#Kingdom of Mann and the Isles

[writtenbygracewilliams]

Peerages & Titles: how Royal titles work

[Full list of disclaimers is in the master post but tl;dr is that sources for this information are not consistent, sources may be modern, and this may be edited/expanded at anytime as my research continues.]

The full style of the monarch is Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith [Queen Elizabeth II used the same].

The full styles of King George III were George the Third, by the Grace of God King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg from 1760–1801; George the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, Arch-treasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg from 1801–1814; George the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, King of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg from 1814–1820.

Full list of the styles of English monarchs can be found here.

Monarchs always also hold the Duchy of Lancaster, Duchy of Normandy [used when on the Channel Islands] and Lord of Mann [used when on the Isle of Man, only from 1765 when it was purchased by King George III].

On Lord of Mann; Queen Elizabeth II was referred to as Lord of Mann however Queen Victoria was Lady of Mann. I imagine it is personal preference, somewhat influenced by public perception/opinion at the time.

The monarch, man or woman, is referred to as the Duke of Lancaster and Duke of Normandy. Despite their difference in regards to Lord/Lady of Mann, both Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria were referred to as Duke’s.

If a peer succeeds to the throne, the peerage merges with the crown and ceases to exist.

A fount of honour is someone with exclusive right to grant titles of nobility and orders of chivalry. In the United Kingdom, it is the monarch. [The concept is older, but the specific term dates back to late feudalism around the 15th century. It is appropriate in your fics.]

A Queen Regnant is a queen ruling in her own right.

A Queen Consort is the wife of a king.

A Dowager Queen is the widow of a former king.

Queen Mother refers to a dowager queen of a queen regnant, but is rarely used as a formal title.

A Queen Regnant’s husband is never the king consort, as a king will always outrank a queen, but they are still a royal consort. They are whatever other title(s) they may hold. They are not automatically a prince. Queen Elizabeth II made her husband Prince Philip in order to elevate his title and status to be in line with that of their children, otherwise he would have remained only The Duke of Edinburgh. The only man to hold the official title of Prince Consort was Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who held no other peerages or titles.

The Prince of Wales belongs to the heir apparent of the Crown, an heir presumptive does not hold the title. Therefore, the Princess of Wales is/was only a title for the wife of the Prince of Wales. [Given the abolition of male inheritance primogeniture for royals in 2012, it is unclear whether this would change in modern/future applications. It is entirely possible, given girls can now be heir apparent, that a girl may one day hold the title of Princess of Wales in her own right].

The heir apparent also holds the Duchy of Cornwall.

The Princess Royal is the oldest daughter of the monarch, and the highest title for a female member of the royal family (other than queen). Queen Elizabeth II was never The Princess Royal, as there can only ever be one at a time and her aunt Princess Mary of York already held the title when Elizabeth became eligible.

All people in the below tables are real British royals from the 19th–21st centuries.

Link to the master post with other forms of address, drop any questions in my ask :)

–GW xo

[pluralzalpha]

OK, what with the coronation coming up, I've seen quite a few posts about the UK, by people who don't quite understand the difference between the UK, Great Britain, England and so on.

Which is fair enough, because it is a bit complicated.

So here's some explanation.

The British Isles is a whole bunch of islands, but the main ones are those two big ones, Great Britain and Ireland.

Great Britain is divided into three countries: England, Scotland and Wales.

The island of Ireland is also divided. The northeastern six counties make up Northern Ireland, which is also sometimes referred to as Ulster, although the traditional province of Ulster is somewhat larger.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make up the larger country of the United Kingdom, a sovereign state. The full name of the state is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but that's a bit of a mouthful, so generally it's the United Kingdom or the UK.

"Britain" can be used to mean either the island of Great Britain or the UK as a whole. Anyone from the UK is a British national (a Briton or Brit), although many Scots, Northern Irish, and some Welsh don't describe themselves as British because of their political position. There's a strong Scottish independence movement, and the situation in Ireland is complicated, to say the least.

It's very important to remember that England is not the same as Britain, Great Britain or the UK. It is merely part of it. A lot of people use England interchangeably with the broader terms, but this is wrong. Try going to Scotland and saying it's part of England and see how long it takes to get a smack in the face.

The rest of Ireland is an entirely separate country, a sovereign state in its own right. Its official name is simply Ireland, but it's often referred to by its official description, the Republic of Ireland (RoI) for clarity. It can also be called by its Irish name, Eire.

It's not unheard of for the Republic to be referred to as Southern Ireland, but this can cause a lot of offence, and in any case, it's by far the larger part of Ireland and actually reaches further north than Northern Ireland.

King Charles III has the title of King of the United Kingdom. The title King of England is archaic and hasn't actually been used for centuries. He is the sovereign of the UK and has nothing to do with RoI.

There are lots of smaller islands that are part of any of the five countries above, but there are also some more islands just to be confusing.

The Channel Islands aren't even in the map above, because they're closer to France, but they're often grouped in with the British Isles. The largest two, Jersey and Guernsey, are separate countries (Guernsey has some even smaller islands within its territory). They're what's left of the ancient Duchy of Normandy. There's also the Isle of Man, also called Mann, between Great Britain and Ireland.

These three are NOT part of the UK. They are Crown Dependencies, which means they essentially belong to the King, but have seperate governments. The UK has sovereignty over them though, and is responsible for their defence and representation internationally.

