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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
There is certainly a split in opinion in Canada over the Trucker's protest but the vast majority view seems to be against them. Around 90% of Canadians have got both vaccine shots and quite a high proportion have also received their booster shot. It's clear that those taking up space in the ICU's are by far the non vaccinated.
Likewise the Truckers not being allowed into America are the non vaccinated and again that's under their own control. Get the vaccine and keep working of if not then you don't get paid. I don't see any problems with that.
I've got both vaccine shots and the booster and also have taken the flu shot so feel I'm doing my bit for the country. I also don't mind wearing a mask when going shopping.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
One mother's story of broken children's mental health service
Children's mental health services in Scotland were at crisis point even before the pandemic, families, experts and charities have claimed.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-60158804
Aberdeen MRI scanner speaks in Doric dialect to comfort patients
Patients having MRI scans in Aberdeen can now hear the instructions in the north east Scotland dialect of Doric. The University of Aberdeen's MRI scanner has undergone a £1.2m upgrade, including new software which offers multiple language options.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-scotland-60170560
Another study heavily criticises the Treasury’s modelling of Brexit
A new study of the Treasury’s modelling of Brexit outcomes is extremely critical of the HMT approach, citing deficiencies in methodology, unrealistic assumptions, and misrepresentations of the facts.
Read more at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...ling-of-brexit
Record response to new Cairngorms five-year plan
A consultation on a new five-year plan for the UK's largest national park has received a record number of responses. Increasing woodland and affordable housing in the Cairngorms National Park are among the proposals set out for 2022-27.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2r0ye1p097o
Freedom Convoy: Trudeau calls trucker protest an insult to truth
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has slammed protests in the capital city against Covid-19 vaccine mandates as an insult to memory and truth.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60202050
Churchill’s Scottish connections
Churchill’s links to our nation were lifelong and intense, from his time on the Western Front in 1915 commanding the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, to the fourteen years he served as Liberal MP for Dundee from 1908 to 1922.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2022/02/ch...h-connections/
Greenland of opportunity
News of a new FTA got 'Greenland' trending among disparaging Remainers for the first time since Trump offered to buy it. But while diehard Europhiles are right that it's a small country which we already traded with as EU members, it's geo-strategic position puts closer ties with the arctic island firmly in Britain's interests.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/remainers-are-wrong-...th-greeenland/
First look at plans for Scotland's first broch in almost 2,000 years
The Caithness Broch Project (CBP) are planning on resurrecting one of these incredible Iron Age structures as a visitor attraction where people can learn about this fascinating period of Scottish culture.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotla...first-26046225
Media
By Hamish Mackay of the Scottish Review
Read more at:
https://www.scottishreview.net/HamishMackay602a.html
Divorce inquiries soar as lawyers reveal how Covid crushed Scots marriages
Legal firms report inquiries are up more than 70% on pre-pandemic levels while marriage counsellors say they have never been busier.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/pandemic-divorces
Price inflation: The heat is on
Price inflation is already evident, from margarine to mince to used cars and petrol.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...iness-60238965
Electric Canadian
Morven
Empire Loyalists (pdf)
Interesting book which you can read at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pioneering/morvan.pdf
Mining camps of British Columbia (pdf)
You can read this booklet at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...gcampsofbc.pdf
Roderick Ross MacFarlane, 1833-1920
by Edward A. Preble (pdf)
You can read about him at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/make...MacFarlane.pdf
THOUGHTS on a SUNDAY MORNING - the 30th day of January 2022 - INSPIRATION
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can view her thoughts at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...22-inspiration
The Advantages of Canada for Emigrants
Papers by Rev. John Lightfoot, The Rev. J. Cavis-Brown and The Rev. F. W. Webber (1894) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...esofcanada.pdf
Electric Scotland
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Hi Everyone. Here is the Section A for the February BNFT. It has lots of interesting things for everyone to read I hope. As always, I had such a good time creating it for you.
Currently, it is COLD here. We had lots of snow a week or so ago, but it is finally all gone. On Monday, I will have folks untangling the trees that got blown awry. Fortunately, no trees fell on the house or me.
