But one detail of the battle in particular gave me the idea for the story, when I read about a scout who was supposed to have warned Bruce of the ambush, thereby saving the day. It sounded like the perfect job for my elite scout, Arthur Campbell.
The character of Arthur Campbell is loosely based on “Arthur of Dunstaffnage,” the brother (or possibly the cousin) of Neil Campbell. As his designation suggests, he was appointed the constable of Dunstaffnage Castle after the war. This fit in nicely with my MacDougall heroine—although Anna is a fictional character and the name of Arthur’s wife (if any) does not survive. Interestingly, however, a betrothal agreement between Arthur and Christina (MacRuairi) of the Isles did exist, though they were never married.
What also fit in nicely is that Arthur—along with another brother, Dugald—was said to have been aligned with the English for a time, later coming over to Bruce.
“Arthur of Dunstaffnage” is probably not the Arthur who is the progenitor of Clan MacArthur. It seems most likely this Arthur was from a different (and possibly senior) branch of the family, the Campbells of Strachur (the sons of Arthur). But there is plenty of confusion and different theories about the MacArthur lineage, including a direct descent from King Arthur. An old Highland proverb says, “There is nothing older, unless the hill, MacArthur, and the devil.”
Neil Campbell was one of Robert the Bruce’s most important and loyal supporters. Indeed, Neil would eventually marry the king’s sister Mary when she was released from her cage above Roxburgh Castle (around 1310). As was common for an age with so many widows and widowers, Mary would wed again on Neil’s death. Readers of the first book in the series, The Chief, may be interested to know that her second husband was Alexander Fraser, Christina’s brother.
An interesting aside about Neil gives a little color to the age: Neil’s first wife was said to have been a daughter of Andrew Crawford. Neil and his brother Donald, who had been made guardians of Crawford’s two daughters, decided to take the sisters for wives—literally—by abducting them.
John of Lorn, also known as John Bacach (lame John) and John of Argyll, was a key figure in West Highland politics, responsible not only for Colin Mor Campbell’s death at the Battle of Red Ford, but also for the death of his kinsman Alexander MacDonald, Lord of Islay (Angus Og’s brother).
Allied with the Comyns by marriage, Lorn suffered greatly for his loyalty to that family and his hatred of Bruce—which, given Bruce’s murder of the Red Comyn, was probably understandable.
Lorn’s use of female messengers was my invention, but the frustration with messages gone astray is not. A number of letters from the period survive, including a recently deciphered letter from the sheriff of Banff to Edward II, where he complains of messengers being killed.
Similarly, Lorn’s frustration at being left alone to deal with Bruce and the difficulty in garnering support from the local barons is based on surviving correspondence from Lorn to Edward II, where he claims to have been forced to truce with Bruce because he was ill and the “barons of Argyll give me no aid.” (Robert Bruce, G.W.S. Barrow, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2005, pg. 231.)
The source of Lorn’s illness does not survive. The heart attack and subsequent heart problems were my invention that happened to go along with his propensity to have violent fits of temper. Similarly, the source of the debilitating illness that hit Bruce in the winter of 1307 is also not known. Although some historical rumor had it as leprosy, the latest supposition is that it might have been scurvy. Whatever the cause, it hit the new king hard—reputedly nearly killing him. Bruce was supposedly carried into battle at Inverurie by his men.
The brooch Lorn wears in Chapter Two, reputedly ripped off Robert during the Battle of Dal Righ, is still in the hands of the MacDougall chief and made an appearance as recently as fifty years ago. However, some experts have suggested that the brooch in question dates from a later period.
The Battle of Red Ford happened differently than the way I portrayed it. Rather than an ambush, Colin Mor and John of Lorn met near a burn that fed into Loch na Streinge (later called Allt a chomhla chaidh, the burn of the meeting). Discussion degenerated into argument, and then into battle. The MacDougalls were outnumbered, and it looked as if they would lose, until Great Colin was shot and killed by an archer from behind a boulder.
The extent of Campbell power around Loch Awe before the war is not known, but as Colin Mor was made Ballie of Loch Awe circa 1296, presumably it was not insignificant. Although it is believed that the Campbells held Innis Chonnel Castle prior to the MacDougall possession known to have existed in 1308, historians aren’t certain. At the time of the novel, however, it was in MacDougall hands. In a letter to King Edward, Lorn mentions three castles in his possession on Loch Awe.
The hatred between Bruce and the MacDougalls was rivaled by that of their kinsmen the Comyns. The “harrying of Buchan” following the Battle of Inverurie (Hill of Barra) on May 23, 1308, which takes place in the beginning of the book, appears to have been one of the few times Bruce let vengeance reign unfettered. The destruction was so great that it allegedly took years to recover and was talked about for generations.
By contrast, King Robert did indeed accept the submission of William (Uilleam II), the Earl of Ross, without reprisal for Ross’s role in the capture—and subsequent imprisonment—of Bruce’s ladies (his wife, daughter, sisters, and the Countess of Buchan). Not long after Ross’s submission, his son Hugh (Aodh) was married to Bruce’s sister Matilda.
Alexander MacDougall, Lord of Argyll, is said to have been too old and infirm at the time to fight at Brander. He submitted to Bruce after a siege of Dunstaffnage Castle, attending the king’s first parliament in March 1309 at Ardchatten, but later followed his son into exile, where he died in 1310.
As usual, some of the castles mentioned in the book are also known by different names. Auldearn Castle is also known as Old Even, and Glassery (Glassary) Castle as Fincharn.
Medieval rat torture was far more gruesome than I suggest. A cage with a rat underneath would be placed on the stomach of the victim and heated from above. The rat, in an attempt to get out, would eat a slow hole into the gut of the victim. Charming (and perhaps providing a little too much “color” of the age)!
Finally, readers of the third book in my Campbell trilogy, Highland Scoundrel, might note the connection of Arthur’s sword to Duncan’s, which was engraved with the word Steadfast and had been passed down through the generations from the time of Bruce. Although my invention, it was indeed customary to engrave swords and pass them down.
Not enough? Make sure to check out my website, www.monicamccarty.com, for more information and “picture books” of some of the places mentioned in the books.