The Flockmasters

This is the final novel in my Nigel Tranter project, fifty books re-read. The shelf is now bare, well, not quite, as I have simply filled it with other titles😉. Oxfam is hopefully a few quid better off. This novel is set during the Napoleonic Wars and explores the Highland clearances of that period.

The painting on the cover is Sir John Sinclair by Raeburn and is in the National Galleries of Scotland. While Tranter's tale is not directly about him, he was based in Caithness, while this story is set in the West Highlands, there is a link. Sinclair established, in Edinburgh, a society for the improvement of British wool and was notorious for clearing his tenants' land to make way for sheep. His family was also the owners of enslaved persons in the West Indies. All told, not a good person, even by the standards of the times.

We tend to think of the Highland clearances as being a later 18th-century practice. However, it started in the 1750s. The eviction of tenants went against dùthchas, the principle that clan members had an inalienable right to rent land in the clan territory, although this was never recognised in Scots law. It was gradually abandoned by clan chiefs as they began to think of themselves simply as commercial landlords, rather than as patriarchs of their people.

Tranter's story involves the MacRory clan, which I assume is a nod towards Clann Ruaidhrí, who were based in the West Highlands. The hero is a tacksman of the clan who had been wounded serving in a Highland regiment in the Peninsular War. He came home to discover the clearances in operation with houses being burned and the people being forced to barren land on the coast, before being shipped off to Canada. I won't spoil the story, but he organises some resistance against the factor of the clan chief, who is also the colonel of his regiment.

It is a grim tale, but well told by a master storyteller.

Some of my 28mm Napoleonic Highlanders. 

The Stone

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project isn't really a historical novel, but it has a historical subject. The Stone refers to the Stone of Destiny, Stone of Scone or the Coronation Stone, which used to be under the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey and now resides in a museum in Perth.

The stone in Perth is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century, when it was seized by Edward I during the First War of Scottish Independence and taken to England. Thereafter, it was used in the coronation of English and later British monarchs.

Or was it? The alternative story is that the monks at Scone, knowing that Edward was coming for it, hid the real stone and substituted this lump of sandstone. They knew that if they simply hid the stone, Edward would be none too gentle in extracting it. There is some evidence that Edward knew he was being duped, as searchers returned later to hunt for the hidden version.

This is the premise of Tranter's entirely fictional story. He has a modern-day relative of the landowners, whose land the real stone was hidden on, returning to the scene when he discovers that Oxford University archaeologists are coming to dig it up. Obviously, no self-respecting Scot could allow that to happen, so he enlists the help of a group of Glasgow nationalists and the local farmer and his daughter. They work out the real site and uplift it. The story tells how they do that and the efforts of the police and others to stop them. I won't spoil the story's details, but it's an entertaining read.

Tranter wrote this book in 1953, no doubt inspired by the audacious act on Christmas Day 1950, when a group of four Scottish students (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson, and Alan Stuart) removed the stone from Westminster Abbey. However, if you go back to his historical novels of the period, it is clear that he believed that this was not the real stone. 

There are various theories about the stone's history, and I recommend an episode of the Gone Medieval podcast featuring an interview with Professor Dauvit Broun on the subject. He makes the valid point that it doesn't really matter if it is the real one. After all, there are no documented sources until 1249 for the coronation of Alexander III. What matters is the idea of the stone.

Personally, I find it hard to believe that such an essential part of the coronation process would use a roughly hewn piece of sandstone. I prefer the idea that it would have been a distinctive piece of engraved stone. However, as they say, the jury is out.

Children of the Mist

 I have slipped out of my chronological reread of Nigel Tranter's novels with this one, which is based on the story of the MacGregors in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. We are back to James I & VI, a Tranter favourite that borders on obsession. The description 'Children of the Mist' either comes from their ability to disappear into the mountains or their persecution; either way, it was a later invention.

This is almost a century before the most famous MacGregor, Rob Roy. The chief in this period was Alastair MacGregor, who became the clan chief after his father was murdered by the Campbells in 1570. The Campbells wanted the MacGregor lands and were behind most of the schemes to persecute them. The saying, 'never trust a Campbell,' is a reference to the infamous Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, but it could easily have been the title of this book.

