THREE FATES
Fergus conceals himself as a stable lad on Aran and falls helplessly in love
with a Scottish princess, already promised to someone else. Loarn crosses
swords against the Picts. Angus designs longboats.
TOGETHER A MIGHTY POWER
Always on the run the brothers must attempt to outride their adversaries by
gaining power themselves. Together they achieve more than they could possibly
dream of.
Fergus Mór (The Great) is widely recognised as the first King of Scotland,
giving Scotland its name and its language. Rulers of Scotland and England from
Kenneth mac Alpín until the present time claim descent from Fergus Mór.
Full of unexpected twists and turns, this is a tale of heart-breaking love
amidst treachery, deceit and murder.
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FUN FACTS
Do you know anyone with the surname
‘Campbell’? If yes, does he or she have a crooked mouth?
In ancient times the Scottish Gaelic naming tradition often referred to a visual trait. For example, someone could be called ‘The Red’ or ‘The Fair’ after the colour of their hair or complexion. The descendants would accept and use such a name as their own. Derogatory names often originated from a person’s enemy. For example, ‘Cameron’ means crooked nose. Campbell is a Scottish and Northern Irish surname, derived from the Gaelic roots cam ("crooked") and beul ("mouth"), that originated as a nickname meaning "crooked mouth" or "wry mouthed."
The
modern medical explanation for this facial curvature is a form of Torticollis
(from the Latin torti, meaning
twisted, and collis, meaning neck),
or "wry neck." A condition in which the head is tilted toward one
side, and the chin (mouth) is elevated and turned toward the opposite side
thereby producing a "Cam beul" or curved mouth in some cases.
Clan Campbell, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans, traces its origins to the ancient Britons of Strathclyde. In my novel ‘The Scots of Dalriada,’ the King of Strathclyde, Ceredig, has a ‘squiff neck.’
Does the name Finlaggan seem familiar to you?
In ‘The Scots of Dalriada’ Fergus flees with his brothers Loarn and Angus to his uncle Donald on Finlaggan, to escape the attempts on his life by his evil half-brother Cartan. Finlaggan is situated on the island of Islay. It consists of two islands in a freshwater loch, an ideal place to protect the youngsters from their adversaries.
Historically
Finlaggan is best known as the centre of the medieval Lordship of the Isles.
The MacDonald lords, descended from earlier kings of the Isles, ruled over vast
territories in the west and north in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,
threatening the Stewart kings’ hold over Scotland. The Lords of the Isles ruled
mainland Argyll and the Glens of Antrim, but at its height MacDonald territory
stretched up the Great Glen to Rossshire, beyond to Buchan and the Mearns, and
south to Greenan in Ayrshire, all of this virtually independent of royal
control. The heir to a strong Gaelic and Norse tradition, the Lord of the Isles
was one of the most powerful figures in the country with the small islands in
Loch Finlaggan a centre of symbolic and administrative importance.
Today, however, Finlaggan is most famous for its whisky. Finlaggan is a brand for the
Vintage Malt Whisky Company Ltd, which focuses on bottling whiskies from the
Highlands and Islands. The brand was designed to embody the spirit of Islay. It
is sold worldwide in over thirty countries.
Are you superstitious?
Angus, the ship-building brother of Fergus in ‘The Scots of Dalriada’ doesn’t really believe in the mythological creatures called ‘Kelpies’ or ‘Blue Men’, but he learns his verse to freedom just in case.
Scotland's
natural relationship with the sea has spawned a variety of claims from sailors
convinced they have seen sea-dwelling supernatural creatures.
The
strait between the Island of Lewis and the Shiant Isles was known as ‘the
stream of the Blue Men’ because it was said to be inhabited by a strange group
of creatures.
The
Blue Men of the Minch, also known as Storm Kelpies, are said to occasionally
prey on sailors making the crossing. Those who are unlucky enough to come
across the Blue Men note the distinctive green beards and hair they have, as
well as their exceptionally-strong physique. Other historical recordings of the
creatures say that they live in underwater caves, while generations of folklore
say they can only be beaten by making sure the last word is achieved in a
rhyming duel.
Apart
from their blue colour, the mythical creatures look much like humans and are
about the same size. They have the power to create storms, but when the weather
is fine, they float sleeping on or just below the surface of the water. The blue
men swim with their torsos raised out of the sea, twisting and diving as
porpoises do. They are able to speak, and when a group approaches a ship, its
chief may shout two lines of poetry to the master of the vessel and challenge
him to complete the verse. If the skipper fails in that task, then the blue men
will attempt to capsize his ship.
