The year is 1440, a 10 year old King James II sits on the throne in Edinburgh Castle ruling over all of Scotland. After the brutal murder of his father, King James I, the boy King was forced into this highest of all positions despite his being completely unprepared to rule a country. Therefore, James II listens to the counsel of his two trusted advisors, William Crichton and Sir Alexander Livingston.
Outside the castle walls, civil strife is running rampant. Clans are fighting other clans and power has become everyone's primary motivator. War is life and life is war.
One such clan is the Clan Douglas. The Clan Douglas is arguably the greatest fighting force among the Scottish clans during this time. They are known for being ambitious and for taking every opportunity to gain power and move up in society. Staying true to character, the Earl of Douglas has decided that he would like James II's throne for himself.
Remember those two trusted advisors? Well, they find out about the plot to dethrone James II. Crichton and Livingston realize that their army is weak and ineffective, if the Douglas Clan were to attack then Edinburgh would certainly fall. The two devise their own plan to deal with the Earl of Douglas.
In November of 1440, the Earl of Douglas who was 16 years old at the time and his younger brother were invited to a formal banquet held in the great hall of Edinburgh Castle. Here they eat course after delicious course, drink after strong drink, spirits are high, and the energy is buzzing. Until silence fills the great hall, and the final course is placed in front of the Earl. The Earl of Douglas is sitting face to face with the severed head of a large black bull (an accusation of treachery and treason).
The signal was given and the Douglas boys were dragged out into the courtyard, given a mock trial, and beheaded. This brutal event, known as The Black Dinner, sent shockwaves throughout Scotland and the rest of Western Europe. How far humanity strays when the hunger for power outweighs the hunger for goodness and justice.
Does The Black Dinner sound familiar to you? It should if you follow the book series, A Song of Ice and Fire or the TV series, The Game of Thrones. Author, George R. R. Martin, was inspired by The Black Dinner and The Glencoe Massacre when he penned the plot of The Red Wedding.
"No matter how much I make up, there's stuff in history, that's just as bad or worse." G. R. R. Martin
Photo and information: Stewartsociety.org
Further Reading: Brown, M. (2000). Vile times: Walter Bower's last book and the minority of James II. Scottish Historical Review, 79, 165.
Oh my goodness The Red Wedding! Its actually funny how much of today's literature has been inspired by history as a hole. It makes for some great stories. I love Martin's quote that you added to the end. As much as I love Game of Thrones he makes me so angry sometimes. But nevertheless he is right. The history of England in particular (since that is what GOT is based off of) is ridiculously brutal and not even just in the Medieval times. As gruesome as some of it may be I find it so interesting that it influences popular culture today.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved history so when I get the chance to study it and how it influences culture and society today, I am so delighted to do so. I haven't watched Game of Thrones enough to say I am a fan, and I am wary to immerse myself in it because I have heard that one should never get too attached: which is probably why Martin angers you so!
DeleteI have not read A Song of Fire and Ice, or watched Game of Thrones. However this is very interesting to me. It kind of reminds me of the show Merlin. In Merlin if there was any dislike for anybody the main villains always got them accused of witchcraft so that they were either burned or killed in some other horrific way. Of course the bull head thing never happened on that show.
ReplyDeleteIt is a trend of history and of literature to demonize the people we do not like. Since you brought up witches and burning at the stake, here is a not so pretty fact about the past: redheads were believed to be witches and vampires and were oftentimes murdered because of their hair color.
DeleteKinzi,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting thing that you picked to talk about. I like the story that you gave and it really helps to paint a picture of what an actual event that happened in the middle ages looked like. I find it very intriguing that they were able to put them in a mock trial even before they had tried to get James II off the the throne.
The simple knowledge of knowing that an attempt could be made would have been enough for them to take action. Personally, I do not think Livingston and Crichton were acting out of the goodness of their hearts for their young king. I think they probably realized how comfortable their lives were with James II on the throne and in order to protect themselves they had to protect him.
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