The UK and the Crown Dependencies are also legally known as the British Islands (not Isles, as this includes all of Ireland), but no one really uses this except in important international treaty stuff.

See? Perfectly straightforward...

[kobold-wyx]

CK3 charity stream breakdown

cw: cannibalism, child harm, cancer

1. start with 400 points, basically witch+basic traits and stats in wales

2. the king of england invites me to a grand tournament and then literally dies in the first match

3. i hurriedly figured out how to gain congenital traits by eating children via witchcraft progression, and claim the kingdom of wales

4. I founded a coven and sold my seventh child's soul for an extended life

5. EATING SO MANY CHILDREN. YUM

6. i found out the king of the isle of man has the ring of life but couldn't figure out how to take it

7. i started exclusively destabilizing england by eating royal kids and murdering every adult that came to power

8. i am infirm

9. i figured out how to steal the ring of life on my deathbed. i succeeded and killed the previous owner, the king of the isle of mann. i am now functionally immortal

10. i killed england's royalty so much that my grandson's wife inherited the title randomly, and my grandson became the king of england so i stopped destabilizing england as it was now ruled by kobolds

11. the witch king was clubbed by a boat mast while relaxing at sea, was barely rescued, and suffered so much brain damage he is now incapable and cannot cast magic nor brew the potions that would cure himself. however, the instinct to abduct and eat children remained, and he often staked out the lands for his desired plans to work. no agents betrayed him. they saw the utility in his plans, despite his new mental handicap.

12. while incapable my kingdom rescued the now very-destabilized england from 4 simultaneous wars. kobolds are victorious. flanders is annihilated.

13. the witch king turns his attention to norway and begins killing adults and eating noble children to destabilize the invaded scotland territory controlled by the norse

14. i was abducted

15. they took the ring

16. fuck. at least i can hunt the nobles of norway

17. i must remind my grand daughter acting as regent who i am, and that her attempt to wrest my power away from my ownership will not be tolerated, nor punished. despite the fact that she is running it entirely without me. i trust you and will never harm you but you will never own it while i am alive, for even without the ring i will not die without a fight.

18. my body is suddenly entirely comprised of cancer. i will be dead within the year.

19. i die begging for my family coven to feed me the last prince of norway who eluded my grasp. my grandson of an unbroken line of primary heirs takes my title, and is left with a utopic paradise for himself, his surviving family, and his people. he is unable to thank me for the cost i was willing to pay.

but, the great grandson cannot look past his ruined family's lives at his ancestor's hands.

[eyssant]

Isle of Man: A Historical Odyssey from Celts to Vikings

The Isle of Man, a small island situated in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland, is renowned for its rich history, stunning landscapes, and vibrant culture. With its unique blend of Celtic, Viking, and Norse heritage, the island offers a fascinating glimpse into the past, alongside a plethora of attractions for modern explorers. From ancient monuments to picturesque coastal paths, the Isle of Man is a treasure trove waiting to be discovered.

Historical Significance

The history of the Isle of Man is a tapestry woven from the influences of various civilizations over thousands of years. Evidence of human habitation dates back to the Mesolithic period, around 8,000 years ago, with Neolithic and Bronze Age sites scattered across the island, such as the Meayll Hill Stone Circle and the Balladoole Viking Burial.

During the Iron Age, the Celts established their presence on the island, leaving behind a legacy of hill forts and roundhouses. The Celtic influence is still evident today in the island's language, Manx Gaelic, which has seen a revival in recent years.

The arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century marked a significant chapter in the island's history. The Isle of Man became a vital part of the Norse kingdom of Mann and the Isles, with Viking rulers exerting control over the island for several centuries. This period left an indelible mark on the island's culture and heritage, with remnants such as the Viking ship burial at Balladoole and the ancient Tynwald Hill, where the island's parliament, Tynwald, has met for over a thousand years, making it the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world.

The medieval era saw the construction of impressive castles, such as Castle Rushen in Castletown and Peel Castle on St Patrick's Isle. These fortifications played crucial roles in the island's defense and governance. The island eventually came under the control of the Scottish and then the English crowns, yet it maintained a significant degree of autonomy, which continues today as a self-governing British Crown Dependency.

Places to Explore

The Isle of Man offers a diverse array of attractions that cater to a wide range of interests:

Castletown and Castle Rushen: Once the island’s capital, Castletown is home to Castle Rushen, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Europe. The castle's towering limestone walls and intricate interiors offer a glimpse into the island's feudal past.

Peel and Peel Castle: This picturesque fishing port is dominated by the ruins of Peel Castle, which sits on St Patrick's Isle. The castle, originally a place of worship before becoming a fortress, provides panoramic views of the surrounding sea.

Douglas and the Manx Museum: The island's modern capital, Douglas, is a vibrant hub of activity. The Manx Museum in Douglas provides an excellent overview of the island's history, culture, and natural heritage.

The Great Laxey Wheel: Also known as Lady Isabella, this is the largest working waterwheel in the world. Located in the village of Laxey, it was built in the 19th century to pump water from the local lead mines.

Snaefell Mountain Railway: This charming electric railway takes visitors to the summit of Snaefell, the island's highest peak. On a clear day, you can see the seven kingdoms: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Heaven, and the Sea.

