1.
King of Scots
–
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth MacAlpin, the distinction between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of the Picts is rather the product of later medieval myth and confusion from a change in nomenclature i. e. The Kingdom of the Picts just became known as Kingdom of Alba in Gaelic, which became known in Scots and English as Scotland. By the late 11th century at the very latest, Scottish kings were using the term rex Scottorum, or King of Scots, to refer to themselves in Latin. The title of King of Scots fell out of use in 1707, thus Queen Anne became the last monarch of the ancient kingdoms of Scotland and England and the first of Great Britain, although the kingdoms had shared a monarch since 1603. Her uncle Charles II was the last Scottish monarch actually to be crowned in Scotland, the reign of Kenneth MacAlpin begins what is often called the House of Alpin, an entirely modern concept. * Evidence for Eochaids reign is unclear, he may never have actually been King, if he was, he was co-King with Giric. † Eochiad was a son of Run, King of Strathclyde and he was also the heir-general of Malcolm I, as his paternal grandfather, Duncan of Atholl was the third son of Malcolm I. The House of Dunkeld was therefore related to the House of Alpin. Duncan was killed in battle by Macbeth, who had a long, in a series of battles between 1057 and 1058, Duncans son Malcolm III defeated and killed Macbeth and Macbeths stepson and heir Lulach, and claimed the throne. Edgar triumphed, sending his uncle and brother to monasteries, after the reign of David I, the Scottish throne was passed according to rules of primogeniture, moving from father to son, or where not possible, brother to brother. The last King of the House of Dunkeld was Alexander III, Alexander had himself remarried, but in early 1286 he died in an accident while riding home. His wife, Yolande of Dreux, was pregnant, but by November 1286 all hope of her bearing a child had passed. Accordingly, in the Treaty of Salisbury, the Guardians of Scotland recognised Alexanders three-year-old granddaughter, Margaret of Norway, Margaret remained in her fathers Kingdom of Norway until Autumn 1290, when she was dispatched to Scotland. However, she died on the journey in Orkney, having never set foot on Scottish soil and she is thus sometimes not considered Queen by nationalists. The death of Margaret of Norway began an interregnum in Scotland caused by a succession crisis. With her death, the descent of William I became extinct, the Scottish Magnates invited Edward I of England to arbitrate the claims, he did so, but forced the Scots to swear allegiance to him as overlord. For ten years, Scotland had no King of its own, the Scots, however, refused to tolerate English rule, first William Wallace and then, after his execution, Robert the Bruce fought against the English
2.
Coronation
–
The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
3.
James II of Scotland
–
James II, who reigned as king of Scots from 1437 on, was the son of James I and Joan Beaufort. Nothing is known of his life, but by his first birthday his twin and only brother, Alexander. On 21 February 1437, James I was assassinated and the six-year-old Duke of Rothesay immediately succeeded him as James II, in 1449, nineteen-year-old James married fifteen-year-old Mary of Guelders, daughter of the Duke of Gelderland. She bore him seven children, six of whom survived into adulthood, subsequently, the relations between Flanders and Scotland improved. Jamess nickname, Fiery Face, referred to a conspicuous vermilion birthmark on his face appears to have been deemed by contemporaries an outward sign of a fiery temper. James was a politic, and singularly successful king and he was popular with the commoners, with whom, like most of the Stewarts, he socialised often, in times of peace and war. His legislation has a popular character. Salvators, the new college of Archbishop Kennedy at St Andrews and he possessed much of his fathers restless energy. However, his murder of the Earl of Douglas leaves a stain on his reign, James I was assassinated on 21 February 1437. The Queen, although hurt, managed to get to her six-year-old son, on 25 March 1437, the six-year-old was formally crowned King of Scots at Holyrood Abbey. The Parliament of Scotland revoked alienations of crown property and prohibited them, without the consent of the Estates and he lived along with his mother and five of his six sisters at Dunbar Castle until 1439. From 1437 to 1439 the Kings first cousin Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas, taking advantage of these events, Livingston placed Queen Joan and her new husband, Sir John Stewart, under house arrest at Stirling Castle on 3 August 1439. In 1440, in the Kings name, an invitation is said to have sent to the young 6th Earl of Douglas and his brother, eleven-year-old David. They came, and were entertained at the table, from which they were treacherously hurried to their doom. Three days later Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld, their chief adherent and this infamous incident took the name of the Black Dinner. In 1449 James II reached adulthood, yet in many ways his active kingship differed little from his minority. The Douglases used his coming of age as a way to throw the Livingstons out of the shared government, Douglas and Crichton continued to dominate political power, and the kings ability to rule without them remained arguably limited. But James did not acquiesce with this situation without argument, the main account of Douglass murder comes from the Auchinleck Chronicle, a near contemporary but fragmentary source
4.
James IV of Scotland
–
James IV was the King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He assumed the following the death of his father, James III, after the Battle of Sauchieburn. James was the son of James III and Margaret of Denmark, as heir apparent to the Scottish crown, he became Duke of Rothesay. In 1474, his father arranged his betrothal to Princess Cecily of England and his father was not a popular king and faced two major rebellions during his reign. James IIIs army rebelled against him and the English army reached Edinburgh, during the second rebellion, the rebels set up the 15-year-old James as their nominal leader. They fought James III at the Battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June 1488, the younger James took the throne and was crowned at Scone on 24 June. When he realised the role which he had played in the death of his father. From that date on, he wore an iron chain cilice around his waist, next to the skin, each Lent as penance. James IV quickly proved an effective ruler and a wise king and he defeated another rebellion in 1489, took a direct interest in the administration of justice and finally brought the Lord of the Isles under control in 1493. For a time, he supported Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the English throne, then, in August 1497, James laid siege to Norham Castle, using his grandfathers bombard Mons Meg. First he ratified the Treaty of Ayton in February 1498, then, in 1502 James signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Henry VII. He also maintained his relations with France, with rumours that James would renew the Auld alliance, in April 1508 Thomas Wolsey was sent to discuss Henry VIIs concerns over this. Wolsey found there was never a man worse welcome into Scotland than I. they keep their matters so secret here that the wives in the market know every cause of my coming, James saw the importance of building a fleet that could provide Scotland with a strong maritime presence. James founded two new dockyards for this purpose and acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scots Navy, including the Margaret, and the carrack Michael or Great Michael. The latter, built at great expense at Newhaven and launched in 1511, was 240 feet in length, weighed 1,000 tons and was, at that time, James IV was a true Renaissance prince with an interest in practical and scientific matters. He built a part of Falkland Palace, and Great Halls at Stirling and Edinburgh castles, figures associated with his court include William Dunbar, Walter Kennedy and Gavin Douglas, who made the first complete translation of Virgils Aeneid in northern Europe. His reign also saw the passing of the makar Robert Henryson and he patronised music at Restalrig using rental money from the Kings Wark. James was well educated and a fluent polyglot, in July 1498 the Spanish envoy Pedro de Ayala reported to Ferdinand and Isabella that The King is 25 years and some months old
5.
Mary of Guelders
–
Mary of Guelders was the queen consort of Scotland by marriage to King James II of Scotland. She served as regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463 and she was the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Catherine of Cleves. She was a great-niece of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, Philip and his wife Isabella of Portugal at first planned to have Mary betrothed to Charles, Count of Maine, but her father could not pay the dowry. Mary stayed on at the Burgundian court, where Isabella frequently paid for her expenses, Mary attended Isabellas daughter-in-law Catherine of France, while she herself was attended upon by ten people. The duke and duchess then started negotiations for a Scottish marriage, Philip promised to pay her dowry, while Isabella paid for her trousseau. William Crichton came to the Burgundian court to escort her back to Scotland and she landed in Scotland in June 1449 and both nobles and the common people came to see her as she made her way to Holyrood Abbey. Mary married James II, king of Scots, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh on 3 July 1449, a sumptuous banquet was given, while the Scottish king gave her several presents. Immediately after the ceremony, she was dressed in purple robes. It had been agreed that any sons they might have would have no right to the duchy of Guelders, James and Mary had seven children together, An unnamed son. Mary, who married first Thomas Boyd, 1st Earl of Arran and she became the mother of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran. Margaret, who married William Crichton, 3rd Lord Crichton of Auchingoul and she became the mother of Margaret Crichton and mother-in-law of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes. He was created Earl of Moray on 12 February 1456, john Stewart, 1st Earl of Mar and Garioch. Queen Mary was granted several castles and the income from lands from James. In May 1454, she was present at the siege of Blackness Castle, and she made several donations to charity, such as when she founded a hospital just outside Edinburgh for the indigent, and to religion, such as when she benefited the Franciscan friars in Scotland. After her husbands death, Mary acted as regent for their son James III of Scotland until her own death three years later, Mary was drawn into the Wars of the Roses taking place in England at this time. While Mary was still mourning the death of King James II, Mary sympathetically aided Margaret and took Edward of Westminster into her household to keep them out of Yorkist hands. Marys dealings with Margaret were mainly to aid to the deposed queen. Mary gave a number of Scottish troops to help Margaret and the Lancastrian cause, Mary and Margaret also organised a betrothal between Margarets son Edward and Marys daughter Margaret in 1461
6.
