Tour Scotland video of Balvenie Castle, a ruined castle near Dufftown in the Moray region. Originally known as Mortlach, it was built in the 12th century by a branch of the powerful Comyn family, the Black Comyns, and extended and altered in the 15th and 16th centuries. The castle fell out of use in the early 14th century when the Comyns were reduced by Robert the Bruce. At some point in the 14th century the castle and the lordship of Balvenie passed into the earldom of Douglas known as the Black Douglases. In 1440, William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas was murdered by King James II of Scotland, and the elderly James the Gross, possibly complicit to the murder, became the 7th earl. James immediately provided the lordship of Balvenie with its castle to his youngest son, John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie. The Battle of Arkinholm in May 1455 saw the defeat of this, the main Douglas line by an army loyal to King James II. All of their lands and titles were forfeited to the Crown, including Balvenie Castle. King James divided up the estates among his supporters, which included the Douglas Earl of Angus and provided Balvenie Castle to Sir John Stewart, who later became the first Earl of Atholl. Balvenie Castle served as a garrison during the Jacobite rebellion. It was abandoned in 1720s but was briefly garrisoned by Government troops in 1746.
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