March-April 2022

History Scotland

The world's premier Scottish history magazine

History Scotland1 min read
From The Editor
With most of winter behind us, thoughts turn to the warmer months and the chance to get out and about to historic sites, archives and museums once again. And even though Covid-19 restrictions look as if they’ll be with us for a while yet, a flick thr
History Scotland2 min read
Meet The Contributors
Dr John R Barrett is a professional archivist, independent historical researcher and archaeologist, now pursuing these interests chiefly as a determined amateur. His publications include historical fiction for young readers; books and articles on arc
History Scotland2 min read
History Scotland
PATRONS David Breeze Christopher Smout Historiographer Royal Elizabeth Ewan University of Guelph Richard Oram University of Stirling Murray Pittock University of Glasgow Mr Derek Alexander Archaeologist, National Trust for Scotland Dr John Atkinson M
History Scotland1 min read
Where Mortal And Immortal Meet…
Glasgow Cathedral is one of Scotland’s top tourist attractions, and prior to the pandemic, the building was attracting over 400,000 visitors per year. The Friends is a non-denominational charity which aims to ‘improve the adornment and furnishings of
History Scotland1 min read
Saved For The Nation: Scottish Institutions Celebrate Appeal’s Success
The success means that the Blavatnik Honresfield Library (formerly Honresfield Library) – a treasure trove of items from the world’s most beloved writers, unseen by the public for almost a century – will no longer be sold at open auction and instead
History Scotland1 min read
National Museums Scotland Acquires Armorial Panels Associated With Marie De Guise
The four roundels are said to have come from a house in Blyth’s Close, in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, where Marie de Guise lived from around 1543 to 1554. One carries the combined coats of arms of James and Marie, later used by their daughter
History Scotland5 min read
Bridge Of Allan-on-sea
In early 2020, during one of the stricter periods of lockdown, a member of the public spotted a line of eroding shells 2m below the current ground surface in the banks of the Allan Water at Bridge of Allan, near Stirling. He contacted one of the auth
History Scotland2 min read
A Luxury Stay In Edinburgh And A Tour Of The Royal Yacht Britannia
Edinburgh’s iconic castle gives Scotland’s capital a dramatic central setting. Queen Margaret, later made a saint, died there in 1093. The chapel, built in her honour by her son David I, is Edinburgh’s oldest building. A short walk away is The Knight
History Scotland15 min read
Building Burghs: The Conquest And Civilisation Of Moray, C.1150 - C.1250
Following the death of the Moravian kings of Scots Macbeatha (in 1057) and his stepson Lulach (in 1058), Mael Coluim mac Donnchadh (Malcolm III) and his descendants sought to establish a European-style of kingship over the mongrel (British/Gaelic/Ang
History Scotland6 min read
Reintroducing The vikings Into Scotland’s Story
Over 1,000 years ago, on an island in the Clyde Firth, a child was doodling on a slate. The drawing was of a man with wild long hair and a sword, striding toward an oared vessel. He is leading another figure from a chain, a man with a comically large
History Scotland13 min read
The First Scottish Enlightenment: Part 1
What – and where – was the Scottish Enlightenment? For the past 50 years, scholars have located it in Edinburgh, in the elegant drawing rooms of the New Town, where Adam Smith and James Boswell held forth; in the book stalls of the Old Town, where on
History Scotland4 min read
New Research Reveals The Prehistoric Origins Of Scotland
An array of brochs, duns, crannogs and souterrains are found widely across Scotland but are not evident in northern England or further south. Surprisingly, that various types of Iron Age settlement do not breach the Anglo-Scottish border is something
History Scotland3 min read
…the Lords Of The Isles
In the middle of the 14th century, there emerged on the western seaboard one of the most significant political entities of the Scottish Middle Ages, and probably the most impressive institution ever produced by Gaelic Scotland: the lordship of the is
History Scotland2 min read
Diary Dates
Bank records in Scotland, 5 March This Zoom talk for Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society is by Sian Yates, archivist for the Museum on the Mound. Her presentation will centre on the banking records that exist for Lloyds Bank. £3/free ent
History Scotland13 min read
Legacies Of Transatlantic Slavery In Stirlingshire And Perthshire
Prior to the abolition of slavery throughout the British colonies in 1833, many Scots made their fortunes through the slave economy. Upon abolition, these individuals were compensated for their loss of ‘property’, adding, in some cases, to already va
History Scotland1 min read
In The Next Issue Of History SCOTLAND
Vol 22.2 May/June 2022 On sale: 9 April With a new scholarly edition imminent, we consider the making and legacy of Allan Ramsay’s greatest play, The Gentle Shepherd. We explore the little-known outbreak of plague that ravaged Scotland’s biggest city
History Scotland13 min read
