What types of castles are in Scotland?
There are many types of castes in Scotland. The majority were built along the coast as protection from Jackobite invasions and civil uprisings. In the last 300 years castles have continued to be built, however they tend to be more like large homes or estates, rather than a fortress for defence. Glamis Castle was the home to the Queen Mother before her death a couple years ago; Balmoral Castle is the official hunting retreat of HRH The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (consort to the Queen), the Palace of Holyroodhouse is the Royal family's official residence in Scotland. A castle is merely a fortified residence to protect a noble or a noble domain. Most castles have apartments to house the noble when he / she is in residence, but the far larger function is to protect the king, queen, prince, royal duke (children of the monarch), duke, marquis, earl, or baron. Kings ruled a kingdom, Dukes ruled a Duchy, Marquis a Marquisette, Earls an Earldom, Counts a county and Barons ruled a barony. The Royal Duchy is the fund that pays the monarch and it is comprised mainly of land and stock holdings. Lords and Knights have titles in name only, which comes with no land or seat in the House of Lords on the Privy Council (advisors to the monarch – they must be part of the aristocracy and will be holders of heraldry titles, means those passed on from generation to generation). Judges carry the title lord, but that title is only for life and will not transfer to their heirs. HRH Queen Elizabeth II is the richest woman in the world, as her personal collection of assets makes her a billionaire. I love visiting castles and they are full of mystery, intrigue, history, and romance (in a classical sense).
What books are you currently reading?
I am reading a lot of books at the moment. Because I am studying law the majority of the books I read are related to law. I have been reading Gaius' Institutes which was originally written by the jurist named Gaius in ancient Rome, circa 170 A.D. I have also been reading Justinian's Institutes which was the first book ever written for law students. Emperor Justinian was the last great leader of Rome and tried to recreate greatness by codifying law (that means taking decisions of judges and opinions of jurists and making those concepts and ideas into statute). I have also been reading a book called Contract Law in Scotland by Hector MacQueen, who is considered one of the greatest living legal minds in all of Scotland (he is also one of my professors). I am also reading a book on Scottish family law by Elaine Sutherland and then a book on the Scottish legal system. I am working on learning French and for fun I have been trying to read some books in French, though these tend to be geared for little kids, I still find them challenging. The other book I have been reading is the Andre Agassi autobiography called Open, it is a good read and easy to read at night when your mind is tired and focusing on Law or French is not possible.
Have you ever been in a haunted house?
I have never been in a haunted house, or at least I did not know if I was in a haunted house or not. I have taken a ghost tour along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and while I wasn’t scared, there definitely were places we were taken on the tour where I would not want to go alone. One such place was the chambers underneath the Royal Mile and South Bridge, where many poor people lived and worked during the medieval period. When the Black Plague hit Edinburgh and the bodies were piling up, the city built on top of the old city, fearing that it was a curse – we all know it was the bubonic bacteria. The worst example of the bubonic plague was in Mary King's Close, believed to be the last badly infected location of the Old Town. In a desperate measure to reduce contamination over 300 plague victims were entombed alive when the close was bricked up until the plague had passed. All perished. Knowing the history, made visiting the city under the city quite scary to say the least – the tour guides helped ensure the history was very vivid in our minds. There are numerous reports of haunting in the closes along the Royal Mile – are they really haunted? Who knows?
