A Warrior's Tale

Some words on the dedication of A Warrior’s Tale:
The book is dedicated to Edward Bruce, brother of Scottish nationalist Robert (the) Bruce, on his appointment as “High King of Ireland and Scotland”.
In the thirteen hundreds (as with most centuries of the Second Millennium), Scots were battling the English for the right to seek and fulfill their own destiny as a nation. Meanwhile England, in self-vested magnanimity, sought to levy the tax of English civilization upon Scot and Irelander alike. Robert Bruce, a canny politico and all around rabble rouser, realized that war waged against the English would be better served if England were forced to fight on two fronts. Thus he sent emissaries across the North Channel of the Irish Sea to determine how Ireland could aid Scotland in his plan to open a second front versus the English. So Edward and a complement of cavalry made the crossing and levied havoc on the English contingent in Ireland in a series of lightning forays against them. Such was the success of his maneuverings, and such was the precarious position of the English in Ireland at the time, that the colonists yet loyal to the English crown were forced to withdraw to a relatively small piece of land in the area of present-day Dublin referred to as the “Irish Pale.”
Edward Bruce was an astute and fearless commander of cavalry, and to me he embodies the spirit of freedom and joy that I believe anyone can appreciate.
Further on Kings of Ireland and Scotland:
Ah, to be a king in Ireland and/or Scotland! However many of these Gaelic kings were either self-proclaimed or appointed by less-than-a-majority in the area within which their purview existed. It is kind of like the “King of the Mountain” game youngsters play – while one might unseat the reigning king at any given time, one’s rule is subject to the transitory nature of strength, wits, and balance which is an uneven foundation at the best of times, and like to change as the wind’s direction. So Edward may have been drinking with a few of his Irish buddies when the suggestion that he be proclaimed king, was offered, and received with less than rational insight. Or not. In any case, he is one of the heroes of my youth, and I hope to pay him tribute with AWT.