heart of glass: storm the palace

I think somebody's tellin' me to g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-get out of [Glasgow].

So I decided to cross a Scottish castle off the list.
Welcome to Linlithgow, pleasure palace of the House of Stewart,

centrally located between the royal seats in Edinburgh and Stirling,

and birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Entering through James V's outer gateway (1535).

The West Façade.

It may appear stark, but it is in roofless ruins due to fires,
and would have looked very different back in the day.

The impressive North Façade and its amazing oriel windows.

Sometimes I walk by and I look up to your balcony/
Just to make sure that you were real.

The sheer scale of the place cannot be conveyed in photos.

Nor can its setting.

It's surrounded by a gorgeous loch on two sides, with
rolling green hills behind.

Linlithgow literally means "the loch in the damp hollow."
[Can you tell I bought the guide book, lolz ?]

Oh yeah, this is the East Façade, the oldest bit of the palace,
which dates to James I.

This is what remains of his triumphant entrance gate,
which would've had a drawbridge.

Royal arms flanked by angels.
Remember that these would have been brightly painted
and gilded in 1430, when they were added.

In fact, the entire building would have been
covered with a white lime wash, and would have appeared
very different than it does today.

Let's go to the inner courtyard.
{northeast corner & fountain}

Northern range.

Southeast corner.

Southwest tower.

James I's original eastern entrance to the palace.
The niches originally contained statues of
the Three Estates {bishops, nobility, burgesses}.
Angels with outstretched wings above remain.

Southeast corner.

Southwest corner.

Eastern entrance & fountain.

Northwest corner & Queen Margaret's Bower.

Remnants of south range sculpture, which
originally featured an ornate Annunciation series.

I know you've noticed the amazing
{albeit heavily restored}
fountain of James V, which dates to 1538ish.

It still works, and they run it occasionally.
It is symbolic of the power and sophistication of James V.

The mermaid symbolises eloquence.
{This would have all been elaborately painted, too.}

And the winged deer supports a shield joining
the arms of Scotland and France, referring to the marriage of
James V and his first wife, the French princess Madeleine de Valois.
{Hers is a tragic tale; one I'll tell at a later date
i.e. when I get out to E-burgh next.}

James V had a thing for French princesses.
His second wife [and mama to Mary, QoS] was Marie de Guise.
She declared Linlithgow to be as fine as any French château.

And y'all know that's saying a lot.

But when you imagine the place washed white,
with colourful and gilded sculptural details, it makes sense.

In the stillness of remembering what you had/
And what you lost.

So without further ado, let's climb into those ruins.

The place is very tall, and a lot of floors and walls don't survive.
The pictures just can't show how amazing it is.

It feels so authentic, ruinous and exposed to the elements.
It's a true adventure; I would've loved it when I was a little girl.

One thing that remains are the window frames;
and those Scottish Jameses sure knew what they were
doing when planning their views.

And I'm ready to sail...

It's just a feeling...

Sort of captures your soul.

Let's move on to the royal apartments, eastern range.
{What remains of them, that is.}

There was a light that lighted the way to the chamber/
Where they spent all their time, well

There was a light that lighted the way to the chamber door where/
They seemed to spend all their time.

Unicorn ceiling bosses in the bedchamber of
James IV.

Et plus.

The feeling remains, even after the glitter fades.

Mary, QoS was born in this section of the palace.
{Incidentally, so was her dad James V.}

King's Fireplace.

Floating Fireplaces
{one of the highlights of Linlithgow}.

In the shadow of the castle walls/
Wherever those walls were.

James IV's Presence Chamber and its "ladder window,"
installed when he completed the royal apartments in preparation
for his marriage to Margaret Tudor in 1503. Remember her?

Though the palace is most famously associated with Mary, QoS,
it's the story of Queen Margaret's time at Linlithgow
that is most romantic/tragic.

Floor tile from the presence chamber;
Shows the entwined 'I' & 'M' with a love knot,
for James & Margaret.

The palace was given to Margaret by
her husband as a wedding gift. Not too shabby.

They had ten happy years together,
and one surviving son {later James V}.
Then King James left for battle in Eng.

Earlier I mentioned Queen Margaret's Bower,
the little room at the top of the northwest tower.
We need to go up there to continue the story.

Come on it's time to go upstairs.

Sur les pas de Margaret Tudor.

Vault at the top of the stairs.

One of the corbels with the weathered
intertwined initials of 'I' & 'M.'

Then you go outside to go further up to the bower room.
{This is the view across to the southern
end of the palace, and over the town.}

Standing in the doorway/

Watching out to sea.

You'll close your eyes and travel back.

Very weathered vault in the octagonal bower room.

This is where Margaret waited day after day
for her husband to return from battle in Autumn 1513.

If you know your history, you'll know he never returned.
He was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field, along with 8,000 Scots.

You may also remember that Margaret's sister-in-law
Katharine of Aragon played a role in this.
It was she who rode to the battle in full armour, whilst heavily
pregnant, to inspire the English troops.
After their victory, she sent James IV's bloody coat to Henry VIII.

This effectively ended the peace between the two nations,
making the infant James V king, and forcing the widowed Margaret
to flee Scotland, after she gave birth to another son, months after
her husband's death. The child lived less than a year.