1 Scotland's greatest author discovered its crown jewels
During the early 19th century, Scotland and its history was looked upon through a distinctly romantic lens. And that was largely due to the genius of Walter Scott, whose poems and historical novels – among them The Lady of the Lake (1810) and Waverley (1814) – placed Scottish history on centre stage.
Scott's connection to the image of Scotland and its history was such that, in early 1818, the Prince Regent (the future George IV) charged him with recovering the Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish crown jewels. When Oliver Cromwell had been targeting royalist supporters in Scotland during the interregnum,