James Kennedy (bishop)
–
James Kennedy was a 15th-century Bishop of Dunkeld and Bishop of St. Andrews, who participated in the Council of Florence and was the last man to govern the diocese of St. Andrews purely as bishop. One of the Gaelic clan of Carrick he became the figure in the government of the minority of King James II of Scotland as well as founder of St Salvators College. He was the third and youngest son of Sir James Kennedy of Dunure, Ayrshire and his eldest brother was Gilbert Kennedy, 1st Lord Kennedy. James was born about 1408, and was sent to the continent to complete his studies in canon law and he received consecration in 1438, the following year. He set himself to reform abuses, and attended the council of Florence. Eugenius did not encourage him in his schemes, but gave him the presentation to the abbacy of Scone in commendam, Bishop James, however, was not Bishop of Dunkeld for long. The death of Henry Wardlaw left the bishopric of St Andrews, the most prestigious Scottish see, vacant and this occurred while James was at the court of Pope Eugenius IV, busy at Florence on the historical Council of Florence. However, before royal letters arrived bearing news of James election, formal translation took place on 8 June 1440. He was an active and successful bishop and he celebrated his first mass in his St Andrews Cathedral on 30 September 1442, and at once resumed his efforts in reform. During the minority of James II, Kennedy took a part in political affairs. When the schism in the papacy assumed a critical character. He obtained a safe-conduct through England from Henry VI, dated 28 May 1446 and his efforts were unsuccessful, and he probably soon returned home. Another safe-conduct for himself and others coming to England, dated 20 May 1455, in 1450 he founded St Salvators College in St. Andrews, endowing it liberally with the teinds of four parishes that had formerly belonged to the bishopric. Shortly afterwards Kennedy established the Grey Friars monastery in St Andrews, the date is usually given as 1466, but a charter belonging to the abbey of Arbroath, dated 13 July 1465, speaks of him as lately deceased, and of his see as vacant. Kennedy was buried in a magnificent tomb which he had caused to be built in St Salvators Chapel and he had, it is believed, procured the design and materials from Italy. It is stated by Bishop Lesley that Kennedys college, ship, Kennedy was highly esteemed during his lifetime, both as an ecclesiastic and a politician. Even George Buchanan says that he excelled all his predecessors and successors in the see, Kennedy is said to have left behind him several treatises. The only titles preserved are Historia sui Temporis and Monita Politica and this article incorporates text from the Dictionary of National Biography,1891
7.
Stirling Castle
–
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, a crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1890s, most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the eighteenth century. Before the union with England, Stirling Castle was also one of the most used of the many Scottish royal residences, several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542, and others were born or died there. Stirling Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is now a tourist attraction managed by Historic Scotland and it is likely that this natural feature was occupied at an early date, as a hill fort is located on Gowan Hill, immediately to the east. The Romans bypassed Stirling, building a fort at Doune instead, the area came under Pictish control after the defeat of the Northumbrians at the Battle of Dun Nechtain thirty years later. However, there is no evidence for occupation of Castle Hill before the late medieval period. Other legends have been associated with Stirling, or Snowdoun as it was more poetically known, boece is, however, considered an unreliable historian. Another chronicler, William Worcester, associated Stirling with the court of the legendary King Arthur, the first record of Stirling Castle dates from around 1110, when King Alexander I dedicated a chapel here. It appears to have been a royal centre by this time. During the reign of his successor David I, Stirling became a burgh. There is no evidence that the English actually occupied the castle, Stirling continued to be a favoured royal residence, with William himself dying there in 1214, and Alexander III laying out the New Park, for deer hunting, in the 1260s. Stirling remained a centre of administration until the death of Alexander III in 1286. His passing triggered a crisis, with Edward I of England invited to arbitrate between competing claimants. Edward came north in 1291, demanding that Stirling, along with the royal castles. Edward gave judgement in favour of John Balliol, hoping he would be a puppet ruler, in 1296, Edward invaded Scotland, beginning the Wars of Scottish Independence, which would last for the next 60 years
8.
St Andrews Castle
–
St Andrews Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger and it housed the burgh’s wealthy and powerful bishops while St Andrews served as the ecclesiastical centre of Scotland during the years before the Protestant Reformation. In their Latin charters, the Archbishops of St Andrews wrote of the castle as their Palace, signing, the castles grounds are now maintained by Historic Scotland, and are entered through a visitor centre with displays on its history. Some of the best surviving carved fragments from the castle are displayed in the centre, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times as it changed hands between the Scots and the English. Soon after the sack of Berwick in 1296 by Edward I of England, in 1314, however, after the Scottish victory at Bannockburn, the castle was retaken and repaired by Bishop William Lamberton, Guardian of Scotland, a loyal supporter of King Robert the Bruce. The English had recaptured it again by the 1330s and reinforced its defences in 1336, sir Andrew Moray, Regent of Scotland in the absence of David II, recaptured it after a siege lasting three weeks. Shortly after this, in 1336-1337, it was destroyed by the Scots to prevent the English from once again using it as a stronghold and it remained in this ruined state until Bishop Walter Trail rebuilt it at the turn of the century. His castle forms the basis of what can be seen today and he completed work on the castle in about 1400 and died within its walls in 1401. Several notable figures spent time in the castle over the several years. James I of Scotland received part of his education from Bishop Henry Wardlaw, a later resident, Bishop James Kennedy, was a trusted advisor of James II of Scotland. In 1445 the castle was the birthplace of James III of Scotland, during these years, the castle also served as a notorious prison. The castles bottle dungeon is a dank and airless pit cut out of rock below the north-west tower. During the Scottish Reformation, the became a centre of religious persecution. Referring to the dungeon the Scottish reformer, John Knox, wrote. In 1521 James Beaton, then Archbishop of Glasgow, won the seat of St Andrews, Beaton altered the defences to enable the castle to withstand a heavy artillery attack, which was a threat as tensions grew between English Protestants and Scottish Catholics. In 1538 James Beaton was succeeded by his ambitious and wealthy nephew David Beaton, Cardinal David Beatons strong opposition to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Prince Edward, the son and heir of Henry VIII of England, helped to spark renewed fighting in 1544. Scottish Protestants were increasingly viewed as dangerous turncoats who sided with the English, in 1546 David Beaton imprisoned the Protestant preacher George Wishart in the castle’s Sea Tower and had him burnt at the stake in front of the castle walls on March 1
9.
Cambuskenneth Abbey
–
Cambuskenneth Abbey is a ruined Augustinian monastery located on an area of land enclosed by a meander of the River Forth near Stirling in Scotland. The abbey is largely reduced to its foundations, the neighbouring modern village of Cambuskenneth is named after it. Cambuskenneth Abbey was founded by order of David I around the year 1140, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it was initially known as the Abbey of St Mary of Stirling and sometimes simply as Stirling Abbey. The major street leading down the hill from the royal residences in Stirling Castle to the abbey was called St. Marys Wynd. Cambuskenneth was one of the important abbeys in Scotland, due in part to its proximity to the Royal Burgh of Stirling. Its status as an abbey in the neighbourhood of a major national stronghold may be compared to that of Holyrood Abbey vis à vis Edinburgh. Royalty, including Edward Longshanks and later Robert the Bruce, prayed regularly at the abbey, Bruce held his parliament there in 1326 to confirm the succession of his son David II. In 1486 Margaret of Denmark died at Stirling Castle and was buried at the abbey, in 1488 her husband James III was murdered at the Battle of Sauchieburn and his body was brought to Cambuskenneth Abbey for burial. The elaborate marker of his grave, which was funded by Queen Victoria, is visible at one end of the church. The abbey fell into disuse during the Scottish Reformation, by 1559 there were few monks remaining there, and the abbey was closed and most of the buildings looted and burned. The abbey was placed under the jurisdiction of the governor of Stirling Castle. Of the once wealthy abbey, mostly only knee-high ruins and exposed foundations remain, only the 13th century campanile is intact, following an extensive renovation in 1859. The abbey was acquired by the crown in 1908, and it is managed by Historic Scotland, the abbey is open to visitors during the summer months. Visitors can enter the room of the campanile, the stairs to the upper floors are locked. Abbot of Cambuskenneth Abbeys and priories in Scotland Cambuskenneth Abbey – site information from Historic Environment Scotland
10.
Stirling
–
Stirling is a city in central Scotland. The market town, surrounded by farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the bridge. Located on the River Forth, Stirling is the centre for the Stirling council area. It is proverbially the strategically important Gateway to the Highlands and it has been said that Stirling, like a huge brooch clasps Highlands and Lowlands together. Similarly he who holds Stirling, holds Scotland is often quoted, stirlings key position as the lowest bridging point of the River Forth before it broadens towards the Firth of Forth, made it a focal point for travel north or south. This invited control for, military advantage in times of unrest, unsurprisingly an excise man was installed in a covered booth in the centre of the bridge to collect tax from any entering the royal burgh with goods. According to a 9th century legend, when Stirling was temporarily under Anglo-Saxon sway, however the sound of a wolf roused a sentry who alerted his garrison to force a Viking retreat. This led to the wolf being adopted as a symbol of the town, even today it appears with a goshawk on the coat of arms along with the recently chosen motto, Steadfast as the Rock. Once the capital of Scotland, Stirling is visually dominated by Stirling Castle, the poet King was educated by George Buchanan and grew up in Stirling. He was later also crowned King of England and Ireland on 25th July 1603, modern Stirling is a centre for local government, higher education, tourism, retail, and industry. The 2011 census recorded the population of the city as 45,750, One of the principal royal strongholds of the Kingdom of Scotland, Stirling was created a royal burgh by King David I in 1130. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeths Golden Jubilee, Stirling was granted city status, Stirling was originally a Stone Age settlement as shown by the Randolphfield standing stones and Kings Park prehistoric carvings that can still be found south of the city. The site has been significant since at least the Roman occupation of Britain, due to its naturally defensible crag and tail hill. Coupled to this it enjoys a position which is not far from the Ochil Hills on the border between the Lowlands and Highlands. Its other notable feature is its proximity to the lowest ancient ford of the River Forth. It remained the rivers lowest crossing point until the construction of the Alloa Swing Bridge between Throsk and Alloa in 1885. It is supposed that Stirling is the fortress of Iuddeu or Urbs Giudi where Oswiu of Northumbria was besieged by Penda of Mercia in 655, as recorded in Bede and contemporary annals. Stirling was chartered as a burgh by King David in the 12th century
11.
Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland
–
Margaret of Denmark, also referred to as Margaret of Norway, was Queen of Scotland from 1469 to 1486 by marriage to King James III. She was the daughter of Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Margaret was betrothed to James of Scotland in 1460. The marriage was arranged by recommendation of the king of France to end the feud between Denmark and Scotland about the taxation of the Hebrides islands, a conflict that raged between 1426 and 1460. Her father, King Christian I of Denmark and Norway, agreed to a considerable dowry and he was in need of cash, however, so the islands of Orkney and Shetland, possessions of the Norwegian crown, were pledged as security until the dowry was to be paid. In July 1469, at age 13, at Holyrood Abbey, william Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, was at that time the Norse Earl of Orkney. In 1472 he was made to exchange his Orkney fief to Castle Ravenscraig, Queen Margaret was given the largest jointure Scottish law allowed in her marriage settlement. She was interested in clothes and jewelry, and known for always being dressed in the latest fashion of the time and she may have taught her son James to speak Danish. She became a queen in Scotland and was described as beautiful, gentle. Many later historians called her far better qualified to rule than her spouse, the relationship between Margaret and James III was not described as a happy one. Reportedly, Margaret was not very fond of James and had intercourse with him only for procreation, one reason for their estrangement was the fact that James favored their second son before their eldest. In 1476, John MacDonald was trialed for treason and deprived of the title Earl of Ross by James, however, John MacDonald was allowed to remain as Lord of Parliament upon Margarets request. Politically, she did work for the reinstatement of her spouse in his powers as monarch during this incident, after the crisis of 1482, however, the couple lived apart, James III lived in Edinburgh, while queen Margaret preferred to live in Stirling with her children. Margaret died at Stirling Castle on 14 July 1486, and is buried in Cambuskenneth Abbey, a story given by her son claims that Margaret was killed by poison given to her by John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell, leader of one of the political factions. However, as Ramsay was favoured by the family also after the death of the queen. Reportedly, James III did mourn her death and sent a supplication to the Pope where he applied for her to be declared a saint. James IV James Stewart, Duke of Ross John Stewart, Earl of Mar. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Henderson
12.
James Stewart, Duke of Ross
–
James Stewart, Duke of Ross was the son of King James III of Scotland and Margaret of Denmark. He was made Marquess of Ormond at his baptism and he was created Earl of Ross in 1481 after that title was forfeited to the crown by John, Lord of the Isles. Of his fathers three sons, James of Ross was the favourite, James III even tried to marry him to Edward IVs daughter, Catherine of York. This increasing preference shown to James of Ross was a factor in the rebellion of his brother against their father. Nonetheless, when the elder James succeeded to the crown in 1488, around May 1497, his brother the King nominated James of Ross to be Archbishop of St Andrews. King James thought that would keep James of Ross from rebelling against him, also, James of Ross was a minor, and so the revenues of the archbishopric would be controlled by King James. James of Ross also became Lord Chancellor of Scotland in 1502 and he was one of three brothers, his two brothers being King James IV of Scotland and John Stewart, Earl of Mar. It may seem surprising that there were two brothers both called James and it has been suggested that at the time the younger was born the older was seriously ill and seemed unlikely to survive, but it is unclear whether there is any evidence for this hypothesis. In late mediaeval Scotland it was not uncommon to have two brothers with the same Christian name, or occasionally even three
13.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
14.
House of Stewart
–
The House of Stuart, originally Stewart and, in Gaelic, Stiùbhart was a European royal house that originated in Scotland. The dynastys patrilineal Breton ancestors had held the office of High Steward of Scotland since the 12th century, the royal Stewart line was founded by Robert II, and they were Kings and Queens of Scots from the late 14th century until the union with England in 1707. Mary I, Queen of Scots was brought up in France and her son, James VI of Scotland, inherited the thrones of England and Ireland upon the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. Except for the period of the Commonwealth, 1649–1660, the Stuarts were monarchs of England, Scotland and Ireland until 1707, then of Great Britain and Ireland, in total, nine Stewart/Stuart monarchs ruled Scotland alone from 1371 until 1603. James VI of Scotland then inherited the realms of Elizabeth I of England, following the Glorious Revolution in 1688, two Stuart queens ruled the isles, Mary II and Anne. Both were the Protestant daughters of James VII and II by his first wife, during the reign of the Stuarts, Scotland developed from a relatively poor and feudal country into a prosperous, modern and centralised state. They ruled during a time in European history of transition from the Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, monarchs such as James IV were known for sponsoring exponents of the Northern Renaissance such as the poet Robert Henryson, and others. The name Stewart derives from the position of office similar to a governor. It was originally adopted as the surname by Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland. Prior to this, family names were not used, but instead they had patronyms defined through the father, the gallicised spelling was first borne by John Stewart of Darnley after his time in the French wars. During the 16th century, the French spelling Stuart was adopted by Mary, Queen of Scots, the FitzAlan family quickly established themselves as a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house, with some of its members serving as High Sheriff of Shropshire. It was the great-grandson of Alan named Walter FitzAlan who became the first hereditary High Steward of Scotland, another supporter of Matilda was her uncle David I of Scotland from the House of Dunkeld. After Matilda was pushed out of England into the County of Anjou, essentially failing in her legitimist attempt for the throne, many of her supporters in England fled also. It was then that Walter followed David up to the Kingdom of Scotland, where he was granted lands in Renfrewshire, the next monarch of Scotland, Malcolm IV, made the High Steward title a hereditary arrangement. While High Stewards, the family were based at Dundonald, South Ayrshire between the 12th and 13th centuries. The sixth High Steward of Scotland, Walter Stewart, married Marjorie, daughter of Robert the Bruce, in 1503, James IV attempted to secure peace with England by marrying King Henry VIIs daughter, Margaret Tudor. The birth of their son, later James V, brought the House of Stewart into the line of descent of the House of Tudor, and the English throne. Margaret Tudor later married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and their daughter, Margaret Douglas, was the mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
15.
Roman Catholic
–
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
16.
Monarch
–
A monarch is the sovereign head of state in a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, alternatively, an individual may become monarch by conquest, acclamation or a combination of means. A monarch usually reigns for life or until abdication, if a young child is crowned the monarch, a regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. A monarch can reign in multiple monarchies simultaneously, for example, the monarchy of Canada and the monarchy of the United Kingdom are separate states, but they share the same monarch through personal union. Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles — king or queen, prince or princess, emperor or empress, archduke, duke or grand duke, Prince is sometimes used as a generic term to refer to any monarch regardless of title, especially in older texts. A king can also be a husband and a queen can be a kings wife. If both people in a reign, neither person is generally considered to be a consort. Monarchy is political or sociocultural in nature, and is associated with hereditary rule. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, agnatic seniority, Salic law, etc. In an elective monarchy, the monarch is elected but otherwise serves as any other monarch, historical examples of elective monarchy include the Holy Roman Emperors and the free election of kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and become republics, advocacy of government by a republic is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchy is called monarchism. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of national leadership. In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure real leadership does not depend on the monarch, a form of government may in fact be hereditary without being considered monarchy, such as a family dictatorship. Monarchies take a variety of forms, such as the two co-princes of Andorra, positions held simultaneously by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgel and the elected President of France. Similarly, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia is considered a monarch despite only holding the position for five years at a time, hereditary succession within one patrilineal family has been most common, with preference for children over siblings, sons over daughters. Other European realms practice one form or another of primogeniture, whereunder a lord was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, the system of tanistry was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit. The Salic law, practiced in France and in the Italian territories of the House of Savoy, in most fiefs, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of the patrilineage, a female of the family could succeed. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form of cognatic primogeniture, in more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity and primogeniture battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic
17.
Kingdom of England
–
In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
18.
Orkney
–
Orkney /ˈɔːrkni/, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, the largest island Mainland is often referred to as the Mainland. It has an area of 523 square kilometres, making it the sixth-largest Scottish island, the largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes. Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse, the Scottish Parliament then re-annexed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James IIIs bride Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three Councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. In addition to the Mainland, most of the islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have a geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is mild and the soils are fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, the significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance, and the island generates more than its total yearly electricity demand using renewables. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive Orcadian dialect of Scots, there is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife. Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain – probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC – and described it as triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas and this may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Speakers of Old Irish referred to the islands as Insi Orc island of the pigs, the archipelago is known as Ynysoedd Erch in modern Welsh and Arcaibh in modern Scottish Gaelic, the -aibh representing a fossilized prepositional case ending. The Anglo-Saxon monk Bede refers to the islands as Orcades insulae in his seminal work Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Norwegian settlers arriving from the ninth century reinterpreted orc as the Old Norse orkn seal. The plural suffix -jar was later removed in English leaving the modern name Orkney, according to the Historia Norwegiæ, Orkney was named after an earl called Orkan. The Norse knew Mainland Orkney as Megenland Mainland or as Hrossey Horse Island, the island is sometimes referred to as Pomona, a name that stems from a sixteenth-century mistranslation by George Buchanan, which has rarely been used locally. A charred hazelnut shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in Tankerness on the Mainland has been dated to 6820–6660 BC indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes
19.
