Brian MacGreggor

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Newly made Centurion: Warlord 2019
Information
Registered Name: [] Resides: Seawinds Status: Active Joined SCA:
Order of Precedence
Brian MacGregor
Heraldry
Sable, three trident heads argent. On a fess argent a stag couchant between two goblets sable. (Not Yet Registered)

Centurion Brian MacGreggor

Previously Known As:
Nickname(s):
Pronouns:

Persona History:

Brian MacGreggor was born anno domine 1330 in the land of the western highlands known as Argyll, and like all those born into the knightly class was fostered into a knightly household at the tender age of 7.

“A man’s first kingdom is the hearth of his father, though he is not meant to remain there forever.”

Sent north as a page to the coast of Inverness he joined the house of the local Knight of Inverness (who’s name we’ve lost to history) where he learned not only martial skills, but history, philosophy, and the agricultural arts. For a man who does not assist in the care of his own lands is no man at all. He would serve as a squire in the campaigns against the dispossessed in the 1350s.

“My first battle smelled not of glory, but of sweat, wet leather, and fear.”

Taking service in the retinue of Bertrand du Gesclin, he earned a knighthood for his valor at the defense of Rennes(1356). Leading a sortie to burn English siege works. Riding with Du Guesclin when he defeated Charles the Bad of Navarre at Cocherel (1364), helping secure Normandy for Charles V.

“The spurs were earned in a single day. Becoming worthy of wearing them has taken the rest of my life.”

When Sir Bertrand answered the call of Henry of Trastámara, Brian crossed the Pyrenees with the Free Companies into Castile. There he learned enough Castilian to bargain for provisions, speak with local men-at-arms, and serve as interpreter between Scottish companions and the local levies.

“Many men sought fame. Sir Bertrand sought victory. I chose to follow the wiser man.”

When the war in Brittany had at last begun to quiet, Sir Bertrand du Guesclin accepted the summons of Henry of Trastámara, claimant to the throne of Castile. In the winter of 1366, Sir Brian MacGreggor crossed the Pyrenees among the Free Companies that followed the Breton captain into Spain.

“Beyond the mountains lay another kingdom, another tongue, and another war. Men, however, proved much the same.”

The land was unlike any he had known. The green glens of Scotland and the hedgerows of France gave way to dry plains, vineyards, and mountains bleached beneath an unforgiving sun. Yet the campaign prospered. Town after town declared for Henry, and before long Peter of Castile fled his kingdom.

“We believed God had opened the road before us. We had yet to learn that He also tests those He favors.”

The triumph proved short-lived.

In the spring of 1367, Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, marched from Aquitaine at the head of an Anglo-Gascon host to restore Peter to his throne. The armies met near Nájera.

Sir Brian rode with the French contingent under Sir Bertrand. The day began beneath clear skies, but by midday the field was thick with dust and arrows. The English advance drove hard into the Trastámaran lines. During the fighting Sir Brian’s horse was brought down beneath him, and as he struggled to regain his feet an English mace struck him in the small of his back. Though his coat of plates and mail prevented the blow from breaking the skin, they could not wholly turn its force. The strike left him grievously bruised and injured in the spine.

“The English mace bent no plate that day, yet it changed the shape of every year that followed.”

Though wounded, he continued the fight on foot until overwhelmed. Seeing the quality of his harness and the spurs upon his heels, English men-at-arms took him alive rather than slay him where he stood.

He learned in captivity that Sir Bertrand himself had likewise been taken.

Sir Brian remained a prisoner for several months while word was carried to France and Scotland. His ransom, gathered through the aid of his household, companions, and those loyal to Sir Bertrand, purchased his liberty. Though his wound healed, his back never wholly recovered, so that he walked with a slight stiffness and could no longer ride or fight for long hours without pain.

“I discovered then that a knight’s greatest wealth is not his armor, but the friends willing to redeem him.”

When Sir Bertrand was released, the old companions assembled once more. In 1368 they crossed again into Castile, determined to finish the work begun two years before.

“The road back to Spain was harder than the road home, for this time I knew what awaited us.”

Though Sir Brian had recovered sufficiently to ride and had equipped himself with a new charger, the injury to his back remained. Long hours in the saddle left him stiff, yet it did little to diminish his judgment or authority. Having earned Sir Bertrand’s confidence through years of campaigning in Brittany and Spain, he was increasingly entrusted with the command of dismounted men-at-arms—the mailed infantry who formed the steadfast heart of the army in battle.

“Youth believes the horse wins battles. Experience teaches that steadfast men upon their feet decide kingdoms.”

At Montiel, Sir Brian relinquished neither horse nor knightly station from necessity, but by design. Before the armies met, he delivered his charger to a squire and took his place on foot at the head of his company. Armed with long sword, dagger, and poleax, he commanded a block of armored men whose task was to hold the line, protect the banners, and advance with measured discipline wherever Sir Bertrand directed.

“A captain rides to the field. He earns his name standing among his men.”

Those who measured a knight only by the charge of his horse understood little of war. Sir Brian had learned at Nájera that victory belonged not merely to the boldest rider, but to the captain who knew when to fight from the saddle—and when to stand fast upon the earth.

The campaign ended before the walls of Montiel in 1369.

There the army of Henry trapped King Peter. Sir Brian fought through the long struggle outside the town, helping force the royal host back behind its defenses. In the days that followed, word spread through the camp that Peter had been lured into Sir Bertrand’s tent to bargain for escape. Instead he met Henry face to face, and in the struggle that followed the king was slain.

“When kings fall, the bells ring. When soldiers fall, only God remembers every name.”

Interests:

Brian is interested in chivalric combat, poetry, cartography, and historical cooking.

Timeline of Activity:

Began participating in Ansteorra in 2013.

Prior Groups:

• Canton of Glaslyn.

Notable Contributions or Accomplishments:

• Glaslyn Defender of the Flame 2015.
  
• Competed in the 2015 Tournament of Champions.
  
• Co-Cartographer of the illuminated kingdom map in Royal ownership.
  

Affiliations:

• Husband to Yeva MacGreggor.
• Student to Master Airaklee Wolf.

Mundane Information:

Brian is a football coach and history teacher in mundane life.