Tom will finally get his kidney stone zapped on 8 February. He had his pre-surgical appointment today and all is well for the surgery. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers . He has endured being in bed on his side, moving every 2 hours, since last May with good humor and no complaints at all. He has done artwork on his computer, working with one hand while on his left side, the entire time except when he was in the hospital. I am in awe. He has continued to fold all our laundry. (Boy! He is a great clothes folder!) He has continued to proofread my efforts at making publications and has come up with some awful (wonderful) puns along the way. His pressure ulcer is healing nicely, albeit SLOWLY.
Thank you to those of you who have been so kind to us during this really strange time in our lives.
Please remember to let me know if your email changes. Remember, genealogical queries are free in BNFT as are Flowers of the Forest. Just send to me at <bethscribble@aol.com>
We wish you a lovely Valentine's Day filled with chocolate and much love.
Love,
beth
You can view this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Emigration from Scotland
By Margaret I. Adam
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...migration2.htm
Beth's Video Talks
February 2nd 2022 - Research outside of the genealogy department
You can view this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
At the Sign of the Owl
From the Antiquary magazine
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/owl.htm
Robert and Peter Matheson, Ship builders
By Stan Bruce (2022) (pdf)
You can read his new book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ERMATHESON.pdf
General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of Nairn and Moray
By The Rev. William Leslie (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...e_in_the_C.pdf
Alexander Macfarlane
by J. M. Colaw (1895) (pdf)
A biography which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...Macfarlane.pdf
Scottish Banner
Got in their February 2022 issue which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...nner/index.htm
Lepidoptera on Tiree
By Derek C. Hulme (pdf)
Butterflies and Moths which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tireemoths.pdf
Some Aniquities of Tiree
By W. G. Collingwood, M.A., F.S.A. (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/tiree.pdf
The Island of Tiree
By William Reeves (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...andoftiree.pdf
Scottish Society of Indianapolis
Got in their January 2022 Newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...olis/index.htm
Story
The Mysterious Guest at Stirling Castle
By M. E. Graham
IN the anonymous History of Stirling Castle, published in 1812, there is a short paragraph which recalls certain half forgotten memories connected with the grey old castle beloved by the Stewart Kings.
"The person who pretended to be Richard II. of England, and had been entertained under that character several years at the Court of James I., dying in the castle in 1420, was interred in the same church, at the horn of the great altar."
The church to which allusion is made is that of the Dominicans, which formerly stood eastward of the Friars Wynd, and was held in great repute in Stirling for over 250 years. On the south side of the high altar were buried the bodies of Duncan, Earl of Lennox, and of Murdoch, Duke of Albany, and his two sons, who were executed on the Gowling Hills in 1425; while on the north side of the same altar was the other royal tomb to which the entry which we have quoted refers.
Those who are familiar with Tytler's History of Scotland will remember that the historian was much interested in the identity of this mysterious guest, or State prisoner, who was detained at the Scottish Court for nearly nineteen years; nor was he satisfied to accept unchallenged the dictum of Buchanan and those who followed him, that it was a mere case of imposture.
In an ancient manuscript entitled Extracta ex Chronicis Scotice, which is in the Advocates' Library, Tytler found three passages referring to the "exile" of King Richard in Scotland, his death at Stirling Castle on the Feast of St. Lucie the Virgin, and his burial in the Church of the Preaching Friars. It was further recorded that above the "royal image" painted on his tomb was a long Latin inscription, given in full, which commemorated the misfortunes of u Richard II., King of England." This inscription was visible in the days of Boece, as that chronicler expressly mentions.
The accounts of the Chamberlains of the Crown in 1408, 1414, 1415, and 1417, yielded fresh proofs of the importance attached to the proper maintenance of the distinguished fugitive. The first entry noted the outlay incurred by the Lord Governor (the Duke of Albany) "for the sums expended in the support of Richard, King of England, and the messengers of France and Wales, at different times coming into the country, upon whom he has defrayed much."
The last, in 1417, represented that the Duke had had the custody of Richard, King of England, since the death of Robert III. "being a period of eleven jears which expenses the lords auditors of accounts estimate at the least to have amounted annually to a sum of a hundred marks."
Further researches convinced Tytler that there was a sufficient body of evidence, direct and indirect, to support the theory that Richard II. had escaped from Pontefract, and had found refuge in Scotland, probably enfeebled, in mind as well as body, by the hardships of his confinement, if not by the shock of his deposition. Whether the historian was right or not, the story, as he unravelled it, might well have aroused the interest of an antiquarian Sherlock Holmes.
