A Claymore or a Horse!

And suddenly all that Britain which had been so long familiar to him as a scholar rose up like a solid thing. C. S. Lewis  That Hideous Strength

Our group of fifteen dwindled down to five as some headed back to the good ol' US of A, and the rest of us flew into Glasgow. The city is famous for its University, Industry, and its Enlightenment or should I say Endarkenment scholars like David Hume. As we walked out of the terminal we saw a spry little man wearing a kilt and green socks up to the knee. He was holding a sign that said Reformation Tours, and I smiled. We had the right guy! Donnie was a fiery Scott full of patriotic pride and a veritable font of Scottish history! 

He drove us to the church of the Holy Rude (Scottish for Holy Cross) in Stirling. John Knox preached here at the coronation of the young James VI of Scotland, who would become James I of England. James' mother, Mary Queen of Scots, couldn't make the ceremony however, as she was sitting in prison for opposing reform. Interestingly enough, James would later side with his mum, and rebuff the puritans. 

In 1651 guns were installed in the church tower for an assault on Stirling castle. What a picture of the separation of church and state! The church is also famous or should I say infamous for its in-house wars as well. During the 17th century the Presbyterians couldn't agree over a point of theology (imagine that!) and a partition was erected for two rival ministers and their congregations. Now that's what I call a church split! Thank the Lord that today its the Church not the Churches of the Holy Rude. 

From there we proceeded to my favorite castle -- Stirling Castle. This one was not so much for show as for defense. James V was known to descend from the heights of the castle into the town dressed as a commoner. He knew that his court would only tell him what he wanted to hear so he decided to get the news from the horse's mouth. Kind of like meeting Bill at a McDonalds in his jogging suit but different. But I digress. I ran along run along castle walls and took in the stunning vistas, which included the huge William Wallace monument across the way. The castle reminded me of a cross between Rohan and Minis Tirith, as it was built on a huge volcanic rock which overlooked the valley all around and jutted out from it in the back.

Then it was on to Bannockburn where Robert the Bruce, whose family I married into, retook Stirling Castle from the English in the famous battle of 1314. The Bruce was a great strategist and warrior and can be seen in the statues to the right (thanks to Andrew Waller's photography). "Bannockburn" means fair little river, and the Bruce used it to his advantage. He intercepted Edward II and his soldiers who were on their way to resupply Stirling castle. The Bruce's army knelt in the field to receive a blessing from the Abbot and rose to fight for their freedom. One of Edward's men ran out to meet the Bruce in single combat. The Bruce simply waited for the charge, stepped aside at the last second, and brought his axe down on the helmet so hard that the handle broke off leaving the axe head in his adversary's skull. That means that the axe clove the helmet with enough force left over to also cleave the skull! Ouch! 

The next morning the Scott's had an early breakfast, got into formation, and began marching on the English army that outnumbered the it two to one. The unprepared English backed up to reform and suddenly realized that they were trapped in the bend of that Fair-little-river. With water to the left and right and behind and the Scottish army in front, Edward sent his cavalry into the long spears where they were impaled. The English archers got off one volley before they were taken out and the hand-to-hand combat began. When the battle was over, the Scots could cross the river without getting their feet wet. I'm sure you can guess why. 

Medieval battle was gruesome, but it was actually more rare and far less destructive of human life and the environment than modern warfare and this is probably why: You had to face your opponents, look them in the eye, and be willing to die in a very personal way. It better be worth fighting over because there was no such thing as a fly over. There was no targeting non-combatants like women and children either. On the good-guys side, it was usually for self-defense of life and property or for one's neighbor. All the makings of just war, instead the total and even preemptive wars we've seen since WWI. Am I sounding nostalgic? Well if I have to fight let it be for true freedom and give me a claymore or a horse!