As always, it’s such a treat to be able to share not only an adventurous and romantic story with you, but also tell you a bit more about the history behind this tale! Although this is a work of fiction, quite a few historical tidbits shaped the story.

As far as the historical and political backdrop of wars, feuds, and alliances goes, it’s true that the Munro and Ross clans have a long history of close cooperation. In 1250, almost seventy years before this story takes place, William, the son of the Earl of Ross at the time, was kidnapped in an uprising against the Earl’s rule. The Munros helped rescue the Earl of Ross’s son, thus sealing a tight and longstanding union between the two clans.

And although smaller feuds always existed between many Highland clans, the Rosses, Munros, and MacKays all joined Robert the Bruce against the English, though they all took slightly different routes in their support of the Bruce’s cause.

The Munros sided with the Bruce well before the Battle of Bannockburn, a decisive and pivotal victory in the Scottish cause for independence. Robert Munro, the Munro clan’s chief in the early 1300s, fought with his son George alongside the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314. Robert survived, but George gave his life to the cause.

And while the MacKays supported the Bruce’s efforts almost from the beginning, the Rosses took a slightly more winding path. The Rosses fought against the English at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296, but in the battle, the chief of the clan, Uilleam II, was captured. For a short time after that, Uilleam supported the English, but then changed allegiances back to the Scots, leading the Rosses to fight on the side of the Bruce in the Battle of Bannockburn as well. Uilliam’s son, Hugh (or Aodh), was a favorite of the Bruce’s, and Hugh/Aodh eventually married the Bruce’s sister, Matilda. So even with some clan feuding, all three clans were tightly interwoven with each other and Robert the Bruce’s fight for freedom.

A quick note on the three Lairds’ names. Uilliam II of Ross became Laird William Ross in this story. I chose the name Donald for Laird Munro because Donald Munro was said to be the founder of the Munro clan back in the twelfth century. And Iye MacKay was the name of the founder of the MacKay clan in the early thirteenth century—plus it was the name of five subsequent chiefs of the clan as well!

Regarding the reading of the banns, secret engagements, and how to get out of an arranged marriage, there are quite a few fun historical tidbits to share. The reading of the banns become customary starting in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. For three consecutive Sundays after an engagement was made public, an announcement would be made during church about the impending wedding, and any objections were meant to be brought forward then. (It was kind of like a pre-emptory “speak now or forever hold your peace” moment, but it lasted for three weeks before the wedding rather than just one moment during the ceremony.)

Though some couples didn’t follow the church’s rules (in some times and places, simply declaring that you were now married in front of a witness was enough, and declaring that you were married and then having sex made it extra official!), the church sought to funnel all marriages through an approved series of rules and steps. Partly this was to avoid he-said-she-said disputes about couples claiming to be either married or not married, depending on what one person in the couple wanted to do (like marry someone else). It was also a chance to avoid consanguinity (the couple being too closely related by blood), or to air out any standing engagements that would void the marriage.

While researching another book a while back, I came across the story of Joan of Kent and knew I had to work this particularly interesting historical oddity into one of my stories. Joan of Kent eventually married Edward the Black Prince and became the mother of the future King Richard II. But before that, she was married in her teens with the reading of the banns beforehand, a full church service—the works. Yet after eight years of marriage, the union was found to be unlawful because before her official wedding, she had secretly married a knight without her family’s knowledge or approval when she was just twelve. That earlier marriage voided the later one, despite the fact that she had been living as a married woman with her “second” husband for eight years.

I tweaked that slightly here to introduce the idea that in addition to an earlier marriage, a pre-standing engagement was grounds to void any later engagements or marriage. That’s just what the reading of the banns was for—to give the public three weeks to voice any reason why a couple could not be legally wed.

A note about Sweetheart Abbey—it is a real place, located south of Dumfries and not far from Lochmaben. Its official name is Abbey of Dolce Cor (sweet heart in Latin), though it is better known as Sweetheart Abbey.

It was built out of dark red sandstones in 1275 at the request of Dervorguilla of Galloway in memory of her late husband, Baron John de Balliol. When John died, Dervorguilla asked that his heart be embalmed and placed in a casket of ivory and silver, which she kept with her for the rest of her life. After she died, John’s heart was buried alongside her in Sweetheart Abbey, which she named knowing that she would take her final rest with her late husband there. John and Dervorguilla’s son, John Balliol, would eventually become the King of Scotland, though his reign was short-lived and troubled, for his rival was none other than Robert the Bruce.

Astute readers will remember that Dervorguilla made an appearance in the Author’s Note after (Highland Bodyguards, Book 2) for building Dervorguilla’s Bridge. She was a powerful figure in thirteenth-century Scotland, especially around Dumfries where she lived.

Sweetheart Abbey was damaged during the Scottish wars for independence, and later when it was struck by lightning, but its ruins still stand and you can visit the aptly named abbey today.

And one last note just for fun. Graeme says he would have been turned into a pin-pillow by English archers if he hadn’t been saved after being shot with an arrow. A pin-pillow was one of the medieval names for (can you guess?) a pincushion. Pincushions have been around in Europe since at least the 1300s—who knew?

Thank you for journeying back to medieval Scotland with me!

 

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