-
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…
-
Battle of Harlaw
Overshadowed by the more glamourous battles of Sterling and Bannockburn a century before, between the Scots and the English, Harlaw has been long forgotten by many, but remains historically as important to the Scottish line of succession, not to mention being one of the bloodiest battles ever to have taken place. Historians when asked, will argue at length as to the significance of Harlaw as a battle for the right of lineage, some claiming it as a clan war, others claiming it nothing more than an excuse for looting. But in July 1411, the succession of the Earldom of Ross was the cause of this bloody and inconclusive battle. In…
-
William Wallace
William Wallace’s birth and early life are very much shrouded in mystery. Some sources state he was the younger son of a minor Scottish land-owner, Malcolm Wallace, born in Elderslie near Paisley. Sir Malcolm was documented to have had three sons, Malcolm Jr, William and John. However, based on his seal on a letter sent to King Philip IV, a Crown tenant, Alan Wallace was his father, he was from the similar sounding Ellerslie near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and this is backed up by Alan Wallace’s signature on the 1296 Ragman Roll, which William refused to sign. His age is also disputed with a birthdate range of 1270 to 1276. The…
-
Battle of Bannockburn
Following the death of Edward I in July 1307, to which the Scots openly rejoiced, King Robert the Bruce of Scotland continued on his campaign to rid Scotland of the English, and the supporters of his rival John Comyn, whom the Bruce had killed the year before. Edward II had taken up the reins of his father’s campaign to bring Scotland to submission. He was however unlike his father in matters of warfare and politics, and thanks largely in part to his insistence on rewarding his favourites with positions of power within court, and titled lands without, his senior nobles were rapidly losing patience with and slowly removing allegiance to…
-
Robert the Bruce
Born on 11 July 1274, Robert de Brus was the heir apparent to the Lordship of Annandale, through his grandfather, the 5th Lord, and his father, the 6th Lord. The Lordship of Annandale were established in 1124 by David Fitzmalcolm, when he was named King David I of Scotland, to Robert de Brus, who was a member of the King’s retinue. Originating in the Brix region of France, the de Brus’ were related to William Longsword, Great Great grandfather of William, Duke of Normandy. The Lordship included several lands through England, and Scotland with the seat being in the central border region of what is now Dumfries and Galloway. Robert…
