Justice and Joviality

Justice and Joviality. . , Ceartas is Cuirmean , Justice and Joviality , The great hall occupied the whole floor above you. It was the hub of the castle, where the Lord of Lorn sat in banquets in the evening. , Gone is the Grandeur , The great hall was part of the original castle. So little remains, however, that its layout is no longer clear. There may have been a large window where the donjon now stands. By the 1700s, the hall must have been remodelled because you can see a fireplace built into the doorway on this wall. The remaining windows are more easily seen from outside. , 'Is a sin do Dhun-Stainnis , Far nach fhaigh mi nis' aoibhneas , Mar bha aig na Righrean , Tha nan sineadh 'san rei'lan: , Bho Òrain Ghaelach le Iain MacGhrigair , ‘And from there to Dunstaffnage , Where I will now not find joy , As the Kings had , That lie in the plain’. , From Gaelic Songs by John MacGregor , Living in the Round , The donjon tower , next to the great hall , was a fortified keep and not a prison dungeon. It was of three towers added to the castle in about 1250 to provide the lord with comfortable private rooms. It also gave defending archers a good view along the adjacent walls. , The lord's bedchamber was on the top floor and his ‘hall’ , his living and working room , was below it. The spiral stair linking the two gave access to a latrine that sat above an open chute , you can see it better from outside. , ( photo captions ) , - Above: This lead stamp was found on the beach near Dunstaffnage. It would have been used on the wax seals, like a signature, that were fixed to documents to signify agreement to the hand-written decisions or contracts. , - Left: The great hall was used as a courtroom, a place for meetings and negotiations, a rent-collector's office, a hospitality suite for visitors, a family dining room and a theatre for enjoying musicians and storytellers.