The Calf of Man: A small island off the southern tip of the Isle of Man, it is a nature reserve teeming with birdlife and seals. It's an ideal spot for nature enthusiasts and hikers.

Heritage Railways: The island is home to several heritage railways, including the Steam Railway and the Manx Electric Railway, offering scenic journeys through the countryside and along the coast.

Isle of Man TT Races: Held annually in late May and early June, this world-famous motorcycle race attracts enthusiasts from around the globe. The Snaefell Mountain Course, with its challenging twists and turns, is a legendary circuit in the racing world.

Conclusion

The Isle of Man is a destination that seamlessly blends historical significance with natural beauty. Whether you are a history enthusiast, nature lover, or adventure seeker, the island offers a rich array of experiences. The Isle of Man experiences a temperate maritime climate, characterized by mild temperatures and relatively high humidity. The weather can be quite changeable due to the island's location in the Irish Sea. The weather and climate of the Isle of Man make it a year-round destination, ensuring that there is always something to explore and enjoy on this captivating island.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.14

557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake, which cracks the dome of Hagia Sophia. 835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled. 1287 – St. Lucia's flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people. 1542 – Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen of Scots at the age of one week on the death of her father, James V of Scotland. 1751 – The Theresian Military Academy is founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. 1780 – Founding Father Alexander Hamilton marries Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2.5 km (1.6 mi). 1812 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia. 1814 – War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana. 1819 – Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state. 1836 – The Toledo War unofficially ends as the "Frostbitten Convention" votes to accept Congress' terms for admitting Michigan as a U.S. state. 1863 – American Civil War: The Confederate victory under General James Longstreet at the Battle of Bean's Station in East Tennessee ends the Knoxville Campaign, but achieves very little as Longstreet returns to Virginia next spring. 1896 – The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company. 1900 – Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law (quantum theory) at the Physic Society in Berlin. 1902 – The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu. 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1907 – The Thomas W. Lawson, the largest ever ship without a heat engine, runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die. 1909 – New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory. 1911 – Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole. 1913 – Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II. 1914 – Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1918 – Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne. 1918 – Portuguese President Sidónio Pais is assassinated. 1918 – The 1918 United Kingdom general election occurs, the first where women were permitted to vote. 1918 – Giacomo Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. 1939 – Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland. 1940 – Plutonium (specifically Pu-238) is first isolated at Berkeley, California. 1948 – Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game. 1955 – Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations through United Nations Security Council Resolution 109. 1958 – The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility. 1960 – Convention against Discrimination in Education of UNESCO is adopted. 1962 – NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus. 1963 – The dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles, California. 1964 – American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Congress can use the Constitution's Commerce Clause to fight discrimination. 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. (The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.) 1972 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the most recent person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission. 1981 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights. 1985 – Wilma Mankiller takes office as the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. 1986 – Qasba Aligarh massacre: Over 400 Muhajirs killed in revenge killings in Qasba colony after a raid on Pashtun heroin processing and distribution center in Sohrab Goth by the security forces. 1992 – War in Abkhazia: Siege of Tkvarcheli: A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia. 1994 – Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1998 – Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav Army ambushes a group of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 36. 1999 – Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure. 2003 – Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. 2004 – The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France. 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. 2013 – A reported coup attempt in South Sudan leads to continued fighting and hundreds of casualties. 2017 – The Walt Disney Company announces that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion. 2020 – A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

[weavingthetapestry]

8th October, 1275- The Battle of Ronaldsway

(The area around Ronaldsway, at the south end of the Isle of Man, from the air. Picture from Wikimedia Commons)

Got another battle for you today folks, in keeping with the fact that earlier the Battle of Largs was covered on this blog. That battle, though perhaps not quite so game-changing and pivotal in British history as some sources would have us believe, was still an important moment in the process that saw sovereignty over the islands and western seaboard pass from Norway to the Scottish Crown. With the death of Haakon IV in late 1263, any hopes the Norwegians had of soon resuming their campaign and recouping losses were stymied and King Alexander III quickly capitalised on the situation, sending a force into the Hebrides under the Earl of Buchan and Alan Durward, whose forces simultaneously wreaked devastation and brought home the message of Scottish ascendancy. Hostages were taken for good behaviour and while some of the Hebridean rulers still refused to give into Scottish demands of overlordship, others, including several notable members of the House of Somerled, came into the king of Scotland’s peace more readily.

The story of how the Western Isles were incorporated into the kingdom of Scotland is reasonably well known- or at least the popular, if not wholly accurate and somewhat sanitised, version of the story is more likely to be covered in a Scottish history class than that of the Isle of Man. Nonetheless for a short while this territory also came under the control of the Scottish Crown. At around the same time as Buchan and Durward were sent into the Hebrides, an expedition was also fitted out for the Isle of Man. However, Magnus Olafsson, the King of Man, who was probably quite rightly anxious to avoid a Scottish army being set loose in his own land, pre-empted Alexander’s intervention and met with the king of Scots at Dumfries. There, he did homage and received Alexander’s promise of protection and shelter in Scotland should the king of Norway attempt to take reprisals against him, in return for agreeing to provide military service of ten galleys.

