Post by Scotaidh Kirkland on Apr 15, 2010 3:02:36 GMT -5
Country: Alba (Scotland)
Name: Scotaidh Kirkland
Age: 26
Gender Male
Appearance: Standing at 6', the Scotsman would be usually looking down to meet his brothers' eyes. With fair skin, and a bird's nest of red hair, the Highlander-esque man rarely has a smile on his face. Usually seen wearing a tam on his head, the man has a certain proud stance to him, showing that he has pride for his family name. Chances are, most of the time you will see him with a goatee; though it is only on occasion.
Personality: The Scotsman is like a stereotypical Scotsman; a loud, surly, penny-pincher. Though he could be rude, he often does care for his loved ones--when he's drunk. Not only does he care, but he would be extremely maudlin and sentimental. Of course, no matter how much he drinks, he would still be able to bash on his younger brother, Arthur--just like when they were kids.
Some his students know his weakness, and a lot of his fellow professors know it. The thing is that if, actually, when he finds out, the Scotsman would go into a rage of anger (which isn't too hard to get him to get to the stage), and everyone would have to deal with his ranting, cursing, and yelling--most of the time directed to his younger brothers.
About the Country:
Scotland is a part of the United Kingdom (UK), which occupies the northern third of the Great Britain. It has England to the south of the border, the North Sea as the east, and the Atlantic Ocean as the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. Along with the mainland, the Scotland would have 790 islands as well.
Because Mother Nature has given the country the gift of glaciation plenty of times in the past, little is known about the country in the Mesolithic period. Though some think that 12,800 years ago, the first post-glacial hunter-gatherers came to Scotland because the ice sheets reduced in size after the last glaciation gift.
Around 9,500 years ago, people started to make permanent settlements, and started to build villages 6,000 years ago. When the Romans came, they mainly invaded and occupied Southern Scotland, though it was more of a series of short interludes.
Kingdom of the Picts was a state that would eventually be known as Alba (Scotland).The building of “Pictland” was because of Roman imperialism.
By the early 8th century, the Kingdom of the Picts was largely the same as the kingdom of the Scots in the reign of Alexander in 1107-1124. However, when the tenth century came, the Pictish kingdom was taken over by what was the Gaelic culture.
A base of territory in eastern Scotland, north of the River Forth and south of the River Oykel, the kingdom managed to get control of lands that lay to both the north and south. In the 12th century, the kings of Alba added the English-speaking land to the south east and took overlordship in the Gaelic-speaking Galloway and Norse-speaking Caithness to the territory.
When the 13th century came to an end, the kingdom took the land size about its modern borders, but the process of cultural and economic change that began in the 12th century made sure that Scotland looked different later on in time.
The impetus for it was the rule of King David I and the Davidian revolution. Feudalism, government reorganisation and the first legally defined towns began at this time. The institutions and immigration of Franco and Franco-Anglo knights and churchmen facilitated a process of cultural osmosis, whereby teh culture and language of the low-lying and costal parts of the kingdom's original territory in the east became English-speaking while the rest kept the Gaelic language--aside from Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland since they were under Norse rule until 1468.
The death of Alexander III in 1286 and his granddaughter's death broke the succession line of Scotland's kings. It led to the intervention of Edward I of England, who manipulated the time of confusion to make himself seen as feudal overlord of Scotland. Edward made a process to see the person with the best claim to the vacant crown, which was soon known as the Great Cause, and resulted in the enthronement of John Balliol as king. Scots hated how Edward messed with their affairs, and the relationship quickly broke. War started and King John was nicked by his overlord, who took personal control of Scotland. Andrew Moray and William Wallace came as principal leaders of the resistance to English rule in what would soon be known as the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The struggle changed dramatically when Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick killed John Comyn in 1306 at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries. Robert de Brus was crowned king as Robert I in less than seven weeks after the killing. Robert I battled to win Scottish Independence as king for more than 20 years, beginning by winning Scotland back form English invaders bit by bit. Victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 showed that the Scots won their kingdom; however, it took 14 more years and the production of the world's first documented declaration of independence in the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 to finally get legal recognition by the English.