Tranter invents a whole range of efforts that Alastair makes to counter the Campbell influence with the King and the Privy Council. In practice, the MacGregors relied on their fighting skills and remote lands to fight off the Campbells and their allies. This included the Battle of Glen Fruin (1603), where the Colquhouns were driven into the Moss of Auchingaich, where their cavalry was useless, and over 200 were killed. 

In April 1603, the King issued an edict proclaiming the name MacGregor 'altogidder abolisheed'. This meant that anyone who bore the name must renounce it or suffer death, and allowed bounty hunters to kill MacGregors. In a final effort to plead his case with the King, he was tricked into capture by the Campbell chief, who promised safe passage. In 1604, Alastair MacGregor and eleven of his chieftains were hanged at Mercat Cross, Edinburgh. The proscription was not lifted until 1774, and MacGregors took many different names to avoid further persecution.

It is a grim story, told well by Tranter, whose mother had one of the many names the MacGregors took. If your name is Campbell, this is one novel to avoid😁.

Some of my early-period Highlanders, taking on lowland infantry.

Highness in Hiding

 The latest instalment in my Nigel Tranter project is 'Highness in Hiding,' the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie's escape to France after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. This book is best described as a travelogue of his movements over several months in the West Highlands and the islands as he evaded his pursuers.

This is topical as archaeologists have discovered musket balls on the battlefield that they believe were fired by Irish Jacobite troops who enabled clansmen to escape the battlefield by stopping a mounted charge.

It also has a personal interest, as Ancestry has recently narrowed the Scottish side of my DNA to the West Highlands and the Hebrides. The Watsons are usually associated with the area north of Glasgow, and that is undoubtedly where my family lived. It is fascinating to discover that they originated much further north.

After Culloden, Charles became a hunted man with a £30,000 bounty on his head, the equivalent of £7.6m in today's money. I hadn't appreciated just how long he managed to evade capture, and how much effort the Government forces put in. At least 14 warships and thousands of troops, most of them coming from clans that supported the Hanoverians. He spent months hiding in the Outer Hebrides, moving between islands like Eriskay, South Uist, and Benbecula. Tranter is at his best when describing these remote places.

What most people know about this period (thanks to the Skye Boat Song) is that he escaped to the Isle of Skye with Flora MacDonald on June 28, 1746. She helped him disguise himself as a maid named "Betty Burke". After parting ways with Flora on Skye, he continued to evade capture, returning to the mainland before eventually securing a ship that took him to the continent and safety in France. 

Sadly, there was no happy ending. Charles never returned to Scotland and spent the rest of his life in exile, moving between France and Rome. He died in Rome on January 31, 1788, at the age of 67, having become an alcoholic in his later years. 

Wonderful though Tranter's description of the terrain is, it isn't the most riveting read. The bravery of the loyal clans who protected him is an integral part of the story, given the murder, rape and destruction visited on the Highlands by Butcher Cumberland. 

There are no real battles or even skirmishes for the wargamer. However, this is a popular period on the tabletop with some fine figure ranges. I would particularly plug the range by my pal Ian at Flags of War.

Some of my 28mm figures of the period

The MacGregor Trilogy

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project is the MacGregor Trilogy. Three books focused on the proscribed MacGregor Clan in the late 17th and early 18th century. This begins with the story of Rob Roy MacGregor and continues with his relatives in the period following his death in 1734.

Most people are familiar with the story of Rob Roy through the 1995 film starring Liam Neeson or Sir Walter Scott's novel. It is a cracking film, even if historically inaccurate, particularly in the depiction of the government troops' uniforms. In fairness, details of Rob Roy's life are a mix of fact and legend, and according to one historian, the film portrays Rob Roy "in the most sympathetic light possible". Tranter takes a slightly less romantic view of Rob Roy and doesn't shy away from his outlaw status and blackmailing of cattle owners around the Highland Line. 

This part of the MacGregor story is closely linked to the Jacobite risings. Rob Roy took part in the 1689, 1715 and 1719 risings. His role in the Battle of Sheriffmuir is contested, and Tranter supports the theory that he arrived late. Tranter probably exaggerates Rob Roy's broader role in coordinating the clans during the 1715 and 1719 risings, but it helps with the storyline. 