Shetland
–
Shetland /ˈʃɛtlənd/, also called the Shetland Islands, is a subarctic archipelago that lies northeast of the island of Great Britain and forms part of Scotland, United Kingdom. The islands lie some 80 km to the northeast of Orkney and 280 km southeast of the Faroe Islands, the total area is 1,466 km2 and the population totalled 23,210 in 2012. The largest island, known simply as Mainland, has an area of 967 km2, making it the third-largest Scottish island, there are an additional 15 inhabited islands. The archipelago has a climate, a complex geology, a rugged coastline and many low. Humans have lived in Shetland since the Mesolithic period, and the earliest written references to the date back to Roman times. The early historic period was dominated by Scandinavian influences, especially Norway, when Scotland became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, trade with northern Europe decreased. Fishing has continued to be an important aspect of the economy up to the present day, the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s significantly boosted Shetland economy, employment and public sector revenues. The local way of life reflects the Scots and Norse heritage of the isles including the Up Helly Aa fire festival, the islands have produced a variety of writers of prose and poetry, often in Shetland dialect. There are numerous areas set aside to protect the fauna and flora. The Shetland pony and Shetland Sheepdog are two well known Shetland animal breeds, other distinguished local breeds include the Shetland sheep, cow, goose, and duck. The Shetland pig, or grice, has been extinct since approximately 1930, the islands motto, which appears on the Councils coat of arms, is Með lögum skal land byggja. This Icelandic phrase is taken from the Danish 1241 Basic Law, Codex Holmiensis, and is mentioned in Njáls saga. The name of Shetland is derived from the Old Norse words, hjalt, in AD43 and 77 the Roman authors Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder referred to the seven islands they call Haemodae and Acmodae respectively, both of which are assumed to be Shetland. Another possible early reference to the islands is Tacitus report in AD98, after describing the discovery and conquest of Orkney. In early Irish literature, Shetland is referred to as Inse Catt—the Isles of Cats, the Cat tribe also occupied parts of the northern Scottish mainland and their name can be found in Caithness, and in the Gaelic name for Sutherland. It is possible that the Pictish cat sound forms part of this Norse name and it then became Hjaltland in the 16th century. As Norn was gradually replaced by English in the form of the Shetland dialect which shares similarities with Scots English. The initial letter is the Middle Scots letter, yogh, the pronunciation of which is almost identical to the original Norn sound, /hj/
20.
Renaissance
–
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word also occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance, money and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money. Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
21.
Music
–
Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound organized in time. The common elements of music are pitch, rhythm, dynamics, different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. The word derives from Greek μουσική, Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as the harmony of the spheres and it is music to my ears point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, There is no noise, the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. There are many types of music, including music, traditional music, art music, music written for religious ceremonies. For example, it can be hard to draw the line between some early 1980s hard rock and heavy metal, within the arts, music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art or as an auditory art. People may make music as a hobby, like a teen playing cello in a youth orchestra, the word derives from Greek μουσική. According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, the music is derived from mid-13c. Musike, from Old French musique and directly from Latin musica the art of music and this is derived from the. Greek mousike of the Muses, from fem. of mousikos pertaining to the Muses, from Mousa Muse. In classical Greece, any art in which the Muses presided, Music is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace. With the advent of recording, records of popular songs. Some music lovers create mix tapes of their songs, which serve as a self-portrait. An environment consisting solely of what is most ardently loved, amateur musicians can compose or perform music for their own pleasure, and derive their income elsewhere. Professional musicians sometimes work as freelancers or session musicians, seeking contracts and engagements in a variety of settings, There are often many links between amateur and professional musicians. Beginning amateur musicians take lessons with professional musicians, in community settings, advanced amateur musicians perform with professional musicians in a variety of ensembles such as community concert bands and community orchestras. However, there are many cases where a live performance in front of an audience is also recorded and distributed. Live concert recordings are popular in classical music and in popular music forms such as rock, where illegally taped live concerts are prized by music lovers
22.
Monarchy
–
The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic, to partial and restricted, to completely autocratic. Traditionally and in most cases, the monarchs post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication, occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. Finally, there have been cases where the term of a reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved. Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy, Monarchy was the most common form of government until the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent. Currently,47 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state,19 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The monarchs of Cambodia, Japan, and Malaysia reign, the word monarch comes from the Greek language word μονάρχης, monárkhēs which referred to a single, at least nominally absolute ruler. In current usage the word usually refers to a traditional system of hereditary rule. Depending on the held by the monarch, a monarchy may be known as a kingdom, principality, duchy, grand duchy, empire, tsardom, emirate, sultanate, khaganate. The form of societal hierarchy known as chiefdom or tribal kingship is prehistoric, the Greek term monarchia is classical, used by Herodotus. The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as king, the Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese monarchs continued to be considered living Gods into the modern period. Since antiquity, monarchy has contrasted with forms of democracy, where power is wielded by assemblies of free citizens. In antiquity, monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome, much of 19th century politics was characterised by the division between anti-monarchist Radicalism and monarchist Conservativism. Many countries abolished the monarchy in the 20th century and became republics, advocacy of republics is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. In the modern era, monarchies are more prevalent in small states than in large ones, most monarchs, both historically and in the modern day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, the centre of the royal household and court. Growing up in a family, future monarchs are often trained for the responsibilities of expected future rule. Different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority. While most monarchs have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned in history, rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy, such as that of family dictatorships or political families in many democracies. The principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of leadership
23.
War
–
War is a state of armed conflict between societies. It is generally characterized by extreme aggression, destruction, and mortality, an absence of war is usually called peace. Warfare refers to the activities and characteristics of types of war. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to legitimate military targets. While some scholars see war as a universal and ancestral aspect of human nature, as concerns a belligerents losses in proportion to its prewar population, the most destructive war in modern history may have been the Paraguayan War. In 2013 war resulted in 31,000 deaths, down from 72,000 deaths in 1990, in 2003, Richard Smalley identified war as the sixth biggest problem facing humanity for the next fifty years. Another byproduct of some wars is the prevalence of propaganda by some or all parties in the conflict, the word is related to the Old Saxon werran, Old High German werran, and the German verwirren, meaning “to confuse”, “to perplex”, and “to bring into confusion”. In German, the equivalent is Krieg, the Spanish, Portuguese, the scholarly study of war is sometimes called polemology, from the Greek polemos, meaning war, and -logy, meaning the study of. Studies of war by military theorists throughout military history have sought to identify the philosophy of war, asymmetric warfare is a conflict between two populations of drastically different levels of military capability or size. Biological warfare, or germ warfare, is the use of weaponized biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, chemical warfare involves the use of weaponized chemicals in combat. Poison gas as a weapon was principally used during World War I. Civil war is a war between forces belonging to the nation or political entity. Conventional warfare is declared war between states in which nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons are not used or see limited deployment, cyberwarfare involves the actions by a nation-state or international organization to attack and attempt to damage another nations information systems. Information warfare is the application of force on a large scale against information assets and systems, against the computers. Nuclear warfare is warfare in which weapons are the primary, or a major. War of aggression is a war for conquest or gain rather than self-defense, the earliest recorded evidence of war belongs to the Mesolithic cemetery Site 117, which has been determined to be approximately 14,000 years old. About forty-five percent of the skeletons there displayed signs of violent death, since the rise of the state some 5,000 years ago, military activity has occurred over much of the globe. The advent of gunpowder and the acceleration of technological advances led to modern warfare
24.
James V of Scotland
–
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss. His only surviving child, Mary, succeeded him when she was just six days old. James was son of King James IV of Scotland and his wife Margaret Tudor, a daughter of Henry VII of England, and was the only legitimate child of James IV to survive infancy. He was born on 10 April 1512 at Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgowshire and baptized the day, receiving the titles Duke of Rothesay and Prince. He became king at just seventeen months old when his father was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field on 9 September 1513, James was crowned in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle on 21 September 1513. Other regents included Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, a member of the Council of Regency who was bestowed as Regent of Arran. In February 1517 James came from Stirling to Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, at Stirling, the 10-year-old James had a guard of 20 footmen dressed in his colours, red and yellow. When he went to the park below the Castle, by secret and in fair and soft wedder. Poets wrote their own nursery rhymes for James and advised him on royal behavior, as a youth, his education was in the care of University of St Andrews poets such as Sir David Lyndsay. In the autumn of 1524 James dismissed his Regents and was proclaimed an adult ruler by his mother, several new court servants were appointed including a trumpeter, Henry Rudeman. Thomas Magnus, the English diplomat, gave an impression of the new Scottish court at Holyroodhouse on All Saints Day 1524, trumpets and shamulles did sounde and blewe up mooste pleasauntely. Magnus saw the young king singing, playing with a spear at Leith, and with his horses, and he was given the impression that the king preferred English manners over French fashions. In 1525 Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, the young kings stepfather, took custody of James, another attempt later that year, on 4 September at the battle of Linlithgow Bridge, failed again to relieve the King from the clutches of Angus. When James and his came to Edinburgh on 20 November 1526, she stayed in the chambers at Holyroodhouse. In February 1527 Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, gave James twenty hunting hounds, Magnus thought the Scottish servant sent to Sheriff Hutton Castle for the dogs was intended to note the form and fashion of the Dukes household, for emulation in Scotland. James finally escaped from Anguss care in 1528 and assumed the reins of government himself, the first action James took as king was to remove Angus from the scene. The Douglas family were forced into exile and James besieged their castle at Tantallon and he then subdued the Border rebels and the chiefs of the Western Isles. Even his pursemaster and yeoman of the wardrobe, John Tennent of Listonschiels, was sent on an errand to England, James increased his income by tightening control over royal estates and from the profits of justice, customs and feudal rights
25.
