The Companion to the Fiery Cross, a Breath of Snow and Ashes, an Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood

by Diana Gabaldon

  Margrave, Mr. Justice—A magistrate and member of Lord John’s favorite club, the Beefsteak, and a good friend of Lord John’s family; he is highly opinionated on the subject of sodomy, declaring that castration should be practiced on those found to practice it. [HF]

  Mariah—One of Jocasta Cameron’s house slaves, she brings a drink to Betty, the slave who later dies of eating ground glass. [Fiery Cross]

  Marilyn—A friend of Mrs. Abernathy, Uncle Joe’s wife. [MOBY]

  Markham, Edward, Lieutenant; Marquis of Clarewell—Known as Chinless Ned, or the Ponce, he offers William a suck of his sour pickle as a cure for seasickness upon the water landing on Long Island. [Echo]

  Marks—Lord John’s current valet, adequate but not the same high caliber as Tom Byrd. [MOBY]

  Marquis of Banbury—An English nobleman, fierce Catholic, and Jacobite, known by Arthur and George Longstreet to belong to the plot to assassinate King George and install the Catholic James Stuart as King of England. [BL]

  Marquise of Pelham—A noblewoman in London who is apparently involved with Thomas Lally—deeply enough to keep him from starving, anyway. [SP]

  Marsden, Bill; Jonah (aka John Smith)—An earring-decorated deserter from the Royal Navy, he earns the name “Jonah” from crewmates on board the Tranquil Teal for his skills in surviving so many naval sinkings. [Echo]

  Marsden, Captain—A half-pay army captain, known to be a good swordsman. After being disarmed in a duel and honorably yielding the victory, he is cruelly blinded and permanently disfigured by the dishonorable Stephen Bonnet. [Fiery Cross]

  Martha—The dead wife of the only man to actually rape Claire during her abduction, she was loved by her husband, who weeps and calls her name when he is finished with Claire. [Ashes, MOBY]

  x Martin, Abraham—(1589–1684) The fisherman and river pilot who owned a plot of grazing land atop the cliffs near the fortress of Quebec on the St. Lawrence River; these heights were later named for Abraham, because this is where the French forces holding Quebec City were defeated by the British army during the Seven Years’ War. [CA]

  Martin, Colonel—An officer with the Vermont militia who plays cards with Jamie after the battles of Saratoga. He later witnesses Ian murder the soup-spitter, Mr. X; after almost shooting Ian during the chase to capture him, Martin wounds Rollo instead but is prevented from finishing off the big dog when Rachel prostrates herself across Rollo’s body. [Echo]

  x Martin, Elizabeth; Betsy—(unknown) The governor’s wife and cousin; Claire is released from the New Bern jail to care for the very pregnant woman, who has a history of childbearing problems. The governor later uses Claire as a decoy, in order to get his wife out of an increasingly dangerous New Bern and to her family in New York. [Ashes]

  x Martin, Josiah, Governor—(1737–1786) The last colonial governor of North Carolina, who holds Claire prisoner on his ship, the Cruizer, after Claire’s arrest for Malva Christie’s murder. [Fiery Cross, Ashes, Echo]

  Martin, Miss—The young and rather plain companion of elderly Miss Bledsoe at Jocasta Cameron’s wedding. Miss Martin very much enjoys watching Roger sing with the Irish musicians at the reception. [Fiery Cross]

  Martin, Mrs.—One of the attendees at the Gathering, who has apparently helped Claire with her clinic patients. [Fiery Cross]

  Martin, Sam—One of Governor Martin’s children, he died of a fever in the Governor’s Palace at age eight. [Ashes]

  Martine—A servant employed in the house of the widow Lambert, she is sent to bring more beer for Carruthers and Lord John. [CA]

  Masonby, Doctor—A nerve doctor residing on Smedley Street, whom Trevelyan insultingly recommends to Lord John when John confronts Trevelyan about his syphilitic condition. [PM]

  Master Raymond; Maître Raymond—Also called Maître Grenouille, or “the Frog.” A small, mysterious apothecary whose facial features resemble those of a frog, he seems to know a great deal regarding secret matters, both political and occult. [SB]

  Matilda—The laundress at River Run, Jocasta Cameron Innes’s plantation, to whom Jem takes a paint-stained shirt. [Ashes]

  Maxim Le Grand—Son of el Maximo, also a dwarf, he has taken over his late father’s business; he is mistaken for his father by the Comte St. Germain, who has not been in Paris for many years. [SB]

  Maximilian the Great; Maximiliano el Maximo—A deceased Spanish dwarf and bar owner in Paris, known to the Comte St. Germain during earlier times. [SB]

  Maxwell, Viscount—A noble whom William mentions in a letter to Lord John, as he attempts to convince John to assist his own suit for Dottie’s hand. [Echo]

  Maybelle—One of the prostitutes in Nessie’s London establishment. [Echo]

  Mayrhofer, Maria—Reinhardt Mayrhofer’s wife. After being infected with syphilis by her philandering husband, she bears a child deformed from the ravages of the disease; the baby is quickly smothered by her husband. She falls in love with Joseph Trevelyan, unwittingly infects him with the disease, and, at his urging, attempts a cure by deliberately infecting herself with malaria; the high fever of malaria was thought to “burn out” the syphilitic infection. (Author’s Note: There is some modern evidence that this actually works. We will hope that it did for Maria and Joseph.) [PM]

  Mayrhofer, Reinhardt—A cousin and heir to the wealthy Austrian Hungerbach family, progenitors of the lovely red wine known as Schilcher. Riddled with syphilis, he infects his pregnant wife, Maria, then murders their child when it is born deformed by the ravages of the disease. [PM]

  McAfee, Rab—Father of one of the young boys on Fraser’s Ridge who try to disrupt Roger’s first sermon by setting loose a snake among the parishioners. [Ashes]

  McAllister, Donald—The man Buck’s wife, Morag, was really in love with and who loved her in return. [MOBY]

  McAllister, Georgiana—Mother of twins delivered at the Gathering. After her older daughter finds a watch chain belonging to Presbyterian minister Reverend Caldwell in Jemmy’s diaper, Georgiana and her husband relate to Claire their opinions and the merits of several noted Presbyterian ministers present at the Gathering. [Fiery Cross]

  McAllister, Mr.—Georgiana McAllister’s husband, who, along with his wife and Claire, discuss the merits of several noted Presbyterian ministers who have spoken at the Gathering. [Fiery Cross]

  McCallum, Orem—The late husband of Amy McCallum Higgins, father to Aidan and Orrie. After building the cabin on Fraser’s Ridge for his family, he took a misstep and fell into the rock-filled ravine, breaking his neck and leaving his young family alone. [Ashes]

  McCann, Geordie, Auld and Young—Auld Geordie is the twenty-five-year-old man that Laoghaire wishes her daughter Joan to marry; Young Geordie is the three-year-old nephew of Auld Geordie. Joan does not want to wed either of them. [Echo]

  x McCartny, Rev. James—(unknown) Presbyterian minister hired as a chaplain to Governor Tryon’s forces; he performs a sermon the evening before Alamance on the topic chosen to encourage Tryon’s troops: “If you have no sword, sell your garment and buy one.” [Fiery Cross]

  McCarty, Craig—One of Brianna’s co-workers at the hydroelectric dam, and the one who borrows her keys and removes the one to the electrical panel during a trick played on her first day on the job. [Echo]

  McCaskill, Angus—The local proprietor of the largest ordinary in Wilmington and an expressive orator of poetry—both tragic and comic—at the social evenings held by Mrs. Dunning. [Fiery Cross]

  McCorkle, Captain—One of the captains under Jamie’s command at Monmouth. [MOBY]

  x McCorkle, Reverend Doctor—(1746–1811) Presbyterian minister and educator, he was ordained as minister in Rowan County in 1777, at the same ordination that Roger attended prior to leaving to rescue Brianna. [Ashes]

  McCrea, William—A Scotsman from Balgownie, who fought with Arch Bug at the bloody Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715; he lost part of his jaw and nose to an English pikesman, yet lived. [Ashes]

  McCreary, Mr.—A man from the town of Brownsv
ille who told Tom Christie of the fire on Fraser’s Ridge, in which all of the Frasers perished. [Echo]

  McEwan, Hector, Dr.—Time-traveling doctor from the year 1841. Roger and Buck encounter him when Buck collapses during the search for Jem and is taken in by the MacLaren family, who summon Dr. McEwan. Roger is startled to observe a faint blue light playing about McEwan’s hands while he heals Buck, and he’s even more shocked to hear the doctor say softly (and delightedly) to Buck, “Cognosco te”—I know you. Boldly approaching the doctor afterward, Roger says the same to him and hears McEwan’s own tale. Later, when Roger and Buck visit Geillis Duncan—Buck’s real mother—they meet the doctor again and discover that he is Geillis’s lover. [MOBY]

  McGillis, Dr.—A doctor with the Colonial army. [MOBY]

  McGillivray, Hilda—A daughter of Ute and Robin McGillivray. She and her sisters are used as pawns in arranged marriages by their domineering mother, in an attempt to bring land and prosperity to the McGillivray family. [Fiery Cross, Ashes]

  McGillivray, Inga—A daughter of Ute and Robin McGillivray. She and her sisters are used as pawns in arranged marriages by their domineering mother, in an attempt to bring land and prosperity to the McGillivray family. [Fiery Cross, Ashes]

  McGillivray, Manfred—Ute and Robin McGillivray’s son, who narrowly escapes arrest by the thief-taker Harley Boble. After a successful matchmaking by his mother, he becomes engaged to Lizzie Weymss, but then is infected with syphilis through an encounter with a Wilmington prostitute. In his shame, he breaks off the engagement to Lizzie; before Claire can explain to him that she can cure him with penicillin, he disappears. [Fiery Cross, Ashes]

  McGillivray, Robin; Robbie—A talented gunsmith and ex-prisoner from Ardsmuir, he and his family move to Fraser’s Ridge at the offer of a permanent home on Jamie’s land. [Fiery Cross, Ashes]

  McGillivray, Senga—Another daughter of Ute and Robin McGillivray. Her domineering mother attempts to contract a marriage for her that will bring land and prosperity to the McGillivray family, but Senga (“Agnes” spelled backward) is also possessed of strong opinions and a lack of inhibition in expressing them, traits she inherited from her mother. [Fiery Cross, Ashes]

  McGillivray, Ute—Robin McGillivray’s German wife; a domineering known matchmaker who is fiercely protective of her family. [Fiery Cross, Ashes]

  McIver, Nelson—A settler on Fraser’s Ridge involved in a conflict with another settler, Alex MacNeill. [Fiery Cross]

  McLanahan, Mrs.—Proprietor of the King’s Inn in Cross Creek. [Ashes]

  McLaughlin, Joey—A resident of Fraser’s Ridge who, young Aidan claims, has seen the ghost of Malva Christie. Roger states that McLaughlin was most likely drunk and probably saw Ian’s dog, Rollo, instead. [Ashes]

  x McLean, Alexander—(ca. 1735–1785) Captain in the British army and aide to General Donald MacDonald, assigned to recruit Loyalists prior to the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge. Although he submitted a long list of names to his commanders, many of the Highlanders and Scots-Irish failed to join him, preferring instead to side with the Patriots. [Ashes]

  McLehose, Sergeant—A British army soldier at the garrison commanded by Jack Randall. At dice, he wins a strange ornament bearing the name J. W. MacKenzie. Captain Randall, recognizing the name as being similar to that of Roger’s lost son, sends the ornament to Brian Fraser, who then gives it to Roger—who recognizes it as Jerry MacKenzie’s RAF dog tags. [MOBY]

  x McLeod, Colonel Donald—(ca. 1720–1776) One of the leaders of the Scottish Highlander division of British Loyalists mustered to fight the Patriots at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge. McLeod died by Patriot gunfire during the last Highland charge. [Ashes]

  McLeod, Rabbie—One of Jem’s close friends on Fraser’s Ridge, he becomes infested with head lice. These promptly migrate to young Jemmy’s head, causing Jem’s head to be shorn—revealing an important birthmark. [Ashes]

  McLeod, Rufe—Rabbie’s uncle. Jem claims that Rufe was also infested with head lice, indicating that all the men in the McLeod household were to be shaved bald by Rabbie’s mother. [Ashes]

  McManus, Jonathan—A resident of Boone, whose name appears on a list General Donald MacDonald gives to Governor Martin as someone able to supply possibly three supporters to the British cause. Claire, who removed a gangerous toe from McManus, knows him as a drunkard and a thief, with the only likely pledges he could bring being other family members—also poor recruits. [Ashes]

  McMillan, Jay, Reverend—The Presbyterian minister in Edenton who hosts Roger and several other colleagues prior to Roger’s ordination. [Ashes]

  McMillan, Mrs. Reverend—Wife of Reverend Jay McMillan and mother of three daughters, all with a penchant for cleaning. [Ashes]

  McTaggart, Tom; Taggie—Brian Fraser’s hired hand at Lallybroch in 1739. [MOBY]

  Meadows—A soldier in Hector’s regiment; a Scotsman ambushs him with a rock to the head, but Hector kills the Scotsman. [PM]

  Meleager, Thomas—Head of a Pennsylvania militia company at the Battle of Monmouth. [MOBY]

  Mélisande—“Madame Mélisande Robicheaux” was Geillis Duncan’s alias while living in Paris following her escape from Cranesmuir and the witch trial. [SB]

  Menzies—Family name of a group of Scottish settlers who are also at the Gathering and whose leader proclaims them in attendance at the bonfire on the final night. [Fiery Cross]

