Today on History Undressed, I'd like to welcome guest author, Laura Vosika! Today she's sharing with us a fascinating and gripping bit of Scottish history! Enjoy :)Death Before the Altar
by Laura Vosika
Such was the case for poor John Comyn, a Scottish earl in
the late thirteenth century. He couldn’t begin to guess how the wild weather in
March 1286, or his king’s race to get home to his new wife, would lead to his
own death, years later, in 1306.
Maybe, considering he was a king and his death was bound to
have an impact, it’s not entirely fair to call this the butterfly effect.
Nonetheless, Alexander’s decision, a very personal one, on the night of March
19, should have been, historically speaking, nothing but the beat of a
butterfly’s wings. After a council meeting, he wanted to get home to his new
wife. This was nothing like the political decisions being made in his councils
with his earls. It was nothing that should have affected the fate of a nation,
except, hopefully, to produce an heir.
But the meeting went long. The night grew dark. And the
weather grew rough.
Alexander ignored the warnings of his men to stay put; he
ignored the warning of the ferry man to stop and insisted on crossing; and
somewhere in the night, on the other side of the water, his horse stumbled.
Alexander was found dead of a broken neck. He left no heir, but his
granddaughter, the young Maid of Norway. She died in the Orkney Islands on her
way to be crowned the new ruler, leaving Scotland with no clear heir.
What followed is the time many of us know from the
movie Braveheart, when Edward I of England stepped into the
gap and began his takeover of Scotland; when William Wallace resisted and was
finally captured and executed in 1305.
In the wake of a failed kingship by John Balio, and
Wallace’s death, there remained the question of who would take the throne. As
the two strongest contenders, whose families had long been at odds over the
question, John Comyn, Earl of Badenoch, and Robert the Bruce, agreed to meet at
Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries, to set aside their long-standing differences and
discuss the matter. They left their swords outside the church.
Historians have argued for centuries, and perhaps will for
years to come, about what happened in the kirk and why. But the end result was
that Bruce pulled a knife, there before the altar, and stabbed John Comyn.
There are those who believe he went to the meeting intending to do so. He had
made agreements with various people, including Comyn, that would not have been
to the liking of Edward I of England, and he had reason to believe that Comyn
had betrayed him to Longshanks.
My personal belief is that Bruce went into the meeting with
honorable intentions. He had been known as hot-tempered in his younger days,
and there had been a long history of animosity between himself and Comyn. Some
sources state that he spent the rest of his life feeling guilt for that act
before the altar.
Whatever his intentions, Comyn ended up dead at Greyfriars
Kirk, one of thousands of deaths that ultimately resulted from Alexander’s
insistence upon defying a rough, wild night to reach his new bride.
About Blue Bells of Scotland
Shawn Kleiner has it all: money, fame, a skyrocketing career
as an international musical phenomenon, his beautiful girlfriend Amy, and all
the women he wants--until the night Amy has enough and leaves him stranded in a
Scottish castle tower.
He wakes up to find himself mistaken for Niall Campbell, medieval Highland warrior. Soon after, he is sent shimmying down a wind-torn castle wall into a dangerous cross country trek with Niall's tempting, but knife-wielding fiancee. They are pursued by English soldiers and a Scottish traitor who want Niall dead.
Thrown forward in time, Niall learns history’s horrifying account of his own death, and of the Scots’ slaughter at Bannockburn. Undaunted, he navigates the roiled waters of Shawn’s life-- pregnant girlfriend, amorous fans, enemies, and gambling debts--seeking a way to leap back across time to save his people, especially his beloved Allene. His growing fondness for Shawn’s life brings him face to face with his own weakness.
He wakes up to find himself mistaken for Niall Campbell, medieval Highland warrior. Soon after, he is sent shimmying down a wind-torn castle wall into a dangerous cross country trek with Niall's tempting, but knife-wielding fiancee. They are pursued by English soldiers and a Scottish traitor who want Niall dead.
Thrown forward in time, Niall learns history’s horrifying account of his own death, and of the Scots’ slaughter at Bannockburn. Undaunted, he navigates the roiled waters of Shawn’s life-- pregnant girlfriend, amorous fans, enemies, and gambling debts--seeking a way to leap back across time to save his people, especially his beloved Allene. His growing fondness for Shawn’s life brings him face to face with his own weakness.
About the Author
Laura Vosika, author of the Blue Bells Chronicles, is
also working on several other novels and a non-fiction book on raising a large
family. Past publishing credits include an essay in Glamour magazine.
Laura grew up in the military, visiting castles in England,
pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America's east coast. She
earned a bachelor's degree in music, and master's degree in education, and
worked for many years as a freelance musician, private music instructor, and
school band director.
She currently lives in Minnesota with her nine children, and
assorted menagerie.
Links
website: www.bluebellstrilogy.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/laura.vosika.author
twitter: www.twitter.com/lauravosika
Blue Bells of Scotland:
smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/16271
The Minstrel Boy:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Minstrel-Blue-Bells-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007A389JY/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2
2 comments:
Fascinating post. Thanks.
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