Charlene Sweeney:
[John Damian de Falcuis, Abbot of Tongland]'s leap of faith in 1507 is the earliest recorded flight experiment in Scotland...
Dressed in a winged contraption made of hen feathers, Damian planned to soar through the skies from Stirling Castle to France. His mission, funded by King James IV, was intended to demonstrate the glory of Scotland's renaissance, but it ended in ignominy when Damian landed in the nearby castle dungheap, breaking his leg.
The alchemist blamed the disaster on his wings. He said that the hen feathers from which they were made were attracted to sewage because hens were birds that covet the middens and not the skies. The story has been the source of much mirth over the centuries. Damian's most famous critic, the court poet William Dunbar, wrote a long satirical verse, claiming that every bird of the air had attacked him in protest. Yet the 16th-century Bird Man of Stirling Castle, as he has come to be known, could have the last laugh.
Charles McKean, professor of Scottish architectural history at the University of Dundee, has found evidence that, despite falling far short of its intended destination, the attempt was a success after all. Professor McKean has analysed contemporary maps and believes that Damian may have flown up to half a mile:To obtain the best uplift for his long journey, Damian flew off the west side of the ramparts' highest point... To the repeated scorn of the poet William Dunbar, he landed in a midden and broke his thigh bone. He was ridiculed and the attempt dismissed.Professor McKean... said that the achievement was ridiculed by Dunbar because he was jealous of Damian's favoured position with the King and the massive funding that he received...
Anyone looking over the west parapet of Stirling Castle would realise that someone tumbling down the rock at that point would end up very dead.
Moreover, the royal gardens lay at its foot. Although the exact processional route between castle and gardens remains unclear, this was no place for a midden.
A 1702 plan of the town, on the other hand, indicates the nearest midden half a mile away, beyond the current Smith Art Gallery. If that was the one in which Damian landed, there is but one conclusion: the wings worked...
He didn't reach France, of course, but I believe his flight should be regarded as an historic success...
Craig Mair, a local historian, said:John Damian has been branded a failure for 500 years but it always seemed incredible, if the wings did not work, that he survived a drop of more than [82 yards] with only a broken thigh bone. This new explanation seems entirely plausible...Damian won the support of King James IV after he claimed to be able to create gold from base metals. The King granted him the post of Abbot of Tongland, in Galloway.
Even though his schemes failed, the King was clearly still impressed by Damian and gave him a pension of 200 ducats when he retired in 1509. Damian continued to work at the royal court until 1513.