Pittsburgh Steel, part dà dhà

The realm of the Picts was divided into several provinces, or sub-kingdoms, one of which was known as "Fib". By A.D. 1160 or thereabouts, it was being spelled "Fif". Today it is known as Fife, and a more beautiful ex-Pict sub-kindom you would be hard-pressed to find.

Fife is no longer a Scottish county, but is rather something called a "lieutenancy area". I won't make an attempt at that; Scottish lieutenancies and local government regions are well beyond the scope of your average American's need to know, and, let's face it, desire to know. Suffice to say that this gorgeous bit of green Scottish heaven is tucked away by the sea, between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth. Try to say THAT fast three times when you are drunk, laddie! I have heard rumors, however, that Fife is up for a captaincy soon, or even a majorcy in the near future.

The picturesque city of St. Andrews is perched there near the sea. In addition to the magnificent ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, pictured above, it is rumored that some other folk have taken up the game of golf in nearby environs. Since I have already done the People-of-St.-Andrews-love-Bobby-Jones golf post elsewhere in this blog, I won't get sidetracked about golf here. However, there is MUCH rich history and interesting stories to be found in Fife, and I may revisit it for that purpose sometime in the future.

In November of 1835, a boy was born in Dunfermline (one of the three districts of Fife) to a weaver and his wife. It is the story of this little boy that this little series of posts is really about. He was to become America's second-wealthiest man behind only John D. Rockerfeller.

Pittsburgh: A Man of Steel, Part One

The word "Medieval" refers to the Middle Ages, that period of European history which falls roughly between the fall of the western Roman Empire (A.D. 500) and the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Some scholars would place the beginning of this era as A.D. 1100, and refer to the earlier part of it (between the fall of the Romans to A.D. 1100) as the Dark Ages. The end of the Middle Ages would, in turn, witness the birth of the Renaissance.

Be that as it may — who could quibble over a few hundred years in a place with such a long history — the fall of the Romans in the West gave rise to the emergence of separate kingdoms and monarchs, as well as an increased power of the Roman Catholic Church.

In Scotland, in the early Middle Ages, between the fall of the Romans and the Kingdom of Alba in A.D. 900, two of the most important of the emerging (4) petty kingdoms were those of the Picts and the Scots..

The Vikings arrived in the eighth century, and established colonies along the coasts and islands. In the ninth century, the Picts and the Scots combined under the House of Alpin to form the basis of the Kingdom of Scotland.

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The picture above is of the Monymusk Reliquary which dates to the 8th century A.D. It resides in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It was used for saintly assistance by Scots in battle, much as the Ark of the Covenant was used in battle by the early Hebrews. The Reliquary is now empty.

Huge Rooster Beats Off Hungry Fox

Tidbits gathered from BBC News:

Suffolk County Council formally elects Mark Bee leader.

"In April, Mr. Bee beat off competition from... "

Scotty McCreery wins American Idol.

"... beating off competition... "

Aussie woman, 89, beats off bandit with handbag.

"Used a handbag to beat off a knife-carrying... "

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Is it possible the term "beating off" means something different in British than in American?

To put it another way, would you REALLY beat off three guys to save your girl?