The Borders: A History of the Borders from Earliest Times

I am reading this book on Kindle.  The information is not something that I know much about, so I find it hard to follow some of the time.  But I pick up many good thoughts.  The one that I want to comment on tonight takes place after AD 410.  This is my interpretation of what I read.  You may want to read it for yourself.

 In AD 410 the Anglo-Saxon raiders were more than a thorn in the side of the cities of the area which had been founded by the Romans.  "The only organized elements of Roman government left were the cities. But in AD 410 their resources were thinning and they wrote to the legitimate emperor [of the Roman Empire], Honorius, to request help from Rome.  Beleaguered in Italy, he could do nothing, and he replied with the advice that the British cities had to look to their own defenses.  Honorius's letter is seen as the moment the Roman province of Britannia died....."

"In AD 870 the last of the British Kingdoms of the North fell.  The Damnonians of the Clyde Valley, first reported by Tacitus in AD 79, had evolved into the kingdom of  Aleut, the Rock of the Clyde.  Better known to us as Dumbarton, it was the seat of kings for at least 800 years, and probably longer."  In the spring of AD 870 the dragon-ships of the Vikings sailed from Dublin into the harbor.  They besieged the castle for four months.  They took the riches and also a great host of the people who were taken to Dublin to be sold in the slave markets.  "Slaving was perhaps the Vikings' most lucrative business..."  "The flower of Strathclyde's nobility was auctioned in Dublin..."

OK here comes the very interesting part for my Moore research group:

"The Welsh Chronicle of the Princes, the Brut Y Tywysogion, notes that in 890:  'The men of Strathclyde, those that refused to unite with the English, had to depart from their country, and go to Gwynedd.'
  The Strathclyde exiles were given land in the Vale of Clwyd in north-east Wales on condition that they expelled the English living there.  ....The stories were slowly absorbed into Welsh traditions, and after a time the Old North was thought by some to mean the North Wales, and the Gwyr Y Goggled, the Men of the North, became the men of Gwynedd.  But the genealogies and the stories did endure because they found a place in Welsh History...."

I interpret these pages to explain that there is a close DNA relationship between men found along the Clyde River and men found in Gwynedd in Wales.  When our Moore research group was chatting, it was mentioned that there was Moore family in Renfrew.  But we are unclear for a certainty if our James Moore (the immigrant to Philadelphia) was from Scotland or Wales.  You can finagle the below map in order to view Renfrew and Dumbarton and Glasgow.

It is January 2016 and I am still reading this book via kindle.  I am all the way up to 1603 when King James VI of Scotland  became King James I of England after Elizabeth I died with no heir.  Neither he nor Elizabeth I had had much success in controlling the border areas of their respective countries.  Border Reiving had been rampant in the late 1500s.  This book indicates that when James was in control of the entire lands, he made a huge campaign to wipe out the main Reiver leaders ....hanging....killing.....etc...and that many of them "escaped" to Northern Ireland in this time frame to escape being put to death.  These names would have been Armstrong, Maxwell, Elliott, .....among other family names.  Unlike names in Wales and Highland Scotland,  the border areas had surnames that were not given names prefixed with Mc or Ap  .....which is interesting.

He talks about the Cheviot Mountains and I want to add a map here to explain the land...also the information about the Galloway horses was particularly interesting....Can I find maps to show where various family lines moved in Ireland?  Were there indeed plantations?  Did James move some of them rather than extinguishing the lines via death....and I want to talk about Berwick.

While looking for information about the Galloway horses, I found the following site:

http://www.sorbie.net/border_reivers.htm

and

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~taitandtate/Misc/scotsett.htm

but I was unable to find any site that explained the Galloway as well as the author, Allistair Moffet did in this book.  The horse is now almost extinct.  It was bred with other breeds until there were very few pure Galloway's left.  The author says that there are some in Canada.  Since I am listening to the book rather than reading, I can not easily go back to double check.  But I think he said Newfoundland.

