B – Bruce/Bannockburn

Robert the Bruce was a great military leader and King of Scotland. He had himself crowned king in 1306 after the death of William Wallace and continued the fight for Scottish independence.
In 1314, Phillip Mowbray the commander of the English garrison at Stirling Castle told the Bruce if Edward II of England did not relieve him before Midsummer’s Day, he would turn the castle over to the Scots.
On Mid-Summer’s Eve, there was a minor skirmish in which the English were halted. Bruce dug trenches for his men and scattered caltrops in the road to slow the advance of the horsemen.
At that time, the Bannock was more of a river than the burn it is today. The ground leading from the Firth of Forth was mostly a bog. The British forces had to attack across this bog.
On the morning of June 23, 1314, Edward’s army of approximately 22,000 attacked Bruce’s approximately 8,000. By noon, Edward sought safety inside the Castle, but was refused and he headed home.
The Battle of Bannockburn is acknowledged as one of the greatest Scottish victories in history.
Statue of Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn

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A-Z

Something must have worked, because I got one comment. Since I’ve been gone all day, now I need to visit some other blogs.

A – Anachronism

In trying to decide what to write about for the A-Z Challenge, I decided to write about The Middle Ages – either the original time period or The Current Middle Ages.

Twenty-four years ago this summer, my youngest daughter and I joined an organization called The Society for Creative Anachronism.
A lot of people wonder “What is an anachronism?”
An anachronism is something that does not belong in the current time.
I like to compare it to the De Lorean in 1955.
Another example is The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
Both were out of their time period.
I tell people there are two definitions of the SCA:
1. The intellectual definition – It is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to researching, recreating, and attempting to preserve the arts and sciences of the Middle Ages.
2. The fun definition – It’s a group of people who dress in funny clothes and hit each other over the head with sticks.
If you were to visit one of the Society’s events, you should not see anything that you wouldn’t have seen in Western Europe prior to 1603.
There are some acceptable exceptions such as:
Eyeglasses, Footwear, Showers
And transportation (however, modern conveyances inside the campgrounds at events is frowned upon.)
You can drink coffee or soda, but you are requested to drink them from a ‘period’ looking vessel. The most popular drinks at an SCA event are mead and wine.
The SCA was incorporated May 1, 1966 in Berkley, CA. and has divided the Known World into nineteen kingdoms worldwide.