SAMS August 2021

The SAMS Lyceum of Martial and Societal Antediluvian Chronicles An addendum to The SAMS Sporran August - 2021 August is Admit You're Happy Month August 1- National Raspberry Cream Pie Day August 2- National Ice Cream Sandwich Day August 3- National Watermelon Day August 4- National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day August 5- National Oyster Day August 7- International Beer Day August 10- National S'mores Day August 12- Annual Perseid Meteor Shower - Peak Night August 13- Left Handers Day August 14- National Creamsicle Day August 19- National Potato Day August 20- World Mosquito Day Sir Ronald Ross linked Malaria w/mosquitos August 21- National Spumoni Day August 24- National Spumoni Day August 25- National Banana Split Day August 28- Stuffed Green Bell Peppers Day August 29- More Herbs, Less Salt Day- you need this after all that ice cream. August 30- Toasted Marshmallow Day August 31-National Trail Mix Day How The Thistle Became Scotland's National Flower There are many Scots (mostly those not currently residing in Scotland) and the unfortunate non-Scots who have expressed some curiosity as to why Scotland chose to venerate a small prickly weed as it’s national flower. To begin with Scotland is not alone, Lorraine a province in Northeast France also holds the thistle in high regard. As a matter of note like the Scots and their world renowned cuisine, the Lorrains offer quiche and andouille and of course wine. Secondly, there are some historical/cultural anecdotes that include the humble Thistle. One of the best-known thistle legends takes place in the mid 13th century during a surprise invasion by the soldiers of the Norse king, Haakon, at Largs near Ayrshire. The story has it that after coming ashore this Viking force planned to creep up on the Scottish Clansmen and Highlanders and overcome them while they slept. To achieve complete surprise the Vikings decided to creep forward sans footwear. The stealthy barefoot Vikings were advancing toward the sleeping Scots barefoot. Unbeknownst to these unwary invaders, the ground they traversed was covered with thistle flowers. When the Vikings bare feet came down hard on a Scottish thistle their cries of shock and pain were enough to wake the sleeping Scots. Leaping to their feet, grabbing their trusty longswords (and remembering to don their shoes) the clansmen charged into battle and the rest, as they say, is history. This is where history and legend delightfully merge. There was indeed a battle at Largs. According to Norwegian legend, on the night of 30 September AD1263, Haakon Haakonarson, King of Norway, sailed to Scotland to assert his claim. During a bout of particularly stormy weather, several Norwegian vessels were driven aground on the Ayrshire coast, near the present-day town of Largs. On 2 October, while the Norwegians were salvaging their vessels, a main Scottish army arrived on the scene. Composed of infantry and cavalry, the Scottish force was commanded by Alexander of Dundonald, Steward of Scotland. The Norwegians were gathered in two groups: the larger main force on the beach and a small contingent atop a nearby mound. The advance of the Scots threatened to divide the Norwegian forces, so the contingent upon the mound ran to rejoin their comrades on the beach below. Seeing them running from the mound, the Norwegians on the beach believed they were retreating, and fled back towards the ships. Fierce fighting took place on the beach, and the Scots took up a position on the mound formerly held by the Norwegians. Late in the day, after several hours of skirmishing, the Norwegians were able to recapture the mound. The Scots withdrew from the scene and the Norwegians were able to re-board their ships. They returned the next morning to collect their dead. The Scottish version contains similar references with the exception that it was Scottish archers who held the Vikings at the beach until Alexander arrived. Hence he anguished cries of the Norwegians. The fierce battle on the beach resulted in serious losses on the Viking side. And despite several assaults from the Vikings the Scots controlled the high ground. The Vikings withdrew to what remained of there ships. The next day under the watchful eye of the victorious Scots they returned to gather their dead and burn the beached vessels. Following the battle, negotiations began that resulted in The Treaty of Perth in which Norway ceded The Hebrides and Mann to the Scots while the Norwegians retained Orkney and Shetland. Yes, the ground was covered with thistle flowers. The Battles Lost - Why the Scots Lost Their Independence This journal has often portrayed historical battles that featured Scottish victories, and there were many. This belies the fact that Scotland is not independent and hasn’t been for centuries. So despite their valor, honor, their fighting skill, the