Berwick is explained quite well at this site:

http://www.celticcountries.com/society/93-will-the-town-of-berwick-ever-return-to-scotland

and for a map, I borrowed the following from:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gallgaedhil/dna_by_surname.htm

Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland

I turned this on on my way back from Jacksonville yesterday and decided it was too hard to listen to history .....turned it back on this morning and WOW....became swept up in the story.  The only problem with listening to historical fiction on a long car trip is that one can not stop to google background information!

Margaret is the oldest daughter of Edward Atheling.  Margaret lived with the terrible guilt that she had influenced her father to eat the sweets that she believed had contained poison leading to his death soon after the families arrival in England.  It is her brother Edgar who then succeeds Edward the Confessor as King for a VERY SHORT time if at all before William the Conqueror takes over as King.  Edgar is very young at this time.  

From site:  http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=harold2

King Harold II Last Anglo-Saxon king of England, January to October 1066. He was defeated and killed by William of Normandy (William the Conqueror) at the Battle of Hastings.

Name: King Harold II

Born: c.1020
Ascended to the throne: January 5, 1066
Crowned: January 6, 1066 at Westminster Abbey, aged c.43
Died: October 14, 1066 at Senlac Abbey, Sussex, of wounds following the Battle of Hastings
Reigned for: 9 months, and 8 days
Succeeded by: Edgar the Aethling, and then Edward the Confessor's 2nd cousin William of Normandy

and from:  http://www.historytoday.com/gabriel-ronay/edward-aetheling-anglo-saxon-englands-last-hope#sthash.U0YLsXLN.dpuf

(if you are not interested in the history, skip down to the next picture)

1066 is probably the most famous date in English history, yet it may come as a surprise to laymen and historians alike that, but for the 'murder most foul' of an exiled Anglo-Saxon prince, the Norman conquest might not have taken place at all.

In the 1050s, the ageing and childless Edward the Confessor saw the succession issue divide the kingdom of Wessex. Earl Godwin's son, Harold, and William of Normandy, the King's kinsman, were the contenders for the throne. While Harold had the full backing of the influential Saxon faction, William had a formidable counter-claim, which cast a giant shadow over England.

The linchpin of the Confessor's compromise plan, intended to deny the crown to both and thus avert civil war and a Norman invasion, was Edward Aetheling. He was the son of the King's half-brother, the legendary Edmund Ironside, murdered at the instigation of Canute the Dane in 1016, after the Danish takeover. Edward and his elder brother Edmund were removed from England soon after their father's murder, and the rightful heirs to the Anglo-Saxon throne were eventually presumed dead and forgotten.

But in the 1050s, the Confessor learnt with joy that his nephew was alive and well in distant Hungary. Being of royal blood by direct male descent, yet untainted by the factional interests of the two main political forces in the realm, he was in the King's view the ideal compromise candidate for the throne who could avert a Norman intervention feared by the country.

But for his sudden death immediately upon his return to England after forty years of exile, the Norman conquest could in all probability have been averted, inviting speculation about one of the most crucial might-have-beens in British history.

In spite of their importance for British history – and, due to Edward's marriage in exile, for the roots of the present royal family – virtually nothing is known about Edmund's and Edward's Continental tribulations or how they escaped with their lives in 1017. Yet the drama of saving the lives of the two tiny royal princes – Edmund was about one or two, Edward an infant – after their father was murdered, greatly exercised the imagination of chroniclers who rated it among the most momentous events of the eleventh century. It was left to this present investigation to uncover their trail and piece together their amazing career in exile.

 Margaret is very pious wishing for a life as a nun.  She is also intelligent and well educated.

Here is the review on Amazon:

Refugee. Queen. Saint. In eleventh-century Scotland, a young woman strives to fulfill her destiny despite the risks . . .

Shipwrecked on the Scottish coast, a young Saxon princess and her family—including the outlawed Edgar of England—ask sanctuary of the warrior-king Malcolm Canmore, who shrewdly sees the political advantage. He promises to aid Edgar and the Saxon cause in return for the hand of Edgar’s sister, Margaret, in marriage.

