Scotland
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Isabel MacDuff Comyn- The Lady in the Cage
As I have said before, do not mess with a Scottish woman. This is the story of a woman who did her duty to her country and her king and paid the price. A price that seems like it’s out of a fairy tale or a horror movie, but paid it she did. This is the story of Isabel MacDuff Comyn, a patriot of Scotland. Isabel was born to Duncan Macduff, the Earl of Fife, and Johanna de Clare. The date of her birth isn’t recorded and estimates range from 1270 to 1285. Her father was murdered by his classman in 1299, and Johanna and Isabel’s younger brother also named…
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Clava Cairns
The main attraction in the area around Inverness is the site of the Battle of Culloden. However, there is another site nearby that is also an important part of Scotland’s past. One mile southeast of the battlefield set on a terrace above the River Nairn are the Clava Cairns also called the Balnuaran of Clava. These are three cairns and a number of free standing stones which date from the late Neolithic period. Although it is thought by scholars that there may have been at least two additional structures, the three that are left have been designated the Northeast Cairn, Central Cairn and Southwest Cairn. These site is thought to…
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Burns Night
Tonight is a celebration of the birth of the man who is widely known as the national poet of Scotland. Robert Burns, or Rabbie Burns, is one of the most famous poets from Scotland and is considered to be a pioneer of the Romantic movement. As the Scottish diaspora sent immigrants around the world, the work of Burns became a touchstone and a piece of home they could take with them. Burns’ work is recognizable to many, including the famous song/poem “Auld Lang Syne” and “Scots Wha Hae”, which served as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland for many years. Despite being born in humble circumstances, he left a huge…
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The Paisley Witch Trials
Christian Shaw was the ten-year-old daughter of the Laird of Bargarran near Erksine. She was described as a “sensitive child”. In August 1696, she caught her servant Katherine Campbell stealing a drink of milk. Christian duly reported the incident to her mother, and Katherine was reprimanded. Katherine apparently had a temper and responded by blessing the child out and was reported as saying she wished the Devil would “”haul [Shaw’s] soul through Hell.” Soon after Christian fell ill with violent seizure, convulsions and unresponsive trances. She was supposed to have vomited up straw bins, eggshells, orange pills, hair, excrement and bones. Pinch marks were found all over her body and…
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Gregor MacGregor- Prince of Frauds
If you are like me, your world geography is a bit fuzzy. This is not a new thing, and was probably worse in the past when new lands were being discovered by Europeans, renamed and divvied up. They also didn’t have handy Professor Google to teach them where things were. Maps were a sketchy business. So when an ambitious Scotsman came forward claiming to the the Prince, or Cazique, of Poyais, most people did not realize Poyais did not exist. During the Napoleonic Wars, former Spanish and Portuguese colonies were benefiting from the upheaval in the mother countries. Most of the countries of South America gained their independence between 1809…
