The Curse of Scotland

I had not heard of it before but the intimation of "The Curse of Scotland" conjurs up all sorts of things in my mind.

I should say that I have some Scots credentials on my late Father's side and so the following list is given in the best spirit of self mockery.

The Curse could be those horrible winged insects, the midges, that give misery and annoyance to natives and visitors alike in the Auld Country.

It could as easily be any major football tournament where the National Team has just failed to perform anywhere near their potential.

I could speculate on it being a character trait to drink heavily and eat badly but then again that is quite a wider British flaw.

Those responses will certainly generate some conversations and arguments and no doubt put me on a blacklist should I feel the need to apply for a Scottish Passport a such time as there is such a thing in existence.

On a more populist note "The Curse of Scotland" is the label given to a playing card, specifically the Nine of Diamonds.

There are a few fables,  myths, urban legends and nonsensical ideas about why this would be the case.

None of them really take well to a detailed and probing investigation and reference to hard facts about dates, events, personalities and on issues of authenticity but I have found them to be most interesting.

There may be, and I have my conspiracy theory hat on, some political advantage to be had for Scottish Home Rule in perpetuating the stories in that they attest to the maltreatment of its peoples at the hands of, yes, the English as well as giving some focus of blame on other things such as religion and economic difficulties.

Actually the many different versions of the tales vary in key details giving a very inconsistent and unreliable basis to the whole thing but again, there is some fascination in the cloudy and opaque historical eras from whence they came.

The first literary mention of "The Curse of Scotland" is to be found in 1708 and so straight away the alleged origins of it are open to scrutiny.

For example, just before the Battle of Flodden in 1513 the Scottish King, James the Fourth is said to have been obsessed so much with finding a lost playing card, the Nine of Diamonds, that he failed to prepare adequately for the subsequent stand off with the English under the Earl of Surrey.

The infamous Glencoe Massacre of 1692  is also cited as the contributor to the fable.

One of the instigators of the ethnic cleansing of the McDonald Clan in Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands was Sir John Dalrymple whose family flag bore an emblem closely resembling the Nine of Diamonds. The outrage and scandal of the heinous execution meant that the image on the Dalrymple Standard was forever to be a reminder of it.

The Curse emerged in 1746 in an association with another dark day in Scots history, the Battle of Culloden.

The English Commander, the Duke of Cumberland is reputed to have verbally authorised that no prisoners were to be taken in the forthcoming pitched battle but a subordinate Officer wanted something in writing in order to authenticate the order. Cumberland, obviously a bit annoyed at the questioning of his authority by an underling is said to have grabbed the nearest bit of writing material and on it confirmed his order. The piece of paper was a Nine of Diamonds from a deck that just happened to be to hand.

Other links have included the theft of nine diamonds from the crown of  Mary Queen of Scots whereby the population were taxed to subsidise the loss. Thereafter the proud subjects were tormented by taunts that the crown remained with only nine precious stones because the country could never afford a tenth.

A popular game of cards was called Pope Joan where the Nine of Diamonds was the most powerful card thus inflaming inter-religious tensions and fuelling discrimination and the occasional tit for tat murdering of respective members of the Catholic and Protestant or Prebyterian persuasions. On a simpler level the addiction of many of the Scottish Landed Class to gaming with cards led to many family fortunes and estates being lost and with all of the shame and collateral damage to servants and dependants that followed financial ruin.

Every ninth monarch of Scotland seems to have been a bad-un in terms of tyrannical rule and the causing of Civil War and upheaval and so the playing card came to be an aide memoir of the well founded pattern in Royal despotism.

You can see and appreciate that there are tall tales and other incredulous speculations around the Curse of Scotland.

If I were to be pushed to give my strongest answer to what it is then I would probably have to say that it is the fact that Scotland is physically joined on to England.