scottish history

[albalass]

i remember at primary school seeing a dramatisation in a history programme about a servant who put her arm in place of a wooden beam to hold a door shut to enable her master to flee from "someone". it was middle ages and i think the master was a scottish noble. any one know who this was?

[ivanovitch57]

her name was Flora McDonald and she was protecting Bonnie Prince Charming in the Jacobite uprising (i think)

[VHG]

You already asked this at 3.30 this afternoon.

Why ask again so quickly.

[albalass]

i only registered this afternoon and didn't realise the question had been posted already. sorrrrry. do you know the answer VHG or are you just here to criticise a newbie??

[Schutzengel]

albalass. Ivanovitch was almost right. It was Flora McDonald, and it was Bonnie Prince Charlie she was protecting after the Jacobite Rising, and the Battle of Culloden Moor. Whether her baring the door was added to the true story for effect is not known. But she did help to save the Prince's life by disguising him as a woman, and helping him to escape. Hope this helps.

[mike b]

Nothing to do with Flora Macdonald - the famous case is Catherine Douglas, attempting to prevent the assassination of James 1 in 1437:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Douglas

[Schutzengel]

Ah! well. Here we go. If you research both stories, you will find that the historical background is true in both instances, but the two incidents of barring the door, appear to be later embellishments.

[echokilo]

Take no notice of VHG albalass x

[dundurn]

As above - Flora MacDonald is a red herring. Kate Douglas attempted to delay the discovery of James I. The royal party were in an upper room and Kate's attempt to bar the door was designed to allow James suffficient time to make a hole in the floorboards and drop through to a passageway which had an exit to the outside. In this she was entirely successful. Although Kate's arm was broken, James did gain access to the lower floor. Unfortunately for James he had constructed a (real) tennis court in the castle and had been annoyed by the number of times the ball had disappeared down this particular passageway. To stop this happening he had had the original exit blocked up. So he was caught, and killed, in the resulting cul de sac.