Ruairidh Gòrdonach, King of Scotland

Ainmeil (Notable)

• Ruairidh Gòrdonach - King of Scotland
• Sifflæd Lockhart - Bride of King Ruairidh and Countess of Kent
• Malmure Gòrdonach - son of Niall mac Uilleam and Duke of Northumberland
• Uilleam mac Mànas Gòrdonach - Tanist of Scotland, and Duke of York
• Hemma ‘The Great’ Karling - Queen of East Francia
• Lleuca Aberffraw - daughter of Björg ‘The Just’
• Ragnarr av Ivar - Duke of Munster

Cunntas (Events)

Ruairidh reached his majority in April of 925, and promptly wed the Countess Sifflæd Lockhart of Kent. This promised the offer of a foothold in the far south, via inheritance, and was a respectably prestigious marriage to a ruling noble.

The War for Lincoln

FAU 925.12 A battle at Tyninghame, where Scotland held the field in victory.

CKS 926.1 A skirmish was fought at Edinburgh, won of Scotland.

The fighting with York had largely devolved into sieges, but there were some clashes over the months of the war. Björg surrendered Lincoln to Scotland at the close of January in 926.

Conquests

The realm sat quietly for a period. The only notes refer to the King working in the gardens of his estates. Until August of 927 when Scotland abruptly lurched into action. Title of York was usurped of Björg, as she held no further lands in that realm. This promptly led to a declaration of war up on Gerðr of Lancaster as she was no longer under Björg’s protection. The sieges to close this conflict lasted until December of 928.

Meanwhile, Uilleam mac Mànas came of age, and Ruairidh gave to him the Duchy of York to hold for the family and the realm. (Which he did admirably, as the Cathar heresy in the County of York finally disappeared in 930.)

Ireland

Ruairidh wasted little time following the fall of Lancaster, and Scottish armies were on the march to capture Tyrone in Ireland in January of 929. The sieges there lasted until April of 930 until Scotland won.

In May of 931 Scotland declared war on Earl Áed of Ossory, in Ireland, to press the claim of Earl Feidlimid of Thomond. After one significant battle, the sieges lasted until Ossory surrendered in October of 932.

FAU 931.7 A battle at Gowran, where Ruairidh, King of the Scotti led the charge and won the day over the Dál Birn.

Leicester

In September of 933, Scotland’s attention returned to Britain. Gwynedd needed to be weakened, and Leicester was seen as the first opportunity, as it was de jure part of York.

The armies of Scotland quickly overwhelmed and invested the lands of Rhonwen of Gwynedd.

With only one significant battle in the fighting, Leicester was surrendered to Scotland in November of 934.

CKS 934.7 Scotland won the Battle of Wenlock, against the Welsh, where many fell.

And then attention returned to Ireland and Oriel in Ireland was quickly subdued, and brought into the realm by the end of 937. This conquest allowed Ruairidh to form the Duchy of Ulster which was awarded to Toste av Ivar, the Earl ruling in the County of Ulster.

East Anglia

East Anglia had been held by Ivar ‘Boneless’ at one time, and through a sequence of inheritance and Norse wars, the duchy there was now part of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was the decision of Scotland that this region should be Christian and Scottish, and war was declared in June of 939.

The Norse did not back down easily, with several notable engagements fought throughout the region. The most notable were clinching victories for Scotland.

FAU 939.8 A battle at Cambridge, where the heathens fell before the Scotti.

FAU 939.8 Lincoln, where the heathens were slain in great numbers by the Scotti.

FAU 940.1 The heathens surrendered the field to the Scotti at Norwich.

The war for East Anglia was won by Scotland in January of 941, and Farquhar mac Morgan was named Duke of East Anglia.

Scotland then attacked Westmoreland in February of 941 in support of the claim of Ruairidh upon that county. Simultaneously, Duke Uilleam of York declared war upon Sweden’s last county in Britain as a follow up to the preceding war. Scotland would win its war in June of 942. York would lose its effort.

Galloway Secured

A’Charraig was the last county of de jure Scotland that was not under the crown. When Faste Jute revolted against his liege in 942, Scotland did not hesitate. There were two battles in the fighting, both at Maybole. The first broke the resistance, and the Scottish army chased the enemy in a circle back to Maybole where they caught them for a second clash, where Faste was captured and forced to surrender the war.

The Security of the Isles

As 942 closed, Ruairidh reviewed the realm and was please that the Scottish people and Catholic faith seemed secure in the Isles.

In April of 943, Ruairidh sent his son, Uilleam, to Ivar av Ivar in Munster to serve as his ward. And in November of that same year Ruairidh hosted a great feast for all the lords of the realm. It was a fine affair, only notable for an entry in some documents that Mayor Ealdmund killed a servant for spilling wine, and he was imprisoned for spoiling the peace.

The Passing of Ivar av Ivar

CKS 944.9 The death of Ivar son of Sgytrygg son of Ímarr, when the King of the Scotti mourned.

The funeral of Ivar av Ivar, Duke of Munster, was a solemn affair for the entire kingdom. A good god-fearing Catholic, Ivar was placed in a crypt in the cemetery at Cashel in Ormond. (The site tour of the abbey and grounds is well worth it if you can make the time. The carving of Ivar's proud face on his coffin slab is a fine example of work for the period - displaying both Celtic Christian and Norse influences.) Ruairidh himself attended in person, as he clearly seems to have been quite found of the man who had served as regent in his minority and lifelong advisor.

