A History Book for Scots

A History Book for Scots PDF Author: Walter Bower
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 1788853261
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
Riveting selections from a 15-century account of Scottish history, one of Scotland’s national treasures. Writing on a small island in the Firth of Forth in the 1440s, Walter Bower set out to tell the whole story of the Scottish nation in a single huge book, the Scotichronicon— “a history book for Scots.” It begins with the mythical voyage of Scota, the Pharaoh’s daughter, from Egypt with the Stone of Destiny. The land that her sons discovered in the Western Ocean was named after her: Scotland. It then describes the turbulent events that followed, among them the wars of the Scots and the Picts (begun by a quarrel over a dog); the poisoning of King Fergus by his wife; Macbeth’s usurpation and uneasy reign; the good deeds of Margaret, queen and saint; Bruce’s murder of the Red Comyn; the founding of Scotland’s first university at St. Andrews; the “Burnt Candlemas;” and the endless troubles between Scotland and England. Weaving in and out of the events of Bower’s factual history are other subjects that fascinated him: harrowing visions of hell and purgatory, extraordinary miracles; the exploits of knights and beggars, merchants and monks; the ravages of flood and fire; the terrors of the plague; and the answers to such puzzling questions as what makes a good king, and why Englishmen have tails. This monumental work, in which the original Latin text appears side by side with a translation in modern English, was completed in 1998. It includes an introduction and notes that guide the reader through the complexities of Bower’s history and its background.

A History Book for Scots

A History Book for Scots PDF Author: Walter Bower
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 1788853261
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 431

Get Book

Book Description
Riveting selections from a 15-century account of Scottish history, one of Scotland’s national treasures. Writing on a small island in the Firth of Forth in the 1440s, Walter Bower set out to tell the whole story of the Scottish nation in a single huge book, the Scotichronicon— “a history book for Scots.” It begins with the mythical voyage of Scota, the Pharaoh’s daughter, from Egypt with the Stone of Destiny. The land that her sons discovered in the Western Ocean was named after her: Scotland. It then describes the turbulent events that followed, among them the wars of the Scots and the Picts (begun by a quarrel over a dog); the poisoning of King Fergus by his wife; Macbeth’s usurpation and uneasy reign; the good deeds of Margaret, queen and saint; Bruce’s murder of the Red Comyn; the founding of Scotland’s first university at St. Andrews; the “Burnt Candlemas;” and the endless troubles between Scotland and England. Weaving in and out of the events of Bower’s factual history are other subjects that fascinated him: harrowing visions of hell and purgatory, extraordinary miracles; the exploits of knights and beggars, merchants and monks; the ravages of flood and fire; the terrors of the plague; and the answers to such puzzling questions as what makes a good king, and why Englishmen have tails. This monumental work, in which the original Latin text appears side by side with a translation in modern English, was completed in 1998. It includes an introduction and notes that guide the reader through the complexities of Bower’s history and its background.

A History Book for Scots

A History Book for Scots PDF Author: Walter Bower
Publisher: Birlinn Publishers
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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Book Description
Writing on a small island in the Firth of Forth in the 1440s, Walter Bower set out to tell the whole story of the Scottish nation in a single huge book, the Scotichronicon—'a history book for Scots'. It begins with the mythical voyage of Scota, the Pharaoh's daughter, from Egypt with the Stone of Destiny. The land that her sons discovered in the Western Ocean was named after her: Scotland. It goes on to describe the turbulent events that followed, among them the wars of the Scots and the Picts (begun by a quarrel over a dog); the poisoning of King Fergus by his wife; Macbeth's usurpation and uneasy reign; the good deeds of Margaret, queen and saint; Bruce's murder of the Red Comyn; the founding of Scotland's first university at St Andrews; the 'Burnt Candlemas'; and the endless troubles between Scotland and England. Weaving in and out of the events of Bower's factual history, like a wonderful pageant, are other subjects that fascinated him: harrowing visions of hell and purgatory, extraordinary miracles; the exploits of knights and beggars, merchants and monks; the ravages of flood and fire; the terrors of the plague; and the answers to such puzzling questions as what makes a good king, and why Englishmen have tails. In 1998 Donald Watt and his team of scholars completed the first modern edition and translation of Scotichronicon in nine volumes. It has been described as 'a massive achievement for Scottish cultural history' (Sally Mapstone) and 'an open invitation to join a voyage of discovery' (Books in Scotland). This selection from the whole of Scotichronicon puts Bower's epic of Scotland into the hands of the general reader. It is a marvellous and unforgettable story. Perhaps its importance is best summed up by Bower himself, who wrote at the end of it: Non Scotus est Christe cui liber non placet iste—Christ! He is not a Scot who is not pleased with this book! A History Book for Scots is selected from the complete edition of Scotichronicon by Walther Bower, edited by D.E.R. Watt and a team of scholars, in nine volumes.