Scottish Women and The Spanish Civil War
Much has been written about the Spanish Civil War and particularly about the international dimension. Part of the appeal and even romance of this period of history stems from the international brigades: ordinary people who travelled from around the w
History Scotland4 min read
Freedom An’ Whisky Gang Thegither! Take Aff Your Dram!
The term Uisge beatha or ‘the water of life’, is derived from the Latin aqua vitae. Over time, this Scottish Gaelic name for distilled alcohol was shortened to uisge and in English became known as ‘whisky’. Many hundreds of years ago, well before the
History Scotland5 min read
Stirling University Pandemic Oral History Project: ‘A Constructive Response To A Destructive Event’
Researchers at the University of Stirling have been working in recent months to create an oral history archive of staff and student interviews about life during the coronavirus pandemic. History lecturer Dr Stephen Bowman, Scottish Political Archive
History Scotland3 min read
THANK YOU William McGonagall
Hidden in Greyfriars kirkyard in Edinburgh stands a grave marker to a man known to many from different circles. There are the Harry Potter fans seeking a glimpse of his name; the historians tutting at the large groups of tourists destroying the grass
History Scotland7 min read
Jean Gordon And The 16th-century Saltmaking Industry Of Sutherland
Jean Gordon is best remembered in Scottish history for being the first wife of the notorious earl of Bothwell: Jean divorced her husband so that Bothwell could marry Mary Queen of Scots, a disastrous marriage that contributed greatly to Mary’s downfa
History Scotland1 min read
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On The Trail Of the Old-time Cadgers
Scrutinising a map of my local area of Fife recently, I noticed that a bridge on a minor road bore an unusual name – namely, the Cadgerford Bridge. I was interested, first of all, in the ‘ford’ part of the name which showed that this had been a cross
History Scotland2 min readSocial Science
Bastardy In Medieval Scotland
Illegitimacy in Medieval Scotland, 1100-1500 Susan Marshall Boydell & Brewer, 2021 264 pages Hardback, £50.00 ISBN: 9781783275885 This book is the first full-length exploration of bastardy in medieval Scotland from the 11th to the 15th centuries. Sus
History Scotland3 min read
The Road To The Isles
Old Ways New Roads: Travels in Scotland 1720-1832 Edited by John Bonehill, Anne Dulau Beveridge and Nigel Leask Birlinn, 2021 240 pages Paperback, £20.00 ISBN: 9781780276670 The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many people to change their holiday plans.
History Scotland4 min read
Sir Walter Scott In The Historic Environment Scotland Archives: His Story In Pictures
To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott, a variety of events and exhibitions took place throughout 2021. At Historic Environment Scotland (HES), we joined in the celebrations by searching our archives for the best images relati
History Scotland3 min read
The Concept Of Scottishness
Explore a selection of digital history guides in the History Scotland store: https://scot.sh/hsdownload Edited by Dr Martha McGill reviews@historyscotland.com Performing Scottishness: Enactment and Scottish Identities Ian Brown Palgrave MacMillan, 20
History Scotland1 min read
Recently Published
Empire and emancipation: Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic Fringe, 1780-1850 By S. Karly Kehoe Published by University of Toronto Press £56.50 ISBN: 9781487541071 Empire and Emancipation considers the British empire as a vehicle for the gr
History Scotland2 min read
Scottish Local History Forum
The Scottish Local History Forum (SLHF) is for individuals and organisations involved with local history, heritage and culture. Founded in 1983, it is the umbrella group for local history in Scotland. Members come from all parts of Scotland as well a
History Scotland1 min read
‘Unique And Quirky’ Redevelopment To Take Place At Glencoe Museum
Supported by first stage National Lottery funding, Glencoe folk museum is working with exhibition designers Mather and Co and Peter Drummond Architects on a comprehensive redevelopment project. Housed in traditional 18th-century heather-thatched cott
History Scotland2 min readInternet & Web
Awaiting The 1921 Census Release
Whilst we here in Scotland wait for the digital version of the Scottish 1921 census to be released later this year, what alternative sources can we make use of for this period? On the Scotlands People website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk we can find th
History Scotland3 min read
A Forgotten Translation
Elsewhere in this issue (page 20) I discuss the vibrant and distinctive culture of Scotland’s northeast - ‘Scotland beyond the mountains’. While the northeast has had a publication society specifically dedicated to its literary and historical legacy
History Scotland2 min read
Final Word
Congratulations on your appointment. As we look ahead to the library’s centenary, what is your vision for National Library of Scotland in 2025? The vision is the National Library’s vision for its hundredth year – certainly not just mine. We want to c

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