_Second Period_, 1300-1400.--The years of this century were marked in Scotland by anarchy, war, and bloodshed, which devastated the kingdom and placed the arts of peace in complete abeyance, while poverty was universal. The period was consequently unfavourable for the erection of Scottish castles upon a large scale, but many scores of small Keeps sprang into existence. Bruce was antagonistic to the building of large and roomy castles, arguing that their capture by an invader would give him a standing in the country which otherwise he would not possess. The towers erected were based upon the Norman Keep; they were of stone throughout, so that their destruction by fire was impossible. Their walls were so thick and massive that restoration after a siege was easy. The basement was always vaulted, and was intended for storage purposes and the herding of cattle in an emergency. As a general rule it had no interior communication with the upper floors, but trap-doors are not unknown. The entrance to the building was on the first storey through a narrow door reached by a ladder; it gave upon the Hall, the chief apartment, where all dined in common, and the household slept, a subsidiary half floor being constructed above for this purpose. [Illustration: BARTIZAN.] The second floor was the private apartment of the chieftain and his family, and was also provided with a wooden gallery for sleeping purposes. The roof was a pointed arch resting solidly upon the walls and covered with stone slabs. At the angles of the building bartizans were usually built, although rounded corners like those at Neidpath and Drum sometimes occur. In the massive walls spiral staircases, small rooms, cupboards, and other conveniences were arranged. Round the Tower a wall was generally erected, within which the stables, offices, and kitchens were built. In the wall of the Tower itself, and sometimes below the level of the ground, the universal "pit" or prison was built, ventilated by a shaft carried upwards in the thickness of the wall. At times the battlements were provided with parapets resting upon corbels but executed in a crude manner. [Illustration: BOTHWELL CASTLE, LANARKSHIRE.] The century in question saw numerous castles of this type come into existence, all based upon the same plan, that of the king differing only in size from that of the small chieftain. The largest are from 40 to 60 feet square, but the majority are much smaller. These Keeps formed nuclei for subsequent additions as at Loch Leven, Craigmillar, Campbell, and Aros, and many of them served as ordinary residences down to the seventeenth century, long after the tide of war had passed.