Innholdsfortegnelse for November-December 2020 i History Scotland

A warm welcome to our themed Jacobite special, published to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. We are honoured to feature contributions from world-class experts in the field of Jacobitism and I hope you’ll enjoy our wide range of articles, taking in everything from the enigma that was James VII/II through to Jacobite espionage and ‘petticoat patronage’ of the Stuart cause. I'm also pleased to let you know that Professor Murray Pittock will be presenting a History Scotland lecture titled '"Under Martial Law by a Foreign Power?" The Aftermath of Culloden and the Legacy of Jacobitism'' on 18 November. Visit our website for details and to book your ticket: http://scot.sh/webinar1 Warm wishes Editor, History Scotland…

Dr Angus Vine, of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Stirling, has received a prestigious grant from the British Academy to research the literary interests, collecting habits and the vocational, practical and scientific knowledge of merchants living in the late-16th and 17th centuries. The year-long project will seek to understand the origins of a split between humanist forms of learning – which, during the period studied, was typically associated with universities and the social and political elites – and more practical or useful forms of knowledge-making, such as skilled work and craft – at that time linked to business and the urban citizenry. Dr Vine, a lecturer in English Studies, hopes that his research will not only shine a light on various strands of history –…

Let no man miss his glas by stealth but all with one consent agree to drink a brimmer to the health of James the duke of Albany This optimistic song was sung in 1680 by Scotland’s bishops as they toasted the health of James, duke of Albany and York, before he became King James VII of Scotland and II of England. This is the king removed at the revolution of 1689, exiled to France and, through the Latin of his name, the founding father of Jacobitism. Jacobitism, like all political labels, is an idea at the behest of the user. It has been subjected to mythmaking planted in the fertile soil of Scotland’s history: the bravery of highlanders, anti-Englishness and resentment at the death of clan society, for example. Essentially,…

On 20 December 1746, the lord justice clerk, Andrew Fletcher, lord Milton, and William Anne Kepple, 2nd earl of Albemarle, gave orders for a search of all the suspicious places in the Canongate, Leith and other suburbs around Edinburgh. What, or whom, were they looking for? They were not looking for Jacobite conspirators; nor were they hunting down fugitive rebel soldiers. Five companies of soldiers had been authorised to seek out ‘ladies and other women dressed in tartan gowns and white ribbands’ in honour of the birthday of the Stuart prince. They were ‘to seize them and make them prisoners’. They made one arrest that night. Lady Jean Rollo, sister of the 4th Lord Rollo, who was at home alone and dressed in a tartan gown, was apprehended and questioned…

When Bonnie Prince Charlie was a young man living in Rome, before he ever came to Scotland, he was already the proud owner of a superb set of highland weapons, including a magnificent cuirass and helmet, a dirk, a targe, some pistols, and a broadsword with a silver basket hilt. He also had a tartan suit with gold embroidery which he proudly wore when attending balls held in palazzi during the winter carnival seasons. These weapons and tartan clothes were sent as a gift from James Drummond, 3rd duke of Perth, the weapons arriving early in 1739, the suit in 1740. Until now it was thought that neither these weapons nor the tartan suit had survived, but the authors of a recently-published article (see further reading) believe that a previously…

Edge of Empire, Rome’s Scottish Frontier: The Antonine Wall By David J Breeze Birlinn, £14.99 ISBN 9781839830037 With reference to contemporary literary sources, together with the archaeological remains, inscriptions and sculpture from the Antonine Wall itself, David Breeze explains the historical context for, and the creation of, the fortifications. Cauld Blasts and Clighmaclavers: a treasure of 1,000 Scottish Words By Robin A. Crawford Elliott & Thompson Ltd, £9.99 ISBN 9781783964789 Robin Crawford has gathered 1,000 words from his native land – old and new, classical and colloquial, rural and urban – in a celebration of their continuing usage and unique character. Illicit and Unnatural Practices: the Law, Sex and Society in Scotland Since 1900 By Roger Davidson Edinburgh University Press, £19.99 ISBN 978147441209 Using a wide range of prosecution and…

In his 2019 King Over the Water – a complete history of the Jacobites, Desmond Seward provided a brief appendix looking at fictional treatments of Jacobitism. He mentioned Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan, D.K. Broster and Naomi Mitchison. There is perhaps one major omission which we’ll return to later. Seward’s history was unusual in that he adopted a Jacobite perspective; for example, referring to James VIII and Charles III. It’s a perspective that much Jacobite-themed fiction has shared. Sir Walter Scott was revolutionary in the way he used history in fiction. He didn’t invent the historical novel, but he took it in entirely new directions. In 1814, after a number of successful verse epics, he published his first prose novel, Waverley. It was a stunning success. The…

