New epic poem, De Moray, by Paraig MacNeil
Imagine a whole nation under oppression, as was the case beginning with Berwick-on- Tweed in 1296, when Edward I of England entered the town, and ordered his troops to carry out a massacre that was to last 3 days costing 15,000 souls (the equivalent of 200,000 now).
Following the subsequent Battle of Dunbar when Sir Andrew de Moray, his father and uncle were taken prisoner, the entire kingdom of the Scots was under martial law.
After
escaping, young Andrew de Moray lead a rising in the North, wresting his ancient family strongholds from the enemy, in lightning raids that matched the deeds of Sir William Wallace in the South.
This master of manoeuvre, after liberating Balconie, Avoch, Duffus, Elgin, Nairn, Forres, Aberdeen, Inverness, Urqhuart and more, with his band of brave Highlanders, headed south in September 1297, and after the siege of Dundee met with Sir William Wallace at Sherriffmuir in Perthshire, to plan the battle that would immortalise them in the Scottish Heroes Hall of fame.
...fer Moray payred wyth Wallis wur the brycht (for Moray paired with Wallace were the bright) trewe bayrers afe Scottes leiberti ande lycht (true bearers of Scots liberty and light) bye heevins mycht ande rychts and auncient lawes,
(by heaven’s might and rights and ancient laws) yit rhaimed bye Scotia’s Stane fer Scottelaund’s cawse…
(declaimed by Scotland’s Stone for Scotland’s cause,..) Lines 1939 – 1942
The battle of Stirling Bridge took place on 11th September, 1297, exactly 1300 years after an event that would leave its mark on mankind forever. Coincidently, the three star emblem on Moray’s heraldry mirrors the events in the heavens that heralded it out.
Moray was to die six weeks after this battle from a wound received there, and thereafter virtually disappears from history.
So to
redress this, Paraig has composed a 2,000 line companion poem in both medieval Scots with a rhyming rendering in English, about the life and times of this hero, beginning with the origin of Clan Moray (or Murray), up to the Wars of independence, right through his campaign, to Stirling Bridge.
Appendixes are provided on topics featured such as: biblical cosmology and allusions, Clan Moray iconography, Celtic customs and beliefs, the Judaic origin of the Scots, the Stone of Destiny,
folklore, other historical
events and legends, biogs of others featured, Wallace, old Scots proverbs, clan strongholds, weaponry, and family tree.
Opening out with a series of riddles and enigmas that unravel throughout De Moray, as seen through the eyes of the traditional- tale-teller with a remote military immersion, Paraig wefts and warps the woven web of not just martial exploits but of the personal integrity that was once highly esteemed by man, encapsulated in the life of this patriot.
De Moray by Paraig MacNeil is available on Kindle UK £5.04 (
http://www.amazon.co.uk/De- Moray-Paraig-MacNeil-ebook/dp/ B00H1POBHA)
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