Rex-Dollars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland during the 17th century

The Scottish Gàidhealtachd (the Highlands and Islands/Gaelic speaking Highlands and Hebrides) is sometimes regarded as an area which had little trade or contact with the wider world in the seventeenth century. This short note explores some of the evidence for the circulation of foreign coinage in the area in the seventeenth century

Strathconon, Scatwell and the Mackenzies in the Written Record c. 1463-c.1700

Although some writers have considered the earlier history of Ross, these studies tend to focus on dynastic and political events and not much is know about the internal workings of Ross-shire far less Strathconon in the historical record prior to the end of the fifteenth century.2 Strathconon, strategically situated in central Ross, was the key to the control of the earldom of Ross in that possession of these lands secured control of the few good access routes from coast to coast. The earldom of Ross and the possession thereof in turn was pivotal to the fortunes of the Macdonald Lords of the Isles in the fifteenth century who were fatally undermined by their loss of the area to the Stewart monarchy in 1475. This essay will consider the Strathconon and Scatwell area from the time of its earliest appearance in the historical record at the end of the fifteenth century (at much the same time as the Mackenzie clan themselves) and go on to concentrate on the area in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. An attempt will be made to pull together a variety of written sources in order to try to build up a picture of the area in this period inasmuch as the evidence will allow. These lands, Strathconon and Scatwell, which form the focus of this investigation, were a small part of a much wider (and expanding) estate that was controlled in this period, c.1463 to 1700 by the Mackenzies of Kintail / Seaforth

The maritime dimension to Scotland's "Highland Problem", ca. 1540-1630

The relationship of the Gàidhealtachd with the rest of Scotland and with Britain was transformed in the period 1540–1630. Having been relatively autonomous, Scottish Gaelic chiefs were now drawn deeper into the orbit of the Scottish and then British crown, particularly during the adult reign of James VI (and I) (1587–1625). Scholarly study of the Highlands and Islands during the period has tended to concentrate on crown-clan relationships and the way in which the centre imposed reform on the peripheral Gàidhealtachd (Highlands and Islands). Indigenous (Highland/Hebridean) and maritime perspectives have been less well developed in these narratives. Gaelic Scots and visiting Lowland fishermen had different approaches to the exploitation of marine resources. The approaches of both parties, of Gaelic Scots, as well as Lowland fishermen and merchants, to the maritime environment are examined here: a study which can bring new insights into older debates on crown—clan relations if not plantation, state formation, and colonial approaches to resource appropriation and exploitation

Vincent McKee, Gaelic Neighbours: Scotland and Northern Ireland, 1918-2021: comparative politics of language and culture – worlds apart! (Takahe Publishing, Coventry, 2022). ISBN 978-1-908837-25-7, ga reic aig £19.95

No abstract available

Rachel Barrowman, ed., Eachraidh le Càirdeas is Cridhe. Ainmean-àite Ceann a Tuath Leòdhais, Nis gu Baile an Truiseil = History with Heart and Soul. The Place-names of North Lewis, Ness to Ballantrushal

No abstract available

Macquarrie and Green (eds), The Poems of Roderick MacLean (Ruairidh MacEachainn MhicIllEathain)

No abstract available

The languages of Scotland

This chapter, co-written with Dr Pons-Sanz, will provide the necessary historical and linguistic background to the discussion of the literature in the rest of the volume. It will have two functions: firstly, to provide a brief linguistic history of Scotland until 1700, with particular emphasis on sociological aspects of language choice and deployment, and the resultant impact on literary survivals; secondly, to outline linguistic features which contribute to literary style, such as the use of rhyme and alliteration, issues of register, and concomitant discussions of syntax, semantic fields, and generic usage. The first section will discuss, briefly, the influences and legacies of other languages in Scotland, including Latin, Middle and Early Modern English, Old Norse and Anglo-Norman, while concentrating on Older Scots and Gaelic; the second will focus mostly on Older Scots and Gaelic

The forgotten '45 : Donald Dubh's rebellion in an archipelagic context

The final rebellion of Donald Dubh, heir to the forfeited MacDonald lordship of the Isles, is usually examined within the context of Highland rebellions that occurred in the half century after forfeiture. However, the factors that motivated the Islesmen to rise in rebellion in 1545 are multi-faceted and can only be fully understood by placing the rising in a wider context, which considers national and archipelagic events. The discussion that follows explores the reasons why the Islesmen, almost unanimously, entered into agreement with Henry VIII to attack Scotland from the west and why this endeavour failed. At the same time, the article highlights Henry’s recognition of the strategic importance of the west which led him into alliance with Donald Dubh and his supporters

The Campbells: lordship, literature and liminality

The Campbells have the potential to offer much to the theme of literature and borders, given that the kindred’s astonishing political success in the late medieval and early modern period depended heavily upon the ability to negotiate multiple frontiers: between Highlands and Lowlands; between Gaelic Scotland and Ireland, and, especially after the Reformation, with England and the matter of Britain. This paper will explore the literary dimension to Campbell expansionism, from the Book of the Dean of Lismore in the earlier sixteenth century, to poetry addressed to dukes of Argyll in the earlier eighteenth century. Particular attention will be paid to the literary proclivities of the household of the Campbells of Glenorchy on either side of what appears to be a major watershed in 1550; and to the agenda of the Campbell protégé John Carswell, first post-Reformation bishop of the Isles, and author of the first printed book in Gaelic in either Scotland or Ireland, Foirm na n-Urrnuidheadh (‘The Form of Prayers’), published at Edinburgh in 1567