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- Wed, 16:30: movies for 2011 http://j.mp/hDbo33
Mar. 17th, 2011
Oh Danny Boy
oh boy
oh boy oh boy...
That's about where I am. Work, a kiddo with a dr. appt, parent teacher conferences and pin drive problems.
I have nothing to contribute.
A tale of my legendary ancestor, by Alice Wignall, in The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1689565,00.html
He was High King of Ireland at the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth centuries, since you ask, and a busy sort of chap he was, too. "Energetic" would probably cover it nicely as well, though slightly less euphemistic would be "astonishingly fertile", after new genetic research revealed that one in 12 Irish men may be descended from Niall. That, by the way, amounts to as many as three million men worldwide. (And I'm one, AMS)
So we can all imagine how Niall spent a fair proportion of his life - but what about the rest of it? Sources suggest that he was born in around AD342, the son of the Irish High King Eochaid Mugmedon and his second wife, Cairenn. Some wicked-stepmothering from Eochaid's first wife, Mongfind, led to Niall having to overcome his half-brothers - who bore the evocative names of Fergus, Ailill, Fiachrae and, er, Brian - in the battle to be their father's successor.
The epithet "Nine Hostages" (or Noigíallach in Gaelic) derives from Niall's habit of borrowing people from other kingdoms and refusing to give them back. Different accounts have them coming from a variety of places, but in the best-known version there is one each from the five provinces of Ireland, and one each from the Scots, Saxons, Britons and French. Legend has it that another famous hostage of Niall's was Succat - you'd know him as Saint Patrick.
Irish sources describe Niall's successful raids on Britain and France, and he was probably involved in establishing a Gaelic kingdom in north Wales. At home, Niall consolidated power in the northern region of Ireland, creating the Uí Néill dynasty that would provide the High Kings of Ireland for centuries. As well as the O'Neills, the Scottish clans MacNeil and MacLachlan can also claim descent from Niall.
Tradition has it that he died in 405 - though some historians argue for a later date - at sea in the Channel (or in France, or in the Alps, or possibly in Scotland). And despite his rampant and academically proven promiscuity, he was actually succeeded by one of the (presumably rare) young men in Ireland whom he hadn't sired himself - his nephew, Dathí.
Books for 2011
Mar. 17th, 2011 08:39 pm( Read more... )
3) Cornfed. Kiernan Kelley. I remember Kiernan taking on the challenge of writing an Amish man in love with a sheik. The result is this delightful piece. Part Witness homage, but all her own, I highly recommend it as a fun, suspenseful and hot read.
4) Mongrel. KZ Snow. In a steampunk world where not-quite-human people are branded with their ratio of human blood, the leader of the Mongrels discovers a fiendish plot and true love, at the same time. This was terrific. Great worldbuilding, great characters. A vampire named Clancy Marrowbones. Where else you gonna find THAT? If you like steampunk, this is it for you.
3) Cornfed. Kiernan Kelley. I remember Kiernan taking on the challenge of writing an Amish man in love with a sheik. The result is this delightful piece. Part Witness homage, but all her own, I highly recommend it as a fun, suspenseful and hot read.
4) Mongrel. KZ Snow. In a steampunk world where not-quite-human people are branded with their ratio of human blood, the leader of the Mongrels discovers a fiendish plot and true love, at the same time. This was terrific. Great worldbuilding, great characters. A vampire named Clancy Marrowbones. Where else you gonna find THAT? If you like steampunk, this is it for you.