In the official documents of the time the strictest secrecy had been maintained as to the custody of the deposed King, while the accounts of his death were most conflicting. Walsingham, a contemporary historian, devoted to the House of Lancaster, asserted that Richard put an end to his life by voluntary starvation; others maintained that he was denied food by Henry's orders. A manuscript in the Royal Library at Paris related that he was murdered by Sir Pierce Exton and a band of assassins a story which was repeated by sundry chroniclers and adopted by Shakespeare.
Tytler's authorities for the earlier part of his tale are Bower, who was elected Abbot of Inchcolm in 1418, and who was frequently employed by the Scottish Government; Winton, Abbot of Lochleven, whose chronicle was finished between September, 1420, and the return of King James from captivity in 1424; and Creton, the author of The Metrical History of the Deposition of Richard II, who addressed a letter to the Scottish captive in 1405 (six years after the reputed death of Richard), in which he congratulated him on his escape, and greeted him "comme vraye amour requiert a tres noble prince et viaye Catholique, Richart d'Engleterre."
The story they tell is substantially the same. It is, that Richard whose death at Pontefract was publicly announced had previously escaped through the connivance of "two gentleman of rank and reputation, Swinburne and Waterton, who felt compassion for him and spread a report of his death."
Before proceeding further, it is worth noting that two knights named Sir Thomas Swinburne and Sir Robert Waterton were in the confidential employment of Henry IV., and Tytler ascertained that in the family of Waterton of Walton Hall there existed a long-standing tradition that their ancestor, Sir Robert Waterton, Master of the Horse to Henry IV., had had charge of Richard at Pontefract. But to return to our narrative.
Some months after Richard's demise, "a poor traveller" appeared in the "Outer Isles" of Scotland, and sought hospitality in the castle of Donald, Lord of the Isles. There he attracted the notice of Donald's sister-in-law, a lady of Irish birth, who recognized him as Richard II., whom she had formerly seen in Ireland. When questioned as to his identity, the stranger denied that he was the deposed King, a course of action which as Tytler observes was most unlikely in an impostor, but perfectly natural in the case of a fugitive flying for his life and uncertain whether the Lord of the Isles was in alliance with the new ruler of England, as indeed was the case. He was, however, treated kindly by Donald, who, presumably, could make little of him, as his behaviour was wild and distraught. Winton says:
Quhether he had been king or nane
There was but few that wyst crrtaine.
Of devorioun nane he was,
And seldom will had to hear Mass;
As he bare him, like was he
Oft half wod or wyld to be.
He was sent in charge of Lord Montgomery to the Court of Robert III., where he was received and entertained as an exiled King. Here he spent the last nineteen years of his life, at first under the care of Sir David Fleming of Cumbernauld, and ultimately after Robert's death in the charge of the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland during the captivity of James I. in England.
Henry was perfectly aware of the existence of the reputed Richard at Stirling, and throughout his reign he was constantly called upon to suppress insurrections which had their origin in the popular belief that his predecessor was still alive. It certainly seems singular that Henry never made any open effort to get "the impostor" into his power, more especially as he had latterly a potent bribe to offer in the person of the young Prince of Scotland. But certain underground negotiations may be surmised from the circumstance that, in 1404, Robert III., writing to Henry, refers him to the Laird of Cumbernauld for some particular information desired by the English King. It is known that the latter entered into a private correspondence with Sir David Fleming, and granted him a passport for a personal interview. Evidence also exists of secret communications between Henry and Lord Montgomery, and between the former and the Lord of the Isles and his chaplain.
It was not long after Richard's deposition before his supporters began to rally, led by the Earls of Kent, Surrey, and Huntingdon; and it is related that when Henry set out to meet them, accompanied by the Earl of Warwick, the latter reproached him for his previous lenity, whereupon the new King made answer, that, "if he should meet Richard now one of them should die" an unaccountable speech if he knew that his captive was in safe custody.
The conspiracy was suppressed, and the leaders were all executed, including Maudelain, the late King's chaplain, whose strong resemblance to his master had often been remarked. The executions were followed shortly by the announcement of Richard's death; but popular opinion seeming inclined to scepticism, Henry ordered that the body of his predecessor should be borne on an open bier from Pontefract to London, which was done, the face being exposed "from the lower part of the forehead to the chin."
