#dal riada

[a-ravens-hoard]

Dalriada Brooch ✦ Source

[windermeresimblr]

Playing a little bit with the styling here--the Dublin cap is more Hiberno-Norse, the pleated serkr is more Swedish/potentially Slavic, and the longer smokkr/hangerock is perhaps more Finnish, but even if it is something of a cultural mishmash, I think it's a nice outfit.

[walkfromhome]

TT: Who are the "Dragons" that you write about in your book?

NDV: In brief, the recorded Dragon lineage starts with the Anunnaki and descends through the proto-Scythians, the Sumerians in one branch and the early Egyptians in another; the Phoenicians, the Mittani, back to the Scythians again through marital alliance, along to the "Tuatha de Danaan" and the Fir Bolg; down through their Arch-Druidic, Priest-Princely families, to the Royal Picts of Scotland and the high kings of the Horse Lords of Dal Riada; through to the Elven dynasty of Pendragon and Avallon del Acqs, and down to a few pure bred families today.

TT: Are these Dragons the same as the "Nephilim" of the Bible or the "Watchers" of The Book of Enoch?

NDV: The Nephilim and the Watchers are of the Dragon race, yes.

TT: Were the gods of ancient cultures (Greece, India, Sumeria, etc.) Dragons?

NDV: These pantheons are derived from one another so again the answer in simplistic terms is yes.

TT: When you refer metaphorically to "the Dragon", what exactly are you referring to?

NDV: "The Dragon" is a term I use generally to mean the dragon archetype resting within the Dragon blood and passed on through the genes. It is the conduit through which flow the memories of the wisdom and experience of the Dragons who have gone before. The word "dragon" is derived from the Greek "edrakon", which is an aorist of the word "derkesthai", which means "to see clearly". "The Dragon" therefore is the inherited Dragon archetype and that archetype is the conduit of clear sight through which racial knowledge flows. Clear sight also and principally refers to transcendent consciousness.

TT: How did the Dragon race begin, and how did they become a separate race from the rest of humanity?

NDV: They didn’t originate from outer space, that’s for sure. A principal element of the Dragon genome originated in the vast forests of central Europe, and cut off from other species, they developed as a distinct race. By the time of the Anunnaki they had been hybridized to form the ancestors of the later Elves or Dragon kings and queens.

TT: Is the Dragon bloodline a Satanic or Luciferian bloodline?

NDV: Yes is the honest and simple answer.

TT: If a person believes that they have the Dragon gene, and they want to start developing the powers inherent in their blood, what course would you suggest they follow?

NDV: Developing powers for their own sake isn’t magic, it’s greed, and greed and ambition are the destroyers of transcendent Dragon perception. Power flows naturally for those whose vision is clear, and clear perception will determine that those powers are used with detachment.

TT: What are your personal beliefs regarding God, spirituality, and religion?

NDV: "Beliefs" regarding God and spirituality create religions, and religions create division and fear, within the individual and consequently within society as a whole. Religion is a crutch for the power hungry, the lazy, the weak minded and the unregenerate. Religions happen when people don’t get the point of the message and blindly worship the message and the messenger, instead of grasping the gnosis inherent within the words that the message conveys.

(Source)

[osarothomprince]

The first kings of the ‘English’ – Athelstan and Edmund

(I’m re-sharing an old post which I’ve amended slightly, and added some new graphics). England, Wales, Scotland, the smaller kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, Kent, Powys, Gwynedd, Dal Riada – for the uninitiated (including myself) the sheer number of kingdoms and kings that peopled the period in British history before 1066 can appear […]The first kings of the ‘English’ –…

[coloursofunison]

The first kings of the 'English' - Athelstan and Edmund

The first kings of the 'English' - Athelstan and Edmund #KingOfKings #KingsOfWar

(I’m re-sharing an old post which I’ve amended slightly, and added some new graphics). England, Wales, Scotland, the smaller kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, Kent, Powys, Gwynedd, Dal Riada – for the uninitiated (including myself) the sheer number of kingdoms and kings that peopled the period in British history before 1066 can appear as a bewildering display of names,…

[littlekirpichi]

both of those Ferguses were Irish (according to some sourses), and they traveled to Scotland (in a song - with two brothers), founded the kingdom of Dal Riada, the predecessor to Alba, and one of them even brought the Stone with him from Ireland. of course, you can found a country only once, so someone is clearly made up. but things are getting tough, because they are just the same figure, but it's ACTUALLY not clear if any of those existed

because the first one is surely made up, like, he lived in the times of Alexander the Great. the second installment of Fergus (son of Earc) actually has a note in a real chronicle, Annals of Tibernach, in the year 501, which simply states that the king "Fergus Mor mac Earca" with his Dal-Riadians got a chunk of Scotland and died there. also it's not really clear if he was even named Fergus, because he could be called Mac Nisse (why? i have no idea!)

how lucky we are that we have not one, but whole two Ferguses, founders of what would later become Scotland, both share the same story, despite being about 900 years apart, and both are legendary (one completely, another is mentioned in sourses only twice and one of those sourses is a song???)

[sightseeinglog]

[scotianostra]

St. Columba is said to have been born in Donegal, Ireland on this day in 521AD.

Born  into the royal Ui Neill (O’Neill) clan, Columba demonstrated scholarly and clerical ability early in life.  Entering the monastic life, he was first received his training from Finnian of Moville and then from Finnian of Clonard.  Even before his ordination to the presbyterate, he founded the monasteries of Derry (546) and Durrow, and probably Kells.

Twelve years after his ordination, he and a dozen companions left Ireland for Iona, a small island off the coast of what is now the southwest of Scotland.  According to legend, Columba’s tiny coracle had washed ashore on the island, and the Irish king of Dal Riada, a Gaelic kingdom in the western isles and Highlands, made a gift of the island to him.  Columba remained in this northwestern part of the island of the British Isles for the rest of his life, returning to Ireland only for occasional, though important, visits.

On Iona Columba founded the celebrated monastery which became the center for the conversion of the Picts, who were still largely pagan.  He was kindly received on his missionary journeys among the Picts and the Irish of the Dal Riada and was allowed to preach, to convert, and to baptize.  He converted Bruide, king of the Picts, and in 574 he consecrated Aidan, king of Dal Riada.  

Columba founded two churches in Inverness and made long journeys throughout the Highlands, as far as Aberdeen.  From Iona, his disciples also went out to found other monasteries, which in turn became centers of missionary activity.

The  principal source for Columba’s history is the Life written by Adamnan, one of the most influential biographies of the early Middle Ages.  Though disappointing as an historical document, this Life is a portrait of a charismatic personality and skillfully presents miracles, prophecies, and visions from the Iona tradition.  From its pages Columba emerges as a tall, striking figure of powerful build and impressive demeanor, who combined the skills of scholar, poet, and overseer with a fearless commitment to God’s call.  

For thirty years, Columba evangelized, studied, wrote, and governed his monastery at Iona.  He supervised his monks in their work in the fields and workrooms, in their daily prayers and in their study and teaching.   He imparted spiritual counsel to those who sought it, and he gave his counsel in solving the problems of neighboring rulers.  Because he retained a sort of oversight of his monasteries in Ireland, he returned to there to attend synods of the Church, and thus established Iona as a link between Irish and Pictish Christians.

His skill as a scribe can be seen in the Cathach of Columba, a late sixth-century psalter which is the oldest surviving example of Irish majuscule writing.  It was later enshrined in wood, and then in silver and bronze, sculptured with figures of the saints.  The Cathach was venerated in churches, used at visitations, and carried into battle as a reminder of Columba’s authority and power. It’s a remarkable relic,  the third pic shows the cover it was held in. 

Four years before his death Columba’s strength began to fail.  He spent much time in transcribing books, and he died peacefully while working on a copy of the Psalter.  Adamnan relates that he had put down his pen, rested for a few hours, and at Matins was found dead before the altar, a smile upon his face.  He is recorded as having said, “This day is called in the sacred Scriptures a day of rest, and truly to me it will be such, for it is the last of my life and I shall enter into rest after the fatigues of my labours.”

Columba’s memory lived on in his monasteries and more widely in Ireland, Scotland, and Northumbria.  His traditions were upheld by his followers for about a century, not least in the Synod of Whitby and in the Irish monasteries on the continent of Europe.  His feast is attested in the Calender of Willibrord, a book written in that saint’s own hand in the late seventh or early eighth century.