Professor Graeme Morton (Pg 49: Neo Jacobitism: looking beyond the fringe) Professor of History at the University of Dundee. He has written extensively on modern Scottish History, with a particular emphasis on issues of identity and diaspora in the Victorian period. Professor Daniel Szechi (pg 38: Jacobitism, espionage and subversion) Professor Emeritus of early modern History at the University of Manchester. He has published widely on the Jacobite movement, and his most recent book is Britain’s Lost Revolution? Jacobite Scotland and French Grand Strategy, 1701-8. Dr Kieran German (pg26: Episcopalians and Jacobites) An independent scholar who received his PhD from the University of Aberdeen for a thesis on Jacobitism in the north-east. Dr German has published on various aspects of Scottish Jacobitism, especially its links to Episcopalianism, and has tutored at the Universities…

Professor Murray Pittock will deliver an online lecture as part of the Gresham College history series in November The talk, titled ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites’, will explore what kind of man Charles was, what his day-to-day life was like, and what might have happened if he had won in 1745. The lecture runs from 1-2pm on 2 November. Register at http://scot.sh/gresham Become a History Scotland Insider for exclusive content! History Scotland members enjoy exclusive access to a growing archive of interviews, features, offers, career opportunities and more on our website, plus a monthly newsletter. Register to join at http://scot.sh/hsinsider…

During our GPR fieldwork and research (2016-19), two themes were repeatedly underlined. First, the dangers of seeking a neat, consistent pattern of architectural and liturgical development in such a complex lost building as Dunfermline Abbey; and second, most important of all, the need to take account of the high level of disruption and reuse inflicted upon the choir site during the ‘Psalter’ period 1560-1818. These were generations which saw the ruinous choir site occupied periodically by everything from Cromwellian troops to stone auctions following wall and tower collapses, as well as by town burials. In that context, for reasons discussed below, we should set aside the 1818 ‘Bruce grave’ from our discussion of the medieval altar area from the outset. The paved sanctuary/chancel spaces of high-status churches of the 12th…

In this 275th anniversary year of the final Jacobite rising – commonly known today as ‘the ‘45’ – the cultural significance of Jacobitism and its historical legacy have never before enjoyed greater public interest. Thankfully, the venerable field of Jacobite studies stands ready to provide an extensive corpus of reading material for the recent Outlanderfuelled surge of fresh and enthusiastic advocates! Amongst other topics, this historiography of Jacobitism is packed with accounts of the last campaign and the short but violent battles of the ‘45, with memoirs and biographies of the principal Jacobite officers, and with interdisciplinary treatises that examine the politics of Jacobitism against the context of the British and European polities during the 18th century. By now we understand that the ‘Jacobite struggle’ was not simply one of…

In this fascinating special issue, we have been exploring the nature and purpose of Jacobite intelligence gathering and networks in the early 18th century, and the volume under the spotlight here complements this with its focus on the exiled Jacobite court at Rome, around 1719. By this date, the Jacobite court had been exiled to mainland Europe for the best part of 30 years and was led by James VIII/III (father of Bonnie Prince Charlie), who had a tough time keeping his many Scottish banished and attainted followers occupied and useful. The volume consists primarily of a critical diary for the years 1719-20 by Alexander, the 4th and last earl of Pitsligo, and includes transcriptions of letters written and received by him, which together paint a detailed portrait of Jacobite…

reviews@historyscotland.com Lord Seaforth: Highland Landowner, Caribbean Governor Finlay McKichan Edinburgh University Press, 2018 320 pages Hardcover £80.00 / paperback £14.99 ISBN: 9781474438483 Finlay McKichan’s biography of Francis Humberston Mackenzie, lord Seaforth (1754-1815), not only provides valuable insights into the life of the subject himself, but also contributes to our wider understanding of how actions and policies implemented in the highlands could be utilised and adapted throughout the British empire. The book is based on significant archival research and McKichan demonstrates substantial engagement with the historiography of the highland clearances, the Caribbean, and Scotland’s involvement with the British empire, making an important contribution to all three areas. The first chapter introduces the book’s subject, providing insights into Seaforth’s family history, childhood and young adulthood that go some way towards explaining his…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE! Receive every issue of History Scotland direct to your door and save money on the shop price. This book weaves together all the strands of this gripping saga into a vivid, sweeping narrative, full of insight, analysis and anecdote. This is the first modern history for general readers of the entire Jacobite movement in Scotland, England and Ireland, from the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688. SUBSCRIBE FOR JUST £21 A YEAR (Direct Debit) 3 EASY WAYS TO SIGN UP www.historyscotland.com subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk 01778 392 463…

