Scottish Flotsam from the Shetland Islands - People, Scottish Kings, Quotes, and Proverbs

I imagine the first question anyone will ask is what is a column called "Scottish Flotsam". I guess we will have to begin with what is "flotsam". Among the definitions of the word are "things washed ashore" or "miscellaneous trifles". Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. But -- you will never know what you will find or its value. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest. Each item could be a column itself and might be some day but for now it will be the flotsam, which washes our way.

Now lets look at a Scottish King:

Alexander III.
Alexander was only 8 when he inherited the kingdom of Scotland from his father. A regent was to be appointed but the nobles could not agree and the country suffered internal turmoil until Alexander came of age. At 10 he married Henry III's daughter, Margaret. During his childhood he established good relations with Edward I, his brother-in-law. At this time Scotland had a population of about 400,000 and was enjoying an age of prosperity. Berwick was growing rich on foreign trade. Wool, fur and fish were exported. The ownership of the Western Isles was the first problem he faced after his coronation. The Earl of Ross had declared war upon King Haakon of Norway to try and regain possession of the Western Isles. This terrified the local people for they could remember the fierce Viking raids which persisted into the 13th century. Haakon sailed from Norway in 1263 with a fleet of over 100 ships. The ships were of solid oak with a golden dragon at the bow and stern, an impressive sight. Astronomers have confirmed that the day after his arrival in the Orkneys there was a total eclipse of the sun. The Norwegian soldiers considered the eclipse to be a bad omen. Haakon, however, continued to advance. Alexander in the meanwhile reinforced all the castles on the shore and gathered a large army at the place where he thought Haakon would come ashore. He waited, knowing that there was a probability of terrible storms during September and October. As it happened a great storm did blow through Haakon's ships. The Norwegians believed that the storm was caused by the magic of Scottish witches. The Scots on the other hand felt that the storm had been sent by St. Margaret to save their country. A battle did take place on land but Haakon's fleet had been so decimated by the storms that he decided to retreat and he returned home. Haakon died shortly after that and Alexander III secured a treaty with his successor, King Magnus. This was the Treaty of Perth whereby Alexander regained the Western Isles by paying 4000 merks to the Norwegians and 100 merks a year for an indefinite period. The yearly payment continued into the 14th century. Orkney and Shetland remained under the control of the Norwegians and it was a long time before they too became a part of Scotland. His wife Margaret, and soon after two of their sons died (one source saying that two sons died and then his wife, Margaret, died). Alexander took a second wife, Yolande in hopes of producing a male heir. He had only been married to Yolande for about 5 months when eager to be with her he rode at night during a storm against advice. His horse stumbled and threw him over a cliff to his death. This left his granddaughter Margaret, Maid of Norway, as heir apparent. Alexander's only daughter, also named Margaret, had married King Eric II of Norway as part of the Treaty of Perth. The daughter died in childbirth, leaving an infant daughter as heir to the Scottish throne. At the time of Alexander's death, the granddaughter was still in Norway. He had made his lords swear to accept Margaret as Queen and they had agreed that until she came of age, the country would be governed by the "Guardians", the wisest and most important of the bishops and barons. Among the six guardians chosen, Robert Bruce the elder was excluded, although he had been recognized as heir in 1238 when Alexander II had lost his first wife without issue. Bruce the elder was the senior male descendant of David I. Because of the events that followed, it would take nearly half a century for Scotland to regain its own monarch and sovereignty.

Source:http://www.nwlink.com/~scotlass/newpage1.htm

It is time to stop combing the library but we can not quit without some quotes from The Pocket Book of Scottish Quotations another great History bookshelf resident. Let's see what quotes we can find. This month the subject is seasons, wind and weather.

It's dowie in the hint o' hairst,
At the wa-gang o' the swallow,
When the win' grows cauld, and the burns grow bauld,
And the wuds are hingin' yellow.
Hew Ainslie (I 792-1877), The Hint o' Hairst

And saftly, saftly, ower the hill,
Comes the sma', sma' rain.
Marion Angus (1886-1946), The Lilt<, Sir Patrick Spens

"Thu'll be shoors, long-tailed shoots, an' rain a' 'tween, an' it'll ettle tae plump; but thu'll no be a wacht o'weet.'
Border's weather forecast, quoted by J. Brown in W Knight, Some Nineteenth Century Scotsmen (1903)

In the north, on a showery day, you can seethe rain, its lovely behaviour over an island - while you stand a mile off in a patch of sun. George Mackay Brown (1921-1996), An Orkney Tapestry

Now for a Gaelic Proverb for this month.

Is buan meacan na falachd. All change of the weather is due to the wind.

You can find more articles in the archive under Scottish Flotsam.

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