Legend of the Celtic Stone Read online

  © 1999 by Michael Phillips

  Published by Bethany House Publishers

  11400 Hampshire Avenue South

  Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

  www.bethanyhouse.com

  Bethany House Publishers is a division of

  Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

  www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

  Ebook edition created 2016

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  ISBN 978-1-4412-2959-5

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

  Cover design by Dan Pitts

  To the memory of

  James A. Michener

  Master of the Historical Novel

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Introduction

  Caledonia

  Epigraph

  Prologue—The Legend and the Prophecy

  1. The Stone

  2. Heir to a Legacy

  3. The Maiden of Glencoe

  4. Call of Ancient Roots

  5. The Wanderer

  6. Shake-Up in Westminster

  7. Father of the Caledonii

  8. Leader of the Liberal Democrats

  9. To Withstand an Empire

  10. Springtime of Discovery

  11. Coming of the Dove

  12. Roots, Past and Present

  13. From Eire to Caledonia

  Epilogue

  The British Parliamentary System, Scottish Home Rule, and Devolution

  Notes and Bibliography

  About the Author

  Books by Michael Phillips

  Acknowledgments

  No novelist can write of historical events without great reliance on others—historians mainly—from whom he gleans a multitude of perspectives that find their way into the text. A more thorough acknowledgment of my research sources is included in the Notes and Bibliography at the end of this book.

  I commend that appendix to you. I have certainly not written this book in a vacuum, and I would like to recognize those many authors whose works have been helpful to me.

  Here I will only comment that this manuscript has been submitted to friends and scholars more knowledgeable than I in certain of the historical eras in which this book is set. I can attest that there are no intentional inaccuracies. I am enough of an historical legalist to spare no reasonable effort to get details precise where it is possible to do so. At the same time, I am as much storyteller as historian. As such I constantly find myself sniffing out intriguing themes and may-have-beens and what-ifs to which the evidence lends itself, but which the known facts do not positively reveal.

  A novelist necessarily offers interpretive viewpoints as a result of his storytelling instincts, and it cannot be helped that there are historians who disagree with some of them. Where perhaps greater scholastic expertise reveals errors in the text that follows, I hope those men and women whose erudite authority exceeds mine will forgive whatever unintentional indiscretions I may commit.

  The following individuals have been very helpful in various capacities: Bill and Eve Murison (Scots dialect, geography), Donnie Macdonald (Gaelic), Helen Macpherson (fueling the fires), Archie Duncan (history), Joan Grytness (interior maps), Nigel Halliday (Irish issues and for the added richness of his company at Iona, Glencoe, and Edinburgh), Arthur Eedle (British politics and names), Rick Christian (fanning the visionary flames of what Caledonia could become), Stephen and Hilary Anderson (for provision of an oasis of hospitality, including an impromptu day in London, and for proofreading), Judith Pella (brainstorming), and Mary Hutchison, Anne Buchanan, and Helen Motter (editorial guidance).

  I especially want to thank my father, Denver Phillips, who has now gone to be with the Lord but whose handwritten notes on earlier manuscripts continue as fond reminders of his involvement in the development of Caledonia. Thanks also to my mother, Eloise Phillips, for proofreading an earlier draft of the manuscript, to my sons Patrick, Robin, and Gregory, and of course to my wife, Judy, for ten years of encouragement as the vision of Caledonia gradually took shape and ultimately became reality.

  I would also acknowledge Gary and Carol Johnson, Jeanne Mikkelson, David Horton, Julie Klassen, and others at Bethany House Publishers whose vision for this project has burned, if not quite so brightly as mine, certainly in some cases nearly as long, and whose ideas and hard work have been valuable in bringing this ten-year labor, with all its ups and downs, into fruition. Hundreds of thousands of lovers of George MacDonald are deeply indebted to Bethany for its commitment to keeping alive the works of this significant Scottish writer of the last century. Now Bethany adds this epic story of Caledonia to its expanding selection of titles about Scotland, for which those interested in Scotland the world over will, I am sure, be profoundly grateful.

  Last but foremost, I would use this forum to acknowledge a man whose influence upon me as a writer has been foundational and profound, a name that will be familiar to nearly all who read my words: James A. Michener, the great American novelist and historian, who died in 1997. As George MacDonald has served as my spiritual mentor, James Michener has occupied something of that same capacity in matters historical. Both men have served as literary mentors throughout the years of my own writing. Whenever I write, whatever I write, their styles and perspectives are ever before me.

  I have admired Mr. Michener’s work now for about half my life and consider him the master at communicating that wonderful, delicate, invisible balance so necessary to turn history into fiction. He has been captivating, educating, and entertaining a vast audience for years in what I can only describe as a wonderfully peculiar art form all his own, masterfully interweaving events and lives from widely varying time periods and multiple story lines—both factual and imaginary—into grand tapestries of vivid color and panoramic scope. I thus acknowledge my debt and thank him posthumously for his contribution to my vision for this effort.

