1.
Early Scots
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Early Scots was the emerging literary language of the Northern Middle English speaking parts of Scotland in the period before 1450. The northern forms of Middle English descended from Northumbrian Old English, during this period, speakers referred to the language as English. Political developments in the 12th century facilitated the spread of the English language, institutions such as the burghs first established by David I, mostly in the south and east of Scotland, brought new communities into the areas in which they were established. Incoming burghers were mainly English, Dutch and French, the increasing economic influence of the burghs attracted further English, Fleming and Scandinavian immigration. As the economic power of the burghs grew, Gaelic-speakers from the found it advantageous to acquire a working knowledge of English. The institutional language of the burghs consisted of vocabulary that was Germanic in origin, such English terms as toft, croft, ruid, guild, bow, wynd, multi-lingualism and cultural diversity became increasingly the norm after David I. People in one part of the realm could be addressed as Franci, Angli, the end of the House of Dunkeld led to the throne being passed to three families of Anglo-French origin, the Balliols, Bruces and Stewarts. After the death of King Robert I, the kings of Scotland increasingly identified themselves with the English-speaking part of the kingdom, by this time differentiation into Southern, Central and Northern dialects had perhaps occurred. Scots was also beginning to replace Latin as a language for records, in Caithness, it came into contact with both Norn and Gaelic. Scots also retained many words which became obsolete farther south, during this period a number of words of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as anerly, berynes, clenge, halfindall, scathful, sturting, thyrllage and umbeset, were now almost or completely unique to Scots. The vocabulary of Scots was augmented by the speech of Scandinavians, Flemings, Dutch and Middle Low German speakers through trade with, and immigration from, the low countries. From Scandinavian came at, byg, bak, bla, bra, ferlie, flyt remove, fra, gar, gowk, harnis, ithand, low, lug, man, neve, sark, spe, þa, til, tinsell, wycht and wyll. The Flemings introduced bonspell, bowcht, cavie, crame, furisine, grotkyn, howff, kesart, lunt, much, muchkin, skaff, wapinschaw, wyssill and the coins plak, stek and doyt. A number of Gaelic words such as breive, cane, couthal, davach, duniwassal, kenkynolle, mare and toschachdor occurred in early legal documents but most became obsolete early in the period. Gaelic words for topographical features have endured, such as bogg, carn, corrie, crag, inch, knok, loch and strath. The reduced set of verb agreement endings in particular give the language an uncannily modern appearance when compared to the writing of English contemporaries such as Geoffrey Chaucer, another hypothesis proposes a possible path of developments from the reduction of verbal affixes followed by originally enclitic postverbal pronouns. The forms of the third person plural pronoun they/their/them which later moved southwards to replace the older Southern he/here/hem forms, one reason why the Northern forms were ultimately successful is that they got rid of the ambiguity of early Southern Middle English he and hir, her. The reduced set of verb agreement endings originating in the 9th or 10th centuries, whereas the Old English and Southern and Midlands Middle English pattern had –e, -s, -th in the three persons of the singular and –th in all persons of the plural
2.
John Barbour (poet)
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John Barbour was a Scottish poet and the first major named literary figure to write in Scots. He is known to have written a number of other works, Barbour was latterly Archdeacon of the Kirk of St Machar in Aberdeen. He also studied in Oxford and Paris, although he was a man of the church, his surviving writing is strongly secular in both tone and themes. His principal patron was Robert II and evidence of his promotion and he died in 1395, probably in Aberdeen. John Barbour may have been born around 1320 if the record of his age in 1375 as 55 is correct and his birthplace is not known, though Aberdeenshire and Galloway have made rival claims. Barbours first appearance in the record comes in 1356 with promotion to the archdeaconry of Aberdeen from a post he had held for less than a year in Dunkeld Cathedral. It is inferred from this that he was present in Avignon in 1355. In 1357, when David II returned to Scotland from exile and was restored to active kingship and he subsequently appears to have left the country in other years coincidental with periods when David II was active king. After the death of David II in 1371, Barbour served in the court of Robert II in a number of capacities. It was during this time that he composed, The Brus, receiving for this in 1377 the gift of ten pounds Scots and he held various posts in the kings household. In 1372 he was one of the auditors of exchequer and in 1373 a clerk of audit, the only biographical evidence for his closing years is his signature as a witness to sindry deeds in the Register of Aberdeen in 1392. According to the obit-book of St Machars Cathedral, Aberdeen he died on 13 March 1395, Barbour made provision for a mass to be sung for himself and his parents, an instruction that was observed in the Kirk of St Machar until the Reformation. The Brus, Barbours major surviving work, is a narrative poem written while he was a member of the kings household in the 1370s. Its subject is the success of the prosecution of the First War of Scottish Independence. Its principal focus is Robert the Bruce and Sir James Douglas, Barbours purpose in the poem was partly historical and partly patriotic. He celebrates The Bruce and Douglas throughout as the flowers of Scottish chivalry, the poem opens with a description of the state of Scotland at the death of Alexander III and concludes with the death of Douglas and the burial of the Bruces heart. Its central episode is the Battle of Bannockburn, patriotic as the sentiment is, this is expressed in more general terms than is found in later Scottish literature. Barbours style in the poem is vigorous, his line generally fluid and quick, the most quoted part is Book 1, lines 225-228, A. fredome is a noble thing
3.