Trinity Altarpiece
–
The work is attributed to the Flemish artist Hugo van der Goes and probably represents the inner and outer panels of the wings of a triptych. The presumed central panel is lost, the painting in the church was described as a burd on 17 May 1516 when John Stewart, Duke of Albany made an offering at the high altar on Trinity Sunday. The work represents an example of Scots religious art to have survived the iconoclasm of the Reformation. The panels are part of the British Royal Art Collection and are displayed at the National Gallery of Scotland, the four panels depict the following subjects, The Holy Trinity. A praying cleric, thought to be the contemporary Provost of Trinity College Kirk, Edward Bonkil, King James III of Scotland at prayer attended by Saint Andrew and a boy who may be the future King James IV. The royal arms of Scotland hang from a wall, queen Margaret of Scotland at prayer attended by Saint Michael. Her royal arms decorate her lectern, hours of James IV of Scotland Portinari Altarpiece Madonna in the Church
26.
Hugo van der Goes
–
Hugo van der Goes was one of the most important Flemish painters of the late 15th century. He introduced important innovations such as a new monumentalism, a colour spectrum. The presence of his masterpiece, the Portinari Triptych in Florence, Hugo van der Goes was likely born in Ghent or its environs around 1440. Nothing is known with certainty about the artists life prior to 1467, the sponsors for his membership of the guild were Joos van Wassenhove, master painter in Ghent from 1464, and Daneel Ruthaert. It is likely that he had trained elsewhere before he became a master in Ghent, some historians have suggested that Dieric Bouts was possibly the master of van der Goes but there is no independent evidence for this. In 1468 the artist was commissioned by the city of Ghent to execute works in connection with the grant of the Great Indulgence of the city. In the following years, van der Goes created further decorations such as papal blazons at the behest of the city, in 1468 he was in the town of Bruges making decorations to celebrate the marriage between Charles the Bold and Margaret of York. On 18 October 1468 van der Goes and other members of the painters guild invited painters from Tournai to their assembly in Ghent on the occasion of St. Lukes day, St. Luke was the patron saint of painters. In 1469 Hugo van der Goes and Joos van Wassenhove vouched for Alexander Bening for his entry as a master in the Ghent painters guild, in 1480 Alexander Bening married Catherina van der Goes, a cousin of Hugo van der Goes. Van der Goes and his workshop worked on commissions of the city of Ghent to provide decorations for Charles the Bolds Joyous Entry in Ghent in 1469. When in 1470 Joos van Wassenhove left Ghent for Italy to work in the service of Federico da Montefeltro, in 1473 the Burgundian court paid van der Goes for the paintings and blazons on the occasion of Charles the Goods funeral. The painter was repeatedly elected as deacon of the Ghent painters guild, at the highpoint of his career, van der Goes closed up his studio in Ghent in 1477 to become a frater conversus at the monastic community of the Rood Klooster near Auderghem. The Rood Klooster was part of the wing of the Modern Devotion movement. At the monastery he enjoyed certain privileges and he was allowed to continue working on painting commissions and to drink wine. During his time at the cloister he was appointed in 1482 by the City of Leuven to assess the works of Dieric Bouts for the Leuven city hall. From the city administration he received a jug of Rhine wine for this service, van der Goes probably also completed Bouts unfinished Triptych for Hyppolite Berthoz. On the left panel he painted the portraits of the couple. In 1482 van der Goes was sent on a trip to Cologne together with his half-brother Nicolaes who had taken religious vows
27.
Restalrig
–
Restalrig is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny, Restalrig Road is the main route through the area, running from London Road, at Jocks Lodge, to Leith Links. The place name Restalrig means ridge of the miry land and it is first attested as Lastalrik in 1166, becoming variously Lestalryk, Restalric or Rastalrig. The Norman noble family the de Lestalrics were the ancient landowners in the area, Sir John de Lestalric died in 1382, leaving his estate to his daughter Katharine and her husband, Sir Robert Logan, who became the laird. The castle of the Logan family stood on the site of Lochend House, the castle was largely destroyed by fire in the late 16th century. The present house on the site incorporates fragments of the tower house. Visually it is now dominated by an 1820 villa built on the foundations of the older buildings and it is now owned by the City of Edinburgh Council, and is a category B listed building. Lochend Loch below it was for centuries the main water supply for Leith. It was later used as a house, and is now also category B listed. According to Raphael Holinshed, Richard III of England camped at Restalrig in August 1482 after capturing Berwick upon Tweed, during the Siege of Leith in Spring 1560, the headquarters of the English army was located at Restalrig Deanery near the kirk. In April 1572 at the height of the Marian civil war, Thomas Randolph, Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange decorated the house with the royal tapestry from Edinburgh Castle. The English ambassadors plotted with Archibald Douglas to kidnap George, Lord Seton from the shore of Leith, but the plan did not take effect. Around 1604, the Logans sold Calton and Restalrig, otherwise known as Wester and Easter Restalrig, to Lord Balmerino, the most impressive remaining villa in the area is Marionville House, slightly west of the village centre. This has had numerous owners including Robert Dudgeon founder of the Royal Insurance Company and his son Patrick Dudgeon FRSE was born and raised here. By 1857, Restalrig had become what the ordnance gazetteer of Scotland called a decayed village, the area was mostly farmland and dairies. Around 1925, public housing was built to the north and east, Restalrig House whose entrance was at Restalrig Drive/Restalrig Road South was demolished in 1963. Piershill Square at the head of Smokey Brae was built by the City Architect, the parish church at Waterloo contains several monuments specifically to various soldiers of Restalrig. St Ninians RC Church on Marionville Road was designed in 1929 by Giles Gilbert Scott, within Restalrig are two multi-storey flats, Nisbet Court and Hawkhill Court
28.
Edinburgh
–
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 local government council areas. Located in Lothian on the Firth of Forths southern shore, it is Scotlands second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The 2014 official population estimates are 464,990 for the city of Edinburgh,492,680 for the authority area. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and it is the largest financial centre in the UK after London. Historically part of Midlothian, the city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World University Rankings in 2013 and 2014. The city is famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe. The citys historical and cultural attractions have made it the United Kingdoms second most popular tourist destination after London, attracting over one million overseas visitors each year. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, Edinburghs Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. It appears to derive from the place name Eidyn mentioned in the Old Welsh epic poem Y Gododdin, the poem names Din Eidyn as a hill fort in the territory of the Gododdin. The Celtic element din was dropped and replaced by the Old English burh, the first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is a royal charter, c. 1124–1127, by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline. In modern Gaelic, the city is called Dùn Èideann, the earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond, where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c.8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have found on Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat, Craiglockhart Hill. When the Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, at some point before the 7th century AD, the Gododdin, who were presumably descendants of the Votadini, built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin. Although its location has not been identified, it likely they would have chosen a commanding position like the Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria and it thenceforth remained under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, in 1638, King Charles Is attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In the 17th century, Edinburghs boundaries were defined by the citys defensive town walls
29.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
–
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a few steps away from the Muristan. The tomb is enclosed by the 18th-century shrine, called the Aedicule, within the church proper are the last four Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus Passion. The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and to a lesser degree the Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD built a dedicated to the goddess Venus in order to bury the cave in which Jesus had been buried. The first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, ordered in about 325/326 that the temple be replaced by a church, during the building of the Church, Constantines mother, Helena, is believed to have rediscovered the tomb. Socrates Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a description of the discovery. The remains are enveloped by a marble sheath placed some 500 years before to protect the ledge from Ottoman attacks. However, there are several thick window wells extending through the marble sheath and they appear to reveal an underlying limestone rock, which may be part of the original living rock of the tomb. The church was starting in 325/326, and was consecrated on 13 September 335. From pilgrim reports it seems that the housing the tomb of Jesus was freestanding at first. Each year, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection on 13 September and this building was damaged by fire in May of 614 when the Sassanid Empire, under Khosrau II, invaded Jerusalem and captured the True Cross. In 630, the Emperor Heraclius restored it and rebuilt the church after recapturing the city, after Jerusalem came under Arab rule, it remained a Christian church, with the early Muslim rulers protecting the citys Christian sites. A story reports that the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab visited the church and stopped to pray on the balcony and he feared that future generations would misinterpret this gesture, taking it as a pretext to turn the church into a mosque. Eutychius added that Umar wrote a decree prohibiting Muslims from praying at this location, the building suffered severe damage due to an earthquake in 746. Early in the century, another earthquake damaged the dome of the Anastasis. The damage was repaired in 810 by Patriarch Thomas, in the year 841, the church suffered a fire. In 935, the Orthodox Christians prevented the construction of a Muslim mosque adjacent the Church, in 938, a new fire damaged the inside of the basilica and came close to the rotunda. In 966, due to a defeat of Muslim armies in the region of Syria, the doors and roof were burnt, and the Patriarch John VII was murdered
30.
Jerusalem
–
Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
31.
