If It's Not Scottish It's Crap

Monday, April 07, 2008

Tartan Day was yesterday.

No Gathering of the Blogs this year. Kinda sad. But Sunday is tough for regular blogging.

I didn’t want it to pass with no mention at all.

It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom—for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

—The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320

Friday, April 06, 2007

‘Tis Tartan Day and the 4th annual Gathering of the Blogs. Thanks, as always, to Ith for hostessing the blog-event again this year.

The Declaration of Arbroath is why we of Scots descent celebrate this day. It was used as a model for the American Declaration of Independence. What I find fascinating is that it’s really more of a prayer than a declaration. It’s also a good recollection of the history of Scotland.

One excerpt that I think rings true for all Scotsmen and Americans alike:

It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom—for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

Please go read the whole thing. It’s quite powerful.

Happy Tartan Day.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Tartan Day this year is April 6th. There is absolutely no telling if I’ll be able to post all things Scottish that day, but I’ll at the very least link to previous Tartan Day posts.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Today is Tartan Day and Ith has Gathered the Blogs.

With the family issues I’ve had lately, it sort of slipped my mind and I have not prepared any material in honor of the day. If you click on the link for the catagory, you will find past posts on All Things Scottish. Because If It’s Not Scottish, It’s Crap.

As I have time, I will try to add new bits to the category. In the meantime, scroll down to find the Gathering Blogroll in the sidebar and pay a visit to my fellow Scots.

This post will remain at the top of the page for today. Please scroll down for newer posts. Thanks.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

The Day is coming.

[Via Ith, of course]

Thursday, April 07, 2005

I just wanted to thank our Gathering of the Blogs hostess for her excellent work in putting together another fine Tartan Day in the blogosphere. If you didn’t visit her yesterday, you should rectify that mistake today. She has a great collection of posts about all things Scottish/American.

Thanks, Ith. Well done, lass!

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

To kick off all things Scottish on this Tartan Day, I thought I’d greet you with a traditional Scottish blessing.

May the best ye hae ivver seen be the warst ye’ll ivver see.
May the moose ne’er lea’ yer girnal wi a tear-drap in its ee.
May ye aye keep hail an hertie till ye’r auld eneuch tae dee.
May ye aye juist be sae happie as A wuss ye aye tae be.

The above, in translation, reads:

May the best you have ever seen be the worst you will ever see.
May the mouse never leave your grain store with a tear drop in its eye.
May you always stay hale and hearty until you are old enough to die.
May you still be as happy as I always wish you to be.

Post to remain at the top all day - scroll down for newer posts.

Just for the record, all Tartan posts were pre-posted Tuesday night. I have been diligently working today.

According to several websites I’ve visited, Stonewall Jackson is of Scotch-Irish descent.

The Scottish-American Hall of Fame contains more plaques for the military than any other category. Twenty-one men are installed including Daniel Boone who is listed as an ?Indian Fighter.? The list is as follows: George Rogers Clark, Frontier hero of the Revolutionary War; Stonewall Jackson; Joseph E. Johnston; Henry Knox; Arthur MacArthur, army general, father of Douglas MacArthur; George B. McClellan; Alexander Macomb, general and hero of the War of 1812; William (Billy) Mitchell, controversial air power advocate; William Multrie; George S. Patton, WWII exponent of mobile warfare; Winfred Scott, Mexican War and Chief of staff; J.E.B. Stuart, Confederate cavalry general; Christopher ?Kit? Carson, frontiersman and explorer; William Clark, explorer with Merriwether Lewis; Davy Crockett, frontiers-man who died at the Alamo. Two individuals are listed under the category of ?Naval.? They are David Glasgow Farragut, Civil War naval hero, and John Paul Jones, Revolutionary War naval hero.

So there, you Redcoat!

* Stonewall Jackson is a great-uncle in our family tree. His sister married into our family on my paternal grandfather’s side.

REPOSTED for Tartan Day 2005.

Blackfive has a good, comprehensive post about the traditionally Scottish delicacy, haggis. He asks if anyone has eaten haggis.

I have.

It’s nasty.

The History:

The Stewart family records its traditional descent from Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, who makes an appearance as a character in William Shakespeare’s MacBeth. Historically, however, the family appears to be descended from an ancient family who were senechals of Dol in Brittany.

They acquired lands in England after the Norman conquest and moved to Scotland when David I ascended to the throne of Scotland. The family were granted extensive estates in Renfrewshire and East Lothian and the office of High Steward was made hereditary in the family.

It is through marriage with the daughter of Robert the Bruce that we can begin to trace the descent of the Royal House of Stewart. The royal line of male Stewarts continued uninterrupted until the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. As a family, the Royal Stewarts held the throne of Scotland, and later that of England, in the direct line until the death of Queen Anne in 1714. In fact, the present Royal family still has Stewart blood links.

The Stewart tartan is worn by the regimental pipers of the Scots Guards and was referred to by King George V as “my personal tartan”. Known as the “Royal Tartan”, it is still traditionally the official tartan of the Royal House of Scotland.

