Historians suggest it was primarily made of timber, before stone was applied to its curtain wall in the 1230’s. Chronicled in The Saga of Haakon Haakonsson, the Norwegian Norsemen Gillespec MacDougall was given the task of re-taking the Isle of Bute for his king, Hakon IV of Norway. The military siege lasted for three days, when the Norse army had penetrated the stone wall using brute force, almost successfully taking the castle if not for a fleet of Scottish naval vessels forcing them to retreat. This was not a period of rest for the castle, for it was taken again by the King Hakon IV himself in 1263. The castle remained strained from warfare, when Alexander III defeated the Norwegian king at the Battle of Largs, where in September of 1263, Hakon IV died having to retreat from Bute Isle and abandoned Rothesay castle. The Norwegian claims would cease, surrendering the castle to the Scottish Crown under the diplomatic Treaty of Perth.

Rothesay Castle was retained by the Stewart line before it was handed over to Robert the II in 1327 followed by his son, Robert the III in 1406 until it became the property of James the IV where it under went re-construction. The expansions included a larger great room, an extension of the gate house, and the only surviving structure still retaining an original shape, the Chapel of St.Michael located in the main court yard. The adaptations would survive further occupations and damage by wars and rebellions before its eventual ruin. In 1816 the 2nd Marquess of Bute lead a excavation and reconstruction of Rothesay Castle, where its reddish tint color is now visible, created in order to compare the historical stone from the newly installed masonry. The final stewardship of the castle now rests under with Historic Scotland being used not only as a tourist attraction, but also backgrounds for weddings, re-enactments, musical festivals and local celebrations. Interested travelers can tour the castle’s interior sections to include a survey of the courtyards and outer ruins.