Castle Sween, also known as Caisteal Suibhne, and Caistéal Suibhne, is located on the eastern shore of

Loch Sween ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...

, in Knapdale, south of the forestry village of Achnamara on the west coast of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Castle Sween is thought to be one of the earliest stone castles built in Scotland, having been built in the late 11th century. The castle's towers were later additions to wooden structures which have since vanished.

History

Castle Sween is the oldest stone castle in Scotland, built in the late 11th century by Suibhne, son of Hugh Anrahan, brother of the king of Ulster and High King of Ireland, from whom it takes its name Suibhne. Ewart; Triscott; Holmes et al. (1996) p. 518; MacPhee, Kathleen, ''Somerled, Hammer of the Norse'' (2004), p. 67. As late as the thirteenth century, the MacSweens possessed the surrounding lands of Knapdale. However, by the second half of the century, these territories passed into the hands of the Stewart/Menteith family. In 1310,

Edward II, King of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

, granted John MacSween, and his brothers, the MacSweens' ancestral lands of Knapdale, provided that they oust

John Menteith Sir John Menteith of Ruskie and Knapdale (c. 1275 – c. 1329) was a Scottish nobleman during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is known for his capture of Sir William Wallace in 1305 and later joined with King Robert I of Scotland and rece ...

. It is possible that MacSween, and his claim to his family's lost Scottish homeland, may be the subject of the Gaelic poem ''Dál chabhlaigh ar Chaistéal Suibhne''. If so, this poem may well refer to an expedition by MacSween to retake Castle Sween in about 1310. In 1323, after the death of John Menteith, the Lordship of Arran and Knapdale passed to his son and grandson. In 1376, half of Knapdale, which included the castle, passed into the possession of John MacDonald I, Lord of the Isles, by a grant from his father-in-law, Robert II, King of Scotland. During the MacDonalds' century and a half of holding the castle, the castellans were first MacNeils and later MacMillans. The

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th centur ...

manuscript known as '' The Book of the Dean of Lismore'' includes the lament of Aithbhreac Inghean Coirceadal (f. 1460), which remains a highly important poem in

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literature composed in the Scottish Gaelic language and in the Gàidhealtachd communities where it is and has been spoken. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, along with Iri ...

. Aithbhreac, after being widowed, composed a lament addressed to the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

of her late husband, a

Tacksman A tacksman ( gd, Fear-Taic, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a yea ...

of Clan MacNeil and former constable of Castle Sween. In 1490, Castle Sween was granted to

Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll (c. 1433 – 10 May 1493) was a medieval Scottish nobleman, peer, and politician. He was the son of Archibald Campbell, Master of Campbell and Elizabeth Somerville, daughter of John Somerville, 3rd Lord S ...

, by James IV, King of Scotland.http://www.ccsna.org/castles/sween.html Retrieved on June 19, 2007 In 1647, during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bi ...

, Castle Sween was attacked and burnt by Alasdair MacColla and his Irish Confederate followers. In 1933, the castle was put in the care of the Historic Building and Monuments Directorate (HBMD). Currently Castle Sween is under the protection of

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

Conservation

A 2018 report from

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

noted that Castle Sween is at "very high risk" of

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwar ...

due to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

In popular culture

Castle Sween was featured in the 2021

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz cons ...

TV series '' Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip With Sam and Graham'' (from '' Outlander'') episode 7 "Clans and Tartans".

Citations

References

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External links

* {{Portal bar, Scotland Castles in Argyll and Bute Clan MacNeil Historic Scotland properties in Argyll and Bute Knapdale Listed castles in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Argyll and Bute