Chivalry
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Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is a code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood which developed between 1170 and 1220. The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries, the term chivalry derives from the Old French term chevalerie, which can be translated to horse soldiery. Gautier states that emerged from the Moors as well as the Teutonic forests and was nurtured into civilization. Over time, its meaning in Europe has been refined to emphasise social and moral virtues more generally, in origin, the term chivalry means horsemanship, formed in Old French, in the 11th century, from chevalier, from Medieval Latin caballārius. In English, the term appears from 1292, thus, chivalry has hierarchical meanings from simply a heavily armed horseman to a code of conduct. Based on the three treatises, initially chivalry was defined as a way of life in which three essential aspects fused together, the military, the nobility, the religion. Gautiers Ten Commandments of chivalry are, Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them. Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born, Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy. Thou shalt make war against the infidel without cessation and without mercy, Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God. Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word, Thou shalt be generous, and give largesse to everyone. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right, though these ten commandments are often accepted to be what knights would use, these would not necessarily be what a knight actually followed in the medieval era. This code was created by Leon Gautier in 1883, long after the knight had ceased to exist in its traditional form. Chivalry in a sense was more of a subjective term. It is a version of the myth of the Golden Age, from Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi, We must not confound chivalry with the feudal system. The feudal system may be called the life of the period of which we are treating, possessing its advantages and inconveniences, its virtues. Chivalry, on the contrary, is the world, such as it existed in the imaginations of the Romance writers. Its essential character is devotion to woman and to honour, Sismondi alludes to the fictitious Arthurian romances about the imaginary Court of King Arthur, which were usually taken as factual presentations of a historical age of chivalry. He continues, The more closely we look into history, the more clearly shall we perceive that the system of chivalry is an invention almost entirely poetical and it is impossible to distinguish the countries in which it is said to have prevailed
4.
Robert the Bruce
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Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert was one of the most famous warriors of his generation and he fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotlands place as an independent country and is today revered in Scotland as a national hero. As Earl of Carrick, Robert the Bruce supported his familys claim to the Scottish throne, after submitting to Edward I in 1302 and returning to the kings peace, Robert inherited his familys claim to the Scottish throne upon his fathers death. In February 1306, Robert the Bruce killed Comyn following an argument, Bruce moved quickly to seize the throne and was crowned king of Scots on 25 March 1306. Bruce defeated his other Scots enemies, destroying their strongholds and devastating their lands, despite Bannockburn and the capture of the final English stronghold at Berwick in 1318, Edward II refused to renounce his claim to the overlordship of Scotland. In 1320, the Scottish nobility submitted the Declaration of Arbroath to Pope John XXII, declaring Robert as their rightful monarch and asserting Scotlands status as an independent kingdom. In 1324, the Pope recognised Robert I as king of an independent Scotland, and in 1326, Robert I died in June 1329. His body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, while his heart was interred in Melrose Abbey. Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale, the first of the Bruce, or de Brus, line arrived in Scotland with David I in 1124 and was given the lands of Annandale in Dumfries and Galloway. His mother was by all accounts a formidable woman who, legend would have it, from his mother, he inherited the Earldom of Carrick, and through his father, a royal lineage that would give him a claim to the Scottish throne. The Bruces also held estates in Aberdeenshire, County Antrim, County Durham, Essex, Middlesex. Although Robert the Bruces date of birth is known, his place of birth is less certain, although it is most likely to have been Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, very little is known of his youth. Annandale was thoroughly feudalised and the form of Northern Middle English that would develop into the Scots language was spoken throughout the region. Robert the Bruce would most probably have become trilingual at an early age and he would have been schooled to speak, read and possibly write in the Anglo-Norman language of his Scots-Norman peers and his fathers family. He would also have both the Gaelic language of his Carrick birthplace and his mothers family, and the early Scots language. As the heir to an estate and a pious layman, Robert would also have been given working knowledge of Latin. This would have afforded Robert and his brothers access to education in the law, politics, scripture, saints Lives, philosophy, history and chivalric instruction. That Robert took personal pleasure in such learning and leisure is suggested in a number of ways, as king, Robert certainly commissioned verse to commemorate Bannockburn and his subjects military deeds
5.
