A-Z Challenge 2012 - B
Bamburgh’s Pink Lady
Bamburgh Castle stands on a massive rock on Northumberland’s North Sea coast.
Bamburgh Castle (Nesfield) |
The castle site may have been a prehistoric settlement but
the first reference to a castle was in AD 547. Built by the Normans,
besieged unsuccessfully by William II in 1095, targeted by the Scots, Bamburgh Castle was the first English castle to
be defeated by artillery during the Wars of the Roses in 1464.
The Forster family had been governors of the castle for 400
years before the Crown granted them ownership. In 1700 Sir William Forster died
bankrupt and the castle was sold to the Bishop of Durham. During the 18 and 19th
centuries various owners undertook restoration of the castle. It was the
wealthy Victorian industrialist, William Armstrong, who is credited with
bringing the castle to how we see it today.
Bamburgh Castle (Bowman) |
But what of Bamburgh’s Pink Lady?
We are told that the father of a Northumbrian princess not approving
of the boy she loved banished him overseas for seven years. Forbidden to exchange
messages with her love the girl became more and more depressed. Finally the
king told his daughter that the boy had married someone else. To cheer his
daughter up after this news the king ordered the castle seamstress to make the
princess a fine dress in her favourite colour – pink.
Still distraught, the girl climbed to the highest
battlements and flung herself to her death on the rocks below – wearing that
pink dress.
Her lover returned from exile, unmarried and was heartbroken
by the lost of his love. What happened to him no one knows.
Another legend linked to Bamburgh Castle is that of the toad-queen said to live in a cave beneath the castle. Supposedly the doors to the cave open very seventh Christmas Eve. The toad-queen will not return to her normal shape until some hero arrives…..
The Spindlestone |
The queen was changed into that toad-queen, waiting for some hero to unsheathe the Childe of Wynde’s sword three times, to blow Childe’s horn three times and finally to kiss the toad.
Attributions
- Bamburgh Castle; Oil on canvas date unknown; William Andrews Nesfield; public domain.
- Bamburgh Castle; author Glen Bowman; Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License
- The Spindlestone (2007) at Spindlestone Heughs as included in the legend of the Laidley Worm; author Wayne Phillips; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License
26 comments:
I can understand the wandering ghosts but where do the other tales come from? What generates such fantastic stories? I believe there is always some grain of truth to these stories, but most times what it might be eludes me.
Timely post, Bob. I used Bamburgh as part of the settings in one of my novels (but disguised it as Bramham).
I always figured it as a spectacular piece of architecture.
Hi Bob .. great historical post - I visited Bamburgh many years ago - and loved the setting etc .. great pictures with myth and legend for us to mull over ..
It's a great castle ...
I've linked your A - to my B and I'll do similarly tomorrow .. we haven't snapped yet!
Love it - thanks .. cheers Hilary
Anna - apparently there is an old English fairy story about the Laidl(e)y Worm; it was too long to include so I just made the link because it connected with Bamburgh (allegedly).
Hi, I loved it! I really get into stories about the past, especially those that originated in England or the British Isles.
Thanks for the interesting read.
Ruby
I love the first picture especially.
Fascinating again! A castle I have been to.
Thanks for dropping by mine.
Very informative. Thanks for a great post that has me curious to learn more. :)
Sad and terrifying tales. Love the history behind them all!
Hi Bob
I came over from Hilary's, she said you were doing castles. I love them, have never seen one, but I'm always curious. Amazing what stories people invented about their royalty.
Nancy
Great pictures especially the first one. I love castles so your theme is perfect for a lover of history like myself! Such tragic, fantastic tales.
I'm your newest follower! I'm looking forward to your other posts throughout the challenge :)
Stopping by from A to Z blog challenge. I love castles! There's one in Napa that my fiance and I visited. It was amazing. But I'm sure it's not like the one you posted. Thanks for sharing this great post.
A Ladybug's Life
Sonnia
I can't say I'm too surprised nobody has kissed the toad-queen, she sounds downright mean!
I am fascinated by castles so enjoyed this! Checking in from the A to Z challenge.
This is a castle that I have visited though I never saw any pink ladies or slimy toad Queens. Must have been looking in the wrong direction, right?
How much fantasy and expression an artist can put in a painting.
Greetings,
Filip
Love it. Haunted castles...or anything haunted is just my thing. This is a great post.
The Pink Lady - how sad. Such fascinating tales associated with castles. That first photo is haunting - a fantasy castle.
I came over here from Hilary's because like so many others I'm fascinated by castles, probably because they look so "romantic" and there are so many "tales" associated with them.
Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror & Other Memoirs
I'll have to add Bamburgh to my list of sites I'd like to visit someday. It may be some time before I dare dream of taking such a journey, but the pictures are nice to look at in the meantime.
Loved the castle stories. Signed up to follow.
What an attractive castle! I never heard of this one before, though. Thanks for sharing the history on this building. It would be cool to be able to visit the place :)
~Nicole
Blog: The Madlab Post
@MadlabPost on Twitter
Hi Bob! This is such a wonderful post; I learned so much. Sad about the interfering father who blew it all to heck for the princess and her man.
Kathy M.
Hi Bob, first time visitor. Castles are always cool. One of these days we'll take the fam to Europe and visit some castle.
What a great place! I just signed on to the A-Z challenge, nearly at the last minute, but I'm trying to visit every blog at least once.
OH SO COOL! I love castles and this one is fascinating!!! Beautiful pictures too! Love it!
Very informative and also picturesque. I once had a dream I owned a castle much like this, only it was made from the skulls of dwarfs. Though, I didn't kill them, all were natural causes. I was trying desperately to evict a dragon,I recall, it wouldn't clean the toilet we shared. It was a time share castle, our schedules were mixed up. I'd rather not explain it. Nice post!
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