OUR StOrieS
Any good or bad family has stories, so let us tell you some of your ancestors antics. Some of these have entered state folklore as well as some taking on the epics of mythology. So you judge ....
Mons Meg
The story of the medieval cannon that rests on the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle has a Clan connection, so now pay attention as I retell the tale ...
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Mons Meg is a siege weapon or its correct title is a bombard.
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A number of tales exist in its construction. The most logical was it was built in Belgium at the request of the MacLellans' as vengeance on the Douglases of Threave after the murder of Lord Patrick MacLellan, as he would not betray his king.
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However in Clan mythology it is told the cannon of iron staves was built in the local area by a talented blacksmith for the family. More to come on that.
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The Mons Meg was presented to King James II of Scotland when he arrived to invest Threave Castle by the MacLellans of Kirkcubright. The first charge was a peck of gunpowder and a granite ball weighing as much as a Galloway cow. When fired at Threave Castle tradition states in the ball's flight it took off the hand of Lady Margaret de Douglas as she sat at table, with her husband the Lord Douglas,and in the task of raising her wine goblet to her lips.
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