harrytheheid
A Fixture
ALBA - 12th FEBRUARY 1058
"The Roman priests tell me the Old Gods are gone from Asgard, and Valhalla is no more. So why do the heavens flare and black clouds thunder as if Valkyries still fight Mortal Heroes in endless battle overhead?"
"Just after Sámhaainn, with my husband not yet cold in his grave, The Usurper, Ceánn Mhore, sent an envoy with embroideries of gold thread, jars of sweetmeats, a length of scarlet silk, and an insane proposal for my hand."
"So, a queen is indeed a desirable prize. As in board games, so too in dynastic games."
"But my honor is not for sale – and I prefer our soft Scottish wool over smooth Oriental silk."
"I myself wrote the reply, though my Ængáleish letters are even worse than my Latin scrawls. Few words were needed anyway. I sent the gewgaws back, along with my answer – and the envoy’s preserved hand in place of my own. Though I do confess; it was a deplorable waste of fine vinegar."
"But I kept the bolt of silk; it makes the walls of my privy seem warm."
"In the Ængláeish tongue, Ceánn Mhore means Big Chief, two words that may well suit The Usurper; as the two I sent did not! Or so the priests tell me."
"His uncontrolled rage at such short and sweet reply might have had the good fortune to cause an apoplexy of the blood, and may yet. Menaced by threat of a marriage I will not contemplate, I intend to send another message that I hope will enrage him further."
Queen Gruoch, lately wife to the King of Scots, Whom ye have foully slain,
Chooses to remain in her simple tower, In fury and disdain,
Come ye chapping at her door, Her answer will always be the same.
It is a dare of course; and yet we shall see what he might dare.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Gruoch ingen Beoedhe mac Cineadh is the first Scottish Queen whose name appears in surviving records. Her father was a Prince of the royal blood and could trace his ancestors back to Kenneth MacAlpin, who had united the Picts of Alba and the Scots of Dalriada during the mid-800’s.
Truly she would have been a prize indeed for those reaching toward an empty throne in the, still almost-Norse, Alba of the 1050's.
Her first husband was Gillecomgain who married Lady Gruoch in 1030. They had a son, Lulach, born in 1031. However, the following year Gillecomgain died in battle along with 50 of his men, which suggests a raid by Vikings based in Orkney. But, there was another powerful warlord in the North of Scotland who had everything to gain from Gillecomgain's death.
Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findlaich) now stepped in -- and expediently married the widow. So somewhat "conveniently", he now found himself connected by his alliance through marriage to an alternate royal house of Scotland.
In 1040, the ruling monarch, Duncan I, was killed in battle with MacBeth, who then had himself crowned as High King of Scots along with his wife Gruoch as Queen of Scots in her own right.
Their reign ended in 1057 when MacBeth was slain by forces of the Earl of Northumberland allied to Duncan's exiled son, Malcolm Canmore.
Macbeth had been dead some seven months when his stepson and successor Lulach, the last High King of Scots to be interred on the Isle of Iona, was killed in an ambush, thus ending the dynasty.
During his reign, and highly influenced by his Saxon Queen Margaret, the center of power in Scotland shifted from the Norse/Gaelic north to the southern area of the country.
The ultimate fate of Queen Gruoch is lost in the mists of time.
For more info, see this link;
https://www.britroyals.com/scots.asp?id=macbeth
On the battlements of an ancient tower, a still figure dressed in antique armor and wrapped in a muted cloak contemplates the barren landscape far below.
Others behind, indistinct in the murk, clad in thick wools and furs, attempt to warm icy hands and stamp frozen feet.
"The Roman priests tell me the Old Gods are gone from Asgard, and Valhalla is no more. So why do the heavens flare and black clouds thunder as if Valkyries still fight Mortal Heroes in endless battle overhead?"
"Just after Sámhaainn, with my husband not yet cold in his grave, The Usurper, Ceánn Mhore, sent an envoy with embroideries of gold thread, jars of sweetmeats, a length of scarlet silk, and an insane proposal for my hand."
"So, a queen is indeed a desirable prize. As in board games, so too in dynastic games."
"But my honor is not for sale – and I prefer our soft Scottish wool over smooth Oriental silk."
"I myself wrote the reply, though my Ængáleish letters are even worse than my Latin scrawls. Few words were needed anyway. I sent the gewgaws back, along with my answer – and the envoy’s preserved hand in place of my own. Though I do confess; it was a deplorable waste of fine vinegar."
"But I kept the bolt of silk; it makes the walls of my privy seem warm."
"In the Ængláeish tongue, Ceánn Mhore means Big Chief, two words that may well suit The Usurper; as the two I sent did not! Or so the priests tell me."
"His uncontrolled rage at such short and sweet reply might have had the good fortune to cause an apoplexy of the blood, and may yet. Menaced by threat of a marriage I will not contemplate, I intend to send another message that I hope will enrage him further."
Queen Gruoch, lately wife to the King of Scots, Whom ye have foully slain,
Chooses to remain in her simple tower, In fury and disdain,
Come ye chapping at her door, Her answer will always be the same.
It is a dare of course; and yet we shall see what he might dare.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Gruoch ingen Beoedhe mac Cineadh is the first Scottish Queen whose name appears in surviving records. Her father was a Prince of the royal blood and could trace his ancestors back to Kenneth MacAlpin, who had united the Picts of Alba and the Scots of Dalriada during the mid-800’s.
Truly she would have been a prize indeed for those reaching toward an empty throne in the, still almost-Norse, Alba of the 1050's.
Her first husband was Gillecomgain who married Lady Gruoch in 1030. They had a son, Lulach, born in 1031. However, the following year Gillecomgain died in battle along with 50 of his men, which suggests a raid by Vikings based in Orkney. But, there was another powerful warlord in the North of Scotland who had everything to gain from Gillecomgain's death.
Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findlaich) now stepped in -- and expediently married the widow. So somewhat "conveniently", he now found himself connected by his alliance through marriage to an alternate royal house of Scotland.
In 1040, the ruling monarch, Duncan I, was killed in battle with MacBeth, who then had himself crowned as High King of Scots along with his wife Gruoch as Queen of Scots in her own right.
Their reign ended in 1057 when MacBeth was slain by forces of the Earl of Northumberland allied to Duncan's exiled son, Malcolm Canmore.
Macbeth had been dead some seven months when his stepson and successor Lulach, the last High King of Scots to be interred on the Isle of Iona, was killed in an ambush, thus ending the dynasty.
From the Irish Book of Kells
Do marbhadh Lulách mac Gillecomgain, Ard-Rí na Albainis, i cáth ag Essie i Strathbogie ag Malcolm mac Duncan, ar Márta 23, 1058
Lulach son of Gillecomgain, High King of Scots, was killed in battle at Essie in Strathbogie by Malcolm son of Duncan, on 23rd March 1058
Canmore was subsequently declared king as Malcolm III. He was crowned at the royal town of Scone on 25th April 1058.During his reign, and highly influenced by his Saxon Queen Margaret, the center of power in Scotland shifted from the Norse/Gaelic north to the southern area of the country.
The ultimate fate of Queen Gruoch is lost in the mists of time.
For more info, see this link;
https://www.britroyals.com/scots.asp?id=macbeth
So in the end, I believe knowledge is always a good and positive thing, which contributes quite a lot for our own Evolution 
....Doh....
....Yeah, you're right Brad....