A foreign queen in a strange land, Margaret adapts to life among the barbarian Scots, bears princes, and shapes the fierce warrior Malcolm into a sophisticated ruler. Yet even as the king and queen build a passionate and tempestuous partnership, the Scots distrust her. When her husband brings Eva, a Celtic bard, to court as a hostage for the good behavior of the formidable Lady Macbeth, Margaret expects trouble. Instead, an unlikely friendship grows between the queen and her bard, though one has a wild Celtic nature and the other follows the demanding path of obligation. 
Torn between old and new loyalties, Eva is bound by a vow to betray the king and his Saxon queen. Soon imprisoned and charged with witchcraft and treason, Eva learns that Queen Margaret—counseled by the furious king and his powerful priests—will decide her fate and that of her kinswoman Lady Macbeth. But can the proud queen forgive such deep treachery?

Impeccably researched, a dramatic page-turner, Queen Hereafter is an unforgettable story of shifting alliances and the tension between fear and trust as a young woman finds her way in a dangerous world.

This morning I have just reached the part of the book that deals with Margaret's marriage to Malcolm.  One of the ideas that the author deals with in the preparations for the betrothal is that Malcolm has burned homes and taken prisoners and slaves in an already ravished area of England in Northumbria.  Margaret says to him that she is not able to think of marriage to such a brute.  Malcolm gives her a story that she can accept about the fact that he could have left these people to die on their lands as the English had salted the land to make it unfit for farming or that he could save the people by bringing them back to Scotland.  Margaret accepts his story and prepares to marry him.

The next character that is introduced into the story (although the story begins with her imprisonment) is Eva.  She speaks Gaelic as she is from the North.

I finished the book in July.  I find the Amazon review to be satisfactory as I finish the book.  The author truly depicts Margaret as a saint.  And she paints Malcolm, her husband, in a good light as well.  The book truly helped me understand the times in a way that reading history does not help me.  I liked the book a lot.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

I kept wondering as I have been reading this book if Elizabeth Keckley was a REAL person.  I was glad to find the below review to answer that question for me.  When I am listening to the book I am engaged, but I do not find myself thinking that I can't wait to turn it back on.  Well written and truly interesting.  There is no doubt that one develops a better understanding of the times and of the Civil War from reading this book.  I recommend it!  

Description

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini’s compelling historical novel unveils the private lives of Abraham and Mary Lincoln through the perspective of the First Lady’s most trusted confidante and friend, her dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley.

In a life that spanned nearly a century and witnessed some of the most momentous events in American history, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born a slave. A gifted seamstress, she earned her freedom by the skill of her needle, and won the friendship of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln by her devotion. A sweeping historical novel, Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker illuminates the extraordinary relationship the two women shared, beginning in the hallowed halls of the White House during the trials of the Civil War and enduring almost, but not quite, to the end of Mrs. Lincoln’s days.

Publishers Weekly Review

Nov 26, 2012 – Elizabeth “Lizzy” Keckley, a freed slave in Washington, D.C., right before the start of the Civil War, gains fame as a dressmaker for Northerners and Southerners alike, but when Lincoln is elected and the Southerners secede, she chooses to remain in Washington. She becomes the modiste for Mary Todd Lincoln and is privy to the innermost workings of the Lincoln White House, Mary Todd’s reckless spending, President Lincoln’s death, and his widow’s subsequent penury. When Lizzy writes a memoir about her experiences, she’s denigrated by the public (which derides it as “Kitchen and Bed-Chamber Literature”) for betraying the Lincoln confidences even though she casts Mary Todd in a favorable light. Chiaverini’s characterization of the relationship between Mary Todd and Lizzy, a real historical figure, is nuanced, revealing a friendship that is at times unstable and fraught with class distinctions but also warm and protective. Though not without its problems (characters are insulated from the worst of the war; Lizzy is curiously passive; the pacing can be slow), Chiaverini deviates from her usual focus on quilting (found in the Elm Creek Quilts series) to create a welcome historical.

© Publishers Weekly

Station Eleven

All I could think today when this book ended was what a surprise it was that it was the end.  I had just settled in to hear the next episode of the day to day adventures of the many characters in the book when suddenly amidst a great deal of hopeful thoughts being expressed by several of the characters the audible announcer said "we hope you have enjoyed this production".  WOW!  I am very disappointed to not hear what happened in year 20 and 30 and 40.