The Stewarts of Appin form the West Highland branch of the great Royal family of Stewart, and have come to form a branch clan of considerable importance. Through marriage with the family of Lorne they became firstly Lords of Lorne and subsequently received a grant of lands at Appin. It was at Appin that was built the family seat of the Stewarts of Appin Castle Stalker, on the Cormorant’s Rock at Loch Linnhe. It is from this location that was derived the rallying cry of the clan ‘Creag an Sgairbh’, or in English ‘Cormorant’s Rock’. Castle Stalker was built as a seat for royal hunting and fowling expeditions and is still one of Scotland’s finest sights.

The Stewarts of Appin were staunchly Jacobite and in the aftermath of the 1745 rising, the famous Appin murder took place. This incident is immortalised by Robert Louis Stevenson in his novel ‘Kidnapped’. The chief of clan Appin, Allan Breck Stewart was the main suspect for the killing of Colin Campbell. He escaped justice however, and his half brother was arrested and tried by jury composed entirely of Campbell men. Not surprisingly, he was convicted and was later hanged. Today a cairn marks the place of his execution.

Another famous branch are the Stewarts of Atholl are directly descended from one of the most notorious Stewarts of the fourteenth century Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, more commonly known as ‘The Wolf of Badenoch’. Alexander is most widely known for leading the raid which led to the burning of Elgin Cathedral in 1391. Later he built his stronghold the Castle of Garth and settled there. The descendants of Alexander Stewart became known as Athollmen and gave their allegiance to the new Murray Earls of Atholl.

In 1822 an estimate was recorded that there were upwards of 4,000 Stewarts living in the province of Atholl, all descended from this one individual. The Atholl Stewarts were renowned for their fighting strength, and were able to raise a fighting force of 1,500 men during the reign of William of Orange.

They were also present in force at the Battle of Killiecrankie.This prowess in battle is celebrated by the fact that the present Duke of Atholl maintains the Atholl Highlanders as the only private army in the kingdom.

  The map of the clan territories can be found here. The family crest can be found here.

The Stewart line stems from my maternal grandmother’s family.

If you look at the maps, you’ll see that the Robertson and Stewart clans were right next to each other. I love that our family clans are so closely tied in history.

REPOSTED for Tartan Day 2005.

The History:

The Robertsons claim to be descended from Crinan, Lord of Atholl, from whom sprang the royal house of CootieBoy I, the King of the Scots. The Robertson clan is more properly called ‘Clan Donnachaidh’ from their ancestor CootieBoy, who was a staunch supporter of Robert the Bruce, and who led the Clan at the Battle of Bannockburn.

The general surname of the clan Robertson was taken from Robert Riach (Grizzled Robert) the clan chief, who was known for his intense loyalty to the Stewarts. Riach was responsible for capturing the murderers of King James I, and was rewarded by the crown for this act by having his lands at Struan erected into a Barony.

The clan was also granted a symbolic memorial by additions to their coat of arms - subsequently the chief of clan Robertson bore as his crest a hand holding an imperial royal crown, and underneath a man in chains, representing the regicide. About a century later, the Robertson family lost the lands of Struan to the Earl of Atholl but the family regained them in 1606.

However in the seventeenth century, after the final defeat of James VII, all Robertson estates were forfeited and the chief of the Robertson clan joined the exiled court in France. To this day the chiefs of the clan Robertson still have the right and privilege of interment in the family burial ground at Struan.

  A map of the Robertson clan territories can be found here. The family crest can be seen here.

I believe the Robertson clan stems from my maternal grandfather’s family. He and his brother put together a book of our genealogy going all the way back to the 1500s in Scotland and England. I’m not sure who has our copy of the book, I think it’s my sister.

REPOSTED for Tartan Day 2005.

Friday, April 01, 2005

Today kicks off Tartan Week early with Fashion of the Scots day.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any picture of me in clan tartans, so instead I’ll refer you to the post I did last Tartan Day about my clan tartans.

Don’t forget that Tartan Day is April 6th. It’s not too late to sign up for the Gathering of Blogs either.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Not being Irish, I am a wee bit baffled why the whole of America seems to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The vast majority of Americans are not of Irish descent ... maybe it’s the beer?

Being of Scotch-English descent (with a little Ukranian Jew and Native American thrown into the Jen gene pool), I’m not inclined to observe the Wearing of the Green and I also abstain from ...

1. Drinking green beer
2. Pinching
3. Shamrocks/leprechauns
4. Corned beef and cabbage
5. Blarney

However, for my Irish friends - Éireann go Brách.

LATER: Yes, I am wearing a green sweater. It’s strictly self-defense against the aforementioned pinching possibility and the questioning of my bah-humbug-ness towards the day.

LATERER: My sister laments the NYC parade today.

LATERERER: Here’s the true story of St. Patrick - evangelist to Ireland.

Monday, March 07, 2005

We’re one month away from Tartan Day 2005 - this year it’s April 6. I wonder if we’ll have a Gathering of the Blogs again?

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

I had over 250 visitors yesterday. I don’t know the exact number because thesitemeter graphic lists the vists per 50 people and it’s above 250 but less than 300.

I’m assuming it’s because of Tartan Day. Thanks for visiting!

And now I’ll go back to my normal 120-130 visits per day, I’m sure.