Flight of the Heron read-along: Part I chapters 5-6

[regshoe]

What is right and what is wrang, a short sword and a lang, a weak arm and a strang for to draw...

Welcome back to the read-along! This week's chapters are getting a bit more serious, historically and for our characters...

Next week we'll read the first two chapters of Part II.

Comments

[regshoe]

Poor woobie Keith and his tragic rain! I do like that bit... and learning more about Keith's backstory, of course.

Thank you for writing up the explanation about names! I don't think I actually knew what 'Eoghain Mhoir' means, or that it's in the vocative. Yes, first and last names are not terribly unique—reading about Jacobite history has involved a certain amount of confusion over which of the many different Donald MacDonalds etc. we're dealing with now. (Actually, I've just read a totally unrelated book, from the twentieth century, whose protagonist is called Donald Cameron, and his father is Ewan Cameron (albeit with an A), which I thought was funny).

And thanks for the fic recs :D (hehe, I like that summary of 'Calltainneach'...)

[luzula]

I did "read" that book about Gaelic and its grammar, where "read" = skim and not retain much actual detail. Otherwise I've absorbed a bit from garonne and solo, when they have helped me translate stuff.

Ha, that must be weird with the 20th century book!

[regshoe]

Heh, yes—it's England, Their England by A. G. Macdonell, which I found in the Yuletide tagset and went 'ooh!' at the character name. It's a comedy, and there are in fact some jokes about Clan Cameron and the Jacobites, which I appreciated :D