Ten Reasons Highlanders captured me.
- Whether a kilt or a belted
plaid, this garment proclaims their national identity.
These garments identify Scots in a
way that no other country identity does. It was such an identifier that after
Jacobite Rising of 1745, the British government outlawed the wearing of them. It
is part of the national identity. Really, head to any Highland Games events and
you will see plaid everywhere. I especially love when grooms don one and the
bride has a sash of her own.
- Wild, ruggedness of the
land and its people.
The highlands of Scotland are
rough, rugged lands. Eking out a living in these mountainous lands filled with
peaty bogs and wet, windy weather required a stubbornness and fight to call
these lands. These lands have been subjected to inner turmoil from the numerous
cultures. In my new novel, Claiming the
Highlander. My hero, Caelen MacKenzie, is a mixture of the different
cultures—Vikings and Celtic. His looks reflect his family line with long blond
hair of his Viking genes. Oh he looks like he raided Skye. My heroine—Brenna is
of French and Norman descent whose ancestors came to Scotland at the invitation
of David I—she took reflects her own with dark looks of the Normans.
- The accent
This one applies to all of
Scotland. Though, Glasweegians have a very thick accent and are difficult to
understand but the Scottish accent stirs up a warmth in the listener. It seems
when they speak it seems as if they curl their tongue around every word.
- Clans
Clann
in Gaelic means children. For me, my family means more to me than my own life.
So, naturally I was attracted to this ideal. Caelen MacKenzie returns homes
when he learns his father is dying. Once back home, he has his wife who he
hasn’t seen in years to deal with.
- Strong men need strong
women.
Women are strong than history even
present time acknowledge. Claiming the
Highlander is set in the 13th century. During this time, women
were property of their father, their husbands and then their sons. Women
married to increase a family’s standing, connections while benefitted the
bride’s family. These women had to be smart and display their power in
different ways. Brenna MacKenzie does what she must to find the balance of
power so that she can keep the life she knows.
- Independence
The Kings of England have been
trying to get the Kings of Scotland to pledge a fealty to them for centuries.
Alexander III, king during my novel’s time period, refused to give fealty to
the King of England though he was married to his daughter. Of course, we know of
the Wars of Independence after the death of Alexander III and the Maid of
Norway, his granddaughter. Highlanders followed their own laws and ideals even
James V or King James the First, tried to quell them. This sense of
Independence has been a character of Scotland for centuries and even now with
the Vote of Independence coming soon, it is even more important.
- Sense of Honor and Pride.
These men took great pride in their
names and history. Besides that they honored their connections and oaths given
because the importance these connections played in their lives and their
survival. Clans had their own seanachie
who would recite tales of past feuds and battles of the clan’s ancestors. Caelen
has his own sense of honor haunting him and must regain it to be the chief of
MacKenzie.
- Music
Music has played a part in their lives.
Each chore had its own song. The clarsach
is Scotland’s oldest musical instrument. It is similar to the Irish Harp.
These instruments and their musicians were used for both entertainment and in
battles. The harps fell out of favor with the Reformation and other instruments
that were easier to play. Now, we have the bagpipes that can evoke that
haunting emotion of battles lost or a high-pitched lively tune.
- The Games
In my book, I have both Caelen and
Brenna participating in games. Caelen throws the hammer and Brenna shoots
arrows. These games were able displays of feat whether accuracy, strength or
skill. Much like knights would jousted, Highlanders had their ways too.
- The Cattle
The Highland cow, or coos is identifiable with one glance at
their long shaggy hair covering their faces and horns sticking out. Cattle had
been stolen from the borders to the Sunderland. It stirred up feuds, raids and
everything else. After Culloden, the Highland Clearances came about because the
laird’s did not make enough money from the tenants’ rents and cleared the land
for sheep that did.
Mageela Troche lives in New York City.
She writes in a corner of her cramped Big Apple apartment. Here she has three
novels and is working on her fourth.
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