Lords of the Isles
-
The Battle of Largs
Alexander II, Alexander III, Alexander of Dundonald, Battle of Largs, Chronicle of Melrose, Clan McDonald, Dal Riata, dowries, Duke of Rothesay, England, Eric II, Gaelic kingdoms, Haakon IV, Hakonar saga Hakonarsona, Hebrides, Henry III, High Steward, House of Dunkeld, Iceland, Ireland, James III, Kirkwall, Lords of the Isles, Malcolm III, McWilliams, North Sea, Norway, Orkneys, Richard III, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Shetlands, siege of Berwick, Sigrid the Haughty, StewartsDuring the first quarter of the second millennium, Scotland did not have a clear northern or western border. There was the North Sea to the east and England to the south, where the exact line varied on occasion, but the status of the west coast was far more nebulous. There was a Gaelic kingdom of…
-
The Rise of the Clans
A History of Scotland, Alexander III, assassination, BBC1 Scotland, BBC4, Clan Hepburn, Clan Lennox Stuart, Clan MacDonald, Clan Stewart, clans, Douglas clan, Dukes of Albany, Dukes of Norfolk, Earls of Arundel, Edward II, England, executions, exile, Fitzalan, Fitzalans, Fotheringhay, Henry Lord Darnley, House of Stewart, Howards, James Earl of Bothwell, James Earl of Morton, James I, James Stewart Earl of Moray, Joan “Beaufort”, John Balliol, John Knox, Kirk o’Fields, Lancastrians, Lords of the Isles, Margaret of Norway, Mary Stuart, Neil Oliver, Perth, Red Comyn, Richard III, Robert I, Robert II, Robert III, Scottish Reformation, Walter Earl of AthollNeil Oliver‘s latest history series has been shown through December on Monday evenings (BBC1 Scotland) and twenty-four hours later on BBC4. The first part, of three, showed how the power vacuum caused by the sudden deaths of Alexander III and his granddaughter was resolved through the clan system and John Balliol’s abdication so that alliances…
-
Today marks the 555th anniversary of the dramatic conclusion of this siege, being a Bank Holiday in most of Scotland. Tomorrow in 1900, the late Queen Mother was born, in London or Hitchin, but of Scottish parentage. We posted about the siege last year but what about the underlying events? James II’s mother was Joan…