James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
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Sir James Douglas was a Scottish knight and feudal lord. He was one of the commanders during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He was the eldest son of Sir William Douglas, known as le Hardi or the bold and his mother was Elizabeth Stewart, the daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, who died circa 1287 or early 1288. His father remarried in late 1288 so Douglas birth had to be prior to that, however, Douglas was sent to France for safety in the early days of the Wars of Independence, and was educated in Paris. There he met William Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews and he returned to Scotland with Lamberton. His lands had seized and awarded to Robert Clifford. The English, since he slew that man, Are keen to him if they can. Now, therefore, if it be your will, With him will I take good or ill, through him I hope my land to win Despite the Clifford and his kin. This was a dramatic moment in Scottish history, Robert Bruce, earl of Carrick had slain John Comyn. Bruce immediately claimed the crown of Scotland, in defiance of the English king, less than seven weeks after the killing in Dumfries, Bruce was crowned King on 25 March. It was while he was on his way to Glasgow to meet with Bishop Wishart, and then to Scone, the site of Scottish coronations. Riding on a horse borrowed from Bishop Lamberton, the site is traditionally believed to be the summit of a hill in Dumfries and Galloway, that is now known as the Crown of Scotland. Douglas explained his circumstances and immediately offered his services, And thus began their friendship true That no mischance could eer undo Nor lessen while they were alive and their friendship more and more would thrive. Douglas was set to share in Bruces early misfortunes, being present at the defeats at Methven and he soon created a formidable reputation for himself as a soldier and a tactician. While Bruce was campaigning in the north against his domestic enemies and he also showed himself to be utterly ruthless, particularly in his relentless attacks on the English garrison in his own Douglas Castle, the most famous of which quickly passed into popular history. Barbour dates this incident to Palm Sunday 1307, which fell on 19 March, some question whether this date is too early as Bruce and his small army were not yet established in south-west Scotland, suggesting Palm Sunday 1308 –17 April – as a more accurate date. Barbour says that the Larder was the first act toward becoming established in part of Scotland. Gathering local support he entered the church and the war-cry Douglas, went up for the first time
6.
Wars of Scottish Independence
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The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War began with the English invasion of Scotland in 1296, the Second War began with the English-supported invasion by Edward Balliol and the Disinherited in 1332, and ended in 1357 with the signing of the Treaty of Berwick. The wars were part of a crisis for Scotland and the period became one of the most defining times in its history. At the end of wars, Scotland retained its status as an independent state. The wars were important for reasons, such as the emergence of the longbow as a key weapon in medieval warfare. King Alexander III of Scotland died in 1286, leaving his three-year-old granddaughter Margaret as his heir. In 1290, the Guardians of Scotland signed the Treaty of Birgham agreeing to the marriage of the Maid of Norway and Edward of Caernarvon, the son of Edward I, who was Margarets great-uncle. However, Margaret, travelling to her new kingdom, died shortly after landing on the Orkney Islands around 26 September 1290, with her death, there were 13 rivals for succession. The two leading competitors for the Scottish crown were Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale and John Balliol, Edward agreed to meet the guardians at Norham in 1291. Before the process got underway Edward insisted that he be recognised as Lord Paramount of Scotland, when they refused, he gave the claimants three weeks to agree to his terms, knowing that by then his armies would have arrived and the Scots would have no choice. Edwards ploy worked, and the claimants to the crown were forced to acknowledge Edward as their Lord Paramount and accept his arbitration. Their decision was influenced in part by the fact that most of the claimants had large estates in England and, therefore, however, many involved were churchmen such as Bishop Wishart for whom such mitigation cannot be claimed. Two days later, in Upsettlington, the Guardians of the Realm, all Scots were also required to pay homage to Edward I, either in person or at one of the designated centres by 27 July 1291. There were thirteen meetings from May to August 1291 at Berwick, on 3 August, Edward asked Balliol and Bruce to choose 40 arbiters each, while he chose 24, to decide the case. On 12 August, he signed a writ that required the collection of all documents that concern the competitors rights or his own title to the superiority of Scotland. Balliol was named king by a majority on 17 November 1292, on 26 December, at Newcastle upon Tyne, King John swore homage to Edward I for the Kingdom of Scotland. Edward soon made it clear that he regarded the country as a vassal state, Balliol, undermined by members of the Bruce faction, struggled to resist, and the Scots resented Edwards demands. In 1294, Edward summoned John Balliol to appear before him, on his return to Scotland, John held a meeting with his council and after a few days of heated debate, plans were made to defy the orders of Edward I
7.
Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray
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Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray was an important soldier and diplomat in the Wars of Scottish Independence, who later served as regent of Scotland. Thomas was the son of another Thomas, who was Chamberlain of Scotland and Sheriff of Roxburgh, and it is known that the younger Thomas was the nephew of King Robert the Bruce, but it is uncertain which of Roberts sisters was his mother. The traditional view is that she was of the first marriage of Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, however it is now believed that the Kings father Robert married again after Marjories death and had with his second wife a daughter, Isabel, who married the elder Thomas. Thomas supported Robert in his attempt to take the throne, and was present at his uncles coronation in 1306 and he was probably knighted by the king then or shortly after. After the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Methven, he was prisoner by the English, coming first under the custody of Sir Adam Gordon. During his confinement he joined the English cause, and remained attached to them until he was captured by Sir James Douglas in 1308 and his defection came to the attention of Edward II of England, who forfeited all his lands, bestowing them on his favourite Hugh le Despencer. In 1312 Robert created him Earl of Moray, and he became ruler of a swathe of land in the north of Scotland. He was also lord of the Isle of Man, in exchange for a reddendo of six ships of 26 oars and 100 silver marks. Around this time he became one of Roberts most trusted lieutenants and his most famous achievement took place on 14 March 1314 when he carried out a daring attack on Edinburgh Castle. This was one of a handful of castles in Scotland still in English hands, amongst Morays men was William Francis, the son of a former governor of the castle, who knew of a secret path up the rock. Moray used this path to reach the castle, and successfully retook it for the Scots, in 1315 Moray accompanied Edward Bruce, the kings brother, during his invasion of Ireland. He was one of the leaders in the war against the English settlers in Ireland. He returned twice to Scotland during the war to obtain reinforcements, Morays name appears directly after Roberts on the famous Declaration of Arbroath, which was sent to the Pope by the nobles of Scotland to persuade him to recognise Scotland as an independent nation. Later, in 1324, he was sent to meet the Pope in person at his court in Avignon, at this meeting he successfully persuaded the Pope to recognise Robert as King of Scots. The next year the Pope wrote to Moray declaring his hope, Moray was again sent to France in 1325, this time to persuade King Louis X to sign the Treaty of Corbeil renewing the Franco-Scottish alliance, which he did successfully. After his return to Scotland he had a role in the Battle of Stanhope Park against the English. The English suffered a defeat, and were forced to sign the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton. During the Kings final years, Moray had been a constant companion, before his death, Robert decreed that Moray would serve as regent for David, who was only five years old when he succeeded as king
8.