The war with Englan continued for several more decades after the death of de Brus, and a civil war between the Brus dynasty and their long-term Comyn-Balliol enemies lasted until mid-14th century. Though the Brus dynasty was successful, David II's lack of an heir gave his nephew, Robert II, the right to come to the throne and make the Stewart Dynasty. The Stewarts ruled Scotland for the rest of the middle ages. From the end of the 14t century to the Scottish Renaissance, to the Reformation, the country experienced greater prosperity. It was despite the warfare with England, with increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands, and a large number of minorities.
In 1603, James VI-King of Scots got the throne of the Kingdom of England and became King James I of England; he left Edinburgh for London. Except for the short period under the Protectorate, Scotland was a separate state, but there was conflict between the crown and covenanters over the form of church government. After the Glorious Revolution, the abolition of episcopacy and the over throw of Roman Catholic James VII by William and Mary, Scotland briefly threatened to select a different Protestant monarch from England. On 22 July 1706, the Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England; the next year, twin Acts of Union were passed by both parliaments to make the United Kingdom of Great Britain come into effect from 1 May 1707.
The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had stayed popular in the Highlands and north-east, mostly among the non-Presbyterians; though the two major Jacobite risings launced in 1715 and 1745 didn't remove the House of Hanover from the British throne. The threat of the Jacobite movement to the UK and its monarchs effectively ended at the Battle of Culloden, Great Britain's last pitched battle. The defeat made the way for large-scale removals of indigenous populations in the Highlands and Islands, known as the Highland Clearences. Scotland has had mane famines in the past. Sicne the late 1690s, the country has had famine which lowered the population by at least 15%.
The Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution made Scotland turn into more of an intellictual, commerical, and industrial powerhouse.
Almost 700,000 Scots served in Word War I, mostly on the Western Front. At least 74,000 of them lost their lives.
With that, between 1830 and 1930, 2 million Scots left the country to look for better lives in other countries. After World war II, Scotland experienced industrial decline which was severe.
It is only in recent decades that the country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance. Economic factors that have helped to teh recovery include a resurgent financial services industry, electronics manufacturing and North Sea oil and gas industry.
After a referendum on devolution proposals in 1997. the Scotland Act 1998 was passed by the United Kingdom Parliament to create a devolved Scottish Parliament.
Class they teach: Ancient Runes
House when they were a student: Gryffindor, though he was very close to getting into Slytherin
Blood Type: Pureblood
Anything Else?: Twelve inches, phoenix feather, willow; though outwardly he shows the traits of a Slytherin, he is truly a Gryffindor at heart; owns an eagle owl; usually spent time with the Slytherins when he was in school; always picks on his brothers whenever he can.
Writing Sample:
Fifteen Years Before[/i]
He was always one for a good joke, but telling him that platform 9¾ was between a solid, concrete wall was not one of the things he would have liked to believe. He regretted listening to the older boys and running head first into the column. After letting out a stream of cusses, the redhead gathered his things and managed to find the CORRECT platform. Running through it, he felt the illusion break around him, and he soon felt the difference in the air. It was then that he knew he was on the right platform, the one that led to the Hogwarts Express.
--
The castle seemed so vast and large new to him. It was as if he had stepped out of a dream to be in such a magnificent place. The boy stepped in, letting his green eyes capture every moment of the entrance. It was all so amazing; even more amazing than how his father explained it to him.
Walking in a large group up the stairs, he noticed a professor. He didn’t keep much notice on her physical features though, not caring much to be honest.
“Welcome to Hogwarts.” She stated in a nasally voice. “In a few moments, you will enter these doors and join your classmates.” She stated. Scotaidh yawned. He had heard this before from his father. Apparently, every year nothing really changes, so there really was no point in listening. “But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses.” At that point, the boy just zoned out. He had heard the explanation from father before, so there really was no point.
“… Follow me.” The redhead managed to come back and face reality when he heard the voice and the shuffling of feet. Once they entered the large mess hall, he looked in awe. The floating candles, the large tables filled with students on both side, and the ceiling; it was breathtaking.
