Stirling Castle (17)
It's to be hoped that the blue door is kept locked!

Many famous historical events have taken place here at Stirling Castle, and while I have neither the time nor the space to try to cover them all, one in particular stands out!  The murder of William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale in 1452.

The rise of the Douglases began when 'The Good' Sir James Douglas swore allegiance to Robert the Bruce in 1306.  His nephew William, Lord of Douglas was created 1st Earl of Douglas in 1358 and from then on, advantageous marriages, including that of the 2nd Earl to Princess Isabel, daughter to King Robert II continued to increase their power and influence.  By the middle of the 15th century, no one else in Scotland could rival Douglas power - including the king, a potentially dangerous situation that was exacerbated in 1440 by the murder of William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas and his younger brother, at the Black Dinner in Edinburgh Castle.

In 1450 the Earl of Douglas (and his party of 100) was issued with a safe conduct to pass through England on his way to visit Rome.  During his absence, King James II attacked the lands of the Douglas in retaliation for Douglas offences against neighbouring lords.  After the earl's return, although there was an outward truce, relations continued to be strained between the king's party and that of the Douglas.  In February 1452, the earl was summonsed to attend the King at Stirling.  There was plenty of reason for suspicion in a mandate of this nature, but, as if to allay it, a safe conduct was provided for Douglas, given under the King's hand in council.

On his arrival at Stirling, King James demanded the dissolution of a league into which Douglas had entered with Alexander Lindsay, the &quot;Tiger&quot; Earl of Crawford, and John of Islay.  Upon Douglas's refusal, the king stabbed him as did several of the king's supporters, and Sir Patrick Gray is said to have &quot;struck out his brains with a pole ax&quot;, following which his body was thrown out of a window.

The connection between that story and the photograph above is that the corpse of William, 8th Earl of Douglas, landed in the garden to the left of the King's Old Building, which is known to this day as the Douglas Garden.
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