Battle of Bannockburn
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The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the First War of Scottish Independence, and a landmark in Scottish history. Stirling Castle, a Scots royal fortress, occupied by the English, was under siege by the Scottish army, the English king, Edward II, assembled a formidable force to relieve it. This attempt failed, and his army was defeated in a battle by a smaller army commanded by the King of Scots. The removal of John Balliol from the Scottish throne also contributed to the English success, the Scots had been victorious in defeating the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, however this was countered by Edward Is victory at the Battle of Falkirk. By 1304 Scotland had been conquered, but in 1306 Robert the Bruce seized the Scottish throne, Stirling Castle was one of the most important castles that was held by the English as it commanded the route north into the Scottish Highlands. It was besieged in 1314 by Robert the Bruces brother, Edward Bruce, the Scottish army probably numbered between 7,000 and 10,000 men, of whom no more than 500 would have been mounted. Unlike the heavily armoured English cavalry, the Scottish cavalry would have been light horsemen who were good for skirmishing, the Scottish infantry would have had axes, swords and pikes, with few bowmen among them. The English appear to have advanced in four divisions whereas the Scots were in three divisions, known as schiltrons which were strong defensive circles of men bristling with pikes and his brother Edward led the third division. According to Barbour, there was a fourth division nominally under the youthful Walter the Steward and these archers played little part in the battle. There is firsthand evidence in a poem by the captured Carmelite friar Robert Baston, written just after the battle, most medieval battles were short-lived, lasting only a few hours, therefore the Battle of Bannockburn is unusual in that it lasted for two days. On 23 June 1314 two of the English cavalry formations advanced, the first commanded by the Earl of Gloucester and they encountered a body of Scots, among them Robert the Bruce himself. A celebrated single combat then took place between Bruce and Henry de Bohun who was the nephew of the Earl of Hereford, Bohun charged at Bruce and when the two passed side by side, Bruce split Bohuns head with his axe. The Scots then rushed upon the English under Gloucester and Hereford who struggled back over the Bannockburn, so saying he spurred in between Beaumont and Sir William Deyncourt, and charged into the thick of the enemy. Under nightfall the English forces crossed the stream that is known as the Bannock Burn, establishing their position on the plain beyond it. A Scottish knight, Alexander Seton, who was fighting in the service of Edward II of England, deserted the English camp and told Bruce of the low English morale, in the morning the Scots then advanced from New Park. Not long after daybreak, the Scots spearmen began to move towards the English, Edward was surprised to see Roberts army emerge from the cover of the woods. As Bruces army drew nearer, they paused and knelt in prayer, Edward is supposed to have said in surprise They pray for mercy. For mercy, yes, one of his attendants replied, But from God and these men will conquer or die
9.
Keystone (architecture)
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A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry arch, or the generally round one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position. In both arches and vaults, keystones are often enlarged beyond the requirements, and often decorated in some way. Keystones are often placed in the centre of the top of openings such as doors and windows. Although a masonry arch or vault cannot be self-supporting until the keystone is placed, old keystones can decay due to vibration, a condition known as bald arch. In a rib-vaulted ceiling, keystones may mark the intersections of two or more arched ribs, for aesthetic purposes, the keystone is sometimes larger than the other voussoirs, or embellished with a boss. Mannerist architects of the 16th century often designed arches with enlarged and slightly dropped keystones, numerous examples are found in the work of Sebastiano Serlio, a 16th-century Italian Mannerist architect. Architectural sculpture Coping List of classical architecture terms Oculus compression ring Media related to keystones at Wikimedia Commons
10.
