Welcome to History Undressed, guest author, Regan Walker, author of historical romance! She's introducing us to William the Conqueror and when he invaded Scotland! Enjoy!
When William the Conqueror Invaded Scotland
by
Regan Walker
You might know that a Norman named William the Conqueror
invaded England in 1066… but did you know that six years later, in 1072, he
invaded Scotland? And not just with his army of knights that he dragged all
over England, but with a fleet of ships!
Steinar of Talisand, the hero in Rebel Warrior, my latest novel set in
Scotland, belonged to that generation of young English men who were not yet
twenty at the time of the Norman Conquest. They were old enough to understand
what was happening and to feel keenly the loss of family and lands, yet
powerless to do anything about it. Young Anglo-Saxon nobles forever exiled from
their country.
Where should they go but to Scotland?
In the eleventh century, Scotland was a
wild country where warlords vied for the throne, and the cultures of the Gaels
(the Irish who became the Scots), Norse and eventually Saxons and Normans
melded together. In 1057, Malcolm
Canmore, the son of a king, battled his way to the throne to become King of
Scots.
A
decade later, William the Conqueror’s harsh actions in England sent Saxons in
Wessex and Anglo-Scandinavians in Northumbria fleeing to Scotland. King Malcolm
welcomed them and, in so doing, received a boon. For when he cast his eyes upon
the beautiful Saxon Princess Margaret, whose family sought refuge at his court,
he was smitten.
By
1072, when my story begins, they were married and she had already given him the
first of six sons and two daughters.
That
her rough, warrior husband deferred to her, at least in matters of their
family, can be seen in the names given their sons: Edward, Edmund, Ethelred,
Edgar, Alexander and David, the first four from the English royal dynasty.
Perhaps, in agreeing to such names, Malcolm saw the potential for his sons to
one day claim the throne of England, for as long as Margaret’s younger brother,
Edgar Ætheling, the Saxon heir to the throne, remained unmarried and childless,
his rights would be transmitted through Margaret to her children. Certainly
William the Conqueror did not fail to note this.
At
the time of my story, the borders between Scotland and England were not well
defined. Malcolm often raided into Northumbria. That he had claims to the
region cannot be doubted, but I believe he was also making a point to the
Conqueror. It was a bit like poking a stick at a wild boar, however, for
William would ultimately seek to rein in the powerful King of Scots and his support
for the rebels in England.
The formal link between the royal houses of Scotland and Wessex
and Malcolm’s forays into Northumbria were taken as a threat by William, who in
1072, counter-attacked with a full-scale invasion of southern Scotland,
pursuing Malcolm into his own backyard.
Abbot
Rivaux tells us that the Conqueror traversed Lothian and crossed the Forth by
the Carse, the great gateway into Scotland. Florence of Worcester tells us that
William penetrated to Abernethy, his fleet being in the River Tay.
That William did not want war with the powerful King of
Scots cannot be denied. Scotland was a bit too far and its mountains and lochs
a bit too remote for even the Normans. If William was defeated, he could not hope to carry back
his army into England. If Malcolm were beaten, the loss of battle might be to
him the loss of his kingdom. This gives truth to the statements of the English
chroniclers that a peace was agreed to at Abernethy, pursuant to which
Malcolm’s lands in England were secured, he swore loyalty to William for those
lands and, as a sign of good faith, sent Duncan, his oldest son by his first
wife, Ingibiorg, back to England with William.
All
this action and history is in Rebel
Warrior.
Another
likely condition of their peace at Abernethy was that the queen’s brother, Edgar
Ætheling, was forced to leave Scotland. The presence of England’s heir in the
court of so powerful a warrior as Malcolm had to be of concern to William. One
reason Edgar’s sister, Margaret, agreed to wed Malcolm was to secure his
support for Edgar’s claim to take back the throne of England.
Edgar
did leave Scotland shortly after this. If you want to know when he returned,
you’ll have to read my next novel to be released the fall, King’s Knight.
Rebel Warrior:
“Master storytelling transports you to medieval Scotland!”
Paula Quinn, NY Times Bestselling Author
When your destiny lies far from where
you began …
Scotland 1072
The Norman Conqueror robbed Steinar of Talisand of his noble father and his lands, forcing him to flee to Scotland while still recovering from a devastating wound. At the royal court, Steinar becomes scribe to the unlettered King of Scots while secretly regaining his skill with a sword.
Scotland 1072
The Norman Conqueror robbed Steinar of Talisand of his noble father and his lands, forcing him to flee to Scotland while still recovering from a devastating wound. At the royal court, Steinar becomes scribe to the unlettered King of Scots while secretly regaining his skill with a sword.
The first
time Steinar glimpses the flame-haired maiden, Catrìona of the Vale of Leven,
he is drawn to her spirited beauty. She does not fit among the ladies who serve
the devout queen. Not pious, not obedient and not given to stitchery, the
firebrand flies a falcon! Though Catrìona captures Steinar’s attention, he is
only a scribe and she is promised to another.
Catrìona has come to Malcolm’s court wounded in spirit from the vicious attack on her home by Northmen who slayed her parents and her people. But that is not all she will suffer. The man she thought to wed will soon betray her.
When all is lost, what hope is there for love? Can a broken heart be mended? Can a damaged soul be healed?
On Amazon:
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Regan Walker is an award-winning, #1
bestselling author of Regency, Georgian and Medieval romances. She has five
times been featured on USA TODAY's HEA blog and four times nominated for the
prestigious RONE award (her novel, The Red Wolf's Prize won Best Historical
Novel for 2015 in the medieval category). Regan writes historically authentic
novels where history is a character and her readers experience adventure as
well as love.