Ivar, grandson of the dread Ivar ‘Boneless’ who had put fear in the heart of all of British Isles, was the first of the av Ivar to convert to Christianity, and in his day was the only of the ruling members of the dynasty to culturally embrace the Scottish. His support, in contrast to the fears of the House of Gòrdonach, helped to keep the Norse lords in line and provided great stability in the realm when it was needed most - from sitting on the council, to serving as regent to both young Mànas and Ruairidh. He was clearly a critical figure in the history of Scotland. 

Shetland

The period of relative peace in the realm came to an end in January of 945 when Scotland declared war on Rikissa av Hordaland in Shetland, seeking to unite the northern isles. The fighting was mercifully short, and Shetland was captured in March. Findlay de Elgin, Earl of Orkney, was given Shetland and named Duke of Orkney.

The Conquest of Gwynedd

Björg ‘The Just’, once Queen of Jorvik and had given the Gòrdonachs so much trouble, finally passed at the age of 71 in 942. She left all of her holdings and claims to her daughter, Lleuca Aberffraw.  Uilleam Gòrdonach mac Mànas, Duke of York, and Tanist of Scotland died after an illness, leaving his young son, Dùghall, to inherit. (Not only did he inherit York, but he also became the favored Tanist for the realm.) Lleuca pounced and she arranged for young Dùghall (unable to resist as the armies were still weak from York’s failed war with Sweden) to be pushed from power and have herself installed as Duchess of York. She was still a vassal of Scotland but she had regained her mother’s title, and was content and well pleased with herself.

King Ruairidh was furious when he learned of this. He had been powerless and unknowing that his nephew’s son was in danger of losing title and rank. In response, he was prepared to endure all of the penalties of tyranny and strip Lleuca of rank and privileges and make her familiar with his oubliette. But then the more pragmatic members of his council gained his attention - Lleuca brought with her claims on Gwynedd.

Other than Scotland there were two powers of note in Britain - Wessex and Gwynedd. Lleuca’s claim would absorb all of Gwynedd into the realm in one action, truly a worthwhile endeavor. Perhaps a benefit worthy of having young Dùghall spend time in Asturias, where he had fled. Ways could be, must be, found to limit her strength after the Kingdom had grown, of course.

The war was declared with little delay, and the entire weight of Scotland was put behind it’s success.

Initially the armies maneuvered and tested each other in a series of skirmishes to little great effect, but then in November of 945 the forces met in a great clash - one of the largest battles to that point in the history of the Isles.

FAU 945.11 Mathrafal, where the Scotti and Welsh met and many fell.

More battles followed (Hereford and Eversham being the most notable), and Scotland continued to win, but the losses were such that there were few soldiers left to effect the necessary sieges and face the Welsh in the field. The Breton Band was hired. Further battles took place, again largely skirmishes, saving only for the Battle of Droitwich, as the Welsh tried to harass the Scots. It was a fruitless effort in the end, however. In January of 947 Gwyneed came under Lleuca’s control and became part of Scotland.

Arranging the New Order

Scotland attempted to blunt the new power of Lleuca by granting duchies to the  various counts/earls that would otherwise have fallen within Lleuca’s vassalage. Drystan, ousted from the title of Gwynedd was given the title Duke of Deheubarth. (Drystan promptly declared war on Lleuca to usurp the title of Gwynedd, and the Councillors of Scotland were not displeased by this turn of events as it was a war he would not actually win until April of 953...) Rhonwen, ruling the county of Leinster, was made Duchess of Leinster. A single county Duke of Mercia was similarly elevated.

Yet, in August of 947 Leinster promptly changed hands again following a suspicious accident. The lords of Scotland were displeased to see that a Frankish Duke of West Francia had suspiciously inherited lands that were properly Scottish (Completely ignoring the fact that they were Irish lands...). West Francia was too strong a nation to antagonize over such a minor prize, however, and the Council left things as they were.

Conditions remained peaceful however, and Ruairidh was able to disturb Lleuca by getting her son, Flann mac Augaire to wed his daughter Brìgdhe matrilineally (He was not in his mother’s court at the time, so Scotland took advantage of the negotiations.).

The ‘Little’ War with West Francia

Throughout this period, Hemma Karling, Queen of East Francia had won holy wars and factional wars against her rule with confidence and determination. Frequently she had asked for Scotland’s aid, but any that was provided was minor and of little import in Britain. Now, in 951, she turned her attentions upon her relatives to the west and had declared a de jure war upon West Francia for the county of Ulm. She again turned to her son in Scotland and asked for his aid. Scotland initially prepared a positive response, and prepared to call the levies to the Queen Mother’s aid... but they did not.

Instead, Scotland declared it’s own war upon West Francia for a claim upon Leinster, taking advantage of the distraction that Queen Hemma offered...

“Let us have our own little war with West Francia. Perhaps they may see the justice of our claim and there may be only a small price to pay, thanks to the distraction mother has given them.”

(“Fragments and Letters of the Gòrdonach” 1242, manuscript. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh)

The levies of Scotland formed into armies, Leinster was besieged, and the remainder transited the Channel to land in France to begin reducing holdings there. No meaningful West Francian resistance was encountered. The Scottish Councillors were certain that the armies were, indeed, off fighting Hemma elsewhere as planned.

That situation changed drastically in October of 952.