Free will
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Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action. It is closely linked to the concepts of responsibility, praise, guilt, sin and it is also connected with the concepts of advice, persuasion, deliberation, and prohibition. Traditionally, only actions that are freely willed are seen as deserving credit or blame, There are numerous different concerns about threats to the possibility of free will, varying by how exactly it is conceived, which is a matter of some debate. Some conceive free will to be the capacity to make choices in which the outcome has not been determined by past events, determinism suggests that only one course of events is possible, which is inconsistent with the existence of such free will. This problem has been identified in ancient Greek philosophy, and remains a focus of philosophical debate. In contrast, compatibilists hold that free will is compatible with determinism, compatibilists thus consider the debate between libertarians and hard determinists over free will vs determinism a false dilemma. Different compatibilists offer very different definitions of free will even means. Contemporary compatibilists instead identify free will as a capacity, such as to direct ones behavior in a way responsive to reason. The underlying questions are whether we have control over our actions, and if so, what sort of control and these questions predate the early Greek stoics, and some modern philosophers lament the lack of progress over all these millennia. On one hand, humans have a sense of freedom. On the other hand, a feeling of free will could be mistaken. The conflict between intuitively felt freedom and natural law arises when either causal closure or physical determinism is asserted, with causal closure, no physical event has a cause outside the physical domain, and with physical determinism, the future is determined entirely by preceding events. The puzzle of reconciling free will with a universe is known as the problem of free will or sometimes referred to as the dilemma of determinism. This dilemma leads to a dilemma as well, How are we to assign responsibility for our actions if they are caused entirely by past events. Compatibilists maintain that mental reality is not of itself causally effective, classical compatibilists have addressed the dilemma of free will by arguing that free will holds as long as we are not externally constrained or coerced. Modern compatibilists make a distinction between freedom of will and freedom of action, that is, separating freedom of choice from the freedom to enact it, given that humans all experience a sense of free will, some modern compatibilists think it is necessary to accommodate this intuition. Compatibilists often associate freedom of will with the ability to make rational decisions, a different approach to the dilemma is that of incompatibilists, namely, that if the world is deterministic then, our feeling that we are free to choose an action is simply an illusion. Metaphysical libertarianism is the form of incompatibilism which posits that determinism is false, yet even with physical indeterminism, arguments have been made against libertarianism in that it is difficult to assign Origination
11.
Blind Harry
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This was a lengthy poem recounting the life of William Wallace, the Scottish independence leader, written around 1477,172 years after Wallaces death. Little is known about Blind Harrys life, one source is the Lord High Treasurers accounts of 1473–1492, which recorded payments to him for performances at the court of James IV. This is the last mention of Harry in the accounts and he is mentioned by William Dunbar on line 69 of his Lament for the Makeris early in the 16th century. Historian John Major also wrote about Harry in 1518 and these sources differed on whether or not he was blind from birth, but Harry almost certainly seems to have had a military background. Blind Harry claimed his work was based on a book by Father John Blair, Wallaces boyhood friend, most historians nowadays regard Acts and Deeds as a versified historical novel, written at a time of strong anti-English sentiment in Scotland. At twelve volumes, the work is also doubted to be solely his work, Elspeth King maintained that despite any inaccuracies, Harrys patriotic and nationalistic portrayal was to ensure Wallaces continuing reputation as a hero. Harrys depiction of Wallace has been criticised by Major and others as being fictionalized, are there any more dogs you would have slain. Harry is often considered inferior to Barbour as a poet, and has little of his elevation, but he surpasses him in graphic power, vividness of description. He occasionally shows the influence of Chaucer, and is said to have known Latin, Blind Harrys words were made more accessible by a translation written by William Hamilton of Gilbertfield published in 1722. In this form they met the notice of such as Robert Burns, Lord Byron, Robert Southey, John Keats, Joanna Baillie. It was also an important source for Randall Wallace in his writing of the screenplay of Braveheart, most recently, in 1998, Elspeth King published Hamiltons text amended for modern readers as Blind Harrys Wallace. Blind Harry mentions a number of battles or skirmishes fought by Wallace which are now regarded by historians as unhistorical and these battles are sometimes referenced as historical events by accounts which do not cross-check the stories in Acts and Deeds against another source. Dubious battles include the Battle of Loudoun Hill in 1296, the Battle of Biggar in 1297, in the case of the folkloric Battle of Loudoun Hill, later enthusiasts have erected a monument to Wallace at the site. Similarly, the story of a hanging of Scots nobles at Ayr is described by Blind Harry, and is repeated in a number of places, including the film Braveheart. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Cousin. Blind Harry or Henry The Minstrel, a Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J. M. Dent & Sons, wikisource Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain,520. Blind Harrys Wallace translated by William Hamilton, introduction by Elspeth King, the Wallace Anne McKim George Lillie Craik
12.