  For all these reasons, then, and on behalf of millions of appreciative readers around the globe, I offer not only these brief words, but also the dedication of this present volume.

  Introduction

  All Scots Together

  Any book may be enjoyed on a variety of levels. Caledonia will be picked up for as many distinctive reasons as there are those now reading these words.

  You of Celtic blood will naturally be motivated by love of nation and pride in your ancestry.

  Affection for that wild, infinitely diverse, and captivating region north of the Solway and Tweed, however, is by no means limited to those of known Scots extraction. Scotland is a domain of our earth that cannot be visited, the Scots are a people that cannot be known, theirs is a heritage that cannot be discovered without a change occurring inside . . . something mystical, a pinprick into the soul—or it may be the piercing of a razor-tip point of the Highland knife called a sgian-dubh—imparting a mysterious sense that a little piece of this place is yours too.

  Others, perhaps even without Scots blood coursing through their veins and who have not yet been lured into the northern reaches by the magical Caledonian soul-prick, find themselves caught up in Scotland’s story for the history it so unforgettably brings to life. It is an ancient and stirring tale full of intrigue, romance, drama, and adventure, whether or not one possesses persona
l connections to a certain date or place or family name within it.

  Noted Scottish author Nigel Tranter writes,

  The Scottish people have always been independent, individualistic . . . and . . . their land is sufficiently dramatic in itself . . . their long and colourful story is bound to be full, over-full, of incident and echoes of that stormy and controversial past. There is scarcely a yard of the country without its story to tell, of heroism and treachery, of warfare or worship, of flourish or folly or heartbreak—for the Scots never did anything by half. This, the most ancient kingdom in Christendom, has more castles, abbeys, battlefields, graveyards, monuments, stone-circles, inscribed stones and relics of every kind . . . than any other land of its size, in Highlands and Lowlands, mainland and islands.

  The ancient land of Caledonia, later known as Scotia and Alba, eventually Scotland, possesses one of the most vivid histories the people who inhabit this globe have ever played out upon it. For Scots the world over, this legacy is no mere bookish chronicle, but rather forms an intrinsic element of who they are. To be a Scot is to possess historically traceable roots that extend backward in time beyond the birth of Christ, back to the very earliest eras when the human creature began to know itself and explore the earth. The heritage of the people who, through the millennia, occupied this particular northern corner of Britain is the legacy, as it were, of a universal tree of the family of man upon the earth. “Remember the men from whence you came” is no mere stale truism, but the very lifeblood by which the Celt lives and breathes.

  Scotland’s is a story that beckons—of itself—to be told. I approach it not only as a historian and a storyteller here, but almost as a journalist, reporting with marvel the tale I have observed, of a land and its people. As we shall see, it is an ongoing drama whose climax may yet await us!

  A passionate love for history—almost any history—burns within this heart of mine. The people and events of former times hold a fascination that draws me more powerfully than most of what our modern age has to offer. I happen to believe, as well, in the significance of history, that its tales and legends, its facts as well as its myths, are important. They contain lessons and insights and perspectives that can expand our awareness, deepen our knowledge and wisdom of our world, and thus enrich our lives in many diverse ways.

  And of pure history—none comes more magnificent than Scotland’s!

  There will be those who have read one or more of my former books who delve into this chronicle for deeper themes and content than those I have mentioned. I hope you will relish your journey through ancient Caledonia none the less that some of what you may anticipate comes in the more obscure form of historical allegory than you have encountered from my pen upon previous occasions.

  There are certain Biblical parallels you may observe as you follow the epic of Scotland through the years. I am certain you will recognize the Caledonian version of Abraham, who went to a land far away to give birth to a nation through his son . . . of Isaac and Ishmael and ongoing strife and treachery between kinsmen . . . of the tribes which gave their names to the various regions of that land . . . of Joshua who crossed the river to do battle and drive out his enemies . . . of Rahab the prostitute, who came into the family of faith and through whom the lineage of promise continued . . . of the aging priest Zechariah, long silent about what had been revealed to him, convinced it would come through the child he had beheld at birth . . . and of course many will know Caledonia’s Judas who brought down infamy upon the heads of himself and his clan, as well as see the gospel story in the coming of Columba, the dove.

  Whatever additional symbolic parallels may be present, reminiscent of the scriptural narrative, I shall leave for you to discover. The biblical account is, after all, the universal story of the human saga, of all peoples and all lands. Therefore, I hope you enjoy the “parable” of Caledonia: Legend of the Celtic Stone for some of its latent spiritual subtleties as well as for its story and history.

  I pray, then—however our paths have happened to cross at this moment, and for whatever reasons you personally have chosen to walk these byways of the past with me—that you will be stimulated by our literary and historical adventure together. To all of you I say: enjoy the journey . . . and let Caledonia’s magnificent history carry you along on its majestic crest.