Castle of St Andrews
–
St Andrews Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger and it housed the burgh’s wealthy and powerful bishops while St Andrews served as the ecclesiastical centre of Scotland during the years before the Protestant Reformation. In their Latin charters, the Archbishops of St Andrews wrote of the castle as their Palace, signing, the castles grounds are now maintained by Historic Scotland, and are entered through a visitor centre with displays on its history. Some of the best surviving carved fragments from the castle are displayed in the centre, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times as it changed hands between the Scots and the English. Soon after the sack of Berwick in 1296 by Edward I of England, in 1314, however, after the Scottish victory at Bannockburn, the castle was retaken and repaired by Bishop William Lamberton, Guardian of Scotland, a loyal supporter of King Robert the Bruce. The English had recaptured it again by the 1330s and reinforced its defences in 1336, sir Andrew Moray, Regent of Scotland in the absence of David II, recaptured it after a siege lasting three weeks. Shortly after this, in 1336-1337, it was destroyed by the Scots to prevent the English from once again using it as a stronghold and it remained in this ruined state until Bishop Walter Trail rebuilt it at the turn of the century. His castle forms the basis of what can be seen today and he completed work on the castle in about 1400 and died within its walls in 1401. Several notable figures spent time in the castle over the several years. James I of Scotland received part of his education from Bishop Henry Wardlaw, a later resident, Bishop James Kennedy, was a trusted advisor of James II of Scotland. In 1445 the castle was the birthplace of James III of Scotland, during these years, the castle also served as a notorious prison. The castles bottle dungeon is a dank and airless pit cut out of rock below the north-west tower. During the Scottish Reformation, the became a centre of religious persecution. Referring to the dungeon the Scottish reformer, John Knox, wrote. In 1521 James Beaton, then Archbishop of Glasgow, won the seat of St Andrews, Beaton altered the defences to enable the castle to withstand a heavy artillery attack, which was a threat as tensions grew between English Protestants and Scottish Catholics. In 1538 James Beaton was succeeded by his ambitious and wealthy nephew David Beaton, Cardinal David Beatons strong opposition to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Prince Edward, the son and heir of Henry VIII of England, helped to spark renewed fighting in 1544. Scottish Protestants were increasingly viewed as dangerous turncoats who sided with the English, in 1546 David Beaton imprisoned the Protestant preacher George Wishart in the castle’s Sea Tower and had him burnt at the stake in front of the castle walls on March 1
32.
St Andrews
–
St Andrews is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland,10 miles southeast of Dundee and 30 miles northeast of Edinburgh. The town is home to the University of St Andrews, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world, according to some rankings, it is ranked as the third best university in the United Kingdom, behind Oxbridge. The University is an part of the burgh and during term time students make up approximately one third of the towns population. St Andrews has a population of 16,800, the town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. There has been an important church in St Andrews since at least the 8th century, the settlement grew to the west of St Andrews cathedral with the southern side of the Scores to the north and the Kinness burn to the south. The burgh soon became the capital of Scotland, a position which was held until the Scottish Reformation. The famous cathedral, the largest in Scotland, now lies in ruins, St Andrews is also known worldwide as the home of golf. Visitors travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches. The Martyrs Memorial, erected to the honour of Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart, the civil parish has a population of 18,421. The earliest recorded name the area is Muckross, after the founding of a religious settlement in Muckross in around 370 AD, the name changed to Cennrígmonaid. This is Old Gaelic and composed of the elements cenn, ríg and this became Cell Rígmonaid and was anglicised Kilrymont. The modern Gaelic spelling is Cill Rìmhinn, the name St Andrews derives from the towns claim to be the resting place of bones of the apostle Andrew. According to legend, St Regulus brought the relics to Kilrymont and this is the origin of a third name for the town Kilrule. The first inhabitants who settled on the fringes of the rivers Tay. This was followed by the people who settled around the modern town around 4,500 BC as farmers clearing the area of woodland. In AD877, king Causantín mac Cináeda built a new church for the Culdees at St Andrews and later the same year was captured and executed after defending against Viking raiders. In AD906, the became the seat of the bishop of Alba. In 940 Constantine III abdicated and took the position of abbot of the monastery of St Andrews, the establishment of the present town began around 1140 by Bishop Robert on an L-shaped vill, possibly on the site of the ruined St Andrews Castle
33.
Fife
–
Fife is a council area and historic county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with boundaries to Perth and Kinross. By custom it is held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib. It is an area, and was a county of Scotland until 1975. It was very occasionally known by the anglicisation Fifeshire in old documents, a person from Fife is known as a Fifer. Fife was a government region divided into three districts, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and North-East Fife. Since 1996 the functions of the councils have been exercised by the unitary Fife Council. Fife is Scotlands third largest local authority area by population and it has a resident population of just under 367,000, over a third of whom live in the three principal towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. The historic town of St Andrews is located on the northeast coast of Fife and it is well known for the University of St Andrews, one of the most ancient universities in the world and is renowned as the home of golf. Fife, bounded to the north by the Firth of Tay, the earliest known reference to the common epithet The Kingdom of Fife dates from only 1678, in a proposition that the term derives from the quasi-regal privileges of the Earl of Fife. The notion of a kingdom may derive from a misintrepretation of an extract from Wyntoun, the name is recorded as Fib in A. D.1150 and Fif in 1165. It was often associated with Fothriff, the hill-fort of Clatchard Craig, near Newburgh, was occupied as an important Pictish stronghold between the sixth and eighth centuries AD. Fife was an important royal and political centre from the reign of King Malcolm III onwards, Malcolm had his principal home in Dunfermline and his wife Margaret was the main benefactor of Dunfermline Abbey. The Abbey replaced Iona as the resting place of Scotlands royal elite. The Earl of Fife was until the 15th century considered the principal peer of the Scottish realm, wool, linen, coal and salt were all traded. Salt pans heated by local coal were a feature of the Fife coast in the past, the distinctive red clay pan tiles seen on many old buildings in Fife arrived as ballast on trading boats and replaced the previously thatched roofs. This endeavour lasted until 1609 when the colonists, having been opposed by the population, were bought out by Kenneth Mackenzie. Fife became a centre of industry in the 19th century
34.
Kelso Abbey
–
Kelso Abbey is a ruined Scottish abbey in Kelso, Scotland. It was founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I, Kelso thus became the seat of a pre-eminently powerful abbacy in the heart of the Scottish Borders. From 1460 onwards, life for the abbey probably grew more settled, by the mid-century, through a turbulent combination of events, the abbey effectively ceased to function and the building fell into ruin. Although the site of Kelso Abbey has not been excavated in modern times. The only remains standing today are the west tower crossing and part of the infirmary, Kelso Abbey was founded at Roxburgh in 1128 by a community of monks of the Tironesian order, from Tiron, near Chartres, in France. The community had first entered Scotland, c,1113, under the patronage of David I as Prince of the Cumbrians during the reign of his brother, Alexander I, when the monks were given a commission to found their community at a site near Selkirk. Other institutions established by David at Roxburgh included the royal mint, construction of the abbey is believed to have commenced immediately, and by 1143 progress was sufficiently advanced for the building to be dedicated to The Blessed Virgin and Saint John. The Kings son, Henry, Earl of Northumbria, who predeceased his father, was interred in the abbey in 1152, John, abbot of Kelso from 1160 to 1180, was the first abbot in Scotland to be granted the mitre. In 1299, the abbot of Kelso was the English appointee, Thomas de Durham, throughout this turbulent period, Roxburgh Castle and Berwick upon Tweed, the major Scottish port serving the area, were frequently under English occupation. Whenever the abbey was subject to attack, the damage was repaired by the monks, in 1460, James II was killed within sight of the abbey as the result of a fatal accident during the campaign which secured repossession of Roxburgh castle that same year. Kelso Abbey was the venue for the hasty coronation of the infant king, James III, during the period 1460 to 1513, political and military control in the area was more stable and life for the abbey was probably relatively settled. After 1517, however, it was subject to English attacks. Kelso Abbey effectively ceased to function due to a combination of events in the mid-sixteenth century, the post-reformation kirk appears to have been a compact vaulted structure intruded within the west transepts in about 1748. This adapted structure included a vaulted gaol, in 1805, huge parts of the ruins were cleared away, including the parish church and the gaol, leaving only the abbeys west tower and transept remaining to this day. A more recent addition has been a memorial cloister to the 8th Duke of Roxburghe built in the style of the cloisters when the abbey was first built. Little of the plan of this once large abbey exists. The high altar of the abbey would have been at the east tower crossing. Although the east end does not survive, it may have been in a form if, as would be expected
35.
Roxburghshire
–
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a historic county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire to the north-west, to the south-east it borders Cumberland and Northumberland in England. It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh, a town which declined markedly in the 15th century and is no longer in existence, latterly, the county town of Roxburghshire was Jedburgh. The county has much the area as Teviotdale, the basin drained by the River Teviot. The term is often treated as synonymous with Roxburghshire, but may omit Liddesdale as Liddel Water drains to the west coast. Today, Roxburghshire is within the Scottish Borders council area for government purposes and contains the administrative centre of the area. It retains official status as a county, and falls within the Roxburgh, Ettrick. The county has a population of 48639, which is 43% of the population of the Scottish Borders area. Today, the towns in the county are, Jedburgh -4,030 Hawick -14,294 Kelso -5,639 Melrose -2,307 Hawick is now much the largest town. More than half the population live in the two parishes of Hawick and Melrose, until 1975, Roxburghshire was one of the counties of Scotland, governed by a county council from 1890. The county appears to have originated in the 12th century with the creation of the sheriffdom of Roxburgh, the first known sheriff is Gospatric. The hereditary sheriffship of Roxburghshire was possessed by the family of Douglas until the abolition of heritable jurisdictions in the 18th century, the ancient royal burgh of Roxburgh, from which the county had taken its name, fell into decay by the fifteenth century. After the demise of the town of Roxburgh, the county administration was based in Jedburgh, County Buildings were erected near the market place in 1812, in which the different courts met and the county officials transacted their business. After the 1894 County Council meetings were held at Newtown St Boswells, Kelso, Roxburgh County Offices were built there around 1930. New buildings by Peter Womersley were opened in 1968 and after local government re-organisation they became the headquarters of Borders Regions in 1975, the Duke of Buccleuch and the Duke of Roxburghe between them held the convenorship of Roxburgh County Council for 43 years between 1900 and 1975. The Local Government Act 1973 abolished the county and incorporated its area into the Borders Region, Borders was divided into four districts, one of which was named Roxburgh. Roxburgh District consisted of the county less the Melrose area. The regional and four district councils were abolished in 1996, merging to form the present Scottish Borders council area, the County of Roxburgh was the first Scottish county to receive a grant of arms
36.
Burgh of Berwick
–
Berwick-upon-Tweed is a town in the county of Northumberland. It is the northernmost town in England and it is located 2 1⁄2 miles south of the Scottish border, at the mouth of the River Tweed on the east coast. It is about 56 miles east-south east of Edinburgh,65 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and 345 miles north of London, the United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Berwicks population as 12,043. A civil parish and town council were created in 2008, Berwick was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement during the time of the Kingdom of Northumbria, which was annexed by England in the 10th century. The area was for more than 400 years central to historic border wars between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and several times possession of Berwick changed hands between the two kingdoms, the last time it changed hands was when England retook it in 1482. Berwick remains a market town and also has some notable architectural features, in particular its medieval town walls, its Elizabethan ramparts. The name Berwick is of Old English origin, and is derived from the term bere-wīc, combining bere, meaning barley, Berwick thus means barley village or barley farm. In the post-Roman period, the area was inhabited by the Brythons of Bryneich, later, the region became part of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia. Bernicia later united with the kingdom of Deira to form Northumbria, Berwick remained part of the Earldom of Northumbria until control passed to the Scots following the Battle of Carham of 1018. The town itself was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement during the time of the Kingdom of Northumbria, between the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the land between the rivers Forth and Tweed came under Scottish control, either through conquest by Scotland or through cession by England. Berwick was made a burgh in the reign of David I. A mint was present in the town by 1153, while under Scottish control, Berwick was referred to as South Berwick in order to differentiate it from the town of North Berwick, East Lothian, near Edinburgh. Berwick had a hospital for the sick and poor which was administered by the Church. Dated at Edinburgh June 8, in the 20th year of his reign, Berwicks strategic position on the Anglo-Scottish border during centuries of war between the two nations and its relatively great wealth led to a succession of raids, sieges and takeovers. William I of Scotland invaded and attempted to capture northern England in 1173-74, after his defeat, Berwick was ceded to Henry II of England. It was later back to William by Richard I of England in order to raise funds for his Crusade. Berwick had become a town by the middle of the 13th century. In 1291–92 Berwick was the site of Edward I of Englands arbitration in the contest for the Scottish crown between John Balliol and Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale, the decision in favour of Balliol was pronounced in the Great Hall of Berwick Castle on 17 November 1292
37.
Bishop of St Andrews
–
Primate of Scotland redirects here, not to be confused with the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Scotland or the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The Bishop of St. Andrews was the head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews. The name St Andrews is not the town or churchs original name, originally it was Cellrígmonaid located at Cennrígmonaid, hence the town became Kilrymont in the non-Gaelic orthography of the High Middle Ages). Today St Andrews has replaced both Kilrymont as well as the older English term Anderston as the name of the town, the bishopric itself appears to originate in the period 700–900. By the 11th century, it is clear that it is the most important bishopric in Scotland, there had been a monastery there since the 8th century. It was probably taken over by Céli Dé monks in the 9th or 10th centuries, and these survive into the 14th century. It is the Gaelic abbey, rather than the continental priory, that the abbot was in charge of, only a few abbots are known. It is often thought that the position of Abbot and Bishop were the same until the Norman era, the pre-11th century bishop of the Scots may have had no fixed seat before finally settling at St Andrews. The bishopric of St Andrews was elevated into an Archbishopric in 1472 by Pope Sixtus IV, the Scottish church broke with Rome in the Scottish Reformation of 1560. Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History, AD 500–1286,2 Vols, vol. I Anderson, Marjorie Ogilvie, St. Andrews before Alexander I, in G. W. S. Barrow, The Scottish Tradition, pp. 1–13 Barrow, G. W. S
38.
Earl of Arran
–
Earl of Arran is a title in both the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. The two titles refer to different places, the Isle of Arran in Scotland, and the Aran Islands in Ireland, the Scottish earldom is a subsidiary title of the Duke of Hamilton, whereas the Irish earldom is a separate title held by the Gore family. The feudal Earldom of Arran supposedly had its caput at Lochranza Castle, the arms of the feudal Earl of Arran are, Argent, a lymphad with the sails furled proper flagged gules. These are quartered today with the arms of Hamilton by the Duke of Hamilton, the title was first created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1467 for Thomas Boyd, who was later attainted for treason. The next creation was in 1503 for James Hamilton, 2nd Lord Hamilton and his grandson was declared insane in 1562 and the title passed to the kings favourite Captain James Stewart in 1581. In 1609, the second Marquess of Hamilton inherited the earldom, in 1643, the third Marquess was made Duke of Hamilton and received a second grant of the earldom of Arran. At the death of the second Duke, the 1503 earldom became dormant, while the 1643 earldom descended along with the dukedom, for more information on these creations, see the Duke of Hamilton. However, the titles became extinct on his death in 1686 as he left no heirs, the next creation came in 1693 for his nephew Charles Butler. These titles became extinct on his death in 1758, the final creation in the Peerage of Ireland came in 1762, when Sir Arthur Gore, 3rd Baronet, was created Earl of Arran, of the Arran Islands in the County of Galway. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl and he sat as a member of the Irish Parliament for Donegal Borough and was one of the original sixteen Knights of the Order of St Patrick. Lord Arran had sixteen children, and one of his daughters was Cecilia Underwood and he was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Earl. He represented Baltimore and County Donegal in the British House of Commons and he was childless and was succeeded by his nephew, the fourth Earl. He was the son of Colonel the Hon. William John Gore and his son, the fifth Earl, was also in the Diplomatic Service. In 1884 he was created Baron Sudley, of Castle Gore in the County of Mayo and this peerage gave the earls an automatic seat in the House of Lords. His son, the sixth Earl, was a soldier and also served as Lord Lieutenant of County Donegal. At his death in December 1958, he was succeeded by his son, the seventh earl, who died only nine days after his father and was succeeded by his younger brother. In 1967, the earl was a sponsor of the private bill which decriminalised homosexuality in Britain. As of 2016 the titles are held by his son, the ninth Earl, Lord Arran is a Conservative politician and one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
39.
Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran
–
Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran was the elder daughter of James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders. Her brother was James III of Scotland and she married twice, firstly to Thomas Boyd, 1st Earl of Arran, secondly to James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton. It was through her children by her husband that the Hamilton Earls of Arran. Mary was born at Stirling Castle on 13 May 1453, the eldest daughter of James II of Scotland and she had five siblings, including James III, who ascended the Scottish throne in 1460 upon their fathers accidental death by an exploding cannon. Marys mother died in 1463, leaving her an orphan at the age of ten, Mary was married to her first husband Thomas Boyd before 26 April 1467 when she was almost fourteen years old. The Isle of Arran was given as her dowry, Thomas Boyd was subsequently created Earl of Arran, law Castle, in Ayrshire was built for the couple. Mary, upon hearing that Thomas was to be summoned before the king and Parliament to answer the charges, Mary and Thomas promptly sailed to Denmark. On 22 November 1469 he was attainted, and his title, honours and she later returned to Scotland in an attempt to have her husband cleared of all charges laid against him. Upon her arrival in Scotland, King James detained her in custody in Dean Castle at Kilmarnock until her marriage was annulled, marys marriage to Thomas was declared void in 1473. Thomas and Mary together had two children, Margaret Boyd, married firstly, Alexander Forbes, 4th Lord Forbes, secondly Sir David Kennedy, by her marriage to Sir David Kennedy, she had no descendants. James Boyd, 2nd Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock In early 1474, Mary married secondly as her husband, James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton. They received a dispensation on 26 April 1476 thus legitimising the two children already born to them. Together James and Mary had three children, James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, married firstly in 1490 Elizabeth Home by whom he had two daughters, he divorced Elizabeth in 1504. He married secondly in 1516, Janet Bethune, daughter of Sir David Bethune, 1st of Creich and Janet Duddlingston. By whom he had three children including his heir, James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran, heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Scotland, Regent of Scotland. Hon. Elizabeth Hamilton, married 9 April 1494 Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox and he was born in Brodick Castle, Hamilton, Torrence, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He died in 1543 in Torrence, Lanarkshire, Scotland, when he was 66 years old, according to some records, he married Campbell, the daughter of Campbell of Glaister, or Glacester, the niece of the Sheriff of Ayr. They had at least two children, Janet Hamilton, born in 1500, who wed Alexander Burnet, 4th Baron & 9th Laird of Leys, and Matthew Hamilton, born in 1512, who wed Jean Muirhead of Torrence
40.
