Built for the royal dwelling1,
In Scotland, far beyond compare,
Linlithgow is excelling."
The Fountain in the Quadrangle of
Linlithgow Palace.
So wrote Sir Walter Scott, an opinion which can be endorsed2 to-day, enough of the palace remaining, ruined though it is, to show what a stately and dignified3 structure it was in its days of greatness. The palace, standing4 on some rising ground jutting5 into a beautiful lake, is square in construction, having towers at the corners. The original entrance was on the eastern side, through a gateway6 which was protected by a drawbridge. Inside this gateway is a mutilated statue, thought to represent Pope Julius II., who gave James IV. his sword, still to be seen among the regalia in Edinburgh Castle. A ruined fountain stands in the centre of the courtyard, which once resounded7 with all the gaiety of the Stuart Court. The western side, containing the room where Queen Mary was born, is the oldest, while the northern side is the most recent, being rebuilt by James VI.
[pg 88]
Apparently8 there was a castle or royal manor-house at Linlithgow from the time of David I., who granted the skins of the rams9, sheep, and lambs, who died there, to his foundation abbey of Holyrood.
When Edward I. was holding sway over Scotland, he spent a considerable time at Linlithgow, turning it into a real fortress10. Builders, masons, and carpenters were ordered from England, who threw up stockades11, enclosing the parish church within the walls. It remained in English hands until 1314, when it was taken by a familiar strategy. A farmer, named Binnock, who was in the custom of bringing hay to the garrison12, determined13 to capture the castle, one of the last to submit to the conquering Scots. One morning he drove up as usual to the castle gate, stopping his cart immediately under the portcullis, which was raised to admit him. Cutting the yoke14 which fastened his horses, so that the cart could not be shifted nor the portcullis lowered, Binnock sprang upon the unsuspecting porter and killed him. The hay in the cart covered some armed men who leapt out, being joined by others concealed15 near the gateway. The garrison was completely surprised, and were all put to the sword. Binnock was rewarded by a grant of land. Bruce destroyed the castle, following his usual policy, but it must have been rebuilt some time during the reign16 of his son.
The palace which now remains17 is entirely18 a Stuart building, the older castle and part of the church having been burnt down the year that James I. returned to his native country after his long captivity19. Great rebuilding took place in his reign, and, indeed, he is considered the main builder, the later monarchs20 only adding to and adorning21 portions of his scheme. It was in this new [pg 89] palace that Henry VI. of England, with Margaret of Anjou, and Edward Prince of Wales, stayed when the triumph of the Yorkists had driven them from England.
James IV., under whom Scotland enjoyed a rare interval22 of prosperity, delighted in his beautiful palace of Linlithgow, where he indulged in all the manly23 sports of the time. Like his contemporary, Henry VIII., he revelled24 in tournaments, to which he invited all the lords to come and tilt25 with him, making of Linlithgow another Hampton Court, where great merry-making took place. Under his wise rule, Scotland was at peace and prosperous, the Court maintained a higher level of refinement26 and luxury, and science and art were encouraged. Unfortunately, James's chivalrous27 and rash temperament28 led him into war with England and the disaster at Flodden Field. Before starting on the expedition, a council was held at Linlithgow, after which the King attended evensong in the church. According to the story described by eye-witnesses, a strange man, dressed in a blue robe belted with a linen29 strap30, with reddish hair hanging to his shoulders, pushed his way up to where the King was kneeling. Addressing him with slight reverence31, the man warned the King against proceeding32 to battle, saying, "Sir King, my mother has sent me to you desiring you not to pass at this time where thou art purposed," saying it would bring disaster and shame, also warning him against visiting any woman on his journey. While the lords and everyone round were astonished and amazed at this apparition33, the man suddenly disappeared "like a blink of the sun." In spite of the fact that the superstition34 of the time credited the man with being St. John appearing upon earth, the [pg 90] King persisted in his undertaking35 to meet his death upon the battlefield, and to plunge36 Scotland into mourning for the flower of the land. Doubtless the man was an imposter, got up for the part, by those who wanted to dissuade37 the King.