In ‘Superstitions
of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland,’ John Campbell described a
blue-coloured man with a long-grey face that followed boats slowly on the
water, never quite in reach. But to others, the Blue Men of Minch are a
personification of the treacherous waters they inhabit.
Irish
legend about the origin of the Giant's Causeway.
Excerpt from 'The Scots of Dalriada'
“Tell me the story about the giant again” Angus begs.
Fergus
sighs theatrically but repeats the story. “A long, long time ago there was a
giant called Fionn, who lived here peacefully with his wife, Oonagh. Then one
day Benandonner, a ferocious giant with red hair and a beard who lived in
Caledonia, challenged him to a fight. Fionn accepted the provocation and threw
rocks into the Western sea to make a causeway all the way to Caledonia so that
the two giants could meet. Fionn crept secretly across the rocks at night so
that he could spy on Benandonner and see where his weakness lay. He wanted to
know how he could defeat him. But when Fionn reached the other side of the sea
and saw how big Benandonner was, he fled back to Oonagh and wanted to hide.
Then Oonagh disguised Fionn as a baby and tucked him in a cradle. When
Benandonner came and saw the size of the ‘baby’, he thought that his father,
Fionn, must be a horrendous mammoth-sized monster. He was so frightened that he
ran all the way back to Caledonia, destroying the pathway behind him, so that
Fionn could not follow and devour him.”
“And he
was really called Fionn just like our uncle?” asks Angus.
“Yes,
maybe our uncle was called after him; he’s tall and strong, after all.”
The Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone (Scottish Gaelic: Lia Fáil; also known as the Stone of Destiny; and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone) is an oblong block of red sandstone that has been used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. It is also known as Jacob's Pillow Stone and the Tanist Stone.
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In my
novel ‘The Scots of Dalriada’ Fergus’s grandnephew and high king of Ireland,
Muirceataigh, lends Fergus the Lia Fáil for his coronation in Dunadd, Scotland.
(This is a recorded legend in a 15th-century chronicle.)
Excerpt
from ‘The Scots of Dalriada’
“But what is it? What does it look like?”
“It is a large and very heavy oblong brick
of red sandstone. On the surface there is an incised cross and at each end an
iron ring to lift it.”
Setna looks disappointed. “That doesn’t
sound very special.”
“Ah
my sweet, let me finish, it is special because the stone is magic.”
“Magic?”
“Yes, when the rightful high king of Ireland
puts his feet on it, the stone roars in joy.”
“Oh, like a dragon?”
“Yes, but much louder. That is why some
people call it ‘the Stone of Destiny’. It has other powers too; it makes the
king younger, and ensures him a very long reign.”
Historically,
the artefact was kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey in Scone, near Perth,
Scotland. In 1296, during the First Scottish War of Independence, King Edward I
of England took the stone as spoils of war and removed it to Westminster Abbey,
where it was fitted into a wooden chair – known as the Coronation Chair or King
Edward's Chair – on which most subsequent English and then British sovereigns
have been crowned.
In
1996, the British Government decided to return the stone to Scotland, when not
in use at coronations, and it was transported to Edinburgh Castle, where it is
now kept with the Scottish Crown Jewels.
Queen
Elizabeth II was the last British sovereign to be crowned upon The Stone of
Scone. I do not know for certain whether it will be used for Charles III coronation
ceremony.
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Rowena Kinread
Rowena
Kinread grew up in Ripon, Yorkshire with her large family and a horde of pets.
Keen on travelling, her first job was with Lufthansa in Germany.
She began writing in the nineties. Her special area of interest is history. After researching her ancestry and finding family roots in Ireland with the Dalriada clan, particularly this era.
Her debut fiction novel titled “The Missionary” is a historical novel about the dramatic life of St. Patrick. It was published by Pegasus Publishers on Apr.29th, 2021 and has been highly appraised by The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and the Irish Times.
Her second novel “The Scots of Dalriada” centres around Fergus Mór, the founder father of Scotland and takes place in 5th century Ireland and Scotland. It is due to be published by Pegasus Publishers on Jan.26th, 2023.
The author lives with her husband in Bodman-Ludwigshafen, Lake Constance, Germany. They have three children and six grandchildren.
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Thanks so much for hosting Rowena Kinread with her fabulous Fun Facts! xo
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure.
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