Muness Castle
Muness Castle….
"Listen you to know this building
Who began
Laurence Bruce he was
That worthy man
Who earnestly his heirs and offspring prays
To help and not to hurt this work always."
This is a stone inscription above the door at Muness Castle on the island of Unst, Shetland….. a place you must go and see when travelling.
Lawrence Bruce of Perthshire had arrived ( yes, related to ‘you know who’). He had been given the position of tax collector on the islands and reported back to his nephew. A ruthless man, it’s thought that he arrived on the small island of Unst with as many as thirty men…… they were ruthless in squeezing the population for revenues. Starvation resulted in rebellion.
After the annexation of Shetland to Scotland in 1469, powerful and wealthy Scottish landowners began to migrate north in search of new lands and riches. The period of the Stewart Earls is perhaps one of the most unpleasant periods in Shetland and Orkney history, and it did little to endear native islanders towards their new ruler, Scotland.
The Stewart Earls – ‘Patie’ (Patrick) in particular – are quite possibly the most infamous figures and along with Lawrence are known as villains ( even today) – in Shetland’s history, and without a doubt the most hated. Tyrannical rulers, they brought pain and suffering to those they were supposed to serve.
On acquiring the lands of Orkney and Shetland, King James I was quick to begin giving out portions of it to friends and relatives. These incomers brought many changes to a Shetland that had, until recently, been culturally and legally affiliated with the Old Norse way of doing things.
Trouble was brewing!
( I write these pieces in the hope that you will travel, research and enjoy our past)