Architecture of Scotland in the Middle Ages

After the departure of the Romans in the fifth century, there is evidence of the building of a series of smaller "nucleated" constructions sometimes utilizing major geographical features, as at Dunadd and Dumbarton.

Medieval vernacular architecture utilised local building materials, including cruck constructed houses, turf walls, and clay, with a heavy reliance on stone.

From the early fifteenth century, the introduction of Renaissance styles included the selective use of Romanesque forms in church architecture, as in the nave of Dunkeld Cathedral.

[10] After the departure of the Romans in the third century, there is evidence of the reoccupation of Iron Age forts and of the building of a series of smaller "nucleated" constructions,[11] sometimes utilising major geographical features, as at Dunadd and Dumbarton.

[14] From the twelfth century, burghs, towns that were granted certain legal privileges from the Crown, developed, particularly on the east coast with distinctive urban building patterns.

[17] The introduction of Christianity into Scotland from Ireland from the sixth century led to the construction of basic masonry-built churches, beginning on the west coast and islands.

[18] After the eleventh century, as masonry techniques advanced, ashlar blocks became more rectangular, resulting in structurally more stable walls that could incorporate more refined architectural moulding and detailing that can be seen in corbelling, buttressing, lintels and arching.

[20] The arrival of the new monastic orders in Scotland from the twelfth century led to a boom in ecclesiastical building using English and continental forms, including abbeys at Kelso, Holyrood, Jedburgh and St Andrews.

French master-mason John Morrow was employed at the building of Glasgow Cathedral and the rebuilding of Melrose Abbey, both considered fine examples of Gothic architecture.

[19] The carvings at Rosslyn Chapel, created in the mid-fifteenth century, elaborately depicting the progression of the seven deadly sins, are considered some of the finest in the Gothic style.

[19] The impact of the Renaissance on ecclesiastical architecture can be seen in the re-adoption of low-massive church building with round arches and pillars, in contrast to the Gothic perpendicular style that was particularly dominant in England in the late Medieval era.

It can be seen in the nave of Dunkeld Cathedral, begun in 1406, the facade of St Mary's, Haddington from the 1460s and in the chapel of Bishop Elphinstone's Kings College, Aberdeen (1500–09).

[24] The early sixteenth century saw crown steeples built on churches with royal connections, symbolising imperial monarchy, as at St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh.

[40] They were typically a tall, square, stone-built, crenelated building; often also surrounded by a barmkin or bawn, a walled courtyard designed to hold valuable animals securely, but not necessarily intended for serious defence.

[41][42] They were built extensively on both sides of the border with England, and James IV's forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles in 1494 led to an immediate burst of tower building across the region.

Linlithgow was first constructed under James I, under the direction of master of work John de Waltoun, and was referred to as a palace, apparently the first use of this term in the country, from 1429.