There was a great procession through London, the Mass at St. Paul's being attended by "Duke Henry who" says Creton "made a show of mourning, holding the pall, without regarding all the evil he had done to the dead."
But Creton adds his belief that the body exposed was not that of Richard, but of Maudelain his chaplain, a suspicion which gained confirmation from the circumstance that, after the ceremony at St. Paul's, the body was taken privately to Langley in Hertfordshire, and interred there, although Richard had prepared a tomb for himself at Westminster. This took place on March 12, 1399.
The year 1402 "teemed with reports that Richard was alive." A priest of Ware was drawn and quartered for affirming that he would return, while no less than eight Franciscan friars were hanged for the same cause. The Franciscans, it will be remembered, had a monastery at Stirling, and were in constant intercourse with Scotland.
The Prior of Launde and Sir Roger de Clarendon, formerly Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Richard, also suffered; while in the same year a pardon was granted, under the privy seal, to William Balshalf of Lancashire for revealing a projected rising in which he had purposed to take part.
The rebellion of the Percies in 1403 ended in the Battle of Shrewsbury and the death of Hotspur; but in 1404 rumour was again busy on the return of Serle from Scotland. Serle, who had been one of Richard's household, declared that he had seen and talked to his late master, and was the bearer of letters from him to his friends in England. The unfortunate envoy paid the usual penalty, but Walsingham alone among the chroniclers declared that before his execution he confessed that the person he had seen was not Richard.
Tytler's investigation of the Parliamentary Rolls led him to the discovery that in 1405 the Earl of Northumberland seized and imprisoned Sir Robert Waterton, "esquire to our lord the king"; and it is noticeable that subsequently to this date Northumberland, who, before the Battle of Shrewsbury, had publicly charged Henry with Richard's murder, seems uncertain whether the latter is dead or alive. In a letter to the Duke of Orleans, written at Berwick in June, 1405, he says:
"J'ay l'entencion et ferme purpos de sustener le droit querelle de mon soverein sieur le Roy Richart, s'il est vif, et si mort est, de venger sa mort."
Placards denying Richard's death were posted in London in 1407; while, in the same year, an ineffectual rising was essayed by Percy and Lord Bardolph, in which Northumberland was slain. This was probably after their return from Scotland, whither according to Bower many persons, including the two Percies, Bardolph, and the Bishops of St. Asaph and Bangor, "had fled from the face of Henry."
Even after the death of Bolingbroke the unquiet spirit of Richard refused to be "laid," and twice at least was Henry V. hindered on the eve of his French campaigns, by conspiracies at home inspired by rumours from Stirling.
The rebellion of Cambridge, Scrope, and Grey was put down with extreme severity, the trial being remarkable for unseemly haste and suppression of evidence. An allusion to the second plot, in 1417, may be found in a letter of Henry V. which is given in the Vita Henrici V. After desiring that good order should be maintained in the northern marches, and that special vigilance should be exercised regarding the royal captives, James I. of Scotland and the Duke of Orleans, Henry writes that he hears that an agent of the latter has been in Scotland, and "has accorded with the Duke of Albany that this next summer he shall bring in the Mamuet of Scotland to stir what he may."
But perhaps the strongest piece of evidence adduced by Tytler is that given in the trial of Lord Cobham, the supporter of the Lollards, who was burned for heresy on December 25, 1417. Cobham, who was a man of high character and of strong religious principles, had been Sheriff of Herefordshire, had served in the Parliament which had deposed Richard, and in several successive Parliaments. He had been assured of Richard's death, and had probably seen his funeral procession. Yet when he himself was being tried for his life, eighteen years later, he refused to acknowledge the authority of the Court "so long as his liege lord King Richard was alive in Scotland."
By such a statement, made at such a moment, he put his life in imminent jeopardy, yet he deliberately challenged the authority of the only man from whom he could expect mercy. This fact alone as Tytler remarks would suffice to prove that, if the distraught exile at Stirling Castle was not indeed the son of the Black Prince, he was at least believed to be such by a large number of notable persons for a very long period of time. If the tomb in the Church of the Blackfriars was not that of Richard II., it covered the remains of a madman who had a unique experience not that he, being mad, believed himself to be a King, but that he, being mad, was believed by those around him to be one.
END.
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
There is certainly a split in opinion in Canada over the Trucker's protest but the vast majority view seems to be against them. Around 90% of Canadians have got both vaccine shots and quite a high proportion have also received their booster shot. It's clear that those taking up space in the ICU's are by far the non vaccinated.
Likewise the Truckers not being allowed into America are the non vaccinated and again that's under their own control. Get the vaccine and keep working of if not then you don't get paid. I don't see any problems with that.
I've got both vaccine shots and the booster and also have taken the flu shot so feel I'm doing my bit for the country. I also don't mind wearing a mask when going shopping.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
One mother's story of broken children's mental health service
Children's mental health services in Scotland were at crisis point even before the pandemic, families, experts and charities have claimed.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-60158804
Aberdeen MRI scanner speaks in Doric dialect to comfort patients
Patients having MRI scans in Aberdeen can now hear the instructions in the north east Scotland dialect of Doric. The University of Aberdeen's MRI scanner has undergone a £1.2m upgrade, including new software which offers multiple language options.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-scotland-60170560
Another study heavily criticises the Treasury’s modelling of Brexit
A new study of the Treasury’s modelling of Brexit outcomes is extremely critical of the HMT approach, citing deficiencies in methodology, unrealistic assumptions, and misrepresentations of the facts.
Read more at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...ling-of-brexit
Record response to new Cairngorms five-year plan
A consultation on a new five-year plan for the UK's largest national park has received a record number of responses. Increasing woodland and affordable housing in the Cairngorms National Park are among the proposals set out for 2022-27.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2r0ye1p097o
Freedom Convoy: Trudeau calls trucker protest an insult to truth
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has slammed protests in the capital city against Covid-19 vaccine mandates as an insult to memory and truth.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60202050
Churchill’s Scottish connections
Churchill’s links to our nation were lifelong and intense, from his time on the Western Front in 1915 commanding the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, to the fourteen years he served as Liberal MP for Dundee from 1908 to 1922.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2022/02/ch...h-connections/
Greenland of opportunity
News of a new FTA got 'Greenland' trending among disparaging Remainers for the first time since Trump offered to buy it. But while diehard Europhiles are right that it's a small country which we already traded with as EU members, it's geo-strategic position puts closer ties with the arctic island firmly in Britain's interests.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/remainers-are-wrong-...th-greeenland/
First look at plans for Scotland's first broch in almost 2,000 years
The Caithness Broch Project (CBP) are planning on resurrecting one of these incredible Iron Age structures as a visitor attraction where people can learn about this fascinating period of Scottish culture.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotla...first-26046225
Media
By Hamish Mackay of the Scottish Review
Read more at:
https://www.scottishreview.net/HamishMackay602a.html
Divorce inquiries soar as lawyers reveal how Covid crushed Scots marriages
Legal firms report inquiries are up more than 70% on pre-pandemic levels while marriage counsellors say they have never been busier.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/pandemic-divorces
Price inflation: The heat is on
Price inflation is already evident, from margarine to mince to used cars and petrol.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...iness-60238965
Electric Canadian
Morven
Empire Loyalists (pdf)
Interesting book which you can read at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pioneering/morvan.pdf
Mining camps of British Columbia (pdf)
You can read this booklet at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...gcampsofbc.pdf
Roderick Ross MacFarlane, 1833-1920
by Edward A. Preble (pdf)
You can read about him at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/make...MacFarlane.pdf
THOUGHTS on a SUNDAY MORNING - the 30th day of January 2022 - INSPIRATION
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can view her thoughts at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...22-inspiration
The Advantages of Canada for Emigrants
Papers by Rev. John Lightfoot, The Rev. J. Cavis-Brown and The Rev. F. W. Webber (1894) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...esofcanada.pdf
Electric Scotland
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Hi Everyone. Here is the Section A for the February BNFT. It has lots of interesting things for everyone to read I hope. As always, I had such a good time creating it for you.
Currently, it is COLD here. We had lots of snow a week or so ago, but it is finally all gone. On Monday, I will have folks untangling the trees that got blown awry. Fortunately, no trees fell on the house or me.