The final book in the trilogy, Gold for Prince Charlie, starts just after the Battle of Culloden, and our hero is Duncan MacGregor, great-nephew of Rob Roy. It covers the escape of the Prince from Scotland and the gold sent to support the rising that arrived too late. The gold was from Spain rather than France (although sent in French ships), but otherwise, Tranter sticks to what little we know about where it went and how it disappeared. Duncan is inserted into the story, and he attempts to save it from grasping clan chiefs.

Rob Roy is a classic legend of Scottish history, and Tranter does the story justice. Well worth a read.

Some of my 1745 figures on the tabletop.

Fast and Loose

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project is out of the ordinary. It was one of his early novels, written in 1951, and instead of covering a broad sweep of Scottish history, it focuses on the events of one small clan in north west Scotland, in the early years of the 18th century.

Tranter bases his story around the eldest son of the clan chief of MacColl, coming back from a grand tour of Europe, although confusingly the cover says he was a hostage at the King's court. Having been robbed, he and his foster brother capture a boat in Dunbarton to get them home. They arrive to find his younger brother Cormac has locked up his father and taken over the clan, and his beloved. The story revolves around the measures he takes to win back the clan.

Tranter usually sticks pretty close to the history, sometimes inventing characters to narrate the story. However, he has invented a whole new history for the MacColls. The place names in the book don't exist, and he has placed them much further north than their traditional territory around Loch Fyne. The MacColls are probably a sept of the MacDonalds (Coll being a popular MacDonald first name) and, like many smaller clans, were squeezed out by the Campbells. After being almost wiped out in the 17th century, they settled in Appin and fought in the 1745 rising as part of the Appin Regiment. One-third of those killed in the regiment had the surname MacColl.

I won't spoil the plot, as this is almost totally fiction. Tranter paints a more realistic picture of clan life and the fighting capabilities of the average member than popular myth. The young MacColl has many challenges in gathering the forces needed to win back his birthright, and his journey takes him across northern Scotland, with Tranter's remarkable ability to describe the scenery. It all makes a cracking read. 

Some of my better-equipped Highlanders of the period

The Patriot

The latest in my Nigel Tranter project is his novel about Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1655-1716). Fletcher is best known for his opposition to the Treaty of Union in 1707, but he had a fascinating backstory before then. I suspect that Tranter enjoyed writing this book more than most, as he was a passionate supporter of Home Rule for Scotland.

Saltoun is in East Lothian, not far from Tranter's home. He was born into a relatively affluent landowning family and was well educated in Scotland and in Europe. He entered politics in 1678 when he was elected as the Commissioner for Haddingtonshire to the Scottish Parliament. Unlike his peers, he rarely moved with the political winds and quickly made enemies of the powerful. He strongly opposed arbitrary actions on the part of the Church or state. In 1683, after being charged (falsely) with plotting against the King, Fletcher fled Scotland to join with English opponents of King Charles (and then James II) in the Netherlands. 

It was there that he met James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and commanded the cavalry in the Monmouth Rebellion. He shot a local leader of the rebellion, and Monmouth had to dismiss him, which turned out to be a fortunate escape. He escaped to Spain, where he was imprisoned at the request of the English government. However, he escaped and joined the Imperialist army fighting the Ottomans in Hungary. Sadly, we don't know much about this period in his life, and Tranter glosses over it. I, of course, love a Scottish/Balkan connection!

On returning to the Netherlands, he joined the forces of  William of Orange, and returned to Scotland in 1688. However, his alliance with William faded when it became clear William II (as he was in Scotland) was only interested in using the country to help fight foreign wars. Fletcher's views on the limitations of monarchy didn't go down any better with William than they had with Charles or James. He was a promoter of the Darien Scheme, which sought to establish a Scottish colony in Panama. However, by practically ruining the Scottish elite, the Darien scheme increased support for Union with England, bolstered by offers of money to Scots who would support it. He didn't pen the famous words, "Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation", but he would agree with the meaning. As would Tranter.

Fletcher turned from politics after the Union and devoted the rest of his life to farming and agricultural development. He died unmarried in Paris in September 1716. His last words were 'Lord have mercy on my poor country that is so barbarously oppressed'.

Fletcher was an intellectual, so perhaps not the stuff of gripping historical fiction. However, he was not adverse to using the sword, and this story has some action and plenty of plots. The reader is left with admiration for a man of principle, in an era when political principles were rare. 

Some of my English infantry of the period

Honours Even

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter re-reading project covers the period of Oliver Cromwell's occupation of Scotland between the Regicide and the Restoration. It's a little-known period of Scottish history, with the focus being on the Commonwealth in England.