How this new relationship between the kings of Man and Scotland would have panned out in time is impossible to say, as Magnus died at Castle Rushen in late 1265. After this, control of Mann was put in the hands of a succession of royal bailiffs (Lewis and Skye, which were also part of the kingdom of Mann, were put under the control of the Crown and the Earl of Ross respectively) and Alexander’s sovereignty over the island was confirmed by Norway as a result of the Treaty of Perth in 1266. At some point seven hostages were taken for good behaviour as well, and kept by the Sheriff of Dumfries on behalf of the king. To all intents and purposes, Man was to be treated as a possession of the Scottish Crown, whether the Manx liked it or not (this also must have stuck in the throat of the king of England, who lost the opportunity to finally bring Mann under English control as a result of being distracted by domestic strife). However while there was little significant trouble in the Hebrides in the decades after the Treaty of Perth, Man was a different matter and not only were the baillies unpopular, but in general the island’s loss of autonomy and subjugation to the Scottish Crown did not go down well. And thus we are brought to the autumn of 1275, when that simmering discontent came to a head and the Manxmen rose in revolt.

(A seal of Alexander III of Scotland, last king of the House of Dunkeld) 

The leader of this movement was Guðrøðr Magnusson (name may also be rendered as Godfrey or Godred), an illegitimate son of the late Magnus, who appears to have been viewed by the majority of the Manx political community as the right man to succeed his father. Quickly gathering support, he soon seized the main castles and strongholds on the island, turfing out the Scots there, and making a bid to reestablish the primacy of the Crovan dynasty. Members of this kindred had ruled in Mann since at least the twelfth century, though at other times their power also extended to the Outer Hebrides, especially Lewis (their main competitors, meanwhile, were the branches of the Mac Somhairle clan in the Inner Hebrides and Argyll- who gave rise to the MacDonalds, MacDougalls, and MacRuaidhris- whose members had occasionally also ruled in Mann). But Godred’s attempts to claim the kingship of Mann that his ancestors once held, naturally aroused the wrath of Alexander III, who immediately acted to prevent the situation getting any further out of hand.

Having raised a force from Galloway and the Hebrides, a fleet was soon on its way south to Mann, landing at Ronaldsway on the south side of the island on the seventh of October. Its leaders were King Alexander’s second cousin John de Vesci, lord of Alnwick; John ‘the Black’ Comyn, lord of Badenoch; Alexander MacDougall lord of Argyll, whose sister had been married to the late Magnus Olafsson; Alan MacRuairi, who twelve years earlier had raided the west coast of Scotland on behalf of Hakon IV of Norway; and Alan, a son of the Earl of Atholl and grandson to Roland/Lachlan of Galloway. Of these the last had already been one of the Crown’s bailiffs of Mann, while two more- MacDougall and MacRuairi- belonged to two of the most prominent septs of the House of Somerled, and their role in the suppression of the Manx revolt says a lot about Alexander’s new power in the Hebrides and on the west coast of the Scottish mainland (nevertheless, Alan MacRuairi’s older brother Dubhgall, the head of the MacRuairis, remained in rebellion and had taken himself off to plunder Ireland a few years before, so not everyone was wholly happy with the situation in the Hebrides, even if it was more accepted than in Mann). Meanwhile the ability to raise men in the Hebrides and Galloway was a testament to the strength of the campaigns of Alexander III and his father respectively in those parts, and the Hebridean galleys were a strong addition to the naval power of the Scottish Crown, which had already shown its ability to exploit the advantages of the galley in its earlier campaigns in the west.

Sources for the Manx side of things are even less informative, though for all his early success Guðrøðr’s force does not seem to have been anywhere near as well-equipped as its enemy. When the Scots landed on the seventh, they sent a peace embassy to offer terms if the Manx surrendered, but Guðrøðr and his counsellors firmly rejected this option. Early the next day- the eighth of October- battle was joined before the sun was even in the sky. It is perhaps rather disappointing, given all the lead-up, that Guðrøðr’s short rebellion ended so swiftly and that the skirmish can be summed up in a few sentences, but the sources, though unfortunately short, make it clear that Ronaldsway was an overwhelming defeat for the Manxmen. Accounts of the battle describe the latter as being ‘naked and unarmed’ and they were almost immediately beaten back by the crossbowmen, archers, and other soldiers of the Scots. Very soon they turned and fled, with the Scots in hot pursuit, cutting down any they could catch and not stopping to spare people on account of sex or rank, to the result that over five hundred are alleged to have died in the battle itself. As Ronaldsway is, even today, very close to the important settlement of Castletown (so named for Castle Rushen, then the main political centre of the island), the flight of the Manx brought the Scots into contact with non-combatants and, both in the chase and after the battle was technically over, the invaders brought destruction to the area. As well as slaying many, they are also supposed to have sacked Rushen Abbey, a significant foundation of the Crovan dynasty and a hugely important religious centre for the Isle of Man.

The Chronicle of Man provided a versified toll of the dead:

‘Ten L’s, three X’s, with five and two to fall,

Manxmen take care lest future evils call.’

Or, in Latin:

‘L decies, X ter et penta, duo cecidere,

Mannica gens de te dampua futura cave.’

(Castle Rushen, in the thirteenth century the main political centre of the Isle of Man, and not far from Ronaldsway. Not my picture.)

