All Scots Together
Any book may be enjoyed on a variety of levels. Caledonia will be picked up for as many distinctive reasons as there are those now reading these words.
You of Celtic blood will naturally be motivated by love of nation and pride in your ancestry.
Affection for that wild, infinitely diverse, and captivating region north of the Solway and Tweed, however, is by no means limited to those of known Scots extraction. Scotland is a domain of our earth that cannot be visited, the Scots are a people that cannot be known, theirs is a heritage that cannot be discovered without a change occurring inside . . . something mystical, a pinprick into the soul—or it may be the piercing of a razor-tip point of the Highland knife called a sgian-dubh—imparting a mysterious sense that a little piece of this place is yours too.
Others, perhaps even without Scots blood coursing through their veins and who have not yet been lured into the northern reaches by the magical Caledonian soul-prick, find themselves caught up in Scotland’s story for the history it so unforgettably brings to life. It is an ancient and stirring tale full of intrigue, romance, drama, and adventure, whether or not one possesses personal connections to a certain date or place or family name within it.
Noted Scottish author Nigel Tranter writes,
The Scottish people have always been independent, individualistic . . . and . . . their land is sufficiently dramatic in itself . . . their long and colourful story is bound to be full, over-full, of incident and echoes of that stormy and controversial past. There is scarcely a yard of the country without its story to tell, of heroism and treachery, of warfare or worship, of flourish or folly or heartbreak—for the Scots never did anything by half. This, the most ancient kingdom in Christendom, has more castles, abbeys, battlefields, graveyards, monuments, stone-circles, inscribed stones and relics of every kind . . . than any other land of its size, in Highlands and Lowlands, mainland and islands.
The ancient land of Caledonia, later known as Scotia and Alba, eventually Scotland, possesses one of the most vivid histories the people who inhabit this globe have ever played out upon it. For Scots the world over, this legacy is no mere bookish chronicle, but rather forms an intrinsic element of who they are. To be a Scot is to possess historically traceable roots that extend backward in time beyond the birth of Christ, back to the very earliest eras when the human creature began to know itself and explore the earth. The heritage of the people who, through the millennia, occupied this particular northern corner of Britain is the legacy, as it were, of a universal tree of the family of man upon the earth. “Remember the men from whence you came” is no mere stale truism, but the very lifeblood by which the Celt lives and breathes.
Scotland’s is a story that beckons—of itself—to be told. I approach it not only as a historian and a storyteller here, but almost as a journalist, reporting with marvel the tale I have observed, of a land and its people. As we shall see, it is an ongoing drama whose climax may yet await us!
A passionate love for history—almost any history—burns within this heart of mine. The people and events of former times hold a fascination that draws me more powerfully than most of what our modern age has to offer. I happen to believe, as well, in the significance of history, that its tales and legends, its facts as well as its myths, are important. They contain lessons and insights and perspectives that can expand our awareness, deepen our knowledge and wisdom of our world, and thus enrich our lives in many diverse ways.
And of pure history—none comes more magnificent than Scotland’s!
There will be those who have read one or more of my former books who delve into this chronicle for deeper themes and content than those I have mentioned. I hope you will relish your journey through ancient Caledonia none the less that some of what you may anticipate comes in the more obscure form of historical allegory than you have encountered from my pen upon previous occasions.
There are certain Biblical parallels you may observe as you follow the epic of Scotland through the years. I am certain you will recognize the Caledonian version of Abraham, who went to a land far away to give birth to a nation through his son . . . of Isaac and Ishmael and ongoing strife and treachery between kinsmen . . . of the tribes which gave their names to the various regions of that land . . . of Joshua who crossed the river to do battle and drive out his enemies . . . of Rahab the prostitute, who came into the family of faith and through whom the lineage of promise continued . . . of the aging priest Zechariah, long silent about what had been revealed to him, convinced it would come through the child he had beheld at birth . . . and of course many will know Caledonia’s Judas who brought down infamy upon the heads of himself and his clan, as well as see the gospel story in the coming of Columba, the dove.
Whatever additional symbolic parallels may be present, reminiscent of the scriptural narrative, I shall leave for you to discover. The biblical account is, after all, the universal story of the human saga, of all peoples and all lands. Therefore, I hope you enjoy the “parable” of Caledonia: Legend of the Celtic Stone for some of its latent spiritual subtleties as well as for its story and history.
I pray, then—however our paths have happened to cross at this moment, and for whatever reasons you personally have chosen to walk these byways of the past with me—that you will be stimulated by our literary and historical adventure together. To all of you I say: enjoy the journey . . . and let Caledonia’s magnificent history carry you along on its majestic crest.
Let me add the challenge: Be in no hurry to get from the beginning to the end. This is a long book. Relish that fact. To help you in that regard, let me quote from Mr. Michener’s autobiography, The World Is My Home, A Memoir. His thoughts and priorities mirror my own:
Sometime in the late 1950s an idea struck me . . . and I have been willing to gamble my professional life upon it.
I discovered that television existed within a cruel time constraint . . . the typical hour program was allowed only forty-eight minutes. . . . One evening after I had been well indoctrinated into the mystery and magic of the tube, I had a vision as clear as if the words . . . had been written on the wall: “When people tire of the forty-eight minute television novel, they will yearn for a substantial book within whose covers they can live imaginatively for weeks. The eighteenth-century discursive-type novel will enjoy a vigorous rebirth, because readers will demand it.”
This same sense has grown upon me since I began writing, which no doubt explains why my books have become steadily longer through the years. I am delighted now to find myself in such good company in sharing that view.
I hope, therefore, that this first book in the series, Caledonia: Legend of the Celtic Stone, as well as the subsequent volumes which continue Caledonia’s story, will be ones that you will enjoy “living in” for weeks. Scotland’s history is a full course meal—feed upon it as such!
When Scotland’s magic begins to weave its spell, you will likely discover that it has infected you with the sense that there may be Scots blood in your own veins—or at least that this pilgrimage in search of heritage and roots is one every one of us shares. This, therefore, is your quest as well . . . because in a sense, wherever you call home, Scotland is your land as well.
Truly the account of Caledonia is every man’s and every woman’s story . . . for in a mysterious and magical sense—and perhaps more in fact than we are aware—we are all Scots together.
—Michael Phillips