Tom will finally get his kidney stone zapped on 8 February. He had his pre-surgical appointment today and all is well for the surgery. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers . He has endured being in bed on his side, moving every 2 hours, since last May with good humor and no complaints at all. He has done artwork on his computer, working with one hand while on his left side, the entire time except when he was in the hospital. I am in awe. He has continued to fold all our laundry. (Boy! He is a great clothes folder!) He has continued to proofread my efforts at making publications and has come up with some awful (wonderful) puns along the way. His pressure ulcer is healing nicely, albeit SLOWLY.
Thank you to those of you who have been so kind to us during this really strange time in our lives.
Please remember to let me know if your email changes. Remember, genealogical queries are free in BNFT as are Flowers of the Forest. Just send to me at <bethscribble@aol.com>
We wish you a lovely Valentine's Day filled with chocolate and much love.
Love,
beth
You can view this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Emigration from Scotland
By Margaret I. Adam
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...migration2.htm
Beth's Video Talks
February 2nd 2022 - Research outside of the genealogy department
You can view this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
At the Sign of the Owl
From the Antiquary magazine
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/owl.htm
Robert and Peter Matheson, Ship builders
By Stan Bruce (2022) (pdf)
You can read his new book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ERMATHESON.pdf
General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of Nairn and Moray
By The Rev. William Leslie (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...e_in_the_C.pdf
Alexander Macfarlane
by J. M. Colaw (1895) (pdf)
A biography which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...Macfarlane.pdf
Scottish Banner
Got in their February 2022 issue which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...nner/index.htm
Lepidoptera on Tiree
By Derek C. Hulme (pdf)
Butterflies and Moths which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tireemoths.pdf
Some Aniquities of Tiree
By W. G. Collingwood, M.A., F.S.A. (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/tiree.pdf
The Island of Tiree
By William Reeves (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...andoftiree.pdf
Scottish Society of Indianapolis
Got in their January 2022 Newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...olis/index.htm
Story
The Mysterious Guest at Stirling Castle
By M. E. Graham
IN the anonymous History of Stirling Castle, published in 1812, there is a short paragraph which recalls certain half forgotten memories connected with the grey old castle beloved by the Stewart Kings.
"The person who pretended to be Richard II. of England, and had been entertained under that character several years at the Court of James I., dying in the castle in 1420, was interred in the same church, at the horn of the great altar."
The church to which allusion is made is that of the Dominicans, which formerly stood eastward of the Friars Wynd, and was held in great repute in Stirling for over 250 years. On the south side of the high altar were buried the bodies of Duncan, Earl of Lennox, and of Murdoch, Duke of Albany, and his two sons, who were executed on the Gowling Hills in 1425; while on the north side of the same altar was the other royal tomb to which the entry which we have quoted refers.
Those who are familiar with Tytler's History of Scotland will remember that the historian was much interested in the identity of this mysterious guest, or State prisoner, who was detained at the Scottish Court for nearly nineteen years; nor was he satisfied to accept unchallenged the dictum of Buchanan and those who followed him, that it was a mere case of imposture.
In an ancient manuscript entitled Extracta ex Chronicis Scotice, which is in the Advocates' Library, Tytler found three passages referring to the "exile" of King Richard in Scotland, his death at Stirling Castle on the Feast of St. Lucie the Virgin, and his burial in the Church of the Preaching Friars. It was further recorded that above the "royal image" painted on his tomb was a long Latin inscription, given in full, which commemorated the misfortunes of u Richard II., King of England." This inscription was visible in the days of Boece, as that chronicler expressly mentions.
The accounts of the Chamberlains of the Crown in 1408, 1414, 1415, and 1417, yielded fresh proofs of the importance attached to the proper maintenance of the distinguished fugitive. The first entry noted the outlay incurred by the Lord Governor (the Duke of Albany) "for the sums expended in the support of Richard, King of England, and the messengers of France and Wales, at different times coming into the country, upon whom he has defrayed much."
The last, in 1417, represented that the Duke had had the custody of Richard, King of England, since the death of Robert III. "being a period of eleven jears which expenses the lords auditors of accounts estimate at the least to have amounted annually to a sum of a hundred marks."
Further researches convinced Tytler that there was a sufficient body of evidence, direct and indirect, to support the theory that Richard II. had escaped from Pontefract, and had found refuge in Scotland, probably enfeebled, in mind as well as body, by the hardships of his confinement, if not by the shock of his deposition. Whether the historian was right or not, the story, as he unravelled it, might well have aroused the interest of an antiquarian Sherlock Holmes.