What was the original purpose of the archives studied by the One More Voice team? Such archives, very roughly speaking, originally served to preserve the documents of the British Empire. What One More Voice does is shift scholarly focus in these archives to the presence and voices of non-European contributors. How many archive partners are involved at this stage? At this stage, we are in initial partnership with three archives, SOAS Library, University of London, the National Library of Scotland, and the Livingstone Museum, Zambia. We are also exploring the possibility of additional partnerships. What are the main challenges of working with and preserving contributions such as maps, oral histories, treaties and diaries? There are a number of challenges. The nature of the materials studied by the team on One…

The Jacobite movement has produced some of the most familiar events and personalities in Scottish History. Images of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald are mainstays of Scottish iconography, and from Robert Burns to Outlander, Jacobitism infuses popular culture. Yet the omnipresence of this sanitised and romanticised version of Jacobitism tends to obscure the movement’s real history. So, who were the real Jacobites? What did they believe in? What did they fight for, and how did they go about it? And what, ultimately, happened to them? Jacobites and Jacobitism Jacobitism was born in the revolution of 1688-91, which overthrew the Catholic king, James VII of Scotland and II of England, in favour of his Protestant daughter and son-in-law, Mary II and William of Orange. During his short reign (1685-8/9), James’s…

INTRODUCTION Upon hearing the news that William of Orange had landed in England with an army, Presbyterians set about ‘rabbling’ Episcopalians in the south-west of Scotland while simultaneously asking William to restore Presbyterian Church government in Scotland. Conversely, the head of the Church of Scotland, Alexander Rose, bishop of Edinburgh and primus, travelled to London to reassure King James VII of both his and the Church’s loyalty and to seek material support against the actions of the Presbyterians. Upon his arrival, Rose found the wrong king on the throne. Nevertheless, William offered Rose support for the Episcopalian establishment in Scotland, along with protection from the violence of their adversaries, in return for the allegiance of the Episcopal clergy. Rose replied that he would have to consult with the Scottish episcopate…

The Catholic priest James Carnegy was one of the most long-serving and successful of Jacobite spies, regularly passing vital intelligence from Scotland to the Jacobite court for more than 30 years, apparently without detection. Professor Daniel Szechi reconstructs the career of this remarkable secret agent Espionage and subversion are the unholy twins at the heart of the darker arts of statecraft. Ever since the emergence of civilisation, governments have spied on, and sought to undermine, each other, and those states that have been successful have gained a distinct advantage over their rivals in military and strategic affairs. Britain’s cracking of the German enigma code, and the American breaking of Japan’s purple cipher in the Second World War, for example, gave both powers a distinct military edge versus the Axis powers,…

Stepping Westward: Writing the Highland Tour c.1720-1830 Nigel Leask Oxford University Press, 2020 Hardcover, £65.00 368 pages ISBN-13: 9780198850021 When the Napoleonic Wars ruled out tours of mainland Europe a ready-made alternative was to hand in the form of ‘domestic tours’ of the Lake District, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In the case of Scotland, the prospective traveller had a rich treasury of guides at his (and increasingly her) disposal. Highland tourists could call upon the works of Edmund Burt, Thomas Pennant, the Wordsworths, Coleridge, Keats and Sir Walter Scott. The impact these writers had in developing what Nigel Leask calls ‘a modern literature of place’ and ‘a catalyst for thinking about landscape aesthetics, improvement, ecology and the shaping of Highland, Scottish and British identities’ (p. 6) forms the subject of…

#StoryOfOurStreet has really taken off positively, with lots of discussions amongst History Scotland audiences. At the same time, other aspects of society’s interpretation of local history have taken an ugly turn. Protests in George Square and elsewhere around the country saw some try to tear down memorials to past people, whilst others took on the role of ‘statue defenders.’ It goes to show the importance of history and its power to energise emotions. On the positive news agenda, #StoryOfOurStreet has seen a range of people across our society reflect on the areas around where they live, looking for clues as to the past and how things have evolved. Most pleasing has been the schools who have engaged in the project, some of which will be featured at www.historyscotland.com. As I…