John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation

John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation PDF Author: John of Fordun
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Scotland
Languages : en
Pages : 554

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The Black Douglases

The Black Douglases PDF Author: Michael Brown
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788854365
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
During the century and a half of their power the Black Douglases earned fame as Scotland's champions in the front line of war against England. On their shields they bore the bloody heart of Robert Bruce, the symbol of their claim to be the physical protectors of the hero-king's legacy. But others saw the power of these lords and earls of Douglas in a different light. To their critics the Douglases were a force for disorder in the kingdom, lawless, arrogant and violent, whose power rested on coercion and whose defiance of kings and guardians ultimately provoked James II into slaying the Douglas earl with his own hand. Michael Brown analyses the rise and fall of this family as the dominant magnates of the south, from the deeds of the Good Sir James Douglas in the service of Bruce to the violent destruction of the Douglas earls in the 1450s. Alongside this study of the accumulation and loss of power by one of the great noble houses, The Black Douglases includes a series of thematic examinations of the nature of aristocratic power. In particular these emphasise the link between warfare and political power in southern Scotland during the fourteenth century. For the Black Douglases, war was not just a patriotic duty but the means to power and fame in Scotland and across Europe.

James I

James I PDF Author: Michael Brown
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788853644
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
Conditioned by a childhood surrounded by the rivalries of the Stewart family, and by eighteen years of enforced exile in England, James I was to prove a king very different from his elderly and conservative forerunners. This major study draws on a wide range of sources, assessing James I's impact on his kingdom. Michael Brown examines James's creation of a new, prestigious monarchy based on a series of bloody victories over his rivals and symbolised by lavish spending at court. He concludes that, despite the apparent power and glamour, James I's 'golden age' had shallow roots; after a life of drastically swinging fortunes, James I was to meet his end in a violent coup, a victim of his own methods. But whether as lawgiver, tyrant or martyr, James I has cast a long shadow over the history of Scotland.

Journal and Appendix to Scotichronicon and Monasticon

Journal and Appendix to Scotichronicon and Monasticon PDF Author: James Frederick Skinner Gordon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Clergy
Languages : en
Pages : 708

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Johannis de Fordun Chronica Gentis Scotorum, Ed. by W.F. Skene

Johannis de Fordun Chronica Gentis Scotorum, Ed. by W.F. Skene PDF Author: John Fordun
Publisher: Franklin Classics Trade Press
ISBN: 9780353551541
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Scota, Egyptian Queen of the Scots

Scota, Egyptian Queen of the Scots PDF Author: Ralph Ellis
Publisher: Edfu Books
ISBN: 1905815255
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
===epub format=== . The legends of Ireland and Scotland tell a fantastic tale of an Egyptian queen and her Greek husband, who were exiled from Egypt to Ireland at some point during the second millennium BC. It is said that it was from this Queen Scota and King Gaythelos that the modern titles for the Scottish and Gaelic people were derived. But what are we to make of this ancient story “ is it based more upon fact or fiction? Historians have, as one might expect, taken the story to be complete fiction; but Ralph Ellis has taken a lateral look at this mythology, and found many links and associations that lead to one inescapable conclusion “ that the extraordinary tale of Queen Scota and King Gaythelos is probably true. ... See also, "Eden in Egypt". L

Scottish Queens, 1034–1714

Scottish Queens, 1034–1714 PDF Author: Rosalind K. Marshall
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 1788851846
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
An “enlightening and fascinating” exploration of Scotland’s royal women, from Lady Macbeth to Mary Queen of Scots and beyond (Booklist). The lives of the Scottish queens, both those who ruled in their own right and the consorts, have largely been neglected in conventional history books. One of the earliest known Scottish queens was none other than the notorious Lady Macbeth. Was she really the wicked woman depicted in Shakespeare’s famous play? Was St Margaret a demure and obedient wife? Why did Margaret Logie exercise such an influence over her husband, David II, and have we underestimated James VI’s consort, Anne of Denmark, frequently written off as a stupid and willful woman? Rosalind K. Marshall delves into these questions and more in this entertaining, impeccably researched book. “A broad, impressive historical work and solid introduction to Scottish history from an oft-ignored perspective: that of the queens who exercised power whenever and wherever they could find it.” —Foreword Reviews Includes illustrations and genealogical tables

Premodern Scotland

Premodern Scotland PDF Author: Joanna Martin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191091472
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Premodern Scotland: Literature and Governance 1420-1587 brings together original essays by a group of international scholars to offer fresh and ground-breaking research into the 'advice to princes' tradition and related themes of good self- and public governance in Older Scots literature, and in Latin literature composed in Scotland in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and early seventeenth centuries. The volume brings to the fore texts both from and about the royal court in a variety of genres, including satire, tragedy, complaint, dream vision, chronicle, epic, romance, and devotional and didactic treatise, and considers texts composed for noble readers and for a wider readership able to access printed material. The writers and texts studied include Bower's Scotichronicon, Henryson's Testament of Cresseid, and Gavin Douglas's Eneados. Lesser known authors and texts also receive much-needed critical attention, and include Richard Holland's, The Buke of the Howlat, chronicles by Andrew of Wyntoun, Hector Boece, and John Bellenden, and poetry by sixteenth-century writers such as Robert Sempill, John Rolland of Dalkeith, and William Lauder. Non-literary texts, such as the Parliamentary 'Aberdeen Articles' further deepen the discussion of the volume's theme. Writing from south of the Border, which provoked creative responses in Scots authors, and which were themselves inflected by the idea of Scotland and its literature, are also considered and include the Troy Book by John Lydgate, and Malory's Le Morte Darthur. With a focus on historical and material context, contributors explore the ways in which these texts engage with notions of the self and with advisory subjects both specific to particular Stewart monarchs and of more general political applicability in Scotland in the late medieval and early modern periods.