G A STL E of AUCH1ND0WN. 
T 
ft E barony of Auchtndaum, in the parifh of Martlach *, is fituated at the entrance of the interior 
lan an< ^ more hilly part of Banffshire , upon the river Fiddicb , above its junction with the Did- 
W i" e parates it from the lordfhip of Balveny ; and contains feme valuable lands. The caftle 
- er ^ cor >fpicuous and lofty fituation ; placed on the fummit of a conical rocky mount, on the 
f. I( ‘ e of the river, near to the entrance of the foreft of Glenfidich , and almoft oppofite to that 
thg ai ^ a blc pafs the Glacis of the Ballach ; it is acceflible on one fide only ; and wed calculated for 
and COrnmanc * as well as the protedtion of all that part of the country. T. he caftle is walled round, 
of -*°ut the wall a deep ditch and mafly rampart encircles the top of the hill j but the principal part 
in e 1S rerr >arkable fortrefs is a very ftrong vaulted tower of three ftories high ; the central apart- 
iaft e w ^' c h is fpacious, and well finifhed in an admirable gothic ftile, feveral pairs of fluted pi- 
ra ifed in freeftone, are ipread out in branches above their capitals, and form a well-imagined 
Anient to the arched roof ; which gives it much the appearance of a gothic church. ! he 
rn ar( °' Vs ’ as is ufual in fuch buildings, are high and narrow on the outfide ; but open in a Hoping 
} 0r ' ler as they pafs through the wall, which is of an extraordinary thicknefs ; and having we!l- 
^ ^ i^ats of hewn ftone projecting from the fldes, they form a kind of fmall apartments adjoin- 
ha ps S reat hall, where half a dozen inferior vaflals or attendants might dine in each, who per- 
'1'he p the tnilitary etiquette of chieftary, could not be permitted to fit at the principal table. 
de nc Cllef s of thofc turbulent times, actuated by a fpecious policy, generally reared their chief refi- 
Tjj^ w here the largeft trails of fertile land molt readily adminiftered the abundant harveft. 
V5f t ( Calt lcs of courfe became in fome meafure the granaries of the adjacent diftridls. I his pro- 
th c f fj Ccu red one great means of liberally entertaining their military vaflals ; and it is probable that 
Co„ rat * Ve board and caroufal, which was too often the deluflve premium of the intrepidity and 
^ e wn in maintaining the intereft of their chiefs, while they flimulated the fpirit of warlike 
Con nt r ' ^tight be greatly inftrumental in fomenting thofe feuds which fo often laid wafte the 
e *pl 
ft'he 
On fuch occnfions the Bards “ were wont to kindle the wild heroic fire, by finging the 
° Its °f arms, at the feaft in the halls of joy.” 
1(1 t} ie e f Ca ^' e of -Auchindmn, with feveral others in thofe territories, are faid to have been built 
' Q nijb i 
i 
&or,:n , eve nth century, as fortrefles to protect the country from the depredations of the Norfc and 
Pear s ” ’ nvader s: but from the ftile of building and fpecies of mafonry which it now exhibits, it ap- 
% t 4' 0re P r °bable that it was eredted in the end of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth 
at that' • f ° r in 1519 it firft rifes into fome importance in the hiftory of Scotland. The nation was 
who 1 
UtTle liable to be dreadfully harrafled by the feuds of the nobles, and by frequent civil wars 
:ifl ’ "“ Ol °olc deep into the derivation of names from the ancient Gaelic, which probably was the original language of this 
h ' CK e ntit| Mortlai * is faid to have been fo called from Mari-hgh, i. e. “ large valley s” being cnclofed by a mountainous region, 
•d^-trej, CS ,he more level and arable part to that denomination. The Fiddxb had received its name from the great number of 
dt v ">ody o at are f r re «l over the tides of a long winding glen through which it runs : thence poetically chmaftetixed, Fh-Jildb, 
J : nirn -" The other rivulet, The Dull™, had, in the fame manner, received its dilHnguifhing appellation from the fud- 
* rv ed t n '°‘ n mountains, which by their rapidity, and the obftrudtions met with in its winding channel, are fo frequently 
et °w its banks, and render it impaffable, incurring the epithet of Duiln-av>n> tlie place of floods. 
M 2 
which ' 