righteousness of their cause, they lost their freedom. Historically the Scots were adept at small skirmishes, hit and run tactics, think of the Border Reivers. But when it came to large scale conflicts they frequently came up short. The reasons can be attributed to many factors; internal divisions, incompetence of the leadership, a small nation versus a larger one, Lowland versus Highland, religion or any one of a number of other factors. However, the underlying theme seems to be a failure to learn from one’s mistakes. you are probably familiar with the phrase, “History repeats itself because we weren’t listening the first time.” This could really be Scotland’s unofficial motto. Initially, Scottish armies were mostly cavalry. The landed gentry composed the heavy cavalry, i.e. chainmail, swords and lances. The light cavalry were basically Reivers. They rode smaller horses capable of traveling long distances swiftly and were arrayed with weapons more suitable to guerrilla warfare like lances and bows. With more and more English invasions the typical Scots army evolved into one composed mainly of footmen, the untrained crofters and fisherman of the noble’s estates. They brought their own weapons to battle. These weapons ran the gamut from handmade farming tools, tree limbs studded with sharp steel or glass shards, to 12 foot long pikes and swords. One of which might have been, but not limited to, the Scottish longsword. The Scots also relied heavily on 'slingers' (think of David and Goliath). Then there seemed to always be an insufficiency of cavalry (mounted knights), archers and targs (shields). This proved to be their Achilles Heel. They failed to adapt to changes in warfare. Another factor would also be that there simply were more English than there were Scots. Romantic history always has the Scots charging downhill shouting loudly and wildly swinging their swords in the idealistic Highland Charge.Oh nay not verily so! Historically the standard Scottish battle formation was the schiltron. It was usually circular with the front rows of soldiers kneeling with their spear butts planted in the ground, pikes slightly elevated facing outward. (Think of the paintings depicting the “squares” at the battle of Waterloo.)The rear ranks leveled their pikes over the heads of their comrades. This created a thick-set grove of spear points virtually impenetrable to both cavalry and foot soldiers. It proved useful both in defense and offense. After fending off the attacks the schiltron would slowly advance, driving the enemy from the field. The schiltron had one glaring weakness, i.e. arrows. Many battles were lost simply because the Scots had no defense against archers. At this time archers were considered to be the single most valuable part of an army. (The universal symbol of ill will in the UK and its territories is not a solitary middle finger lifted defiantly but the index & middle finger held aloft with the thumb. This can be traced back to the morbid custom of amputating those fingers of captured bowmen.) To begin with, the famed “English archers” of yore weren’t all English. They were mostly Welsh! The weapon they used the longbow was made from either yew or wych elm. It was referred to as an English longbow because it was associated with the English army. If the Celtic Welsh could cultivate archers, why didn’t the Celtic Scots? A skilled archer of that era could fire several (2-3) arrows simultaneously and repeat the process up to eight times a minute. Now consider this. Since the beginning of history, one of the best defenses against archers was a stout shield. Yet this too evaded the Scottish mindset of that time. Time and time again the courageous Scots were simply shot from the field. The Romans used a variant of the schiltron called “The Turtle”. It was square or rectangular depending on the number of legionnaires in the formation. Their version of the schiltron resembled a turtle because the interior soldiers held their shields over the heads of their compatriots while the outside held them vertical, creating an umbrella-like shell, resembling a turtle. It was an excellent defense against archery. The Romans had been in Scotland for several hundred years, it would have been virtually impossible for the Scots to not have seen the Turtle in operation. Yet for some unfathomable reason the Scots never adopted this tactic. This leads us to the Scottish Wars of Independence. Some examples of battles lost in these wars would include: The battle of Dupplin Moor, on 11 August AD1332 about 2,500 Englishmen landed in Fife led by Edward Baliol. These were The Disinherited, nobles who supported the English Crown and lost their land when they were defeated. Near Perth they found themselves facing a Scottish army five to ten times their size, with another army rushing to trap them.

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