Forfar is at least as old as the time of Malcolm Canmore, for the first parliament after the defeat of Macbeth met in the old castle, which stood on a mound on the northern side of the town. The parliaments of William the Lion, Alexander II. and Robert II. also assembled within its walls. The town, which was created a royal burgh by David I., was burnt down about the middle of the 13th century. Edward I. captured the castle on one of his incursions, but in 1307 Robert Bruce seized it, put its defenders to the sword and then destroyed it, its site being now marked by the town cross. Previous to the reign of James VI. the weekly market was held on Sunday, but after the union of the crowns parliament enacted that it should be held on Friday. The town sided with Charles I. during the Civil War, and Charles II. presented the Cross to it out of regard for the loyalty shown to his father. Forfar seems to have played a less reputable part in the persecution of witches. In 1661 a crown commission was issued for the trial of certain miserable creatures, some of whom were condemned to be burnt. In the same year one John Ford for his services as a witch-finder was admitted a burgess along with Lord Kinghorne. The witches' bridle, a gag to prevent them from speaking whilst being led to execution, is still preserved in the county hall. One mile to the E. lie the ruins of Restennet Priory, where a son of Robert Bruce was buried. For twenty five years after the Reformation it was used as the parish church and afterwards by the Episcopalians, until they obtained a chapel of their own in 1822. FORFARSHIRE, or ANGUS, an eastern county of Scotland, bounded N. by the shires of Kincardine and Aberdeen, W. by Perthshire, S. by the Firth of Tay and E. by the North Sea. It has an area of 559,171 acres, or 873.7 sq. m. The island of Rossie and the Bell Rock belong to the shire.