Author: Stuart Reid
Illustrator: Graham Turner

About this book
With the exception of the key royal sites, such as Stirling and Edinburgh, few Scottish castles were located at strategic points, or were intended to house garrisons required to defend or subjugate towns. Instead they were primarily fortified dwelling houses, erected in an environment of weak Royal authority and endemic feuding between rival clans and groups, in both Highland and Lowland areas. Although some enceinte castles were developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, most defensive construction focused on the tower house, a distinctive vernacular style of Scottish fortification. This book examines the design, development, and purpose of these quintessentially Scottish buildings, and also covers larger sites such as Urquhart and Blackness.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology
• Design and development
• Construction
• Principles of defence
• Tour of a castle: Urquhart
• Everyday life in the castles and tower houses
• The castles and tower houses at war
• The fate of the castles and towers
• Index

Paperback; March 2006; 64 pages; ISBN: 9781841769622