NationStates Jolt Archive

Rulers:
King Malcolm III (Malcolm Canmore)

Queen Margaret of Hungary, The Saintly Queen (no, really, she gets cannonized by Pope Innocent IV later on in history)

Lord Donald Bane of Strathclyde, Malcolm's younger brother

Territories: (from north to south and east to west)
The Highlands- Shetland Isle, The Isle of Orkney, the Hebrides Isles, Caithnesss, Sutherland, Ross, Nairn, Inverness, The Isle of Shyne, Bunff, and Aberdeen.

The Midland Vale- Angus, Forfar, Perth, Argyll and the Western Isles, Fife, Kenross, and North Lanark/Stirling

The Southern Uplands- Lothean/Edinburgh, South Lanark, Ayr, Berwick, Roxburgh, Dumfries, and K'rkcudbright.

Religion: Extremely Roman Catholic

Capitols: Edinburgh and Stirling

Languages: Gaelic, Scot, English/Saxon

Recent History
For two hundred years the Pictish Clans, The Scots of Ireland, the Saxons, and even the Norse incursionists, have been assimilated into one kingdom: Alba. These ties nearly broke when MacBeth (Mormaer of Moray) assasinated King Duncan I, and usurped the throne. MacBeth ruled for seventeen years, until Malcom Canmore, son of Duncan I, returned, with aid from MacDuff Earl of Fife and the English of Northumbria, to recalaim the throne. Malcolm slew MacBeth at the battle of Lamphanan in 1057, and was crowned king.

King Malcolm III maried Ingiborg, widow to the Earl of Orkney, reuniting the ties of the Highlands and the Southern Uplands. They had two sons, Duncan II (whom was given to William the Conquerer King of England after Malcolm's defeat in Cumbria) and Donald IV (d. 1084), before Ingibord died.

Malcolm remarried to Margaret, sister of Edgar Aethling, who would of have become King of England if not for William of Normandy, after she fled from England to Scotland durring the Norman invasion. They have had four sons: Edward the heir apparent, Edgar, Alexander, and David. Together Malcolm and Margaret have brought Scotland to a period of prosperity, new culture, charity, and piety. This includes the refurbishing of the Abbey at the Holy Isle of Iona (ancestral burial place of many Saints and Scottish Kings), the founding of several new Abbey's, as well as opening the Tomb of St. Andrews' (disciple and brother to Jesus) bones in Fife to pilgrimage.

With the recent prosperity of Alba, Malcolm has once more looked south to the lands of Northumbria.

OOC: Just so you know, in this alt hist William has recovered from his saddle injuries and is still around, just pretty old.

Malcolm rested easy in his court, listening to the scribe and dictating orders. He was aged but still moved with strength. A prominent forhead, graying brown hair and beard, and broad shoulders were his distinguishing characteristics. And he could not keep a smile from his face. Things were going well. With the unrest in Norway his step-sons, the joint Earls of Orkney, had visited to swear alleigance. Erlend had returned with a large sum from the coffers to organize a naval defence for the northern islands. Paul had remained with some retainers in preparation for the march. The highland tribes had implemented his system of fire towers along the coasts to keep them in a connected defence against any raiders. Might as well put those mountains to use. Granted the clans still bickered and fought eachother occasionally, however, they all still paid homage to a united Alba and his crown.

Between Edinburgh and Berwick his forces were mustering, roughly six thousand strong, most saxon knights and men at arms. A little longer and his army would be ready.

Malcolm looked at his wife, she had given him his fifth son Etmund and was pregnant again. The king smiled at his still beautiful queen. Margaret was busy preparing for the feast she gave to the less fortunate every year. He began to dictate a letter to be sent to his brother in Argyll to inquire when they would be setting sail for Eire. The king regretted not being able to bring his brother and the warriors of the kingdom of Strathclyde south with him.

The soldiers crossed the Tweed River at the bridge in Berwick. As vanguard one thousand saxon knights, in heavy armor, with long spears, rode upon english steeds. Three thousand men at arms followed, moslty of english decent, wrapped in tightly woven wool with well made leather boots and bracers, carrying spears, metal shields, swords, and helms. The banners of the house of Duncheld led three hundred men mounted on the large war horses of the south uplands, armed with flails and broadswoards and heavy iron-banded wood shields. Next came two thousand men on foot, a thousand equipped much as their saxon counterparts, the other thousand with large bows and short swords, they hailed from Lothean, Kenross, and Perth. Behind a banner of a black raven's silhouette on a field of green marched the tall and fair men of Orkney roughly five hundred in number, armed with norse swords and the large huhting bows of the frozen lands, protected with stout wood shields, iron helms, and chainmail vests, all softened by heavy scottish woolens, and amongst these, some rode the sturdy and swift mountain ponies of the highlands. Behind these travaled the supply wagons and extra mounts and farriers, smiths, flethchers, merchants, and squaires, the wagons themselves loaded with woolens, expensive dyes, salted mutton, whey, horse feed, and even iron and silver ore to a degree. As rearguard two hundred scottich cavalry and eight hundred more scottish foot soldiers, half archers, half spear and sword, came with the wagons. Lastly rode eight hundred fierce highlanders of Angus and Invernness, seeming to ignore the cold, cloaks thrown back and wearing kilts and jerkins. Upon the mountain ponies, armed with hunting bows, large fierce bastard swords, drikhs in boots, and iron-studded wood bucklers lashed to arms, the clansmen would act as scouts and screens after crossing into Northumbria.

Leading this conglomerate army of warriors was King Malcolm and his sons Prince Edward and Prince Edgar, Paul Earl of Orkney, Murray Duke of Perth, Robert of Lindsay, Maemer of Comyn, and Lord Harold for Aethling.

Ever since his Duke Siward had lost these lands to the Normans, Malcolm had wanted to claim them in homage to his English friend who had helped him to his crown. Now seemed an opportune time. A winter campaign when the english army were finishing in Wales and rumors of them with the French and Castille, and on top resurgencies of the Norse raiders. The castles of Alnwick and Bamburgh would have nought but the current duke's retainers if that. The plan was simple, offer the people of Northumbria food and woolens, protection and familiar Saxon faces, draft recruits from the land itself and give trade of ore and dye, and place the nobles loyal to him in loose knit power, areas that refused would be raized to nourish his army. If old William would come and face him he would fight with the host force. If he did not the Duke would be a small matter to expell from the castles, and the host would divide in three, those heading back to scotland with him, those who would reinforce and re-establish Northumbria, and those who would march further south in peace to support King William with the foreign threats and the rumors of distress in the far east.

OOC: They have protection, nearly 10,000 men plus reinforcements from Castille. they also have clothes so dont expect the populace to go running to you....