Scottish control was quickly- and brutally- reestablished over Mann, while Guðrøðr, is supposed to have fled to Wales with his wife and followers. He was not to be the last of the Crovan dynasty to lay claim to Mann, but for the rest of Alexander III’s reign the island does not appear to have caused any significant trouble. To the Scottish Crown this settled the matter and the young Prince Alexander, son of the Scottish king, was named lord of Man until his early death in 1284, though it is doubtful if he ever played much active role in its governance and the real administration of the island was once again placed in the hands of bailiffs.

However, some historians argue that the aftermath of the Battle of Ronaldsway, since it can hardly have inspired positive feelings towards Scotland, may have promoted the further growth of an anti-Scottish faction in the Manx political community. When Margaret- the infant daughter of Eric II of Norway and granddaughter of Alexander III- inherited the throne of Scotland upon the death of her maternal grandfather in 1286, she also succeeded to the title Lady of Mann. However, when her great-uncle Edward I of England annexed the island a little while before her premature death in September of 1290, nobody on the Isle of Man appears to have complained. After all, the Battle of Ronaldsway- and the destruction that followed- had only occurred fifteen years before, and even prior to that the majority of the Manx had not shown any particular enthusiasm for Scottish sovereignty. The territory was formally restored to King John by Edward I in 1293, though quite some time after the rest of the Scottish realm, and was to pass back and forth between Scotland and England for several more decades, but after the mid-fourteenth century Scottish claims to Mann were largely abandoned and at the end of the century it formally came under English control. The Crovan dynasty, however, would never again hold the title Kings of Mann.

(References below cut)

The Furness continuation of William of Newburgh’s ‘Historia Reru Anglicarum’ in ‘Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard’, ed. Richard Howlett

The Chronicle of Man in ‘Monumenta de Insula Manniae, or a Collection of National Documents Relating to the Isle of Man’, transl. and ed. J. R. Oliver

‘Early Sources of Scottish History’, A.O. Anderson

John of Fordun’s ‘Chronica Gentis Scotorum’, ed. by W. F. Skene

‘Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000-1306′, G.W.S. Barrow

‘The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland’s Western Seaboard, c. 1100- c.1336′, R. Andrew MacDonald

“The Wars of Scotland, 1214-1371″, by Michael Brown

[silentambassadors]

Located smack-dab in the middle of the Irish Sea, roughly equidistant to England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, the Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin in Manx) has been inhabited for close to 9,000 years and has been subject to a number of raids and invasions through the years, including by Norsemen in the 9th Century, when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Isles.  The English and Scottish have also squabbled over sovereignty there (the Manx language is Gaelic in origin), but in recent centuries it was the Manxmen themselves who started gaining self-governance.  The Manx legislature, Tynwald, was the first in the world to give (unmarried) women the vote (in 1881), and while still a Crown Dependency (like the Channel Islands), it is *not* part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  Known for its triskelion national symbol, the Three Legs of Mann has an uncertain origin (dating back at least until the 13th Century), but is clearly reminiscent of the ancient Sicilian triskelion (trinacria).

Stamp details: Top left: Issued on: August 18, 1958 From: Douglas, Isle of Man MC #1

Top right: Issued on: July 7, 1971 From: Douglas, Isle of Man MC #8

Middle stamps: Issued on: July 5, 1973 From: Douglas, Isle of Man MC #24, 27, 28

Stamps on bottom: Issued on: April 3, 2013 From: Douglas, Isle of Man MC #1841, 1844, 1847

Recognized as a sovereign state by the UN: No Claimed by: Crown Dependency of the British Crown Member of the Universal Postal Union: Yes (since July 1, 1875, as a Crown Dependency)

[esser-z]

Latest CK3 run has had the best marriage I've ever pulled.

Started out as a 16 year old (to squeeze points to grab Genius) custom pirate countess of the isle of Mann. Raided around a ton, built up a few more territories while building fame and prepping to overthrow her liege...whose realm fell apart on his death so i could just seize the isles and my duchy title and elevate to the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles

Disinherited her son in favor of one of her three Genius daughters ... two of whom she killed in duels for trying to murder their elder sister, whoops. Pirate queen Cecilia Havi was a stone cold bitch whose elite raiders tore apart armies twice their size with her at the lead even in her late 60s and Infirm.

So, the surviving daughter, Bridgette, had a matrilineal marriage to a jarl back in Scandinavia. After her mom's death, he launched a war to seize the kingdom of Sweden, backed by the new queen's pirates. It was a success.

So at this point I've got most of the British Isles and my husband has most of Scandinavia, and we only have one son. Also I'm possessed, probably by the ghost of my pirate mom. I continue expanding until my husband and die

Making my new character king of both realms and very shortly thereafter able to combine them into the Empire of Mann. With three holy sites now secure, he spent the next few years raiding France, repeating grandma's feat of taking down an army twice ours size during the sack of Paris, to build up Piety and reform Asatru with the most justified gender equality the 10th century has seen; his empire is, after all, built on the deeds of two women

[criffyzou]

Forcing my 76yo infirm compassionate jarl of Iceland to keep raiding until he gets the viking trait, reloading every time he dies, because I want to play the Royal Court DLC and the kingdom of Mann and the Isles is the only one I can have.