Once they got to the front of the room, the witch made them gather round so the headmaster would be able to speak. What a joy; but it meant one thing. He was soon going to be sorted, and that was exactly what he wanted. The anticipation was killing him oh so slowly as the headmaster droned on about reminders of the school rules.
--
“… Kirkland, Scotaidh.”
His turn, great; stepping up to have the hat placed upon his head, he waited.
“Peculiar… You seem to have many overlapping traits…” The hat stated for all to hear.
“Aye, an’ maybe ye’ve been sittin’ on one tae many heads.” The redhead rolled his eyes as he waited for the hat to sort him. Honestly, did they really expect to take this long to sort a student? The others seemed as if their time passed by in an instant.
“Sharp of tongue… Surly… Self-preservative… and… What is this…? Is that a tinge of recklessness with the self-preservation? Odd, very odd…” The hat rambled on, putting his faults out for all the students to hear.
“Shut up a’ready an’ tell m’ what m’ house is.” He growled out, turning his head to make an attempt to glare at the hat.
“… GRYFFINDOR!” It finally shouted after a few moments. Shaking his head and growling, he stalked off the platform and headed to the Gryffindor table and seated himself, waiting for the rest of the ceremony to finish.
Present[/i]
He couldn’t imagine that all those years went by, and here he was now. He was leading a group of first years to sort themselves out. How fun. There was a dark look on his face as the man looked over to stare at the students.
“B’for’ we b’gin, th’ headmast’r would like tae say a few words tae ye.” He stated as he turned to the students, taking his place next to the sorting hat as he watched his younger brother speak to the students. Maybe it was time to zone out again, just for old time’s sake.
But of course, before he could, the headmaster was done and he had to sort the students. Oh joy. “A’right ye lot… Appro’ch when ye hear ye’re name.” He stated as he rolled down the long piece of parchment paper. Glancing down, he saw the first name and looked up.
“Aid’n Reyn’lds.” He called. The long list of names seemed to continue on forever.
Name: Scotaidh Kirkland
Age: 26
Gender Male
Appearance: Standing at 6', the Scotsman would be usually looking down to meet his brothers' eyes. With fair skin, and a bird's nest of red hair, the Highlander-esque man rarely has a smile on his face. Usually seen wearing a tam on his head, the man has a certain proud stance to him, showing that he has pride for his family name. Chances are, most of the time you will see him with a goatee; though it is only on occasion.
Personality: The Scotsman is like a stereotypical Scotsman; a loud, surly, penny-pincher. Though he could be rude, he often does care for his loved ones--when he's drunk. Not only does he care, but he would be extremely maudlin and sentimental. Of course, no matter how much he drinks, he would still be able to bash on his younger brother, Arthur--just like when they were kids.
Some his students know his weakness, and a lot of his fellow professors know it. The thing is that if, actually, when he finds out, the Scotsman would go into a rage of anger (which isn't too hard to get him to get to the stage), and everyone would have to deal with his ranting, cursing, and yelling--most of the time directed to his younger brothers.
About the Country:
Scotland is a part of the United Kingdom (UK), which occupies the northern third of the Great Britain. It has England to the south of the border, the North Sea as the east, and the Atlantic Ocean as the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. Along with the mainland, the Scotland would have 790 islands as well.
Because Mother Nature has given the country the gift of glaciation plenty of times in the past, little is known about the country in the Mesolithic period. Though some think that 12,800 years ago, the first post-glacial hunter-gatherers came to Scotland because the ice sheets reduced in size after the last glaciation gift.
Around 9,500 years ago, people started to make permanent settlements, and started to build villages 6,000 years ago. When the Romans came, they mainly invaded and occupied Southern Scotland, though it was more of a series of short interludes.
Kingdom of the Picts was a state that would eventually be known as Alba (Scotland).The building of “Pictland” was because of Roman imperialism.
