On September 11, 1297 was fought the battle of Stirling Bridge. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚔️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Scots led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray inflicted a spectacular defeat on the kingdom of England. Art by Angus McBride (RIP: 1931-2007).

England had just invaded Scotland the year previous on orders of king Edward I “Longshanks”, taking the Scottish king John de Balliol prisoner, but a rebellion was quickly raised by Wallace and Moray. John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and Hugh de Cressigham, took a large army to Stirling to deal with the insurgents. Wallace rebuffed an offer of peace conveyed by Franciscan friars (first image), then battle was commenced. The English began crossing the bridge over the river Forth to attack. The Scots waited for half of them to cross, then attacked them before they could successfully deploy. Over 5,000 English were killed, including Cressingham, whose skin was later used to make a baldric for Wallace’s sword. 💀

Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): https://t.me/rjOekyqBmgxiZjcx

King Robert I the Bruce of Scotland faces Henry de Bohun in single combat before the Battle of Bannockburn, 23 June, 1314; art by Andrew Hillhouse.

On the eve of the crucial battle between Scotland and England, the young nephew of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, saw the Scottish king haranguing his troops and seemingly unprotected. He charged across the field hoping to score an easy win for England. Bruce waited his moment, shifted sideways, and hacked his opponent’s skull in half, helmet and all. The king was reproached by his soldiers for the risky behavior, but responded only by complaining that he’d broken his favorite axe. Subsequently, the Scots won a crushing victory over the English in a two day battle, killing over 12,000 of them. The battle led to the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in the year 1328, whereby the English crown renounced all right to rule Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): https://t.me/rjOekyqBmgxiZjcx

Gold torc terminal with La Tène style decoration, found near Netherurd, in Peeblesshire, Scotland; 1st century B.C. or AD. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): https://t.me/rjOekyqBmgxiZjcx

Like any Gaelic community, the command of language was highly valued.
Like many other peoples, Highlanders love a quick turn of phrase, a sharp retort, and a witty aphorism, which once coined, would make frequent appearance in daily conversation. Eloquence was a sign of intelligence and a means of persuasion.

This is illustrated in the context of Gaelic North Carolina by anecdotes such as the following incident describing a sparring match between Gaelic-speaking lawyers.

"The state solicitor finding that the jurymen were all Highlanders, addressed them in Gaelic. Not a word was intelligible to the Judge, but the jury were visibly delighted... It happened, however, that the prisoner's counsel, was even better at Gaelic, and declared that if he heard on of his own children speaking the ancient and noble language so ungrammatically he would take the tawse to him. He then took up the case, made a magnificent speech in Gaelic, carried the enthusiastic jury with him, and got a unanimous verdict for the prisoner."

During the 18th and 19th centuries, a population of many thousands of Gaelic speaking Highland Scots and Scots-Irish migrated to North Carolina, particularly the Cape Fear Valley. The Argyll Colony was possibly the largest, though these Gaels were spread throughout North Carolina and the Appalachian mountains alongside many Irish migrants who found community among fellow Gaels.

In 1739 the leaders of the Argyll Colony petitioned the Presbytery of Inverary to provide them with "a clergyman that can speak the Highland language since from that country all our servants are to be, many of which cannot speak any other language."

In 1748 there was a request for an "Irish" speaking minister.

In 1755 Rev. Hugh McAden in frustration, voiced his efforts were futile as the congregations could not understand English.

Up until 1820 there were five counties in North Carolina where Gaelic was not only the language in the street, but the official language of the courts too.

Sunset over Argyll, Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): https://t.me/rjOekyqBmgxiZjcx

The Monarch of the Glen is an oil painting of a red deer stag completed by English painter Sir Edwin Landseer in 1851. One of the most iconic painting in Scottish cultural history, the stag has its roots in Celtic mythology. The stag symbolized the “otherworldliness” of the realm of the dead, and the untamed freedom and wilderness of nature and the forest. Its antlers resemble tree branches, as if it carries the forest around with it crowned on its head. The stag is fast, powerful, and sexually vigorous representing cosmic life force. Its seasonal shedding and regrowth of its antlers represents the cyclical nature of time and the cosmos.

“It was a stag, a stag of ten,
Bearing its branches sturdily;
He came silently down the glen,
Ever sing hardily, hardily.”

-Sir Walter Scott

A compilation of songs written by Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns, compiled by one of your Britslore admins to improve your Monday:

https://youtu.be/zkDt_8xvDqw