[scapegrace74-blog]

What Should I Write Next?

Thank you to everyone for your very kind words on the conclusion of Don’t Let Me Fall.  Since I managed to wrap that story up before the holidays, and since we’re due for the first big snowstorm of the season that will keep me indoors all weekend, I’m trying to decide what to write next.

I am not promising to write the most popular choice, but I am interested to know how readers feel about the following contenders:

Dal Riada (working title) - a WIP that is a retelling of Outlander with Claire falling from the 1860s back to the proto-Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada in 806, where Seumas (Jamie) is the nephew of the king.  It also tells the story behind the Woman of Balnain folktale that Claire hears sung in Outlander.  Omniscient POV.  I’ve written 6 chapters (about 19,000 words) and done a ton of historical research, but I need to revisit the plot and do a significant re-write of what’s there.  This is the story I most want to write, but it will take a looong time to do it justice.  Likely completion: Summer 2023.

Laredo (working title) - a WIP set in the American southwest in the 1980s.  Jamie is a vaquero (Spanish-American cowboy) on his family’s ranch in southern Texas when Dr. Claire Beauchamp’s car breaks down in his one-saloon town.  He’s a fugitive from the law, she’s running away from financial and personal ruin, and they come to each other’s aid.  Claire POV.  This is the story closest to completion.  I’ve got 13 chapters (about 37,000 words) written, and there’s just one major plot hole to fill and a lot of polishing before it’s done.  Likely completion: January/February 2023.

West End Girl - a WIP set in mid-1980s London during the height of the cocaine/heroin epidemic.  Claire is a wealthy Mayfair society girl who witnesses something she shouldn’t.  Jamie is the leader of a Docklands street gang called the Clan who protects Claire from Black Jack Randall, her boyfriend’s cousin. It’s a lot darker than my usual stuff.  Omniscient POV.  This one is about half-written (12,000 words) but still needs some plotting and some rework as well.  Likely completion: March 2023.

The Man from Black Water - another wacky fic idea that came to me not long ago.  A cross-over between Outlander and the 1980s movie The Man from Snowy River, retold in 1880s Scotland rather than 1880s Australia.  The plot would be almost identical to the movie (for those that have seen it) and I can practically recite that movie from memory, so this is a quick hit of feel-good fic.  Likely completion: January/February 2023.

[natalieironside]

Why do the king of Dal Riada’s hands hurt

Cause he’s got Ard Ritis

[jinsai-ish]

RP Character Overshare Part Something:

So, Star Wars was next but we're going to skip Star Wars for now to do Pendragon, because right I don't know if I will have the strength another time for this one...

Aedan.

Aedan is a SAGA.

Aedan is from a Pendragon RPG, an olde Authorian RP that can be hard to find. Like Arthurian legend, it's designed to be encompassing and epic. Campaigns can run for years, in and out of game. It's designed with an aging system (sorry I don't know what else to call it) so basically your character ages, meaning you could potentially start with a 29 year old and end up with a 40 year old. By the time we left off, I want to say our characters had 6 years go by.

Anyways. For that reason, I chose to play a 14 year old to start, knowing he would age up. Keep in mind this is also in the 500s, so, yeah.

To start with Aedan, we have to start with his parents.

Aedan's father was a warrior and head of the Mc Donnagal clan, a minor noble clan of Dal Riada (historic Irish kingdom). He was married with two sons and one on the way when he was involved in a war/raid between the Dal Riadans and neighboring Picts. He ended up captured but in true Arthurian fashion, seduced the daughter of the Pictish chief and persuaded her to free him. His escape resulted in the death of two of her brothers, and he left her to her own people. Ostracized and heartbroken, she gave birth to a beautiful son with her flaming red hair and two different colored eyes - one dark green and one light. She cared for him as best she could which, let's face it, wasn't great. She was kinda out of it by then.

Around age 5, Aedan was brought to his father and presented as his bastard. And, you know, left there to be raised by his dad. No one was really happy about this, especially not his dad's wife, or his older by a couple of months brother. Aedan in particular was NOT happy, and after a few weeks, stole a cow, and rode it home.

Seriously.

Anyway. His mom has died. She had just been raising him till he was old enough to hand off to his dad and then, just went. His uncle brought him back to his dad where, in true Irish fashion, he was whipped and sent to bed without dinner. That was the last time he tried to run away.

Childhood excerpt: Aedan ends up getting along with his oldest and youngest brother. His second oldest brother Dugan, the one only a few months older than him, not so much and they fought a lot. Aedan is gorgeous and a natural with a spear. At one point, the boys (minus the youngest) get to go raiding with their da. Aedan and Dugan get separated but end up successfully making off with some cattle. Unfortunately, they get caught on the way home. They separate so one can hopefully get away to get help, which works and only Aedan was captured. As he's still technically a child (like around 10) and it was a 'friendly' raid, he's only whipped then ransomed/rescued. And then whipped again for being dumb, getting separated and captured (Dugan was too). Aedan ends up getting very sick from the ordeal. His step-mom nurses him back to health, which is the only kindness he remembers from her.

Fast forward to age 12. Aedan is not just girl-pretty but Beautiful. He also is starting to realize he's attracted to men, not women, so when an older stablehand starts to flirt with him, he goes with it. I mean, the guy is late 20s early 30s so it's sketchy even for them. But Aedan is a young affection-starved dumbass so he's on his knees giving his first blowjob when his oldest brother walks in. Stablehand gets fired, Aedan for once does NOT get whipped but he is whisked away to court, with favors cashed in to get him a position there and looked after with the IDEA it would keep him out of trouble.

I mean, it doesn't, but I shall continue in another post another time.

Legit saga.

Oh, on a side note, I WANTED Aedan to be an archer.. fuckwat decided on spear instead.

[probablyacreep]

The Giant’s Sconce - Local Folklore

Political intrigue, crazy parties and religious tension on a single hill in Ireland

The Giant’s Sconce - also known as “Dun Cethern” “Dun Ceithern” “Dun da Benn” or “The Hill of the Two Forts”  is a hill fort in the north-west of Ulster. It sits a few minutes walk away from its twin, another hill fort on the same mountain - together they are believed to make up the “Hill of the Two Forts” (previously believed to have been Mountsandel Fort) They would have commanded the area and controlled passage over the northern edge of the Sperrins from east to west Ulster. The fort appears both in folklore and in history, and has a turbulent past.

In myth, the site was said in the Ulster Cycle of stories to have belonged to Niall of the Shining Deeds, a member of the Craobh Rua - the Red Branch. It was then inherited by his son, Fintan, and his grandson, Cethern. The fort has a special position in these stories as a liminal, border site -  the west of Ireland is seen as dangerous and hostile, associated with the Formorians and the enemies of the Red Branch, and Dun Cethern is the first line of defense. Under Niall it is the site of the Mesca Ulad - “the insane drunkenness of the men of north-east Ireland.”

The story begins in Navan, where Fintan and Cu Chulainn have agreed to hand over their portions of the Ulaid’s land to make Conchobhar mac Nessa king of the whole region. They decide to throw a party to celebrate, but both men want to host it. After returning home they both plan their events, get the food ready and return to present their invitations on the same day. A fight results which is only broken up when the King gets a child to stand and cry very loudly about how sad the fighting is making him. They decide that there’s only one thing to do about it - they’ll just have to have both parties in one night. They all go to Dun da Benn and get extremely drunk, and at midnight they all set out at a gallop for Dun Delgan, the location of Cu Chulainn’s feast - only to ride in totally the opposite direction and end up somewhere they begin to notice they don’t recognise, which turns out to be Munster. When it can’t get any worse it begins to snow. And then, as they hike through enemy territory in the snow, it turns out that Queen Medb is visiting Munster to have her own party and they’ve ended up right beside her. They’re spotted by her bodyguards and invited in, but this is a trick - in the end they have to fight their way out and begin the journey home.

The second mention of Dun da Benn, now called Dun Cethern, is during the Cattle Raid of Cooley, when Cethern, Niall’s grandson, is the first warrior to recover from the curse affecting the men of Ulster and turn up to help Cu Chulainn fight the army of Medb. He does so naked and almost succeeds in killing Ailill, Medb’s husband, but the King had realised what was happening and put his clothing on a standing stone, which is attacked in his place. 

The final mythological mention of the Giant’s Sconce is more vague. St Colmcille (St Columba) was visiting the area to preside over a meeting regarding the rights of bards, and the tensions between the O’Neill’s in Donegal and the kingdom of Dal Riada in eastern Ulster and Scotland. He was visiting Dun Cethern when he was approached by a beautiful young man, who seemed to come from nowhere. This man was identified as either Mongan mac Fiachnai, Manannan’s son, or Manannan mac Lir himself. The man says he comes from another world, and can speak to the dead and the living. He describes the wealth of his people, and how rich he remembers the surrounding area being in the distant past - he then goes away with Colmcille and they sit together and spend hours talking. When they return the man leaves; Colmcille refuses to tell his followers the secrets the man had told him, saying it was better if they didn’t know. Colmcille goes on to make a prophecy that the hill will run red with the blood of his kindred, which brings us to the final, historical events that occurred on the hill.

Fifty or sixty years later, in the 630s, the northern O’Neills begin to expand. The tensions discussed at the meeting years before reach their peak, and a battle occurs at Dun Cethern, where a king of Dal Riada and the king of the Ciannacht, a territory sandwiched between the eastern Dal Riada and the western O’Neills, are meeting. Some say the wooden hall was locked and burned with them still inside - The Burning of the Kings - hence the modern name of the hill “The Sconce” or “The Giant’s Sconce.” They were defeated, anyway, part of the campaign of expansion which helped allow the O’Neill dynasty to rule for hundreds of years to come. 

In modern times the hill is treated with suspicion. There are rumours of unexplored souterrains (the “caves” or tunnels found in hill forts and burial mounds) under both hills filled with treasure, and it’s believed that the hill is a gateway to the Otherworld - the path to reach it runs through a tunnel of hawthorn trees which adds to the atmosphere. Many people still avoid visiting or discussing the hill, and the area of countryside it sits in, including the road beside it, are commonly thought to be haunted - the association with the Red Branch, Mongan/Manannan and the Tuatha dé still remains, half remembered, not fully believed, but best avoided. 

[windermeresimblr]

Get Dressed With: Kolfinna

This is something of a spiritual successor to my Paper Dolls series--something of an O.C. outfit reference sheet and a fun little walk-through of historical clothing.

Character Notes and Color Palette

Kolfinna The Dreamer is a woman of some status, as she's the granddaughter of a jarl on her father's side and a Scottish (Dal Riada) king on her mother's. However, due to events beyond her control, which will be explained later, she's living as a "poor relation" in her foster-father's hall, and therefore has to have a more modest and practical wardrobe. (She's called "The Dreamer" not for any mystical reason, but because her head is very often in the clouds...for reasons that will, again, be explained later.)

Her color palette leans more towards blues and greens, with the occasional pop of purple and yellow.

Undressed

We begin with Kolfinna in the altogether, with her hair still dressed for bed. As you can see, she's of average build, with no particular distinguishing marks or characteristics.

Underwear and Sleepwear

For underwear, Kolfinna wears a breast-band and very short braies, supplemented with sewn woolen hose.

On top of these, she wears a long-sleeved, knee-length linen shirt.

Everyday Outfit(s)

Over her undergarments, Kolfinna wears a plain floor-length woolen serk and simple leather shoes.

On top of the serk, she can wear a floor-length wool hangerock (also known as a smokkr or apron-dress). The hangerock is optional, so if she's working or doesn't expect to be "seen" by visitors, she can get away with just wearing her serk.

At this point, regardless of her outfit choices, she's combed out her braids.

For casual everyday wear, she dons a Dublin hood (also known as a Coppergate hood or Jorvik hood) over her loose hair.

Formalwear

To show off, Kolfinna breaks out a fancier, pleated serk, and wears a special indigo-dyed hangerock, as well as a long, triangular shawl. Additionally, she wears her hair in a long and elaborate braid.

Outerwear

When the weather gets cold, Kolfinna layers an extra serk under her "main" serk, with a higher neckline and longer sleeves.

She then switches out the Dublin hood for a hooded cloak, and adds a fur collar if the weather is cold enough.

Credits (In No Particular Order)

Pose and "Dublin Hood" by @danjaley | Serk and hangerock in beta by me | Braies by @sweetdevil-sims | Hosen by @oneeuromutt | Shoes by EAXIS (University Life) | Shawl by Ersch (not linking due to broken links) | Cape by SilFantasy | Shirt by @blackyssims2and3zoo | Fur collar by @murfeelee | Patterns by @simlicious (honestly--just get everything!) | "Under-Kirtle" by Sheep_Plushi

[walkfromhome]

The (Central Asian) Khazar name is derived from Turkic *qaz-, meaning "to wander." The Ashina was considered a sacred clan of quasi-divine status. Q1 actually refers to the subclade Q-P36.2.  The Ashina clan, a noble caste, carry the 16q24.3 "red gene" inherited from the Sumerian Annunaki, the root of the Dragon seed that permeates royal lines: Merovingian, Carolingian, Tudor, Plantagenet, Stuart, Hapsburg, Hanoverian, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Guelph, Bowes-Lyon, Battenberg (Mountbatten), Guise, and Savoy families - and Transylvanian lineages. The Davidic House of Judah married into the descent of the Merovingian Kings of the Franks. They are connected by a shared bloodline. The dragon archetype rests within the Dragon blood, passed on through the genes.

According to Nicholas de Vere, "Briefly, the Dragon lineage starts in the Caucasus with the Annunaki, descending through migrating proto-Scythians to the Sumerians while branching off also into the early Egyptians, Phoenicians and Mittani. A marriage bridge back to Scythia infused the Elvin line of “Tuatha de Danaan” and the Fir Bolg, which branched into the Arch-Druidic, Priest-Princely family to the Royal Picts of Scotland and the ring kings of the Horse Lords of Dal Riada, through the Elven dynasty of Pendragon and Avallon del Acqs, and down to a few pure bred families today."

The Royal Court of the Dragon was founded by the priests of Mendes in about 2200 BC and was subsequently ratified by the 12th dynasty Queen Sobeknefru. This sovereign and priestly Order passed from Egypt to the Kings of Jerusalem; to the Black Sea Princes of Scythia (Princess Milouziana of the Scythians) and into the Balkans - notably to the Royal House of Hungary, whose King Sigismund reconstituted the Court just 600 years ago. Sigismund’s assumed descent from Melusine. Her ancestry actually can be traced back to the Scythian Dragon Princess Scota, Queen Sobekh Nefru and the Egyptian Cult of the Dragon. Vlad Dracul was a minion of Sigismund of Luxembourg, and was educated at the Emperor's court in Nuremberg. Dracul was invested into Societas Draconis.

The Byzantine Emperor Constantine was a Dragon King. The Byzantine emperor Leo III married his son Constantine (V) to the Khazar princess as part of the alliance between the two empires. Princess Tzitzak was baptized as Irene. Their son Leo (Leo IV) was known as "Leo the Khazar", emperor of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire from 775 to 780.

The re-expansion of paternal group R1b and maternal group H from the Basque Ice Age refuge spread up the coasts of all the countries facing the Atlantic, after the ice melted. The British Isles retained higher rates than the other countries, for several reasons related specifically to early movements directly from the Basque country rather than from general diffusion from western Europe. First, as a result of lower sea levels, the British Isles, in particular Ireland, were connected and at the furthest edge of the extended Ice Age European continent, and thus received the bulk of early coastal migration. Then, as sea levels rose, first Ireland then Britain became islands, relatively insulated from further migration from elsewhere in Europe, thus preserving their high rates of R1b and similarity to the initial settlements. The means by which I could separate the R1b types in the British Isles from those on the other side of the channel is by the use of “Founder Analysis.” That is, looking at the detail of their gene types (so-called STR haplotypes). These revealed 21 founding clusters, which could only have arrived direct from the Basque country. Their descendant twigs are unique to the British Isles.

(Source)

[personal-reporter]

San Patrizio, protettore dell’Irlanda

San Patrizio, protettore dell’Irlanda

Il 17 marzo si ricorda la vita del santo simbolo dell’Irlanda… San Patrizio nacque nel 385 a Bannaventa Berniae con il nome di Maewyn Succat e, a sedici anni, fu rapito da alcuni pirati irlandesi, che lo vendettero al re del North Dal Riada come schiavo. (more…)

[sightseeinglog]