The story is told through the eyes of an actual, albeit minor, historical character, James Ramsay of Bamff in Perthshire. He came from a Royalist group of families who had supported Montrose and were there to welcome Charles II to his coronation as King of Scots. Charles was somewhat bemused at his reception from the Covenanters, an experience that would play out in the future.

Cromwell's reaction to the coronation was to invade Scotland. He was repulsed outside Edinburgh and retreated to Dunbar, where his army could be supplied by sea. The Battle of Dunbar (1650) was a disaster for the larger Scottish army, the blame largely falling on the Kirk, which interfered with the battle plans of the experienced Scots commander David Leslie. This led to an initial occupation, while the Scottish army accompanied Charles II to raise the Royalist flag in England. This ended badly a year later at the Battle of Worcester. 

Our hero stayed in Scotland and was involved in rescuing the crown jewels, known as the Honours of Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle and its Roundhead garrison. It was decided to take them to Dunnotar Castle, south of Aberdeen, for safety. A significant portion of the book is devoted to the subsequent siege. The Honours were spirited out before the garrison was starved into surrender. 

These are the honours, which are now displayed at Edinburgh Castle.

There are differing stories about how the Honours were removed, and Tranter goes for the version that the local minister's wife hid them when she was allowed to visit the castle. Tranter tells a story about the Roundhead artillery being captured by the MacGregors and sunk in a bog. This may be an embellishment of the novelist, as the Roundheads did manage to get artillery in place.

Either way, Dunnotar is one of Scotland's finest castles, and not to be missed if you are in the north east. 

Our hero is then involved in various attempts to challenge the Roundhead occupation of Scotland. These suffered from the usual divisions within the country and had little impact. It ended with the Restoration after Cromwell's death.

After the books on James I and VI, this was a significant improvement. Plenty of action and a story well told.

Some of my 28mm Roundheads.

Unicorn Rampant

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project covers similar ground as the previous few books, the reign of James I and VI. I am reading them broadly chronologically, but Tranter didn't write them that way.

This time, the story is told through the eyes of John Stewart of Methven, the illegitimate son of the Duke of Lennox, and Mary Gray.  He is unwillingly drawn into the English court and James' fundraising efforts. This primarily relates to monopolies, a highly profitable royal grant to companies that were given a monopoly of particular trades. In this case, he identifies a gap in the paper trade and expands Scottish production to meet the demand. He is appointed Keeper of Dumbarton Castle and discovers how the corrupt world of royal financing works in the 17th century. There is also a long-running love interest.

This is the portrait of the Duke of Lennox from my recent trip to the National Portrait Gallery. One of my favourites. 

If this doesn't appear to make a riveting historical novel, you would be right. The story is told well, but it is not exactly a riveting plot. These novels are my bedtime reading, and I have been sleeping very well recently!

 

Poetic Justice

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project remains in the period of James VI and I. This time, the story is told through the rise of Sir William Alexander of Menstrie.

Alexander came to James' attention as a poet. If you are thinking this doesn't look like a promising storyline, you would be right. The first part of the book covers similar ground to previous books and is quite slow going.

In fairness, it picks up when it starts to cover some significant new elements of James' reign, including the publication of the King James Bible and the early plantations in Ulster. Yes, we have James to blame for the Troubles. Alexander is later tasked with developing British colonies in Canada, specifically Nova Scotia. His baronets provided the Coat of Arms of Nova Scotia and the Flag of Nova Scotia, which are still in use today. An attempt to create a colony in what is today Long Island was something of an overreach.

There is no doubt that Alexander had a remarkable rise to power, from a minor laird to being created 1st Earl of Stirling. He struggled to make this pay for himself personally, despite numerous opportunities to reap a profit. He was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland in 1626 by Charles I, whom he had helped tutor as a child. The weaknesses in the theory of the Divine Right of Kings were obviously not on the curriculum!

The young Charles I. National Portrait Gallery

Alexander was one of the most highly regarded Scottish poets in early seventeenth-century Scotland and England. If seventeenth-century poetry is your thing, this book may be of interest. For me, I struggled.

Mail Royal

The latest in my Nigel Tranter rereading project takes in the next generation of the Gray family during the reign of James VI & I, after the period when he gained the English throne.