[gentlyepigrams]

Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, late 11th century

[jackhkeynes]

26m Janver

from “An Abridged History of Northern Albion” by Aidan Donblane, published by Cloddale Primers, 1940 (with commentary by his daughter Anhart, 1980)

...and thus, with the aid of Harald the Blue, established the Gallic Kingdom of Alba in what had been Pictland. Records of the Picts quickly become scanty, suggesting an acceleration of the encroachment of Gallic language and culture from the west, into Moray [1].

With the Northumbrian conquest of Eidin (modern Edinburg) in 928, the Kingdom of Strathclyde lost the remaining vestiges of its eastern coast. However, the extended Viking in the east had left many of their eponymous Isles severely undefended [2], and over the ensuing decades, Strathclyde under Roderick would invade many of them: first Arran in 934, and most importantly, Mann fell in 942.

While the inevitable acrimony this expansion engendered with both the Irish kingdoms and with Denmark [3] is beyond the scope of this book, we shall briefly examine its effects on Northumbria, on the new Alba, and on Gwyneth to the southwest.

Relations with the Kingdom of Northumbria cooled from the moment Edinburg fell; the common enemy both states had in the Norse (recall the conquest of Yorwick) presumably helped speed the process along. According to the relevant copies of the English Chronicle, the bride of King Radulf, who succeeded his uncle in 951, was one “Atre of Cheswic”; this is suspected to be the same town as Cumbrian “Keswick”, although whether she was a daughter of King Roderick is unclear...

---

[1] Recent research calls into question the then-prevailing theory that Alba (and in turn Scotland) only experienced significant Norse influence during and after the eleventh-century migrations. Placename analysis (see F. Berger, 1977) has been correlated with dig sites and suggests that the kingdom had a significant Norse subtrate from its inception.

[2] This is a simplification: the Norse ascendancy through the ninth century and the beginning of the tenth had at last reached its peak, and politics further east (as well as the interference of the French Normans) diminished the resources that the Sodrick kings had at their disposal.

[3] That is, the various states making up what are now Denmark and Horthland, and so on.

[seashellronan]

Great Britain is the big island England is on. The UK is England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The only way people from Northern Ireland would be British is if you're defining British as "from the British Isles", which means Great Britain and Ireland and the Isle of Mann and all the other islands scattered around here.

thank you for this lesson however as i stated before many people in northern ireland have british citizenship and are therefore considered british, british is the common term used for someone who lives in the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland or hold british citizenship therefore not everyone in northern ireland is british tho some are and are proud of the fact if u don’t believe me google is free

[kimanda]

what's your opinion of shipping Isle of Man with Norway?

Hmm, honestly I haven’t made my mind up on that ship. Isle of Man ships are extremely rare, due to the few Isle of Man OCs that have existed within the fandom and the smaller number of them that were active. 

So in terms of the ship itself, it might possibly work out. There is a lot of early history between Mann and Norway, and there are many things in Isle of Man that are a result of Norway’s influences. However it is worth remembering that Norway came to Isle of Man first as an invader and plunderer. The impression that I get is that it wasn’t nearly as violent as compared to other places in Ireland and Great Britain, but I still find it best to be mindful that their initial meeting wouldn’t have been entirely positive.

But could a romance between them work? I wouldn’t find it impossible, it really comes down to how the ship is presented. I would want to read more in depth how the interactions between Isle of Man and Norway were throughout the centuries when Norwegian rule became established in Isle of Man. With time the relationship between the two must have been relatively positive, seeing as when Scotland chased the Norwegians out and claimed Isle of Man as part of his kingdom, the Manx people were pretty hostile to the new Scottish rule. They resisted it enough for Scotland to send an army over to snuff out the Manx rebels who were trying to re-establish Norse power with the Norse King of Mann. (the Scottish won that fight, with a lot of deaths on the side of the Manx)

I’d say that a romance could potentially develop between Mann and Norway, at least during the medieval times. After Norway was chased out of the islands in the Irish Sea, I’m not entirely sure if there would have been many opportunities for Isle of Man and Norway to meet each other, let alone maintain a relationship. Isle of Man as a territory was bounced back and forth between Scotland and England, and Norway was probably preoccupied by other things back at home. Maybe in modern times there would be again a possibility to see each other more often and perhaps a romance there could flourish, but I’d want to check that out more closely to be sure it’s feasible. 

Personally I don’t ship my Isle of Man OC with Norway. I prefer to regard them as becoming good friends during the medieval times, since both have similar natures and they understand each other very well. I also think Isle of Man was interested in calling Norway a brother, but backed away when Norway introduced him to Iceland. (whether Norway was aware of Isle of Man’s desire to establish a sibling relationship, I have yet to figure out) After Norway’s departure from the islands, there was little contact between them for many centuries. In modern times I’d like to think they picked up contact again and picked the friendship up from where they had left it. They maintain a good friendship, based on mutual understanding.  

 So in short : the ship could definitely work if it’s done right. I personally prefer to interpret my Isle of Man OC as being friends with Norway, but I wouldn’t be against someone shipping their Isle of Man with Norway. 

[cybertriumphllama]

Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II:

Elizabeth II, Queen of the Commonwealth and the longest-living and longest-reigning British monarch, died on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle, Scotland. The official announcement came at 18:30 BST. Earlier in the day, doctors were concerned about his health and placed him under medical supervision.

Her death was preceded by Operation London Bridge, a collection of highly detailed plans including arrangements for her funeral, and primarily Operation Unicorn, which set the protocol for the Queen's death in Scotland.

