Tour Scotland Winter 4K travel video of snow at Methven Castle on visit West of Perth, Perthshire. The lands of Methven were owned by the Mowbray family from the 12th century. The Mowbrays supported the claim of John Balliol against Robert the Bruce, and on the latter's victory, Methven was confiscated by the crown, and given to Walter Stewart, the Bruce's son-in-law. His descendant, Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, was deprived of the lands following his involvement in a plot to kill King James I. The castle sustained a siege in 1444, and was visited by King James II in 1450. King James IV visited several times in the 1490s. The castle was the home of Margaret Tudor, born 1489, died 1544, queen of James IV, King of Scots, and daughter of Henry VII of England, after her third marriage to Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven in 1528. Margaret Tudor died here on 18 October 1541. After the third Lord Methven died without heir in 1584, King James VI gave Methven to his favourite, the Duke of Lennox. In 1664 the estate was purchased by Patrick Smythe of Braco. The present building is dated 1664, and was designed and built by the mason architect John Mylne.
The surname Methven was first found in Perthshire, Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt, former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they were granted lands by Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland, in 1069 in the Barony of Methven. Spelling variations of this family name include: Methuen, Methven, Methfyn, Methfen and others.
The Battle of Methven was part of the First War of Scottish Independence, fought on 19th June 1306 at Methven, west of Perth. In Scotland, Robert the Bruce was already engaged in a full scale civil war with the family and friends of John Comyn. The coronation in March had given him some legitimacy; but overall the position was very uncertain. His wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, the daughter of the Earl of Ulster, and now queen of Scots, is reported to have said '" It seems to me we are but a summer king and queen whom children crown in their sport. " Aymer de Valence, the English general acting for King Edward I, moved quickly, and by the middle of summer he had made his base at Perth, where he was joined by many of the supporters of John Comyn. King Robert came from the west, ready to meet his foe in battle. He was prepared to observe on this occasion the gentlemanly conventions of feudal warfare, while the English adopted less orthodox tactics. Valence was invited to leave the walls of Perth and join Bruce in battle, but he declined. The Scottish forces were under the direct command of Robert the Bruce and are generally numbered around 4,500 strong although this figure is probably over-inflated. Bruce's deputy at Methven was Christopher Seton with other notable commanders including Gilbert Hay and James Douglas. The king, perhaps believing that Valence's refusal to accept his challenge was a sign of weakness, retired only a few miles to nearby Methven, where he made camp for the night. Before dawn on 19 June, his little army was taken by surprise and almost destroyed, because Bruce had accepted Valence at his word and failed to take the precaution of placing pickets around the camp. His entire army was routed. Bishops William de Lamberton of St Andrews and Robert Wishart of Glasgow were quickly seized and taken south, and incarcerated in an English dungeon, saved only from execution by their clerical orders. Bruce barely escaped and fled with a few followers to the Scottish Highlands.
John Methven settled in Charles Town, America, in 1767; Alexander Methven arrived in South Carolina, America, in 1807; Isobel Methven arrived in America in 1855.
Robert Methven Petrie was born on May 15, 1906 in Scotland, but emigrated to Canada with his parents at the age of five. He grew up in Victoria, British Columbia and studied physics and mathematics at the University of British Columbia. He began working summer jobs at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and became fascinated with astronomy. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1932. He taught there until 1935, when he joined the staff of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. In 1951 he became its director. He extensively studied spectroscopic binaries. The crater Petrie on the Moon is named after him. The Canadian Astronomical Society established the R. M. Petrie Prize Lecture to honour his astrophysical research. He died on April 8, 1966.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.
No comments:
Post a Comment