Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/153

 CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE 133 FIRST PERIOD Prometheus on the rock with the vultures. Every window tells its own story, which was doubtless suggested by the Earl himself, who is known by the sobriquet of the Philosopher. Among the heraldic emblems are the Maxwell saltier and double-headed eagle, with the Nithsdale crest a stag with a holly bush, and the initials of the Earl and his wife, Elizabeth Beaumont. The panel over the outer entrance gateway contains the Nithsdale, Maxwell, and Royal Arms, and is evidently an insertion. FIG. 105. Caerlaverock Castle. Plan of First Floor. The grouping and design of the windows and doorways alternating along the ground floor is very beautiful, and with the splendid doorway leading into the banqueting-hall (Fig. 104), right opposite the entrance- passage, entitles this to rank as one of the finest and richest specimens of early Renaissance in Scotland. Unfortunately, of the banqueting-hall only the basement floor now exists. Fig. 107 shows one of the fireplaces in the eastern wing, the others being of a corresponding character. These seventeenth-century buildings are all lighted from the outside as well as from the courtyard, the curtain wall on the east side, which is entire to the top, having been slapped and partly rebuilt. The south