In the official documents of the time the strictest secrecy had been maintained as to the custody of the deposed King, while the accounts of his death were most conflicting. Walsingham, a contemporary historian, devoted to the House of Lancaster, asserted that Richard put an end to his life by voluntary starvation; others maintained that he was denied food by Henry's orders. A manuscript in the Royal Library at Paris related that he was murdered by Sir Pierce Exton and a band of assassins a story which was repeated by sundry chroniclers and adopted by Shakespeare.
Tytler's authorities for the earlier part of his tale are Bower, who was elected Abbot of Inchcolm in 1418, and who was frequently employed by the Scottish Government; Winton, Abbot of Lochleven, whose chronicle was finished between September, 1420, and the return of King James from captivity in 1424; and Creton, the author of The Metrical History of the Deposition of Richard II, who addressed a letter to the Scottish captive in 1405 (six years after the reputed death of Richard), in which he congratulated him on his escape, and greeted him "comme vraye amour requiert a tres noble prince et viaye Catholique, Richart d'Engleterre."
The story they tell is substantially the same. It is, that Richard whose death at Pontefract was publicly announced had previously escaped through the connivance of "two gentleman of rank and reputation, Swinburne and Waterton, who felt compassion for him and spread a report of his death."
Before proceeding further, it is worth noting that two knights named Sir Thomas Swinburne and Sir Robert Waterton were in the confidential employment of Henry IV., and Tytler ascertained that in the family of Waterton of Walton Hall there existed a long-standing tradition that their ancestor, Sir Robert Waterton, Master of the Horse to Henry IV., had had charge of Richard at Pontefract. But to return to our narrative.
Some months after Richard's demise, "a poor traveller" appeared in the "Outer Isles" of Scotland, and sought hospitality in the castle of Donald, Lord of the Isles. There he attracted the notice of Donald's sister-in-law, a lady of Irish birth, who recognized him as Richard II., whom she had formerly seen in Ireland. When questioned as to his identity, the stranger denied that he was the deposed King, a course of action which as Tytler observes was most unlikely in an impostor, but perfectly natural in the case of a fugitive flying for his life and uncertain whether the Lord of the Isles was in alliance with the new ruler of England, as indeed was the case. He was, however, treated kindly by Donald, who, presumably, could make little of him, as his behaviour was wild and distraught. Winton says:
Quhether he had been king or nane
There was but few that wyst crrtaine.
Of devorioun nane he was,
And seldom will had to hear Mass;
As he bare him, like was he
Oft half wod or wyld to be.
He was sent in charge of Lord Montgomery to the Court of Robert III., where he was received and entertained as an exiled King. Here he spent the last nineteen years of his life, at first under the care of Sir David Fleming of Cumbernauld, and ultimately after Robert's death in the charge of the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland during the captivity of James I. in England.
Henry was perfectly aware of the existence of the reputed Richard at Stirling, and throughout his reign he was constantly called upon to suppress insurrections which had their origin in the popular belief that his predecessor was still alive. It certainly seems singular that Henry never made any open effort to get "the impostor" into his power, more especially as he had latterly a potent bribe to offer in the person of the young Prince of Scotland. But certain underground negotiations may be surmised from the circumstance that, in 1404, Robert III., writing to Henry, refers him to the Laird of Cumbernauld for some particular information desired by the English King. It is known that the latter entered into a private correspondence with Sir David Fleming, and granted him a passport for a personal interview. Evidence also exists of secret communications between Henry and Lord Montgomery, and between the former and the Lord of the Isles and his chaplain.
It was not long after Richard's deposition before his supporters began to rally, led by the Earls of Kent, Surrey, and Huntingdon; and it is related that when Henry set out to meet them, accompanied by the Earl of Warwick, the latter reproached him for his previous lenity, whereupon the new King made answer, that, "if he should meet Richard now one of them should die" an unaccountable speech if he knew that his captive was in safe custody.
The conspiracy was suppressed, and the leaders were all executed, including Maudelain, the late King's chaplain, whose strong resemblance to his master had often been remarked. The executions were followed shortly by the announcement of Richard's death; but popular opinion seeming inclined to scepticism, Henry ordered that the body of his predecessor should be borne on an open bier from Pontefract to London, which was done, the face being exposed "from the lower part of the forehead to the chin."
