I developed an interest in world history while
attending high school. Thirty years later
I became interested in genealogy. Since then I find both
disciplines inextricably linked.
I knew from an early age that my Kelly ancestors
came from Ireland, in part because my parents and grandmothers rarely
stopped talked about it.
I may have suspected that some ancestor came from
someplace other than Ireland, but I was told by Rutledge/Routledge
cousins 1998 that our original homeland was in England, North Cumbria
three miles south of the Anglo-Scot border where they were infamously
known for four hundred years as a Riding
Clan along with the Armstrongs.
It is a given that people of the UK came from
somewhere else. The earliest appearance of the name was a de Routledge
in the 1400s, which suggested but does not proove a Norman influence.
That started a quest to learn where they
lived before they came to England and possible the
ancient societies
they descended from.
That research pointed to several places in Europe
where history suggests they emigrated from, including that vast area between Denmark and France, including Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands
and now known as Normandy.
See
Site Map of Europe
Research in hard copy and floppy disks kept piling
up with little use for what I collected. Writing is very
difficult for me, but the instinct to write won out and these Fun Histories are the result.
To make stories interesting for children, I
took liberal editorial license. Facts upon which the "Fun
Histories" were based were gleaned over forty years from hundreds of sources.
© Fun
Histories 1998 - 2003
All rights reserved
Introduction
To The Celts They
came from Europe
The
Vikings
Masters Of The Seas
Scots-Irish
Heritage Meat
The Lawless Border Reivers
The Famous Reiver Curse:
The great Cursing in The
Scot's Language
The great Cursing in The
English Translation
Short
Fun Histories authored by Don Kelly
Copyright
protected 1997 - 2003
On Site Links
Battles
Of Scotland
Old Border
Maps
Other relevant maps
Reiver Families there
were about 77 riding clans.
