Sisters of The Bruce 1292-1314 (Abridged Version )

Sisters of The Bruce - Glossary

Bairn: baby, young child (Scots)

Bannock: a round flat cake, usually made of oatmeal (Scots)

Battle of Largs: Scots won a victory over the Vikings in 1263; also claimed by the Norse

Bean Shidh: Celtic spirits similar to banshees, who call up the dead or wail when someone is about to die

Bere: a grain crop similar to barley

Birlinn: Hebridean ship

Bodhran: hand-held drum

Braies: loose trousers or undergarments

Burn: small stream (Scots)

Caltrops: spiked pieces of iron buried in the ground's surface to injure the hooves of horses in medieval war.

Caterans: fierce highland warriors (Scots)

Claymore: large, two-handed sword used by highlanders (Scots)

Coney: medieval name for a rabbit

Crabbit: bad-tempered (Scots)

Creel: large basket for carrying peat or fish (Scots)

Destrier: a large horse trained for war

Dirk: a short dagger (Scots)

Doocot: dovecote (Scots)

Doocot pie: pigeon pie (Scots)

Douce: quiet, pleasant

Dower/tocher: the wealth/lands a bride brings to a marriage contract. It can also refer to the lands she may gain through widowhood

Dreich: dreary, bleak weather (Scots)

Drop scones: soft dough mix cooked on top of the stove on a griddle (Scots)

Droukit: drenched (Scots)

Ell: measurement

Epistle/Missive: letter

Flesher: butcher

Galley: Norse-style vessel

Gallowglasses: mercenary soldiers who formed the core of a professional army (originally from Western Isles of Scotland mid-thirteenth century; later employed by Irish chieftains)

Gambeson: a quilted, padded coat worn by soldiers

Garderobe: a toilet

Garron: shaggy hill pony known for strength and durability

Girnel: food storage container

Good sister: sister-in-law

Grange: a Knights Templar farm

Greetin': crying (Scots)

Haar: a sea mist which moves over land

Harrowing: wholesale destruction of a land and its people during war

Havering: talking incessantly (Scots)

Huskarls: Norse royal guards

Jure Uxorious: by right of marriage