  Menzies, Lionel—The kind headmaster at Jem’s school, who is forced to punish Jem for swearing at his teacher after she assaults him for speaking Gaelic. He is understanding, though, and encourages Roger to hold classes in Gaelic for students and their families so the “old ways” aren’t lost. He is also a Freemason (who attends lodge with Roger) and a cousin of Rob Cameron (who belongs to the same lodge). When Cameron launches his attack on the MacKenzies, Menzies comes to Brianna’s aid, rescuing her and the children. Brianna, in desperation, confides in him. Despite his skepticism, he helps her to reach the stone circle, and at the last moment he supplies the necessary gemstones (from his Masonic ring) for the children to make it safely through. [Echo, MOBY]

  Merbling, Captain Randolph—Young British officer who shares a tent with William before the Battle of Monmouth. [MOBY]

  Mercer, Captain—The other young British officer who shares a tent with William prior to the Battle of Monmouth. [MOBY]

  Merilee—One of Governor Martin’s kitchen slaves at the Governor’s Palace in New Bern. [Ashes]

  Meyer—The name Sergeant O’Connell gives at the Lavender House when trying to sell off the stolen reports; unfortunately, the name is not known to anyone at the molly-house. [PM]

  Mickelgrass, Harvey—A justice of the peace in Hillsborough, he refuses to take custody of Claire Fraser, the accused murderess, from Richard Brown and his gang or to try any other cases, due to the hostile political sentiments of the times. [Ashes]

  Millard—The cousin of one of the men wounded at Alamance, under Claire’s care in the hospital tent. [Fiery Cross]

  Miller, Abigail—The young, pretty wife of an officer in the Continental army, who flirts with Ian, much to the consternation of her much older husband. [Echo]

  Miller, Colonel—Abigail Miller’s jealous husband, who is nearly twenty years older than his comely wife; while walking with Jamie, he catches his wife attempting to seduce Ian. [Echo]

  Millikin, Patrick, Sergeant—An Irishman in William’s regiment who, at William’s request, inspires the regiment on the night march through Long Island with some bawdy songs to keep the men awake. [Echo]

  Milly and Blossom—Brianna’s milk cows at Lallybroch. [Echo]

  Mirabeau—A temperamental cow inhabiting the stables at le Couvent des Anges. A swift-thinking Joan gets the cow to cooperate for an uneventful milking—before they are disturbed by the Comte St. Germain. [SB]

  Mirabel—A nanny goat belonging to Marsali and Fergus. Germain is sent to milk her, shortly before a band of brigands and thieves arrives at the malting shed. [Ashes]


  Miranda—The mild-mannered, wide-backed bay mare William purchases before heading toward Middlebrook Encampment. [MOBY]

  Mitchell, Betty—Lady’s maid to Geneva Dunsany prior to her death, Betty took the same position with Geneva’s sister, Isobel. Possibly a close confidante of Geneva, she may know the true paternity of William—making her a danger to Jamie. [SP]

  Molly—Irish-born whore in Savannah who’s interested in obtaining pox cures from Claire prior to the British occupation. [MOBY]

  Molly—Governor Martin’s cook at the Governor’s Palace in New Bern. [Ashes]

  x Monckton, Brigadier—(1726–1782) General James Wolfe’s second in command during the Battle of Quebec; Robert Monckton later became governor of New York. [CA]

  Monsieur Brechin—A passenger on the boat to France who notices and comments on Joan’s shapely figure as being wasted on a nun. [SB]

  Monsieur de Ruvel—A courtier at the court of French king Louis XV and acquaintance—possibly an intimate one—of Madame de la Tourelle. [Fiery Cross]

  Monsieur/Mademoiselle L’Oeuf—“Mr./Miss Egg,” the French name Fergus and Marsali give to her swollen belly during her pregnancies. [Ashes]

  x Montcalm, General Louis-Joseph—(1712–1759) Leader of the French forces in North America during the Seven Years’ War (aka the French and Indian Wars). He was killed during the Battle of Quebec, also known as the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. [CA]

  Moore, Captain—Based on real-life Captain John Montresor (1736–1799), the British officer who allowed Nathan Hale the use of his tent to write letters to his family before his execution; Montresor/Moore was also present at the execution and may have heard Hale’s final and famous speech moments before his death. [Echo]

  x Moore, Colonel—(1737–1777) James Moore served as a captain in the militia under Governor Tryon during the Battle of Alamance; after his strong opposition of the Stamp Act, he became a Son of Liberty and directed the Patriots’ victorious campaign at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge. Jamie and Claire meet him at River Run, during a political altercation at Flora MacDonald’s barbecue. [Ashes]