By the early 8th century, the Kingdom of the Picts was largely the same as the kingdom of the Scots in the reign of Alexander in 1107-1124. However, when the tenth century came, the Pictish kingdom was taken over by what was the Gaelic culture.
A base of territory in eastern Scotland, north of the River Forth and south of the River Oykel, the kingdom managed to get control of lands that lay to both the north and south. In the 12th century, the kings of Alba added the English-speaking land to the south east and took overlordship in the Gaelic-speaking Galloway and Norse-speaking Caithness to the territory.
When the 13th century came to an end, the kingdom took the land size about its modern borders, but the process of cultural and economic change that began in the 12th century made sure that Scotland looked different later on in time.
The impetus for it was the rule of King David I and the Davidian revolution. Feudalism, government reorganisation and the first legally defined towns began at this time. The institutions and immigration of Franco and Franco-Anglo knights and churchmen facilitated a process of cultural osmosis, whereby teh culture and language of the low-lying and costal parts of the kingdom's original territory in the east became English-speaking while the rest kept the Gaelic language--aside from Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland since they were under Norse rule until 1468.
The death of Alexander III in 1286 and his granddaughter's death broke the succession line of Scotland's kings. It led to the intervention of Edward I of England, who manipulated the time of confusion to make himself seen as feudal overlord of Scotland. Edward made a process to see the person with the best claim to the vacant crown, which was soon known as the Great Cause, and resulted in the enthronement of John Balliol as king. Scots hated how Edward messed with their affairs, and the relationship quickly broke. War started and King John was nicked by his overlord, who took personal control of Scotland. Andrew Moray and William Wallace came as principal leaders of the resistance to English rule in what would soon be known as the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The struggle changed dramatically when Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick killed John Comyn in 1306 at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries. Robert de Brus was crowned king as Robert I in less than seven weeks after the killing. Robert I battled to win Scottish Independence as king for more than 20 years, beginning by winning Scotland back form English invaders bit by bit. Victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 showed that the Scots won their kingdom; however, it took 14 more years and the production of the world's first documented declaration of independence in the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 to finally get legal recognition by the English.
The war with Englan continued for several more decades after the death of de Brus, and a civil war between the Brus dynasty and their long-term Comyn-Balliol enemies lasted until mid-14th century. Though the Brus dynasty was successful, David II's lack of an heir gave his nephew, Robert II, the right to come to the throne and make the Stewart Dynasty. The Stewarts ruled Scotland for the rest of the middle ages. From the end of the 14t century to the Scottish Renaissance, to the Reformation, the country experienced greater prosperity. It was despite the warfare with England, with increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands, and a large number of minorities.
In 1603, James VI-King of Scots got the throne of the Kingdom of England and became King James I of England; he left Edinburgh for London. Except for the short period under the Protectorate, Scotland was a separate state, but there was conflict between the crown and covenanters over the form of church government. After the Glorious Revolution, the abolition of episcopacy and the over throw of Roman Catholic James VII by William and Mary, Scotland briefly threatened to select a different Protestant monarch from England. On 22 July 1706, the Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England; the next year, twin Acts of Union were passed by both parliaments to make the United Kingdom of Great Britain come into effect from 1 May 1707.
The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had stayed popular in the Highlands and north-east, mostly among the non-Presbyterians; though the two major Jacobite risings launced in 1715 and 1745 didn't remove the House of Hanover from the British throne. The threat of the Jacobite movement to the UK and its monarchs effectively ended at the Battle of Culloden, Great Britain's last pitched battle. The defeat made the way for large-scale removals of indigenous populations in the Highlands and Islands, known as the Highland Clearences. Scotland has had mane famines in the past. Sicne the late 1690s, the country has had famine which lowered the population by at least 15%.
The Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution made Scotland turn into more of an intellictual, commerical, and industrial powerhouse.
Almost 700,000 Scots served in Word War I, mostly on the Western Front. At least 74,000 of them lost their lives.
With that, between 1830 and 1930, 2 million Scots left the country to look for better lives in other countries. After World war II, Scotland experienced industrial decline which was severe.
