Welcome to the Castle Guy website
Simon Forder is a historian, author, and castle “buff” and has travelled all over Great Britain, in mainland Europe and in Scandinavia visiting fortified sites. For the past fifteen years he has been researching the much-neglected history of castles in his local area of Moray, visiting every site as well as ploughing the depths of local libraries and web-based research to bring the stories of these castles to light. His sister website (thecastleguide.co.uk) contains an interactive map showing over a thousand Scottish castles, and nearly four hundred in Wales, with hundreds of English sites to come. Detailed histories of many of these are available for supporters of his work. His book about the Romans in Scotland is available on Amazon (other retailers are available…)
“Castles are part of our cultural heritage, and in their ruins can be found very personal stories as well as high political drama. In bringing these buildings to life, we can find keys to understanding how and why our society developed as it has.”
What I Do
Research
I undertake historical projects requiring in depth research and detailed understanding of historical process.
Speaking
Available for public speaking to discuss themes; specialising in ancient and medieval Britain as well as fortification.
Latest Publication
The Romans in Scotland and the Battle of Mons Graupius
In AD 77, Roman forces under Agricola marched into the northern reaches of Britain to pacify the Caledonian tribesmen. For seven years, the Romans campaigned across what is now Scotland. In AD 83, they fought the final battle at Mons Graupius, where 10,000 Caledonians were slaughtered with only 360 Roman dead. How much of this is true? The climax of the Agricola is the main source, a near contemporary account of the career of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, governor of Britannia in the reigns of the Emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian, written by his son-in-law Tacitus. This account of a steady advance into northern Britain and sudden withdrawal matched closely the evidence available on the ground,… |