The Wallace (poem)
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As the title suggests, it commemorates and eulogises the life and actions of the Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace who lived a century and a half earlier. The poem is historically inaccurate, and mentions several events that never happened, for several hundred years following its publication, The Wallace was the second most popular book in Scotland after the Bible. The earliest extant text is a made by John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell in 1488. The first mention of Blind Harry as the author was made by John Mair in his 1521 work Historia Majoris Britanniae. It was later republished in the late 18th century by the poet William Hamilton and this version also went through over 20 editions, with the last published in 1859. The Wallace is a narrative work composed in decasyllabic rhyming couplets. It forms a biography of William Wallace from his boyhood, through his career as a Scots patriot in the First War of Independence until his execution in London in 1305. The poem has some basis in fact with descriptions of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The factual elements of the poem are, however, combined with many fictional elements, Wallace is depicted as an ideal hero in the tradition of chivalric romance. He is described as being courageous, patriotic, devout. The English are depicted throughout as the natural and irreconcilable enemies of the Scots, in the early texts of the poem, the author of The Wallace is referred to as Hary or Blind Hary but little is known for certain about the poet. A man referred to as Blind Hary is recorded as having received payments from King James IV on five occasions between 1490 and 1492, the reasons for the payments are not specified. A Blind Hary is also mentioned by the near-contemporary poet William Dunbar in his Lament for the Makaris, in this poem Hary is included in a list of deceased poets mourned by Dunbar. The Scots scholar John Mair identified Blind Hary as the author of The Wallace in his work Historia Majoris Britanniae or The History Of Greater Britain of 1521, the Wallace appears to date to the latter half of the fifteenth century. The earliest surviving copy, the Ramsay Manuscript, is dated to 1488, Blind Hary refers to having consulted William Wallace of Craigie while composing the poem and Wallace of Craigie is known to have died in 1479. Furthermore, during the 1470s King James III was engaged in a policy of reconciliation with King Edward IV of England. The poem, with its depiction of the English, may represent a criticism of this policy as typified in its opening verse. The earliest surviving manuscript of the poem was written in 1488 by John Ramsay, the Ramsay manuscript is preserved in the National Library of Scotland under the catalogue number Adv
13.
Perth, Scotland
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Perth is a city in central Scotland, located on the banks of the River Tay. It is the centre of Perth and Kinross council area. According to the preliminary 2011 census results Perth, including its suburbs, has a population of 50,000. Perth has been known as The Fair City since the publication of the story Fair Maid of Perth by Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott in 1828. During the later period the city was also called St Johns Toun or Saint Johnstoun by its inhabitants in reference to the main church dedicated to St John the Baptist. This name is preserved by the football team, St Johnstone F. C. The name Perth comes from a Pictish word for wood or copse, there has been a settlement at Perth since prehistoric times, on a natural mound raised slightly above the flood plain of the Tay, where the river could be crossed at low tide. The area surrounding the city is known to have been occupied since Mesolithic hunter-gatherers arrived more than 8000 years ago. Nearby Neolithic standing stones and circles also exist, dating from about 4000 BC, the presence of Scone Abbey, home of the Stone of Destiny where the King of Scots was crowned, enhanced the early importance of the city. Perth became known as a capital of Scotland, due to the frequent residence of the royal court, Royal Burgh status was soon given to the city by King William the Lion in the early 12th century. The city became one of the richest burghs in the country, doing trade with France, the Low Countries and Baltic Countries for goods such as Spanish silk and French wine. The Scottish Reformation also played a big role in the city with the sacking of the Houses of the Greyfriars and Blackfriars, the Act of Settlement later brought about Jacobite uprisings. The city was occupied by Jacobite supporters on three occasions, the founding of Perth Academy in 1760 helped to bring major industries, such as linen, leather, bleach and whisky, to the city. Given its location, Perth was perfectly placed to become a key transport centre with the coming of the railways, today, Perth serves as a retail centre for the surrounding area. Following the decline of the industry locally, the citys economy has now diversified to include insurance. Due to its location, the city is referred to as the Gateway to the Highlands. The Australian metropolis Perth took its name from the Scottish city, Perth is also twinned with Aschaffenburg in the German state of Bavaria. The name Perth derives from a Pictish-Gaelic word for wood or copse, Perth was referred to as St Johns ton up until the mid-1600s with the name Perthia being reserved for the wider area
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Scribe
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A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand in hieratics, cuneiform or other scripts and may help keep track of records for priests and government. The profession, previously found in all cultures in some form, lost most of its importance. Later the profession developed into public servants, journalists, accountants, typists, in societies with low literacy rates, street-corner letter-writers may still be found providing a service. The most important was a person educated in the arts of writing, sons of scribes were brought up in the same scribal tradition, sent to school and, upon entering the civil service, inherited their fathers positions. Much of what is known about ancient Egypt is due to the activities of its scribes, scribes were also considered part of the royal court, were not conscripted and did not have to pay taxes. The scribal profession had companion professions, the painters and artisans who decorated reliefs and other relics with scenes, personages, a scribe was exempt from the heavy manual labor required of the lower classes, or corvee labor. Thoth was a god associated by the Ancient Egyptians with the invention of writing, being the scribe of the gods, besides the scribal profession for accountancy and governmental politicking, the scribal professions immediately branched out into the socio-cultural areas of literature. The first stories probably related to religious stories, and gods. In ancient Egypt, an example of this is the Dispute between a man and his Ba, an example from