Perilous Castle
Preserved but no longer current.
The castle of '.'the good" Lord Douglas was so called in the reign of Edward I, because Douglas destroyed several English gar- risons stationed there, and vowed to be re- venged on anyone who should dare to take possession of it, Scott calls it "Castle Dan- gerous" (see Introduction of Castle Dan- gerous).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Perilous Castle” mean?
The castle of '.'the good" Lord Douglas was so called in the reign of Edward I, because Douglas destroyed several English gar- risons stationed there, and vowed to be re- venged on anyone who should dare to take possession of it, Scott calls it "Castle Dan- gerous" (see Introduction of Castle Dan- gerous).
Is “Perilous Castle” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.