It is only in recent decades that the country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance. Economic factors that have helped to teh recovery include a resurgent financial services industry, electronics manufacturing and North Sea oil and gas industry.
After a referendum on devolution proposals in 1997. the Scotland Act 1998 was passed by the United Kingdom Parliament to create a devolved Scottish Parliament.
Class they teach: Ancient Runes
House when they were a student: Gryffindor, though he was very close to getting into Slytherin
Blood Type: Pureblood
Anything Else?: Twelve inches, phoenix feather, willow; though outwardly he shows the traits of a Slytherin, he is truly a Gryffindor at heart; owns an eagle owl; usually spent time with the Slytherins when he was in school; always picks on his brothers whenever he can.
Writing Sample:
Fifteen Years Before[/i]
He was always one for a good joke, but telling him that platform 9¾ was between a solid, concrete wall was not one of the things he would have liked to believe. He regretted listening to the older boys and running head first into the column. After letting out a stream of cusses, the redhead gathered his things and managed to find the CORRECT platform. Running through it, he felt the illusion break around him, and he soon felt the difference in the air. It was then that he knew he was on the right platform, the one that led to the Hogwarts Express.
--
The castle seemed so vast and large new to him. It was as if he had stepped out of a dream to be in such a magnificent place. The boy stepped in, letting his green eyes capture every moment of the entrance. It was all so amazing; even more amazing than how his father explained it to him.
Walking in a large group up the stairs, he noticed a professor. He didn’t keep much notice on her physical features though, not caring much to be honest.
“Welcome to Hogwarts.” She stated in a nasally voice. “In a few moments, you will enter these doors and join your classmates.” She stated. Scotaidh yawned. He had heard this before from his father. Apparently, every year nothing really changes, so there really was no point in listening. “But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses.” At that point, the boy just zoned out. He had heard the explanation from father before, so there really was no point.
“… Follow me.” The redhead managed to come back and face reality when he heard the voice and the shuffling of feet. Once they entered the large mess hall, he looked in awe. The floating candles, the large tables filled with students on both side, and the ceiling; it was breathtaking.
Once they got to the front of the room, the witch made them gather round so the headmaster would be able to speak. What a joy; but it meant one thing. He was soon going to be sorted, and that was exactly what he wanted. The anticipation was killing him oh so slowly as the headmaster droned on about reminders of the school rules.
--
“… Kirkland, Scotaidh.”
His turn, great; stepping up to have the hat placed upon his head, he waited.
“Peculiar… You seem to have many overlapping traits…” The hat stated for all to hear.
“Aye, an’ maybe ye’ve been sittin’ on one tae many heads.” The redhead rolled his eyes as he waited for the hat to sort him. Honestly, did they really expect to take this long to sort a student? The others seemed as if their time passed by in an instant.
“Sharp of tongue… Surly… Self-preservative… and… What is this…? Is that a tinge of recklessness with the self-preservation? Odd, very odd…” The hat rambled on, putting his faults out for all the students to hear.
“Shut up a’ready an’ tell m’ what m’ house is.” He growled out, turning his head to make an attempt to glare at the hat.
“… GRYFFINDOR!” It finally shouted after a few moments. Shaking his head and growling, he stalked off the platform and headed to the Gryffindor table and seated himself, waiting for the rest of the ceremony to finish.
Present[/i]
He couldn’t imagine that all those years went by, and here he was now. He was leading a group of first years to sort themselves out. How fun. There was a dark look on his face as the man looked over to stare at the students.
“B’for’ we b’gin, th’ headmast’r would like tae say a few words tae ye.” He stated as he turned to the students, taking his place next to the sorting hat as he watched his younger brother speak to the students. Maybe it was time to zone out again, just for old time’s sake.
But of course, before he could, the headmaster was done and he had to sort the students. Oh joy. “A’right ye lot… Appro’ch when ye hear ye’re name.” He stated as he rolled down the long piece of parchment paper. Glancing down, he saw the first name and looked up.
“Aid’n Reyn’lds.” He called. The long list of names seemed to continue on forever.