the small list of Sumerian disputations is the debate between bird and fish. In the other Sumerian disputes, in the Debate between Summer and Winter, Winter wins, the other disputes are, cattle and grain, the tree and the reed, Silver and Copper, the pickax and the plough, and millstone and the gul-gul stone. Some scribes also copied documents, but this was not necessarily part of their job, the Jewish scribes used the following process for creating copies of the Torah and eventually other books in the Tanakh. They could only use animal skins, both to write on, and even to bind manuscripts. Each column of writing could have no less than forty-eight, the ink must be black, and of a special recipe. They must say each word aloud while they were writing and they must wipe the pen and wash their entire bodies before writing the most Holy Name of God, YHVH, every time they wrote it. There must be a review within thirty days, and if as many as three pages required corrections, the manuscript had to be redone. The letters, words, and paragraphs had to be counted, the middle paragraph, word and letter must correspond to those of the original document. The documents could be stored only in sacred places, as no document containing Gods Word could be destroyed, they were stored, or buried, in a genizah. Sofers are among the few scribes that still ply their trade by hand, renowned calligraphers, they produce the Hebrew Torah scrolls and other holy texts by hand to this day
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Advocates Library
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The Advocates Library, founded in 1682, is the law library of the Faculty of Advocates, in Edinburgh. It served as the national library of Scotland until 1925. All the non-legal collections were given to the National Library, today, it alone of the Scottish libraries still holds the privilege of receiving a copy of every law book entered at Stationers Hall. The library forms part of the complex that includes Parliament House, the Library was formally opened in 1689. It was an initiative of George Mackenzie, the present library building was designed by William Henry Playfair in 1830, and is a category A listed building. Librarian Samuel Halkett began an ambitious catalogue, based on the rules of John Winter Jones for the British Museum catalogue of 1839 and it was published in six volumes, from 1858 to 1878. Halketts successor, Thomas Hill Jamieson, met a fire damaged some thousands of books on 9 March 1875. By 1923 the library held around 725,000 books and pamphlets, for the Encouragement of Learning, Scotlands National Library 1689–1989
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St John's College, Cambridge
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St Johns College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, in constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The aims of the college, as specified by its Statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning, the colleges alumni include the winners of ten Nobel Prizes, seven prime ministers and twelve archbishops of various countries, at least two princes, and three Saints. HRH Prince William was affiliated with St Johns while undertaking a course in 2014. St Johns College is also known for its choir, its members success in a wide variety of inter-collegiate sporting competitions. In 2011 the college celebrated its quincentenary, an event marked by a visit of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The college was founded on the site of the 13th-century Hospital of St John in Cambridge at the suggestion of Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and chaplain to Lady Margaret Beaufort. However, Lady Margaret died without having mentioned the foundation of St Johns in her will, and it was largely the work of Fisher that ensured that the college was founded. He had to obtain the approval of King Henry VIII of England, the Pope through the intermediary Polydore Vergil, the college received its charter on 9 April 1511. In November 1512 the Court of Chancery allowed Lady Margarets executors to pay for the foundation of the college from her estates, when Lady Margarets executors took over they found most of the old Hospital buildings beyond repair, but repaired and incorporated the Chapel into the new college. A kitchen and hall were added, and a gate tower was constructed for the College Treasury. The doors were to be closed each day at dusk, sealing the monastic community from the outside world. Over the course of the five hundred years, the college expanded westwards towards the River Cam, and now has eleven courts. The first three courts are arranged in enfilade, St Johns College first admitted women in October 1981, when K. M. Wheeler was admitted to the fellowship, along with nine female graduate students. The first women undergraduates arrived a year later, St Johns distinctive Great Gate follows the standard contemporary pattern employed previously at Christs College and Queens College. The gatehouse is crenelated and adorned with the arms of the foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort, above these are displayed her ensigns, the Red Rose of Lancaster and Portcullis. The college arms are flanked by curious creatures known as yales, mythical beasts with elephants tails, antelopes bodies, goats heads, and swivelling horns. Above them is a tabernacle containing a figure of St John the Evangelist
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Walter Scott
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Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, FRSE was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. Many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature, famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. A prominent member of the Tory establishment in Edinburgh, Scott was an member of the Highland Society. He survived a bout of polio in 1773 that left him lame. To cure his lameness he was sent in 1773 to live in the rural Scottish Borders at his grandparents farm at Sandyknowe, adjacent to the ruin of Smailholm Tower. Here he was taught to read by his aunt Jenny, and learned from her the speech patterns and many of the tales and legends that characterised much of his work. In January 1775 he returned to Edinburgh, and that went with his aunt Jenny to take spa treatment at Bath in England. In the winter of 1776 he went back to Sandyknowe, with another attempt at a cure at Prestonpans during the following summer. In 1778, Scott returned to Edinburgh for private education to him for school. In October 1779 he began at the Royal High School of Edinburgh and he was now well able to walk and explore the city and the surrounding countryside. His reading included chivalric romances, poems, history and travel books and he was given private tuition by James Mitchell in arithmetic and writing, and learned from him the history of the Church of Scotland with emphasis on the Covenanters. Scott began studying classics at the University of Edinburgh in November 1783, at the age of 12, in March 1786 he began an apprenticeship in his fathers office to become a Writer to the Signet. While at the university Scott had become a friend of Adam Ferguson, Scott met the blind poet Thomas Blacklock, who lent him books and introduced him to James Macphersons Ossian cycle of poems. During the winter of 1786–87 the 15-year-old Scott saw Robert Burns at one of these salons, for what was to be their only meeting. When Burns noticed a print illustrating the poem The Justice of the Peace and asked who had written the poem, only Scott knew that it was by John Langhorne, and was thanked by Burns. When it was decided that he would become a lawyer, he returned to the university to study law, first taking classes in Moral Philosophy, after completing his studies in law, he became a lawyer in Edinburgh. As a lawyers clerk he made his first visit to the Scottish Highlands directing an eviction and he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1792. He had an unsuccessful love suit with Williamina Belsches of Fettercairn, as a boy, youth and young man, Scott was fascinated by the oral traditions of the Scottish Borders
