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Scottish History: The Power of the Past

Online ISBN:
9780748653317
Print ISBN:
9780748614196
Publisher:
Edinburgh University Press
Book

Scottish History: The Power of the Past

Published online:
22 March 2012
Published in print:
8 April 2002
Online ISBN:
9780748653317
Print ISBN:
9780748614196
Publisher:
Edinburgh University Press

Abstract

This book examines the power of the past upon the present. It shows how generations of Scots have exploited and reshaped history to meet the needs of a series of presents, from the conquest of the Picts to the refounding of Parliament. The individual chapters address a broad range of topics: the violent manipulations of the past in medieval Scotland; the well-entrenched assumptions about the Scottish Reformation; the transformation of ‘Highland barbarism’ into ‘Gaelicism’; the ‘Killing Times’ of the covenanters; the seventeenth century fashion for creative family history; the victims of Pictomania in Scotland and modern Ulster; the comparable mania driving Jacobitism; the cult of Victoria and the queen's idea of herself as the heiress of the Scottish monarchy; and the neglect of women and the dangers of reconstructing history to suit modern sensitivities. Finally, a sociologist's perspective on the continuing dialogue between the past and the present is provided. By exploring how the people of Scotland have variously understood, used and been inspired by the past, this book offers a series of insights into the concerns of previous generations and their understanding of themselves and their times. It throws fresh light on the evolution of history in Scotland and on the actions and ambitions of the Scots who have formed and reformed the nation.

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