Patrick Master of Gray's son, Andrew, is the Seventh Lord Gray. He has a land steward, David Grey, who is an illegitimate nephew. Tranter uses him as the hook for the story. 

Lord Gray is losing his lucrative appointment as Sheriff of Angus and wants to find the infamous casket letters (last seen in his father's possession) of Mary Queen of Scots to give him some leverage over the king. He sends David to Fast Castle to find them. David strikes up a romance with the daughter of the Home laird, who now owns the castle, and finds the casket. However, it doesn't include the most important letter, which is supposed to include a confession from Mary that the king's real father was her Italian secretary, David Rizzio.

You can visit Fast Castle today, although little remains of the walls that housed the infamous Logan of Restalrig. It is on a remarkable outcrop on the East Coast. I have only been once, and it's pretty challenging to get to, even today. Fast Castle was originally known as Fause (lit. False) Castle because of the lights hung from it, which misled shipping for wreckers to plunder them.

The king doesn't know that the key letter is missing, and David is sent to London with the delicate task of blackmailing him, without seeming to do so. Despite this, the king takes a shine to David, who sorts out a trade issue and is sent to France as part of the embassy to secure the marriage of the French Princess Henrietta Maria to Prince Charles. We get a lengthy insight into the machinations of the court of King Louis 13th. David gets into a few more of the king's projects, including a return to James' interest in witchcraft.

This is a well-told tale of the court of James I and the international situation at the time. There is not a lot of action, but then James was not a big fan of warfare.

 

The Wisest Fool

 The latest in my rereading of Nigel Tranter's novels covers James the Sixth from his accession to the English throne as James the First after the death of Elizabeth. 

Tranter typically narrates the story using someone close to the action. He chose George Heriot, the King's Jeweller and money-lender, in this book. Heriot is an interesting character in his own right. He was the court goldsmith to the Queen, Anne of Denmark, and the king himself. He became very wealthy from this position and more prosperous by lending this money back to the king and the rest of his court. He moved to London along with the court in 1603, at the time of the Union of Crowns, and remained in London until he died in 1624. He is chiefly remembered today as the founder of George Heriot's School, a large public school in Edinburgh. His name has also been given to Heriot-Watt University, several streets and a pub, the Jinglin' Geordie, after his nickname. I walk past (I know, hard to believe!) the pub on my way back to the station from research trips to the National Library. 

James was not the universal choice as Elizabeth's successor, and he must have been a bit of a shock to the English court. There were a couple of early plots to unseat him, including one involving Sir Walter Raleigh. The most famous is Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, which Tranter covers in detail and is probably the best chapter in the book. 

James had less luck with his plan to establish a single country under one monarch, one parliament, and one law rather than simply a personal union of the crowns. The English Parliament was strongly opposed, which didn't go well with James, who believed in the divine right of kings to rule—something that would get his successor into more serious difficulties. Parliament also kept him short of cash, so he started a range of financial schemes, including the plantation of Protestants in Ulster. Heriot was the man who helped organise at least some of these schemes.

This is not a Bernard Cornwell-style action story. James was firmly against wars, primarily because of the cost. He championed peace in Europe and ended the long Anglo–Spanish War, and a peace treaty was signed between the two countries in August 1604. Despite the lack of military action, this is an interesting tale of court life under a strange but quite effective monarch. The Wisest Fool in Christendom is an appropriate title.

Past Master

 This is the third in Nigel Tranter's Master of Gray Trilogy. Patrick, Master of Gray (1559–1612), was a Scottish nobleman and politician who played a notable, though often controversial, role during the reign of James VI of Scotland.

The story moves on to the later stages of James VI's rule in Scotland before he gained the English throne. Patrick, you may recall, had yet again been banished, but he devises a new way of getting back into James' good books by uncovering a Catholic plot to unseat him. Tranter goes for the line that Patrick inspired the rebellion, only to undermine it. 

The best part of the book is the fighting on the western seaboard and Ireland when the McDonalds went off to support Irish rebels. Tranter always describes this part of Scotland very well.

There was one last apparent internal attempt to kill James in August 1600, when he was apparently assaulted by Alexander Ruthven at Gowrie House, the seat of the Ruthvens. Ruthven was run through by James's page, John Ramsay, and the Earl of Gowrie was killed in the ensuing fracas; there were few surviving witnesses. Given James's history with the Ruthvens and the fact that he owed them a great deal of money, his account of the circumstances was not universally believed.