  Let me add the challenge: Be in no hurry to get from the beginning to the end. This is a long book. Relish that fact. To help you in that regard, let me quote from Mr. Michener’s autobiography, The World Is My Home, A Memoir. His thoughts and priorities mirror my own:

  Sometime in the late 1950s an idea struck me . . . and I have been willing to gamble my professional life upon it.

  I discovered that television existed within a cruel time constraint . . . the typical hour program was allowed only forty-eight minutes. . . . One evening after I had been well indoctrinated into the mystery and magic of the tube, I had a vision as clear as if the words . . . had been written on the wall: “When people tire of the forty-eight minute television novel, they will yearn for a substantial book within whose covers they can live imaginatively for weeks. The eighteenth-century discursive-type novel will enjoy a vigorous rebirth, because readers will demand it.”

  This same sense has grown upon me since I began writing, which no doubt explains why my books have become steadily longer through the years. I am delighted now to find myself in such good company in sharing that view.

  I hope, therefore, that this first book in the series, Caledonia: Legend of the Celtic Stone, as well as the subsequent volumes which continue Caledonia’s story, will be ones that you will enjoy “living in” for weeks. Scotland’s history is a full course meal—feed upon it as such!

  When Scotland’s magic begins to weave its spell, you will likely discover that it has infected you with the sense that there may be Scots blood in your own veins—or at least that this pilgrimage in search of heritage and roots is one every one of us shares. This, therefore, is your quest as well . . . because in a sense, wherever you call home, Scotland is your land as well.

  Truly the account of Caledonia is every man’s and every woman’s story . . . for in a mysterious and magical sense—and perhaps more in fact than we are aware—we are all Scots together.

  —Michael Phillips

  Caledonia

  Legend of the Celtic Stone

  In the year 843, Kenneth MacAlpin was crowned king of the Scots and Picts at the small Scottish town of Scone1, uniting for the first time in history the Alban kingdom known thereafter as Scotland. For the ceremony of his coronation, from Dunstaffnage in Argyll, MacAlpin brought the sacred stone of destiny. This stone, upon which centuries of Irish kings were said to have been crowned, was also said to have been transported from Tara in Ireland centuries before by Fergus Mor mac Erc when the Dalriadic dynasty was established on the British mainland.

  Upon it MacAlpin took his seat for coronation. Upon it would the kings of Scotland be crowned until the fateful year 1296, when Edward I of England captured the Stone. Edward installed it in Westminster Abbey, beneath a specially constructed chair where England’s own monarchs would henceforth be crowned. And there, with only two brief absences, the venerated Stone of Scone, symbol of Scotland’s royal links with antiquity, sat, used only for coronations, until 1996. Then, on the seven hundredth anniversary of Edward’s theft, the Stone was returned to Edinburgh Castle, there to remain except as required in Westminster Abbey for the coronation of future British monarchs.

  This is the story of the origin, and what may well be the destiny, of that historic Celtic stone—hewn not in Ireland as formerly conjectured, but in the solitary Highlands of that ancient land known as Caledonia.

  1. Pronounced “skoon” as in moon.

  Cuimhnich có leis a tha thu.

  Remember the men from whence you came.

  Old Gaelic Proverb

  Prologue

  This is Kirkham Luddington reporting live from outside Buckingham Palace. . . .”

&nb
sp; The well-known BBC journalist had been bringing news to the nation for more than twenty years. But never in his career had he reported a story this huge.

  Networks from around the world were scrambling to get to this very spot. Within twelve hours the Mall and both parks would be choked with television crews. Right now, however, the stage was his. As first on the scene, Luddington knew well enough that millions, if not billions, of eyes at this moment were resting on him.

  “All the United Kingdom,” he went on, “indeed, the entire world, is reeling from the stunning announcement, released by the Palace just one hour ago, that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will abdicate the throne one month from today in favor of her son, His Royal Highness, Charles, Prince of Wales. The Queen issued the following statement, which was included with the press release. I quote: ‘It has been my privilege to enjoy a long and fulfilling reign in the service of the British people. However, at this pivotal time in our history, I feel our nation can best be served with leadership provided by fresh blood from the next generation. My son, the Prince of Wales, has served a loyal and dedicated apprenticeship for the role to which history has destined him. The time has come that he be given opportunity to step into that calling. I ask that the support and prayers of every citizen be accorded him as they have me. I thank you each one, my loyal subjects and also my friends and fellow countrymen and women, for the love and support you have shown during my fifty years as your Queen. God bless you all.’”

  Luddington paused to allow the incredible words to sink in. Even outside the Palace in the midst of traffic it was nearly silent.

  After a moment the reporter continued. “We will update you with more details as they become available,” he said. “Speculation has already begun concerning possible underlying causes for this startling and unexpected development beyond those expressed in the Queen’s statement, ranging from health problems to the continuing decline of the royal house of Windsor and the monarchy in general. ‘It is possible,’ a highly placed Palace official noted to this reporter just minutes after the announcement, ‘that the Queen does not want to go down in history as the kingdom’s final monarch. What she may be handing Charles,’ he went on, ‘is not the future of the crown, but its final gasping expiration.’