A place for friends to meet... with reflections on politics, history, art, music, books, morals, manners, and matters of faith.
A blog by Elena Maria Vidal.
An ancient
Caledonian law gave the Clan MacDuff the privilege of placing the crown
on the head of a new king. At the time, the MacDuffs were allied with
the Comyns, enemies of the Bruces. Yet Isabelle MacDuff, the Countess of
Buchan, defied her Comyn husband and rushed to Scone to perform the
sacred deed for Robert in a second ceremony on Moot Hill.
English chroniclers at the time suspected that
Isabelle, a distant kinswoman of the Bruces, must have been one of
Robert’s secret mistresses. Outraged by her betrayal of the loyalty oath
that the MacDuffs and Comyns had given him, Edward Longshanks ordered
Isabelle tracked down and captured. Cornered with the other Bruce women
in the sanctuary kirk at Tain, she was cruelly punished by being exposed
for years in an iron cage hung from the ramparts of Berwick Castle.
Why did Isabelle risk her life to crown Robert Bruce? What happened to
her during that brutish captivity? And why did so many brave women
follow her lead to take up the Bruce’s cause? I unveil my theories about
these mysteries and more in my latest release: The Spider and the
Stone: A Novel of Scotland’s Black Douglas. (Read more.)
Courteous comments are welcome. If a comment is not published, it may be due to a technical error. At any rate, do not take offense; it is nothing personal. Slanderous comments will not be published. Anonymity may be tolerated, but politeness is required.
I would like to respond to every comment but my schedule renders it impossible to do so. Please know that I appreciate those who take the time to share their thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Courteous comments are welcome. If a comment is not published, it may be due to a technical error. At any rate, do not take offense; it is nothing personal. Slanderous comments will not be published. Anonymity may be tolerated, but politeness is required.
I would like to respond to every comment but my schedule renders it impossible to do so. Please know that I appreciate those who take the time to share their thoughts.