The book ends with Elizabeth's death when she finally names James as her successor. Sadly for Patrick, James decides he has yet again had enough of him and that there would be suitable rogues in London to replace him. This must have been a blow as succession was Patrick's main policy aim. We know that Patrick became the 6th Lord Gray on his father's death in 1609, three years before he died in 1612.

While this is not the most exciting period of Scottish history, the story is excellent, with plenty of plots and turns to keep the reader engaged.

I picked up some 28mm figures suitable for the period, perhaps a little earlier, at the bring and buy at Hammerhead. They will undoubtedly work for games of Border Wars.

The Courtesan - Master of Gray trilogy

 It is not an obvious book title for a military historian, but this is the second in Nigel Tranter's Master of Gray trilogy. A brief reminder that Patrick, Master of Gray (1559–1612), was a Scottish nobleman and politician who played a notable, though often controversial, role during the reign of James VI of Scotland. The courtesan is his illegitimate offspring, Mary, a fictional character who, in this book, takes over from Patrick's brother David in telling the story.

At the conclusion of the last book, Patrick is banished from Scotland. However, he makes a comeback with intelligence about the Spanish Armada. Needless to say, the arch-plotter plays both outcomes, although we should remember that few thought England would survive the Spanish invasion. 

He then engages in various plots, playing off the Catholic and Protestant factions. James marries Anne of Denmark and then indulges in an obsession with witchcraft in Scotland. This is historically correct, as James VI was personally involved in the witch trials in the 1590s, which were a result of his belief that he was the victim of witchcraft. He published a book about witch-hunting called Daemonologie. Around 2,500 people were executed during the witch trials. The execution rate in Scotland was five times the average European rate per capita.

Patrick's plots eventually become too much for his daughter Mary after he goes against the Duke of Lennox. She eventually becomes Lennox's lover, hence the title. She exposes his treasonous correspondence with Queen Elizabeth, and he is forced to flee. But as ever, he will return.

If you are looking for Bernard Cornwell-style action, this book is not for you. This was a rare period of peace between the two countries, as James was Elizabeth's apparent heir, even if she did not acknowledge him. There were internal revolts, so skirmishes were the order of the day. Border Wars is ideal. However, it is a fast-paced story with plenty of twists, even if largely fictional.

Lord and Master - Master of Gray Trilogy

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter re-reading project is set during James VI's reign, although we have now moved into his adult reign. The story is told through the life of Patrick, Master of Gray, and this is the first of a trilogy. He obviously intrigued Tranter.

The book is narrated by Patrick's half-brother, David, who is portrayed as a very different character. I am unsure if Tranter made him up, as I can't find a reference to him, but he may have been missed as an illegitimate offspring. 

Patrick, Master of Gray (1559–1612), was a Scottish nobleman and politician who played a notable, though often controversial, role during the reign of James VI of Scotland. Known for his political cunning and shifting allegiances, Gray was deeply involved in the intrigues and power struggles that defined late 16th-century Scotland. He was born into the influential Gray family and became Master of Gray, a title that referred to the heir to the chief of the Gray family. 

Gray emerged after Mary’s forced abdication and subsequent imprisonment by Queen Elizabeth. Initially a supporter of Mary, his loyalties shifted as he sought to secure his position and favour with her son, James VI. He became an important courtier and diplomat during James VI's reign. 

Tranter adapts the history somewhat (this is fiction). For example, he went to Glasgow, not St Andrews University, which is important in later volumes. He was entrusted with missions abroad, including to England, and Tranter captures his duplicity well. His trips to France are interesting, as this is the French War of Religion period. Most infamously, he is believed to have betrayed Mary, Queen of Scots, during her imprisonment in England, which Tranter takes as fact. Gray, ostensibly sent to plead for Mary’s life in 1586, reportedly advised Elizabeth I to execute her, aligning his interests with those of James VI and Elizabeth. According to Tranter, this was his undoing when Patrick was declared a traitor and sentenced to death, only to be rescued by his half-brother's intervention. He was undoubtedly jailed and later banished from Scotland, but the Tranter version is a better read. Some of the Master of Gray's papers were published in 1835 and can be read here, but they are not easy to read.