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Scottish literature
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Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. It includes works in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin, the earliest extant literature written in what is now Scotland, was composed in Brythonic speech in the sixth century and has survived as part of Welsh literature. In the following centuries there was literature in Latin, under the influence of the Catholic Church, after the Davidian Revolution of the thirteenth century a flourishing French language culture predominated, while Norse literature was produced from areas of Scandinavian settlement. The first surviving major text in Early Scots literature is the fourteenth-century poet John Barbours epic Brus and these were joined in the fifteenth century by Scots prose works. In the early modern era royal patronage supported poetry, prose, James Vs court saw works such as Sir David Lindsay of the Mounts The Thrie Estaitis. In the late sixteenth century James VI became patron and member of a circle of Scottish court poets, when he acceded to the English throne in 1603 many followed him to the new court, but without a centre of royal patronage the tradition of Scots poetry subsided. It was revived after union with England in 1707 by figures including Allan Ramsay, the latters Ossian Cycle made him the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation. He helped inspire Robert Burns, considered by many to be the national poet, towards the end of the Victorian era a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald. In the twentieth century there was a surge of activity in Scottish literature, the leading figure, Hugh MacDiarmid, attempted to revive the Scots language as a medium for serious literature. Members of the movement were followed by a new generation of poets including Edwin Morgan. From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another revival, particularly associated with writers including James Kelman. Scottish poets who emerged in the period included Carol Ann Duffy. After the collapse of Roman authority in the fifth century. In the east were the Picts, whose kingdoms eventually stretched from the river Forth to Shetland, in the west were the Gaelic -speaking people of Dál Riata, who had close links with Ireland, from where they brought with them the name Scots. In the south were the British descendants of the peoples of the Roman-influenced kingdoms of The Old North, to these Christianisation, particularly from the sixth century, added Latin as an intellectual and written language. However, there is surviving literature from what would become Scotland in Brythonic, Gaelic, Latin and it is a series of elegies to the men of the Gododdin killed fighting at the Battle of Catraeth around 600 AD. Similarly, the Battle of Gwen Ystrad is attributed to Taliesin, there are religious works in Gaelic including the Elegy for St Columba by Dallan Forgaill, c.597 and In Praise of St Columba by Beccan mac Luigdech of Rum, c. In Latin they include a Prayer for Protection, c. mid-sixth century and Altus Prosator, what is arguably the most important medieval work written in Scotland, the Vita Columbae, by Adomnán, abbot of Iona, was also written in Latin
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Wikisource
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Wikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project, the projects aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, the project officially began in November 24,2003 under the name Project Sourceberg. The name Wikisource was adopted later that year and it received its own domain name seven months later, the project has come under criticism for lack of reliability but it is also cited by organisations such as the National Archives and Records Administration. The project holds works that are either in the domain or freely licensed, professionally published works or historical source documents, not vanity products. Verification was initially made offline, or by trusting the reliability of digital libraries. Now works are supported by online scans via the ProofreadPage extension, some individual Wikisources, each representing a specific language, now only allow works backed up with scans. While the bulk of its collection are texts, Wikisource as a whole hosts other media, some Wikisources allow user-generated annotations, subject to the specific policies of the Wikisource in question. Wikisources early history included several changes of name and location, the original concept for Wikisource was as storage for useful or important historical texts. These texts were intended to support Wikipedia articles, by providing evidence and original source texts. The collection was focused on important historical and cultural material. The project was originally called Project Sourceberg during its planning stages, in 2001, there was a dispute on Wikipedia regarding the addition of primary source material, leading to edit wars over their inclusion or deletion. Project Sourceberg was suggested as a solution to this, perhaps Project Sourceberg can mainly work as an interface for easily linking from Wikipedia to a Project Gutenberg file, and as an interface for people to easily submit new work to PG. Wed want to complement Project Gutenberg--how, exactly, and Jimmy Wales adding like Larry, Im interested that we think it over to see what we can add to Project Gutenberg. It seems unlikely that primary sources should in general be editable by anyone -- I mean, Shakespeare is Shakespeare, unlike our commentary on his work, the project began its activity at ps. wikipedia. org. The contributors understood the PS subdomain to mean either primary sources or Project Sourceberg, however, this resulted in Project Sourceberg occupying the subdomain of the Pashto Wikipedia. A vote on the name changed it to Wikisource on December 6,2003. Despite the change in name, the project did not move to its permanent URL until July 23,2004, since Wikisource was initially called Project Sourceberg, its first logo was a picture of an iceberg