Christian I of Denmark
–
Christian I was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, from 1460 to 1481, he was also Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein. He was the first Danish monarch of the House of Oldenburg and he was a son of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg, a descendant of King Eric IV of Denmark, and Hedwig of Holstein, a descendant of King Eric V of Denmark and Abel of Denmark. His subsequent accessions to the thrones of Norway and Sweden, restored the unity of the Kalmar Union for a short period. In 1460, following the death of his uncle, Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, Count of Holstein, Christian also became Duke of Schleswig. In the 1470s, he undertook several costly travels, in 1474 to Pope Sixtus IV, Christian I was born in February 1426 in Oldenburg in Northern Germany as the eldest son of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg by his second wife, Helvig of Holstein. Christian had two brothers, Maurice and Gerhard, and one sister Adelheid. Through his father, he belonged to the House of Oldenburg, based on the two strongholds of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, the family had gradually expanded its rule over the neighbouring Frisian tribes of the area. Christians father was called the Fortunate as he had reunited and expanded the familys territory, christians mother, Helvig, was a daughter of Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein, and a sister of Adolphus, Duke of Schleswig. Through his father, Christian was a descendant of King Eric IV of Denmark through his daughter Sophia. Christian thus descended from the three surviving sons of Valdemar II and his second wife Berengaria of Portugal, at Dietrich death in 1440, Christian and his brothers jointly succeeded their father as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. In January 1448, King Christopher of Denmark, Sweden and Norway died suddenly and his death resulted in the break-up of the union of the three kingdoms, as Denmark and Sweden went their separate ways. The vacant Danish throne was first offered by the Council of the Realm to Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, but being relatively old and childless, the duke declined and recommended his nephew, count Christian of Oldenburg. The council also demanded that Christian should marry the widow of his predecessor King Christopher III, on 1 September 1448, after signing his ascension promissory, count Christian was elected to the Danish throne as king Christian I at the assembly in Viborg. His coronation was held on 28 October 1449, in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, meanwhile, Sweden had on 20 June 1448 elected Charles Knutsson as king. Norway was now faced with the choice between a union with Denmark or Sweden, or electing a separate king, the latter option was quickly discarded, and a power-struggle ensued between the supporters of Christian of Denmark and Charles of Sweden. The Norwegian Council of the Realm was divided, in February 1449, a part of the Council declared in favour of Charles as king, but on 15 June the same year, a different group of councillors paid homage to Christian. On 20 November, Charles was crowned king of Norway in Trondheim, however, the Swedish nobility now took steps to avoid war with Denmark
41.
Holyrood Abbey
–
Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I, during the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded further. The abbey church was used as a church until the 17th century. The remaining walls of the abbey lie adjacent to the palace, the site of the abbey is protected as a scheduled monument. Rood is an old word for the cross which Jesus Christ was crucified upon, thus the name Holyrood is equivalent to Holy Cross. Legend relates that in 1127, while King David I was hunting in the forests to the east of Edinburgh during the Feast of the Cross, as an act of thanksgiving for his escape, David I founded Holyrood Abbey on the site in 1128. In the church was preserved, in a reliquary, the fragment of the True Cross brought by Davids mother, St. Margaret, from Waltham Abbey. At the battle of Nevilles Cross, in 1346, this precious relic fell into the hands of the English, in 1177 the papal legate Vivian held council here. In 1189 the nobles and prelates of Scotland met here to discuss raising a ransom for William the Lion, the original abbey church of Holyrood was largely reconstructed between 1195 and 1230. The completed building consisted of a six-bay aisled choir, three-bay transepts with a tower above. Some scholars believe the high vaults to be sexpartite a design that was probably archaic at the period and they were probably plastered, with exposed thin ribs. Among the chief benefactors of Holyrood during the four centuries of its existence as a house were Kings David I and II, Robert, Bishop of St. Andrews. The Parliament of Scotland met at the abbey in 1256,1285,1327,1366,1384,1389 and 1410, in 1326 Robert the Bruce held parliament here and there is evidence that Holyrood was being used as a royal residence by 1329. The Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, which brought an end to the First War of Scottish Independence, was signed by Robert I in the Kings Chamber at Holyrood in March 1328. The abbeys position close to Edinburgh Castle meant that it was visited by Scotlands kings. James II and his twin brother Alexander, Duke of Rothesay, were there in October 1430. James was also crowned at Holyrood in 1437 and building works were carried out before his marriage there in 1449, between 1498 and 1501, James IV constructed a royal palace at Holyrood, adjacent to the abbey cloister. Royal influence over the abbey further increased when in 1538 Robert Stewart, during the War of the Rough Wooing, the invading English armies of the Earl of Hertford inflicted structural damage on Holyrood Abbey in 1544 and 1547
42.
Lord of the Isles
–
The Lord of the Isles is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, although they were, at times, nominal vassals of the Kings of Norway, Ireland, or Scotland, the island chiefs remained functionally independent for many centuries. Their territory included the Hebrides, Knoydart, Ardnamurchan, and the Kintyre peninsula, at their height they were the greatest landowners and most powerful lords in the British Isles after the Kings of England and Scotland. The end of the MacDonald Lords came in 1493 when John MacDonald forfeited his estates and titles to King James IV of Scotland, thus Prince Charles is the current Lord of the Isles. The only island still in the possession of the MacDonalds is tiny Cara off Kintyre, which is owned by the MacDonalds of Largie, the west coast and islands of present-day Scotland were those of a people or peoples of uncertain cultural affiliation until the 5th century. They were invaded by Gaels from Ireland starting perhaps in the 4th century or earlier, whose language eventually predominated. In the 8th and 9th centuries this area, like others, suffered raids and invasions by Vikings from Norway, and the became known to the Gaels as Innse-Gall. The following year, the people of the Isles, both Gael and Norse, rebelled, harald sent his cousin Ketill Flatnose to regain control, and Ketil then became King of the Isles. Scotland and Norway would continue to dispute overlordship of the area, the Norse nobleman Godred Crovan became ruler of Man and the Isles, but he was deposed in 1095 by the new King of Norway, Magnus Bareleg. In 1098, Magnus entered into a treaty with King Edgar of Scotland, Magnus was confirmed in control of the Isles and Edgar of the mainland. Lavery cites a tale from the Orkneyinga saga, according to which King Malcolm III of Scotland offered Earl Magnus of Orkney all the islands off the west coast navigable with the rudder set. Magnus then allegedly had a skiff hauled across the neck of land at Tarbert, Loch Fyne with himself at the helm, Somerled, Gilledommans grandson, seized the Isles from the King of Man in 1156 and founded a dynasty that in time became the Lords of the Isles. He had Celtic blood on his fathers side and Norse on his mothers, his contemporaries knew him as Somerled Macgilbred and he took the title Rí Innse Gall as well as King of Man. King Haakon IV of Norway confirmed Donalds son Angus Mor Mac Donald as Lord of Islay, when that ended with an effective victory for Scotland, Angus Mor accepted King Alexander III of Scotland as his overlord and retained his own territory. The Lord was advised by a Council, in practice, membership and attendance must have varied with the times and the occasion. Angus Ogs son Good John of Islay first formally assumed the title Dominus Insularum – Lord of the Isles – in 1336, in their maritime domain the Lords of the Isles used galleys for both warfare and transport. These ships had developed from the Viking longships and knarrs, clinker-built with a square sail, from the 14th century they changed from using a steering oar to a stern rudder. These ships took part in sea battles and attacked castles or forts built close to the sea, the Lordship specified the feudal dues of its subjects in terms of numbers and sizes of the galleys each area had to provide in service to their Lord
43.
Hebrides
–
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland. There are two groups, the Inner and Outer Hebrides. This diversity is reflected in the given to the islands. The Hebrides are the source of much of Scottish Gaelic literature, today the economy of the islands is dependent on crofting, fishing, tourism, the oil industry, and renewable energy. The Hebrides have lower biodiversity than mainland Britain, but there is a significant presence of seals, the Hebrides have a diverse geology ranging in age from Precambrian strata that are amongst the oldest rocks in Europe to Paleogene igneous intrusions. The Hebrides can be divided into two groups, separated from one another by the Minch to the north and the Sea of the Hebrides to the south. The Inner Hebrides lie closer to mainland Scotland and include Islay, Jura, Skye, Mull, Raasay, Staffa, there are 36 inhabited islands in this group. The Outer Hebrides are a chain of more than 100 islands, there are 15 inhabited islands in this archipelago. The main islands include Barra, Benbecula, Berneray, Harris, Lewis, North Uist, South Uist, in total, the islands have an area of approximately 7,200 square kilometres and a population of 44,759. A complication is that there are descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides. The Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying east of the Minch, there are various islands that lie in the sea lochs such as Eilean Bàn and Eilean Donan that might not ordinarily be described as Hebridean, but no formal definitions exist. In the past, the Outer Hebrides were often referred to as the Long Isle, today, they are also known as the Western Isles, although this phrase can also be used to refer to the Hebrides in general. The Hebrides have a temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude. In the Outer Hebrides the average temperature for the year is 6 °C in January and 14 °C in summer, the average annual rainfall in Lewis is 1,100 millimetres and sunshine hours range from 1,100 –1,200 per annum. The summer days are long, and May to August is the driest period. The Hebrides were settled during the Mesolithic era around 6500 BC or earlier, after the conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. Occupation at a site on Rùm is dated to 8590 ±95 uncorrected radiocarbon years BP, there are many examples of structures from the Neolithic period, the finest example being the standing stones at Callanish, dating to the 3rd millennium BC. Cladh Hallan, a Bronze Age settlement on South Uist is the site in the UK where prehistoric mummies have been found
44.
Scottish Highlands
–
The Highlands are a historic region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, the term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands, the Scottish Gaelic name of A Ghàidhealtachd literally means the place of the Gaels and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands. The area is sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region. At 9.1 per km2 in 2012, the density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotlands as a whole, comparable with that of Bolivia, Chad. The Highland Council is the body for much of the Highlands. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth & Kinross, Stirling. The Scottish highlands is the area in the British Isles to have the Taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest. Between the 15th century and the 20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, the terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent, historically, the Highland line distinguished the two Scottish cultures. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided, there was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Tartan had largely abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. The period of the Napoleonic wars brought prosperity, optimism, the economy grew thanks to wages paid in industries such as kelping, fisheries, and weaving, as well as large-scale infrastructure spending such as the Caledonian Canal project. On the East Coast, farmlands were improved, and high prices for cattle brought money to the area, Service in the Army was also attractive to young men from the Highlands, who sent pay home and retired there with their army pensions. This prosperity ended after 1815, and long-term negative factors began to undermine the position of the poor tenant farmers, who typically rented a few acres