One review says:   “In Station Eleven , by Emily St. John Mandel, the Georgia Flu becomes airborne the night Arthur Leander dies during his performance as King Lear. Within months, all airplanes are grounded, cars run out of gas and electricity flickers out as most of the world’s population dies. The details of Arthur’s life before the flu and what happens afterward to his friends, wives and lovers create a surprisingly beautiful story of human relationships amid such devastation. Among the survivors are Kirsten, a child actor at the time of Arthur’s death who lives with no memory of what happened to her the first year after the flu . . . A gorgeous retelling of Lear unfolds through Arthur’s flashbacks and Kirsten’s attempt to stay alive.”
— Nancy Hightower, The Washington Post 

I read this book after a recommendation from my daughter, Mary.  And now I recommend the book to you.  It is highly entertaining and thought provoking.  I read it via audible.

Crossing to Safety

I read this book via audible as it was recommended by the End of Your Life Book Club.  It is a book about marriage and friendship.  I was never tempted to quit reading it.  However, when I finished the book, I was not sure that I had really liked it either.  Certainly we do not expect life to always be the exciting journey that we dream of when we are young.  However, it seems to me that the disappointments in this book were very hard.  Yet the characters did not seem unhappy.  It made me feel very lucky to have lived a life in which I was able to stay young until 60 years old.  I don't guess that anyone should wish for more than that.  I do believe that Wallace Stegner believes that life is good.

Even though I found myself thinking the above as I finished the book, the next morning I am finding myself rethinking much of what I read.  I particularly liked at the end when Larry reminds himself that Sally's handicap has actually enriched his and her life.  His thoughts fit in with my own view of life that everything is a two sided coin.  We just need to figure out the good that we receive from our "bad" luck.  There are always compensations.

100 books to read

Amazon just sent me an e-mail....too busy with the holiday to really read it....read it after the 25th:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/ref=pe_610780_129004770_pe_stripe/?node=8192263011

John Adams

This isn't really a book....it is a re-enactor....I sponsored a table for the Colonial Dames Luncheon today.  I will update this post tomorrow....but I was afraid that I would forget some of the points that I want to think about...one is that John Adams was a Federalist while Thomas Jefferson who followed him was a Democrat/Republican.....Federalists wanted strong central govt....while the other party wanted state's rights....the re-enactor explained that while George Washington was the president there were not really parties....he was kind of a unanimous choice....but during the time that John Adams was in power, political parties began to take shape.  I liked his thoughts about some of the other famous men:  Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton,  Thomas Jefferson for whom John Adams took some credit for having made him a part of the committee writing the Declaration of Independence.  The reenacter said that Thomas Jefferson was VERY quiet but that John Adams  knew him to be an excellent writer!  My first hit via google looking this up says:

1. In 1776 Jefferson, then a member of the committee to draft a declaration of independence, was chosen by the committee to write the draft. This he did, with some minor corrections from John Adams and an embellishment from Franklin, the document was offered to the Congress on the first day of July.

I liked the idea of how much these men sacrificed of their private lives to bring forth the new nation.

I want to add some of the thoughts about the fact that it was John Adams who appointed Marshall as supreme court justice....and that it was because John Adams had the dream of the three separate government bodies that kept each other in check that Marshall helped to bring about the importance of the supreme court.  I have done a very poor job of resaying what our re-enactor was trying to say....but as I reread it in Nov 2016, I think that the meaning can be understood well enough that I won't try to improve my words.

My good buddy,  Sandra Ferguson, just posted (by serendipity) on the Old Chester County mail list the following:

 This is Abigail's complete letter...... She was quite a woman.  I read , years ago, a compilation of their letters to each other and it was wonderful. If memory serves it was 
"Don't Forgot the Ladies" .....

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/abigail-adams-letter-to-john-adams-november-12-1775.html

I will say more about Abigail Adams in my post on Thomas Jefferson:

http://serendipityreading.blogspot.com/2016/11/thomas-jefferson.html