Yester Castle - The Wizard of Yester

The Wizard of Yester

Sir Hugo de Giffard was known as the 'Wizard of Yester', and was considered to be a powerful warlock and necromancer. It is in the undercroft of the castle that he was thought to practise his sorcery. 14th century chronicler John of Fordun mentions the large cavern in Yester Castle, thought locally to have been formed by magical artifice. Legend supposed that Hugo was able, via a pact with the Devil, to raise a magical army to his aid, and use them to carry out his will. It is this army of hobgoblins that was considered the builders of Yester Castle. The vaulting of the Goblin Ha' is one of the earliest examples of secular gothic arch building, and this may have contributed to that opinion, given the superstitious nature of the age.

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