Elizabeth Biography:

Queen Elizabeth II now lived in this world. The news came late Thursday night that he had died. Earlier, the royal family said that Queen Elizabeth's condition was critical and she was under the care of doctors. Queen Elizabeth is 96 years old and the longest reigning female in her family. He was crowned after the death of George VI in 1953.

Queen:

Born in London Queen Elizabeth was born in London. He was educated at home by a private tutor. His father took the throne in 1936 after Edward VIII abdicated. He then inherited the kingdom. The Queen was crowned in 1953. His coronation was also broadcast live on India's Door darshan. Many important changes took place in the United Kingdom during Elizabeth's reign.

Queen Elizabeth's Family:

Queen Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947. The Queen has four children, Charles, Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. Prince Philip is her distant relative, and the two fell in love very young. The two first met in 1939. Queen Elizabeth said they fell in love with each other at the age of 13 and even started sending each other love letters.

Queen's marriage in controversy:

There was much controversy surrounding Rani's marriage. Even Eliza Beth faced opposition from her family members. It is said that his family members did not like Flip for some reason. Apart from this, it is also known that her sisters were not invited to the Queen's wedding. The princesses two and the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, were also not invited to the wedding.

Surname:

Elizabeth held many titles and honorary military posts throughout the Commonwealth, was sovereign of many orders in her own country and received honors and awards worldwide. She has a distinct title in each of her territories that follows the same formula: Queen of Jamaica in her other territories and territories in Jamaica, Queen of Australia in her other territories and territories in Australia, etc. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, which are crown rather than separate kingdoms, he is known as Duke of Normandy and Lord of Mann, respectively. Additional names include Defender of the Faith and Duke of Lancaster. When conversing with the Queen, she is first addressed as Your Majesty and then as Ma'am.

His funeral will be held on 19 October 2022.

Finally, I deeply respect and love to his memory.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.14

557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake, which cracks the dome of Hagia Sophia. 835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled. 1287 – St. Lucia's flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people. 1542 – Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen of Scots at the age of one week on the death of her father, James V of Scotland. 1601–1900 1751 – The Theresian Military Academy is founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. 1780 – Founding Father Alexander Hamilton marries Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2 km (1.2 mi). 1812 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia. 1814 – War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana. 1819 – Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state. 1836 – The Toledo War unofficially ends. 1863 – American Civil War: The Confederate victory under General James Longstreet at the Battle of Bean's Station in East Tennessee ends the Knoxville Campaign, but achieves very little as Longstreet returns to Virginia next spring. 1896 – The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company. 1900 – Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law (quantum theory) at the Physic Society in Berlin. 1902 – The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu. 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1907 – The Thomas W. Lawson, the largest ever ship without a heat engine, runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die. 1909 – New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory. 1911 – Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole. 1913 – Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II. 1914 – Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1918 – Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne. 1918 – Portuguese President Sidónio Pais is assassinated. 1918 – The 1918 United Kingdom general election occurs, the first where women were permitted to vote. 1939 – Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland. 1940 – Plutonium (specifically Pu-238) is first isolated at Berkeley, California. 1948 – Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game. 1955 – Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations through United Nations Security Council Resolution 109. 1958 – The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility. 1960 – Convention against Discrimination in Education of UNESCO is adopted. 1962 – NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus. 1963 – The dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles, California. 1964 – American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Congress can use the Constitution's Commerce Clause to fight discrimination. 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. (The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.) 1972 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission. 1981 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights. 1985 – Wilma Mankiller takes office as the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. 1992 – War in Abkhazia: Siege of Tkvarcheli: A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia. 1994 – Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1998 – Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav Army ambushes a group of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 36. 1999 – Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure. 2003 – Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. 2004 – The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France. 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. 2013 – A reported coup attempt in South Sudan leads to continued fighting and hundreds of casualties. 2017 – The Walt Disney Company announces that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion. 2020 – A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

[weavingthetapestry]

4th September 1241- Birth of King Alexander III of Scotland

In 1241, Alexander II of Scotland had every reason to be proud of his achievements. One of mediaeval Scotland’s most formidable rulers, over the past three decades he had ruthlessly neutralised all dynastic threats to his crown and extended his authority further than any previous Scottish monarch, leading campaigns and suppressing revolts from Caithness to Galloway. He maintained an aggressive foreign policy towards his powerful neighbours in Norway and England, as well as a host of lesser kings and magnates on the fringes of his realm. From the earliest years of his reign when, at the age of just eighteen, he had marched a Scottish army as far south as Dover, to his death in Kerrara, on the brink of establishing Scottish ascendancy in the Western Isles, Alexander’s career was dramatic and bloody- but it had certainly yielded results. But there was one thing missing: despite being in his early forties and having married twice over the past twenty years, he had no legitimate child to whom he could pass on his kingdom and thereby secure this impressive legacy.

