Medieval Warfare Training: Going to Castles with Boys

    We have been to Edinburgh four different times over our two trips to Scotland, but this was the first time that we visited the castle.  It sits up on the top of black crags of Castle Hill.  It was both a royal residence and a military stronghold.  We toured the medieval and WWII prisons, participated in a demonstration of medieval warfare as well as seeing the crown jewels.

    I was struck today at how much time we have spent in Scotland over the last month looking at different kinds of swords, pikes, and other weapons while hearing/reading about how, when and why they were used.  I'll just say that Scotland has had a rough history.
   
                        

Edinburgh Castle

St. Margaret's Chapel - The oldest part of the castle and the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh

Inside the chapel

Inside the Great Hall of the Castle

Quite a LARGE weapons display

     James IV set out to Flodden in 1513 and these years were the era of fighting with pikes in Schiltrons.  Schiltrons were when the warriors formed a reinforced circular formation that was difficult to penetrate.  The pikes were held at differing heights and were meant to defend the person in front of them as well as behind them.

This was the man who did the demonstration of the Schiltron.

His demonstration lasted more than an hour.

The Schiltron consisted of the warriors using their pikes for defense.

At the end of the demonstration, he invited the audience to participate.  The boys were thrilled to participate in the drills.  Josh was pulled out of the crowd by the leader to demonstrate his expert yelling and "scaring the horses" skills.

Yes, there really are men in kilts playing bagpipes on the street in Scotland.

These folks had a couple different owls and a falcon displayed.