Research into the ancient strongholds of the Scottish nobility is helping to redefine the evolution of our national game.
The traditional perspective of football games played before the nineteenth century was that of a rough, even violent game involving large numbers. Certainly this type of game was common place but new research is starting to cast light on more skilful forms of football which centred on the ball greens of the Scottish elite.
Games were commonly played at or near castles across Scotland quite often on designated greens. The game was widely played by the Scottish nobility as well as the lower orders. Even the Stewart kings were known to have played football; the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland for example ordered footballs for King James IV in 1497.
Beyond the royal castles and palaces, football games are known to have been played at many other locations including Huntly Castle, Glamis Castle and Drumlanrig Castle. At Edzell Castle, near Brechin, the game was played within a walled area which limited the number of players.
Famously, Mary Queen of Scots watched 20 of her Scottish retinue play in a small sided match in 1568 which lasted 2 hours. The game was noted for being a skilful contest with a lack of foul play due to the smallness of the ball. Incredibly a football exists from the royal court of Scotland, dating from the 1540s, and can be seen on display at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum.
Not all of the courtly games were noted for skill, however. Some could be bad tempered affairs. In the early 1580s an angry exchange on the football field between the 5th Earl of Bothwell and the Master of Marischal ended up in a serious quarrel. It took the intervention of King James VI to prevent the noblemen from settling their differences through a duel!
