Black Roderick was the head of the glorious MacNeil family from the Isle of Barra and the winner of many knightly tournaments. It could even be considered the first sword of Scotland, if not for another glorious warrior - Rob Roy McGregor.
When the news first reached Black Roderick that there were people in Scotland who considered Rob Roy the best of the best warriors, he exclaimed:
- I will challenge this McGregor to a fight! Then let's see which of us is better with a sword. Just tell me: where can I find it?
One of Black Roderick's squires told him that Rob Roy lived near Loch Lomond. And on the same day Black Roderick left the Hebrides and went south with his knights.
Arriving in Loch Lomond, he asked the first person he met where he could find Rob Roy, and received the answer: at the fair in Killarney.
- To Killarney! - Black Roderick shouted, spurring his horse.
Before reaching Killarney, they met a group of horsemen. Black Roderick reined in his horse and addressed them:
- Greetings, glorious knights! Tell me, are you by chance coming from the Killarney fair?
- You guessed it! - answered one of the knights. — This year the fair was a great success. Am I right, friends? - he turned to his companions, and they unanimously noisily agreed with him. - I advise you to go there too!
—Did you see a knight there named Rob Roy McGregor? - asked Black Roderick.
“He was there,” answered the same knight, smiling.
- Was? So, now he is no longer there? - Black Roderick said angrily and disappointedly.
The knight's friends laughed.
“He’s not there now,” said the knight, still smiling. - Now he is here, in front of you. - I'm Rob Roy McGregor. How can I serve you?
- I am the ruler of Barra! - said Black Roderick. “I was told that you consider yourself a more skilled sword fighter than me.” And I came here to prove in a fair fight that this is not so!
“But I didn’t quarrel with you, why should we fight?” said Rob Roy.
- Whether you quarreled or not, I still challenge you to a fight! - said Black Roderick, getting off his horse.
“I don’t like to fight without a serious reason,” said Rob Roy, but also dismounted from his horse. “But I accept your challenge, and you will still curse the day you challenged me.”
There was only one case when Rob Roy refused to accept a challenge to a duel. This happened when he was challenged to a fight by Donald Bane. Rob Roy refused to fight him because Donald Bane was not of noble birth.
And so they cleared the place for the duel, and the two knights clashed with swords. Rob Roy had very long and strong arms, so it was easy for him to keep his opponent at a distance from him. No one had ever managed to even touch him with a sword. Not even a few minutes had passed before Black Roderick realized that he was far from Rob Roy in the art of sword fighting.
And he also realized that it would be better for him to stay at home in the Hebrides.
Rob Roy took the broadsword with both hands and struck Black Roderick with all his might on the hand in which he held the sword.
- I give up! - The ruler of Barra said with difficulty. - I give up...
Rob Roy sheathed his sword and signaled to Black Roderick's men to help their master mount his horse.
“I hope this will discourage you from getting into a fight with someone who does not wish you harm,” Rob Roy said to his defeated opponent.
And he rode away with his knights.
But Black Roderick and his companions could not go far: they had to stay for several months in the village of Killarney until his wounds healed. And he never again disturbed the glorious Rob Roy.
However, he had such a temper that he couldn’t wait to fight with someone. And, returning to his island, he did not calm down until he found someone to take out his evil on.
Among Black Roderick's warriors there was one fearless young horseman, the son of a widow. Because he was young, handsome and brave, Black Roderick disliked him and conceived an insidious plan to destroy the young man.
- We're going to Shetland! - he once announced to his soldiers. - To demand tribute from the ruler of the Shetland Islands.
An eight-oared galley was equipped, and Black Roderick sailed with his warriors to the Shetland Islands.
Without any obstacles along the way and without any resistance, they landed in Shetland. The Shetland lord himself came down to the shore to greet the head of the MacNeil family.
-Have you come in peace? he asked McNeil.
- No! - Black Roderick answered. “We have come for tribute and demand money, horses and cattle from you!”
“You won’t see any tribute until you defeat me in battle!” - cried the Shetland lord. - I challenge you to a duel!
Black Roderick, of course, agreed: this is why he came to the Shetland Islands. And before the start of the duel, he called the widow’s son aside and said to him:
- When you see that I have taken a step back from the enemy, know: I am losing strength. When I look back at you for the first time, it means I'm losing the battle. When I look back a second time, it means that my strength has completely left me and you must take my place. And if you win, we will share all the spoils with you. Agree?
The young warrior had no choice but to obey his master.
And so the head of the MacNeil family and the Shetland ruler began a duel. They circled along the shore, uttering war cries and rattling their broadswords. At first it seemed that Black Roderick was coming. But then he took a step back, and the ruler of Shetland attacked him with triple force. Black Roderick looked back at the widow's son, but then the enemy pressed him to the rocks. And Black Roderick looked back at the widow's son a second time, and he rushed into battle in his master's place.
Black Roderick hoped that the Shetland ruler would quickly deal with the young man, and during this time he would have time to rest and then continue the fight with renewed vigor. This is how he expected to get rid of two enemies he hated at once.
However, the widow's son turned out to be an excellent warrior, and it soon became clear that the Shetland ruler was inferior to him.
And then Black Roderick, as if forgetting about his secret plans, shouted:
- Kill him, kill him! He deserved to die!
And at the same instant, the head of the ruler of the Shetland Islands fell onto the sandy shore. Only then did the widow’s son suddenly come to his senses. He became disgusted with the act he committed in the heat of battle. He did not at all want to kill his noble opponent: he only intended to wound him in a fair fight.
In anger he turned to his master.
- Oh low MacNeil! - he exclaimed. - Look what you made me do! It's your fault that I killed an innocent man. Get out of here, or you have my word, I will kill you! Now I am a Shetland lord, and you will not get from my islands a penny, a blade of grass, or the thinnest sheep!
Black Roderick turned to his soldiers for help, but they also abandoned him. And he had no choice but to run to his galley. This is how he disgraced the glorious name of the MacNeils.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru