it is now known. It is a remarkable survival and, although heavily restored in the…
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Feasting with James I – Linlithgow Palace’s Great Hall Professor Richard Oram We have probably all seen some modern re-imagining of a medieval banquet, from cinema depictions of Henry VIII ripping apart whole chickens and throwing the bones over his shoulder to the dogs, to Lord of the Ring’s feast in the hall of…
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Dunbar Castle – Queen Joan’s Last Redoubt Professor Richard Oram Most visitors to Dunbar who venture down to the East Lothian town’s harbour barely glance at the few stumps of stonework that rise like broken teeth from the crusted blood-red sandstone headland at its northern end. Yet, down to the sixteenth century, this was…
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Ceremony and Dining – From Kitchen to Chamber. Professor Richard Oram. Ceremonial display formed a central part of royal culture in medieval Europe and Scotland’s kings were enthusiastic participants in the culture of conspicuous consumption that went hand-in-hand with display. James’s grand new banqueting hall at Linlithgow proclaimed that culture on a grand scale but…
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Menteith – A Royal Playground Professor Richard Oram When James forfeited his cousin, Duke Murdac, and annexed the lands of the Albany Stewarts to the Crown estates, one of the richest prizes was the earldom of Menteith and its principal castle at Doune. It wasn’t the fact that Doune was a fine, modern building…
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