There was a great procession through London, the Mass at St. Paul's being attended by "Duke Henry who" says Creton "made a show of mourning, holding the pall, without regarding all the evil he had done to the dead."
But Creton adds his belief that the body exposed was not that of Richard, but of Maudelain his chaplain, a suspicion which gained confirmation from the circumstance that, after the ceremony at St. Paul's, the body was taken privately to Langley in Hertfordshire, and interred there, although Richard had prepared a tomb for himself at Westminster. This took place on March 12, 1399.
The year 1402 "teemed with reports that Richard was alive." A priest of Ware was drawn and quartered for affirming that he would return, while no less than eight Franciscan friars were hanged for the same cause. The Franciscans, it will be remembered, had a monastery at Stirling, and were in constant intercourse with Scotland.
The Prior of Launde and Sir Roger de Clarendon, formerly Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Richard, also suffered; while in the same year a pardon was granted, under the privy seal, to William Balshalf of Lancashire for revealing a projected rising in which he had purposed to take part.
The rebellion of the Percies in 1403 ended in the Battle of Shrewsbury and the death of Hotspur; but in 1404 rumour was again busy on the return of Serle from Scotland. Serle, who had been one of Richard's household, declared that he had seen and talked to his late master, and was the bearer of letters from him to his friends in England. The unfortunate envoy paid the usual penalty, but Walsingham alone among the chroniclers declared that before his execution he confessed that the person he had seen was not Richard.
Tytler's investigation of the Parliamentary Rolls led him to the discovery that in 1405 the Earl of Northumberland seized and imprisoned Sir Robert Waterton, "esquire to our lord the king"; and it is noticeable that subsequently to this date Northumberland, who, before the Battle of Shrewsbury, had publicly charged Henry with Richard's murder, seems uncertain whether the latter is dead or alive. In a letter to the Duke of Orleans, written at Berwick in June, 1405, he says:
"J'ay l'entencion et ferme purpos de sustener le droit querelle de mon soverein sieur le Roy Richart, s'il est vif, et si mort est, de venger sa mort."
Placards denying Richard's death were posted in London in 1407; while, in the same year, an ineffectual rising was essayed by Percy and Lord Bardolph, in which Northumberland was slain. This was probably after their return from Scotland, whither according to Bower many persons, including the two Percies, Bardolph, and the Bishops of St. Asaph and Bangor, "had fled from the face of Henry."
Even after the death of Bolingbroke the unquiet spirit of Richard refused to be "laid," and twice at least was Henry V. hindered on the eve of his French campaigns, by conspiracies at home inspired by rumours from Stirling.
The rebellion of Cambridge, Scrope, and Grey was put down with extreme severity, the trial being remarkable for unseemly haste and suppression of evidence. An allusion to the second plot, in 1417, may be found in a letter of Henry V. which is given in the Vita Henrici V. After desiring that good order should be maintained in the northern marches, and that special vigilance should be exercised regarding the royal captives, James I. of Scotland and the Duke of Orleans, Henry writes that he hears that an agent of the latter has been in Scotland, and "has accorded with the Duke of Albany that this next summer he shall bring in the Mamuet of Scotland to stir what he may."
But perhaps the strongest piece of evidence adduced by Tytler is that given in the trial of Lord Cobham, the supporter of the Lollards, who was burned for heresy on December 25, 1417. Cobham, who was a man of high character and of strong religious principles, had been Sheriff of Herefordshire, had served in the Parliament which had deposed Richard, and in several successive Parliaments. He had been assured of Richard's death, and had probably seen his funeral procession. Yet when he himself was being tried for his life, eighteen years later, he refused to acknowledge the authority of the Court "so long as his liege lord King Richard was alive in Scotland."
By such a statement, made at such a moment, he put his life in imminent jeopardy, yet he deliberately challenged the authority of the only man from whom he could expect mercy. This fact alone as Tytler remarks would suffice to prove that, if the distraught exile at Stirling Castle was not indeed the son of the Black Prince, he was at least believed to be such by a large number of notable persons for a very long period of time. If the tomb in the Church of the Blackfriars was not that of Richard II., it covered the remains of a madman who had a unique experience not that he, being mad, believed himself to be a King, but that he, being mad, was believed by those around him to be one.
END.
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair