I have not read/watched Game of Thrones, but I remember reading at some point that Martin was inspired by the massacre of Glencoe, among other things!
Which I can tell cahn about: it was part of the 1690's Jacobite history. After the failure of "Bonnie Dundee"/"Bluidy Clavers" rising in 1689 (choose name according to politics), William of Orange's government in Scotland was still very weak. Not that he actually cared about Scotland, he wanted to make war on the continent. So in order to pull troops from Scotland, he needed to pacify the Jacobite chiefs in the Highlands. They were bribed with cash and offered an indemnity in return for swearing loyalty to William, and most of them agreed (not that they necessarily took that oath very seriously).
But MacDonald of Glencoe was late meeting the deadline because of something that wasn't his own fault, and the secretary of state for Scotland decided to make an example of him, with William's knowledge. He sent Campbell troops to Glencoe (the Campbells were a rival clan, but this wasn't a clan conflict), and when the soldiers were enjoying the (perhaps forced) hospitality of the Glencoe MacDonalds, they began killing them, though a lot of them got away into the snow. This was in February 1693, and you can hear about it in this song. I have never heard anyone pronounce the word "rape" with such relish--I guess it's the Scottish "r".
Anyway, this backfired. The massacre was a gift to Jacobite propaganda, and destroyed the credibility of the government in the Highlands.
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Re: First Part of the '45 (up to Derby)
Date: 2021-10-11 09:25 pm (UTC)Which I can tell
But MacDonald of Glencoe was late meeting the deadline because of something that wasn't his own fault, and the secretary of state for Scotland decided to make an example of him, with William's knowledge. He sent Campbell troops to Glencoe (the Campbells were a rival clan, but this wasn't a clan conflict), and when the soldiers were enjoying the (perhaps forced) hospitality of the Glencoe MacDonalds, they began killing them, though a lot of them got away into the snow. This was in February 1693, and you can hear about it in this song. I have never heard anyone pronounce the word "rape" with such relish--I guess it's the Scottish "r".
Anyway, this backfired. The massacre was a gift to Jacobite propaganda, and destroyed the credibility of the government in the Highlands.