Patrick was a politician and not a soldier, so this is not an action read. However, he offered to join Philip Sidney at Vlissingen (Flushing) in April 1586, fighting against the Spanish with 2,000 or more Scottish recruits. Something Tranter chooses to ignore. He does get into a few fights, although how anyone fought in that Tudor dress is beyond me! 

This volume ends with his banishment, but he will return.

A Rage of Regents

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project covers the period after the Battle of Langside in 1568 when Mary Queen of Scots fled to England, and Scotland was ruled by regents for the young James the Sixth.

In classic Tranter fashion, the story is told through the eyes of a Lanarkshire laird's son, John Carmichael. On the wrong side at the Battle of Langside, his father decides to marry him off to the sister of the Earl of Morton, one of the regency council led by Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Moray.

He gets dragged into various special missions for Morton and develops a close relationship with the young Earl of Angus, head of the Red Douglases. When Moray is assassinated, Morton eventually grabs the regency, and John ends up on further missions, including a trip to Queen Elizabeth's court in London. He was also appointed Warden of the Middle March, as most of the hereditary holders of those positions fled the country after Langside. 

Morton was arguably the most effective of James's regents, but he made enemies. He fell from favour when Frenchman Esmé Stewart, first cousin of James's father Lord Darnley, arrived in Scotland and quickly became a favourite of James.  James I was proclaimed an adult ruler in a ceremony of Entry to Edinburgh on 19 October 1579. Morton was executed on 2 June 1581, belatedly charged with complicity in Darnley's murder.

In military terms, this was a relatively quiet period. There was some skirmishing over the border but no major battles. There were a few revolts, but they never amounted to much in terms of battles.

This is Border Wars territory for wargamers, with plenty of potential scenarios for small-scale clashes, for which the rules work so well. There are even models for the Queen's emissaries that fit in well with the missions John was sent on.

The Queen's Grace

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project also covers the rule of Mary Queen of Scots. However, this is one of Tranter's earlier novels (1953) that covers a specific part of the period: the conflict with the Gordons in northeast Scotland.

The story is told through the eyes of a minor Gordon laird, Patrick MacRuary Gordon, Laird of Balruary in Glen Livet. Glen Livet is a scenic spot to this day, although it is probably better known for Glenlivet whisky. The Gordons are a predominately Catholic clan led by the Earl of Huntly (Cock o' the North). Still, Patrick's father was a noted protestant, making him a suitable go-between with the Queen and the Protestant Lords of the Congregation led by her half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Mar. Called 'The Bastard' by just about everyone.

Glen Livet

The Protestant Lords were spoiling for a fight with the Gordons, who were generally willing to oblige. James Stewart was also anxious to secure his Earldom of Moray, which abuts the Gordon territories. The Gordons were a strange mix of Highland and Lowland, creating division compounded by differences in strategy between the two sons. Mary was also in a difficult position as a Catholic Queen who would generally have looked to the Gordons for support.

Moray brings a large lowland army north on a royal progress to Aberdeen and Inverness. Patrick gains the Queen's confidence and gets involved in all the main events. This all ends badly at the Battle of Corrichie, fought on the slopes of the Hill of Fare in Aberdeenshire on 28 October 1562. Clan Chattan abandoned Huntly, and the new-fangled pike and shot tactics defeated the Gordon charge. Huntly died of a heart attack on the battlefield, and his son John was captured and executed. The older son was not at the battle and was spared by Mary's intervention, and she later restored his titles. The Gordon story lived on, and they will play an important part in future events.

Gordon Horse, of a slightly later period

Warden of the Queen's March

 This is the latest in my Nigel Tranter reread project. It covers the period when Mary Queen of Scots was the Queen Regnant, Scotland's first and only female ruler. The story is told through the eyes of Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst, a loyal supporter of the Queen and Border laird in the Middle March.

Mary I was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542, although in practice only from her return to Scotland in 1561 until her forced abdication in 1567.

Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 after her first husband, King Francis II of France, died. This marked a turbulent period in her rule, as she sought to maintain Catholic traditions in a Protestant-majority kingdom. In 1565, she married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. The marriage deteriorated due to Darnley's behaviour and political ambitions. Darnley was murdered in 1567, a crime that implicated Mary's third husband, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, whom she married shortly afterwards. This led to widespread scandal and rebellion. Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son, James VI of Scotland (later James I of England). After escaping and losing the Battle of Langside in 1568, she fled to England, seeking protection from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, but was instead imprisoned. This is where the book ends, but Mary's story then became part of the history of England and didn't end well!

