十一月份某一個陰雨綿綿的早上，我跟朋友們出發去Stirling。這個地方搭火車可以到，出火車站時，可以叫一台計程車，上Stirling Castle，只要三磅。省去在雨中走斜坡的困境。回來的時候，卻變成六磅，不過那個時候天色已黑，外加又是颳風又是下雨的，所以還是值得。
Stirling Castle is one of the most important castles in Scotland. It sits on Castle Hill and is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. It was an important military position in medieval and early modern Scottish history. Mary Queen of Scots was crowned here in 1542 and many banquets were held here in the early modern period.
When King Alexander III died in 1286, Edward I of England was invited to arbitrate between the competing claimants. Edward was in favour of John Balliol, whom he thought would become England's puppet, but John refused to obey Edward. In 1296, England invaded Scotland and thus began the Wars of Scottish Independence, which lasted for sixty years. William Wallace was an important figure in this period in history. There is a monument on another hill of William Wallace, which can be seen from the Castle. The most important battle of William Wallace as the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Robert Bruce was another key figure in this period in history. There is also a statue of Robert Bruce in the castle grounds. The important battle of Robert Bruce was the Battle of Bannockburn.
Most of the present buildings in the Castle were constructed by the Stuart kings James IV, James V, and James VI. During James IV' reign, the king kept a full Renaissance court, including alchemists. His greatest architectural project was in Stirling, including the Great Hall and the Forework. John Damian attempted a human-powered flight around 1509 during this time from the castle walls. James IV also kept an alchemist called Caldwell who was in charge of quinta essencia, the fifth element.
When James IV died at the Battle of Flodden, James V expanded his father's building program. He finished the centrepiece of the Castle, the Royal Palace, with the assistance of masons brought from France. When he died, his widow Mary of Guise, continued the project. His daughter Mary Queen of Scots was crowned in the chapel royal in 1543 but the country was ruled by the Queen Regent Mary of Guise. Mary Queen of Scots returned to Scotland from France in 1561. Mary Queen of Scots married Henry Stuart in 1565. Mary was traveling from Stirling when she was abducted by the Earl of Bothwell and eventually she fled to England.
The son of Mary Queen of Scots was crowned king. The king used Stirling as his base while the supporters of Mary used Edinburgh as their base. The supporters of the Queen tried to take Stirling in 1571 Castle but failed in doing so.
When James VI became James I of England, Stirling Castle was no longer used as a royal residence. Instead, it became a prison for persons of rank and a military centre.
The Hunt of the Unicorn, or the Unicorn Tapestries, is a series of seven tapestries dating from between 1495 and 1505. They are now in the Cloisters in New York. They show noblemen hunting a unicorn. The tapestries were probably made in the Netherlands and depict a common theme in late medieval and early modern literature and art. The tapestries were probably commissioned by Anne of Brittany to celebrate her marriage to Louis XII, King of France.
The pagan interpretation of the theme focuses on the medieval lore of beguiled lovers while Christian interpretation focuses on the unicorn as a symbol of the Passion of Christ. The original myth about the unicorn states that the unicorn can only be tamed by a virgin; Christian writers transferred this myth into an allegory for Christ's relationship with the Virgin Mary.
The tapestries were originally owned by a family in France. John Rockefeller bought them in 1922 and later donated them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1937. In 2002, the Tapestry Studio at West Dean College started working on recreating the tapestries. The tapestries are displayed in the Queen's Presence Chamber at Stirling Castle. The last piece of the tapestries is expected to be finished in 2014. There are three workers working on the tapestries and one of them is in Stirling Castle.
