Clunie Castle
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- Date:
- 1485
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Clunie Castle
Clunie Castle stands on an island in the Loch of Clunie around 5 miles west of Blairgowrie. The buildings seen there now are the ruins of a late 15th century tower house. At that time the land was owned by the See of Dunkeld, and Bishop Brown ( 1485 – 1514) had the castle built as a quiet retreat.
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This building may have replaced an earlier stronghold on the west side of the loch, believed to have been the summer palace of King Kenneth McAlpin (843 – 859).
In 1296 King Edward I is said to have spent a night at Clunie Castle. James Crichton, who became known as the Admirable Crichton, is said to have been born in Clunie Castle in 1560. His father Sir Robert Crichton of Elliock in Dumfriesshire,Lord Advocate of Scotland, had been granted the castle by the Bishop of Dunkeld who was a Crichton.
James Crichton was educated at the University of St Andrews between the ages of ten and fourteen, during which time he completed requirements for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. It was clear from the earliest days that James was an unusually gifted prodigy, which may have been due to a gift for perfect recall.
By the age of 19 he was fluent in many languages. He then continued his education in Paris at the College de Navarre. He was also an accomplished horseman, fencer, musician, orator and debater.
It was while in Paris that he challenged French professors to ask him any question on any science or liberal arts subject in Arabic, Dutch, English, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Slavonic, Spanish or Syriac.Fifty of the city’s greatest scholars posed questions and at the end of the day he was described as ‘ L’Admirable Crichton’ which is how his title arose.
In 1582 James Crichton entered the service of the Duke of Mantua and became tutor to the Duke’s son Vincenzo Gonzaga, who became jealous of James Crichton. This jealousy led to Crichton’s death in Mantua aged only 21. In Mantua on 3 July 1582 he was attacked in the street by a gang of masked ruffians. He skillfully dispersed his assailants and disarmed their leader who begged for his life, exclaiming, ‘ I am your pupil, the Prince’. Crichton immediately fell on his knees, and presenting his sword to the Prince, apologised for having raised it against him. Gonzaga plunged the weapon into Crichton’s heart.
Maurice Fleming writes about both Clunie Castle and the Admirable Crichton in his book ‘ The Ghost o’ Mause’.