(Remains of Roxburgh Castle in the 1920s. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

In 1221, Alexander II had married Joan of England, a sister of Henry III of England. By the time of Joan’s death seventeen years later, however, no children had been born to the couple, who in any case do not appear to have been particularly close. Alexander soon married again, this time choosing Marie de Coucy, daughter of the powerful French nobleman Enguerrand de Coucy, a match which may have irked the king of England but was advantageous for the king of Scots. The wedding took place in May 1239 at Roxburgh Castle, and by early 1241, Marie had already fallen pregnant. By this point none of Alexander II’s sisters had any living children and his first cousin John, Earl of Huntingdon, the next male heir, had died in 1237. The fragility of the Scottish succession would have been especially brought home by the accidental death of Gilbert Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, the husband of the king’s youngest sister Marjorie, in an illegal tournament in June 1241. Thus the arrival of the long-awaited heir to the Scottish throne in autumn of that year came not a moment too soon. On 4th September 1241 at Roxburgh, Queen Marie gave birth to a healthy male child and the boy was promptly christened Alexander after his father.

Although it is likely that the birth of an heir to the 43-year-old king of Scots would have been a cause for considerable celebration, contemporary sources are largely silent about the reaction to the young Alexander’s birth. Instead, the Chronicle of Lanercost, with its penchant for sensational stories and moralising tales, has furnished us with an anecdote about a strange event which took place during the young prince’s early months. 

King Alexander II was riding out of Edinburgh when he was waylaid by a burgess’ widow, aged and impoverished. She had been ruined by the constant demands of the royal court upon her business, providing the king’s servants which many goods for which she had received no payment. The previous day she had attempted to hold onto a cockerel which she had expected would bring great profit, but eventually this too was extorted from her. Now, her resources completely exhausted, she begged the king for repayment.  Embarrassed, Alexander II attempted to shake her off, promising her that she would be paid in full in due course, but the widow had reached the end of her patience. As he rode away she chased after him, shouting a curse, “May God in heaven give you such joy from your only son as I had yesterday when my cock had its neck broken!” This greatly alarmed the king and he fervently prayed to God not to let her curse come to pass, but, though acknowledging that disaster did not immediately strike the young prince, the chronicler pointedly ends his tale with a meaningful comment about God being “one who pays back after a very long interval”. Richard of Durham, who likely wrote the portion of the Chronicle of Lanercost spanning the years 1201-1297, was in contact with the Scottish court, having possibly resided in Haddington for a while, and being on intimate terms with the earl and countess of Dunbar, as well as counting the confessor of Margaret of England, Alexander III’s queen, among his informants. Due to these contacts it is entirely possible that there are some truthful elements to the above story. However, since Richard probably began writing his chronicle around 1280, and since the story is perhaps too convenient in light of both later history and the chronicler’s moralising aim, it seems much more likely that the tale was exaggerated, altered or created in light of the series of tragedies which famously struck the Scottish royal family in the 1270s and 1280s- which did indeed culminate in King Alexander III breaking his neck.

King Alexander II and Marie de Coucy are not known to have had any further children (although Alexander II had at least one, possibly two illegitimate daughters), so it is fortunate that the younger Alexander survived all the dangers of infancy and childhood to succeed to his father’s throne. This occurred rather sooner than expected, when in July 1249 the apparently indomitable Alexander II succumbed to illness at the age of fifty while on campaign in the Hebrides and left the crown to his young son, who was not yet eight years old. After a somewhat rocky minority, Alexander III nevertheless grew into a capable monarch, who maintained Scotland’s position as an independent, consolidated mediaeval state, and even achieved his father’s ambition of permanently uniting the Western Isles and Mann to his realm. However his abilities have perhaps been somewhat exaggerated over the past seven centuries, because late mediaeval chroniclers portrayed his reign as something of a ‘Golden Age’ in Scottish history. The enduring nature of this ‘Golden Age’ myth is to some extent understandable: these chroniclers were all writing in the wake of the Scottish Wars of Independence, and nostalgically looking back to the reign of Alexander III as a time of peace and prosperity. This however has tended to overshadow both the achievements of his father Alexander II and previous monarchs, who largely created the conditions for the economic prosperity and political stability of late thirteenth century Scotland. The myth also obscures the fact that this so-called ‘Golden Age’ had been won at considerable cost, through many bloody wars and aggressive expansionist policies which were vigorously pursued by the Canmore kings. 

(A fifteenth century depiction of Alexander III’s coronation, from the Scotichronicon. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Nonetheless, for the most part Alexander III can be considered one of Scotland’s ‘greater’ monarchs, though he is perhaps best known for the tragedies which occurred in the last decade of his reign. Having lost his wife, Margaret of England, in 1275, Alexander’s personal losses became very public when in the space of a few short years, all three of his children- two of them adults- died. Now the last of his house, he quickly married again, to Yolande of Dreux, in hopes of securing the succession. This time, there was to be no fortuitous birth of an heir, and in early 1286, within four months of his marriage and not yet 45 years old, Alexander III himself fell from his horse and broke his neck. His sudden death- and the subsequent death of his granddaughter the Maid of Norway- indirectly led to the Wars of Independence. However the strength and cohesion of the Scottish kingdom, as forged under the later Canmore monarchs (though often through ruthless methods), probably helped the country to survive the long and fractious warfare largely intact, as both a state and a nation.

References: 

The Chronicle of Melrose as translated in ‘Early Sources of Scottish History’ by A.O. Anderson. 

‘Chronicon de Lanercost’ ed. Joseph Stevenson (1839)

‘Theatricality and Narrative in Medieval and Early Modern Scotland’, by John McGavin

‘The Authorship of the Lanercost Chronicle’, by A.G. Little

‘Alexander II’, by Richard Oram