St Margaret's Chapel (12th c.): the oldest building in the capital is in the Castle and has a notable Hungarian connection. St Margaret was born in Hungary (cousin of István király) and was married to king Malcolm Canmore III who made Edinburgh the capital of the Scottish kingdom. She brought change in 3 areas:
1. She is the "mother of tartans" (the different patterns of Scottish kilts according to clans)
2. She propagated the use of the Anglo-Saxon language (Old-English) at court (taking the place of Scottish Gaelic...)
3. Margaret insisted on the spread of the Roman Catholic Church (displacing the Celtic-Christian Church)
The castle is on a volcanic rock in the centre of the capital. It was begun under Malcolm and Margaret (1085-93) and had a very stormy history. It was captured by the English during the early phase of the Scottish War of Independence (late 1290s). Recaptured by the Scots and destroyed in 1314 so that the English could never occupy it again... and use it as a stronghold against the Scots. The main buildings today date from the 16th and 17th c.: palace + great hall. In 1650 Cromwell had to bombard the castle for 3 months before it would surrender. In 1689 it surrendered to William of Orange. The last time it saw action was in 1745 when the Scottish Highlanders tried to take it from the Scottish "Lowlanders" - but were unsuccessful. (2nd Jacobite Uprising: to give the British throne back to the Stuart House).
Right: Great Hall - Built in the early 16th c (James IV). It functioned as the home of the Scottish Parliament (until 1639)
Bottom left: The Stone of Destiny, the Scottish Crown, Sceptre, and Sword. The Stone of Destiny is the stone upon which the Scottish kings were crowned before 1296 when Edward I stole it and took it to London. He had it built into the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey which carried a strong symbolic meaning (Scotland is subjugated). It was stolen by Scottish Nationalist young people in 1950 (for 3 months they could not find it - scandal). Later it was found and duely returned to Westminster Abbey. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned sitting above it in 1952 (like everybody before her). In 1996 the Queen decided to return it to its rightful place after 700 years of forceful exile!! Though the Royal House would like to borrow it again for future coronations... (?!) The Crown probably dates from Robert Bruce's reign (1314) (but it was refashioned for James V). The Sceptre and the Sword were presents from 2 popes to James IV.
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