This book provides an overview of Scottish culture from the time of union with England and Wales up to and through the moment of devolution to the present.

In the late medieval and early modern periods, Scottish latinity had its distinctive stamp, most intriguingly so in its effects upon the literary vernacular and on themes of national identity. This volume shows how, when viewed through the prism of latinity, Scottish textuality was distinctive and fecund. The flowering of Scottish writing owed itself to a subtle combination of literary praxis, the ideal of eloquentia, and ideological deftness, which enabled writers to service a burgeoning national literary tradition.

Scotland's culture is vigorous and vibrant, energised by questions of history and identity, by interpretations of the past and by the possibilities for the future. At this key moment, earlier identities are being re-examined and re-presented, and personal and cultural histories are being redefined and reconsidered in contemporary life and literature. It is these themes of re-examination, re-presentation, redefinition and reconsideration that the eleven essays in this volume explore. Together, they show how the multifarious roots embedded in contemporary Scottish life and letters bear fruit - often in surprising ways - and how the re-creation and reimagination of Scottish culture, its identities and its tropes, are being developed by a range of leading Scottish writers.

An exciting account of the origins of the modern world Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics—contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. Herman has charted a fascinating journey across the centuries of Scottish history. Here is the untold story of how John Knox and the Church of Scotland laid the foundation for our modern idea of democracy; how the Scottish Enlightenment helped to inspire both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution; and how thousands of Scottish immigrants left their homes to create the American frontier, the Australian outback, and the British Empire in India and Hong Kong. How the Scots Invented the Modern World reveals how Scottish genius for creating the basic ideas and institutions of modern life stamped the lives of a series of remarkable historical figures, from James Watt and Adam Smith to Andrew Carnegie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and how Scottish heroes continue to inspire our contemporary culture, from William “Braveheart” Wallace to James Bond. And no one who takes this incredible historical trek will ever view the Scots—or the modern West—in the same way again.

Draws together contributions from the leading researchers to provide a contemporary evaluation of tartan and tartanry.

A highly readable and absorbing anthology of traditional Scottish customs and rites of passage, Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave draws upon a broad range of literary and oral sources. Scotland has been fortunate to have written accounts of intrepid early travellers such as Martin Martin, Edward Burt and John Lane Buchanan, and extracts from their writing are found alongside modern interviews made by Margaret Bennett and researchers from the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University. This expanded edition includes a large amount of new material. The result is a detailed and comprehensive picture of social behaviour in Scotland over the last 400 years. The book is divided into three sections, each covering a stage in the cycle of life: Childbirth and infancy; Love, courtship and marriage; Death The first edition was originally published by Polygon and was joint runner-up of the 1993 Katharine Briggs Folklore Award.

Based on a comprehensive interpretation and comparison of the existing sources - including city records and expenses, chronicles, official booklets, letters, collections of poems and speeches - this book offers a detailed analysis of triumphal entries in early-modern Scotland. It examines Scottish triumphal entries as politicised events taking place in the urban scenario, where the relationship between urban authorities and rulers was represented and negotiated both visually and through the use of space. In particular these events are viewed in relation to the urban space where they took place, and each other. The book argues that the significance of triumphal entries becomes clearer when they are seen as a sequence of interconnected events; contextualising them helps understanding the organisersâe(tm) desire to follow or separate from tradition, incorporating or refusing to acknowledge foreign flavours. The study also looks at the broader context of courtly events staged in parallel with triumphal entries, including the uses of spaces, the iconography, speeches, and pageants, in order to compare the urban authoritiesâe(tm) idealised view of the world presented in the entry with the rulerâe(tm)s own version staged at court. This is then further contextualised through comparisons with similar events taking place elsewhere in Europe. This underlines the fine balance achieved between retaining Scotlandâe(tm)s individual characters and adopting fashionable themes inspired by foreign cultures, and contextualise the reasons behind individual choices - both in an urban and a courtly environment. Italian Renaissance, Dutch, French, and English influences will be particularly considered.