History - Tantalising Tantallon Photo by Stewart Cunningham Tantallon Castle
S
Tantalising Tantallon
et high on a cliff edge, in the shadow of the legendary Bass Rock, the ruined medieval fortress of Tantallon Castle still exudes an air of menace, power and influence. If its crumbling walls could talk this former home of the Red Douglas dynasty would tell tales of bloody battles, illicit affairs, treasonous plots, political skulduggery and international intrigue.
p30
It was built sometime in the middle of the 14th century by William, 1st Earl of Douglas. His grandfather, Sir William the Hardy, fought with William Wallace against the English and died a prisoner in the Tower of London. His uncle, Sir James Douglas, sided with Robert The Bruce and earned the nicknames ‘Black Douglas’ from the English and ‘The Good Sir James’ among the Scots. It’s therefore no surprise that
when England went to war with France, in what became known as The Hundred Years War, the 1st Earl of Douglas fought for the French. When he returned from the war he killed his godfather, Sir William Douglas of Liddesdale, and took over as head of the House of Douglas before being created Earl of Douglas in 1358. He also went on to have an affair with his sister-in-law, Margaret Stewart, 4th Countess of Angus, who bore him an illegitimate son
