Blackness Castle
SCOTLAND

Blackness Castle was built by Sir George Crichton, who promised King James II that he would build a ship that the English could not sink.  Constructed on the edge of the Firth of Forth, the castle has the appearance of a ship.  Blackness began in 1440; that structure, burned in 1481 and later restored, was expanded in the 1540’s.  The keep was strengthened in 1553, and further fortifications were added in the 17^th century.  Besieged in the 1650’s, Blackness was restored in 1660.  The painting is based on a 2005 view.

Pictured

Blackness Castle  9" x 12" oil

An excerpt from the book Scotland:  Castles and Clans the Legends.

From:

 Below and Above

A Legend of Blackness Castle

. . .  As if displaced by the setting sun, the water inches its way up the shore, over the rocks and spills through the grate, splashing on our skin and covering our bare feet.  Uninvited, it fills the bottom of the cell.  Our bodies attempt to warm themselves, but we shiver with cold.  Our only thoughts are the morning sun, and the scant warmth those few rays will provide.  This is the life below. . .

Told from the perspective