A little room in the south-west corner of the palace is pointed38 out as Queen Margaret's Bower39, being said to be the room from which the King's English bride watched for the messengers bringing her news of her husband's fate.
When James V. became of age he also loved the palace, building the stately hall known as the Parliament Hall. He brought his French wife, Mary of Guise40, there, who said she had never seen a more princely residence. His only child, Mary Queen of Scots, was born in the palace, but he never saw her, for he was at Falkland Palace when the news of her birth was brought to him, dying of grief after the shameful41 defeat at Solway Moss42.
The infant Queen was declared by some to be extremely delicate, but Sir Ralph Sadler, the English Ambassador in Scotland, gave quite a different account. The Queen-Dowager took him into the room where her baby was lying, and showed him how healthy she was. He writes to Queen Elizabeth: "I assure Your Majesty43 it is as goodly a child as I have seen of her age, and as like to live, with the grace of God."
LINLITHGOW PALACE.
The Birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Though from very early times a royal manor-house, the existing building is purely44 the work of the Stuart Kings.
After the thrones were united, the palace, like so many others in Scotland, became neglected, but it received its final ruin in 1746, when General Hawley's soldiers quartered in the palace. They had been defeated at Falkirk by the Jacobites, and were retreating. In spite of remonstrances45 to the General, the soldiers [pg 91] were allowed to make great fires in the palace, which were so carelessly watched that the building caught fire, leaving it the ruin which it is to-day.
点击收听单词发音
1 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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2 endorsed | |
vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 );在(尤指支票的)背面签字;在(文件的)背面写评论;在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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3 dignified | |
a.可敬的,高贵的 | |
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4 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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5 jutting | |
v.(使)突出( jut的现在分词 );伸出;(从…)突出;高出 | |
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6 gateway | |
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法 | |
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7 resounded | |
v.(指声音等)回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 );产生回响;(指某处)回荡着声音 | |
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8 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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9 rams | |
n.公羊( ram的名词复数 );(R-)白羊(星)座;夯;攻城槌v.夯实(土等)( ram的第三人称单数 );猛撞;猛压;反复灌输 | |
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10 fortress | |
n.堡垒,防御工事 | |
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11 stockades | |
n.(防御用的)栅栏,围桩( stockade的名词复数 ) | |
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12 garrison | |
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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13 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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14 yoke | |
n.轭;支配;v.给...上轭,连接,使成配偶 | |
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15 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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16 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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17 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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18 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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19 captivity | |
n.囚禁;被俘;束缚 | |
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20 monarchs | |
君主,帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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21 adorning | |
修饰,装饰物 | |
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22 interval | |
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
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23 manly | |
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地 | |
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24 revelled | |
v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉 | |
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25 tilt | |
v.(使)倾侧;(使)倾斜;n.倾侧;倾斜 | |
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26 refinement | |
n.文雅;高尚;精美;精制;精炼 | |
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27 chivalrous | |
adj.武士精神的;对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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28 temperament | |
n.气质,性格,性情 | |
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29 linen | |
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的 | |
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30 strap | |
n.皮带,带子;v.用带扣住,束牢;用绷带包扎 | |
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31 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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32 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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33 apparition | |
n.幽灵,神奇的现象 | |
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34 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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35 undertaking | |
n.保证,许诺,事业 | |
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36 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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37 dissuade | |
v.劝阻,阻止 | |
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38 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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39 bower | |
n.凉亭,树荫下凉快之处;闺房;v.荫蔽 | |
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40 guise | |
n.外表,伪装的姿态 | |
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41 shameful | |
adj.可耻的,不道德的 | |
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42 moss | |
n.苔,藓,地衣 | |
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43 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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44 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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45 remonstrances | |
n.抱怨,抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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