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Knight Fever
Detailed research by forensic experts for BBC 2’s Cold Case series revealed lots of new information about the skeleton which was found in a lost royal chapel.
The programme attracted headlines all the way from South America to India. An expert team from the University of Dundee found that he spent much of his childhood in England or northern France. They also found that he ate a lot of sea fish – a common part of military rations.
These discoveries are possible thanks to techniques which identify the patterns of chemicals left in our bones by the things we eat and drink. It’s clever stuff, but uses well-established and reliable methods.
The programme went on to match radiocarbon and documentary evidence and suggested that the nobleman could have been Sir John de Strychley who was killed trying to hold the castle for Edward III of England. It’s a credible theory because it was unusual to bury people in royal chapels. This indicates that he was a VIP and that something prevented him being buried beyond the castle walls - a siege fits the bill.
The Wars of Independence that started in 1296 saw the castle swap hands several times, including when it was taken by the English in 1336 – we say ‘English’ but these were civil wars between rival Scots as much as anything else. Forces loyal to David II besieged the castle in 1339 and finally took it in April 1342. It was a major struggle, involving figures like Robert the Steward, the future King Robert II and founder of the Stewart dynasty.
So the skeleton could take us back to people and events that shaped Scottish history. The exciting thing will be if future research continues to point to Sir John, or finds other candidates of the right time, and circumstances, raised in England or France. After all the radiocarbon dating indicates that the man died between 1290 and 1400, rather than necessarily in the early 1340s.
The programme attracted headlines all the way from South America to India. An expert team from the University of Dundee found that he spent much of his childhood in England or northern France. They also found that he ate a lot of sea fish – a common part of military rations.
These discoveries are possible thanks to techniques which identify the patterns of chemicals left in our bones by the things we eat and drink. It’s clever stuff, but uses well-established and reliable methods.
The programme went on to match radiocarbon and documentary evidence and suggested that the nobleman could have been Sir John de Strychley who was killed trying to hold the castle for Edward III of England. It’s a credible theory because it was unusual to bury people in royal chapels. This indicates that he was a VIP and that something prevented him being buried beyond the castle walls - a siege fits the bill.
The Wars of Independence that started in 1296 saw the castle swap hands several times, including when it was taken by the English in 1336 – we say ‘English’ but these were civil wars between rival Scots as much as anything else. Forces loyal to David II besieged the castle in 1339 and finally took it in April 1342. It was a major struggle, involving figures like Robert the Steward, the future King Robert II and founder of the Stewart dynasty.
So the skeleton could take us back to people and events that shaped Scottish history. The exciting thing will be if future research continues to point to Sir John, or finds other candidates of the right time, and circumstances, raised in England or France. After all the radiocarbon dating indicates that the man died between 1290 and 1400, rather than necessarily in the early 1340s.
Struggles for the castle
- 1296 – captured by Edward I of England
- 1297 – retaken by the Scots after the Battle of Stirling Bridge
- 1298 – captured by the English again after the defeat of the Scots at Falkirk
- 1299 – surrendered to the Scots by the Constable John Samson
- 1304 – the only significant stronghold left in Scots control, it was besieged by Edward I. After the Scots surrendered he made them stay inside so he could use his favourite weapon against them – a stone-throwing trebuchet called The War Wolf
- 1314 – retaken by the Scots after Edward II was defeated at Bannockburn
- 1336 – retaken by the English
- 1342 – finally returns to Scots control
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