Thomas Kerr was a historical figure, even though Tranter had made him a little closer to the Queen and events than he may have been. With notable historical hindsight, he advised against many of her worst mistakes, not least her choice of husbands! While there was relative peace with England (Mary was in the line of succession to the English throne), there were several rebellions. The Protestant Lords effectively ruled Scotland, and when Mary deviated too far from their position, they had the military power to depose her. Her final poor decision was fleeing to England when, despite the defeat at Langside, her cause was far from lost. The Marian Civil War continued anyway, but that is another story in which Thomas Kerr played a significant role.

Langside is a suburb of Glasgow today, and there is a large monument to the battle.

There is also a rare Balkan link in this book. Tranter has Thomas Kerr travelling to Dubrovnik, seeking medical aid from the Knights of St Lazarus for the Queen, who may have thought she had leprosy. She didn't, although she probably did suffer from a range of illnesses, including  Gastric ulceration, Porphyria, and Anorexia nervosa.

Langside is a complex but interesting battle, which I should have a go at on the tabletop.

 

The Marchman

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter reread tells the story of Sir John Maxwell, Warden of the West March, during the middle of the 16th century. Tranter was based in eastern Scotland and wrote less about the West, so this is an unusual subject for him.

The West, Middle, and East Marches were on each side of the Anglo-Scottish border. The Maxwells were usually the Wardens of the West March, based in Caerlaverock Castle. The wardens of the Marches on either side of the border were entrusted with the difficult task of keeping the peace and punishing wrongdoers. 

Caerlaverock has a very distinctive design.

John Maxwell was the second son, so he would not usually have become the Warden. However, he married well into the Herries family (Deputy Wardens), and his older brother was less militarily inclined and died early, leaving only a child. This was a period of considerable conflict and weak rule in Scotland.

The period covered is similar to Tranter's book Rough Wooing, but it examines events from the West. You can read the history in my review of that book. Still, Maxwell was at most of the battles, including the victory at Ancrum Moor and the defeat at Pinkie. He was typically at the head of his border mosstroopers, some of the most effective cavalry in the Scots army of the period.

Maxwell was a strong supporter of the Crown against several noble factions that controlled the country without a monarch. It was also a time of religious fervour, with the reformation in full swing. Although inclined to support religious reform, he still supported Mary Queen of Scots when she returned to Scotland. The book ends before the later period of Mary's reign and abdication. So, it doesn't cover the Battle of Langside, in which Maxwell commanded Mary's cavalry and protected her afterwards.

National events punctuate the book, which is mainly focused on the duties of a March Warden. If you are interested in the Border Reivers, then this is a good read. I have been playing some of the more significant battles recently in 15mm, using DBA Renaissance, and for the typical border skirmishing, you can't beat Border Wars.

Balefire

The latest in my Nigel Traitor re-reading project is Balefire. This was an early (1958) stand-alone novel rather than the usual historical series. It focuses on one character without any link to the major players of the period.

The story begins with our hero, Simon Armstrong, a modest Border laird, wounded on the battlefield of Flodden in 1513. He was fighting dismounted with a pike, neither a favoured fighting method for a borderer. He is picked up for ransom by a Hexham steward, Able Ridley, and taken back to his home near the priory town in England. The Prior of Hexham turned a blind eye to this, given that the order was to take no prisoners because Simon offered an additional ransom to pay to the Prior. 

Simon is well looked after by Ridley's daughters and something of a romance follows. When Ridley and his men go off with another English invasion, Simon flees to warn his family and friends. Hence, the title, which refers to the beacons in place to warn of invasion.

The main hook for the story is the action at Hornshole. A group from Hexham Priory camped overnight at Hornshole, near Hawick, where they were challenged and defeated by a group of Hawick Callants (young lads under 16) who were not at Flodden. They stole their pennon and returned to the town victorious. Since then, a replica of this flag has been carried by a young unmarried male (the Cornet) during the annual Common Riding celebrations in the town.

The story has an interesting twist following this event, but I won't spoil it. It is perhaps not one of Tranter's best for me, as I prefer big-picture history, but it is well told.

For the wargamer, this is classic Border Wars territory.