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Blood Feud by Harry Potter is a great book of the 16th century family rivalry between the Stewarts and the Gordons. More specifically, the Earls of Moray and Earls of Huntly are the focus of the book. Mr. Potter shows how the Highlands have always been a turbulent region of struggles between families for power, money and land.
He starts out with the 4th Earl of Huntly and 1st Earl of Moray, the good regent who were both grandsons of King James IV. They both vied for control of the realm during Queen Mary of Scots reign. The Gordons were Catholic and the Earl of Moray was a champion of the reformed faith otherwise known as the Protestant faith. Then we see the continuation between the 5th Earl of Huntly and the regent.
The meat of the book surrounds the 6th Earl of Huntly and the 2nd Earl of Moray. This chapter of the feud leads to the murder of the 2nd Earl of Moray who is immortalized in the Scottish ballad of the murder of "the Bonny Earl of Moray". We see that George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly is a staunch supporter of the monarchy, now King James VI, and practically a vice regent in the Scottish Highlands but still Catholic. He collides with the upstart James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray. James Stewart is Earl of Moray in right of his wife, Elizabeth daughter of the Good Regent. James Stewart is from a lesser branch of the Stewarts descended from the Albany Stewarts. James proves to be a far less of an Earl and Stewart then his famous Father-in-Law. Despite this he is still the King's kin and a protestant. His family is relentless in seeking to avenge his murder. King James must mediate this long term family feud between his family and his friend to keep it from interfering with his accession to the English throne.
In the end the Earl of Huntly is created a Marquis but looses much of his former power and glory due to the murder and his keeping with the Catholic faith. The 3rd Earl of Moray and son of the murdered James becomes Lieutenant of the North of Scotland and marries the Earl of Huntly's daughter, thus ending the feud for good.
I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to see a side of Scottish history that previously had been shadowed by Queen Mary's troubled life and King James accession to the English throne. It was nice to stay focused in Scotland for a change when most of the attention shifts to London's stage at this time in history.
Blood Feud is a must for the Scottish History enthusiasts.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Blood Feud: The Murrays & Gordons at War in the Age of Mary Queen of Scots
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