A vivid, wide-ranging, and engrossing account of Scotland's history, composed of timeless stories by those who experienced it first-hand. Contributors range from Tacitus, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Oliver Cromwell to Adam Smith, David Livingstone, and Billy Connolly. These include not only historic moments-from Bannockburn to the opening of the new Parliament in 1999-but also testimonies like that of the eight-year-old factory worker who was dangled...

Before the Rebellion of Prince Charles in 1745, each Highland clan owned its own land. No one else, including the Government in Edinburgh, had the power to deprive them of it. (Travellers saw that in the mountains every crag was a new fortress for men defending their own country.) But, the Highland Jacobite rebels having been defeated at Culloden and scattered, and the Lowland Government in Edinburgh now being much stronger since the Union with England...

There are millions of people whose ancestors originated in the Scottish Highlands, but few reliable guides about the daily lives of the people of this region, their vibrant culture, and their storied history during the era of the clan system. This book by award-winning scholar Dr. Michael Newton provides keys that unlock the mysteries of Scottish Highland heritage, answering such basic questions as: How did the division between the Highlands and Lowlands...

In viewing Galloway from the wider context of the northern British mainland, Irish Sea and wider Hebridean zone, it has been possible to explore the dynamics of state-building, dynastic interactions, and the close inter-relationships of the territories connected by the western seaways, which most traditional 'national' histories obscure. From this wider perspective, the development of the lordship of Galloway can be considered in the context of the...

Following the mysterious death of 'Glorious' Alexander III, Scotland became a land of great uncertainty and unrest, where once before it had prospered under the firm and benevolent leadership of the King. Factions now begin squabbling over the next heir to the throne; soon there are outbreaks of violence across the land. Lord Robert de Brix, the former Lord Chief Justice to the Royal Law Courts of England, formed a cabal of nobles in Turnberry Castle,...

This study explores the history of the western seaboard of Scotland (the Hebrides, Argyll and the Isle of Man) in a formative but often neglected era: the central middle ages, from the mightly Somerled to his descendant John MacDonald, the first Lord of the Isles (c. 1336). Drawing on a variety of sources, this very readable narrative deals with three major and closely interrelated themes: first, the existence of the Isles and coastal mainland...

Civil unrest between the warring nobles and claimant rivals, lords John Baliol and Robert De Brix in the southwest of Scotland, once more threatens the entire peace of the realm. During this period, William Wallace is tasked as a young Hunter Scout Ceannard, (Commander) of the Wolf and Wildcat Gallóglaigh, to patrol the Northwest boundaries of Galloway and Carrick and report to the Guardian army council if Irish levies under the command of Sir Richard...

This book traces the Clann Meic-bethad or Clan MacBeth whose members practised medicine in the classic Gaelic tradition in various parts of Scotland from the early fourteenth to the early eighteenth century. From many medieval Gaelic manuscripts known to have been in their possession, individual members of the clan and their activities are identified. Sometime in the second half of the sixteenth century the kindred began to adopt Beaton as a surname...

Ever since they first set foot in the new world alongside the Viking explorers, the Scots have left their mark. In this entertaining and informative book, historian Michael Fry shows how Americans of Scottish heritage helped shape this country, from its founding days to the present. They were courageous pioneers, history-changing revolutionaries, great Presidents, doughty fighters, inspiring writers, learned teachers, intrepid explorers, daring frontiersmen,...

The Glasgow Enlightenment is widely regarded as the first book to explore the nature and accomplishments of the Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Glasgow in a comprehensive manner. In addition to a general introduction by the editors, there are seven chapters devoted to Glasgow University professors, such as Adam Smith, Francis Hutcheson, Thomas Reid, John Millar, William Leechman, and John Anderson. At a time when the Glasgow economy was booming...