The Scottish Clans

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prior knowledge required.

Content of Course

1. The origin of the clans. Iron Age warrior societies in Scotland's far past.

2. Scottish tribes in Roman times. Ancient links and continuities. Neighbours and languages.

3. Dalriada and Ireland. The influence of Christianity and history rewritten.

4. The coming of the Norsemen and the development of Gall-Gael society.

5. The clans in medieval Scotland. Battle and war, raiding and story.

6. Lordship of the Isles. An alternate kingship (?) with links to the far past.

7. Individual clans and the great confederations. Ideals and reality. Feud and strife.

8. Chiefship and kinship. Society, wealth, ostentation and loyalty.

9. Sword and sheepskin.Changing patterns of land owner ship

10. The Last Hurrah? Culloden and afterwards.

Teaching method(s)

Lecture and discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Access a wide variety of source atrial on Scottish history;

• Understand the social and economic structure of tribal societies;

• Realise the importance of extra-literary source materials in accessing ideas of the past;

• Understand basic continuities in the development of certain aspects of Scottish History.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Burt, E., 1998. Burt's Letters from the North of Scotland. Edinburgh: Birlinn.

• Forbes, R., 1895. The Lyon in Mourning. Edinburgh: SHS.

Recommended:

• McHardy, S.A., 2003. The School of the Moon. Edinburgh: Birlinn.

• MacLeod, J., 1997. Highlanders; A History of the Gael. London: Sceptre.

• Newton, M., 2009. Warriors of the Word. Edinburgh: Birlinn.

• Rennie, J.A., 1951. In the Steps of the Clansmen. London: Rich & Cowan.

• Scott, W., 1893. The Manners, Customs and History of the Highlanders of Scotland. London Simkin: Marshall.

• Skene, W.F., 1902. The Highlanders of Scotland. Stirling: Aeneas Mackay.

• Stewart , D., 1885. Sketches of the Highlanders of Scotland. Edinburgh: Mackenzie.

Web Sources

http://archive.org/details/historyofscotlan07brow

http://archive.org/stream/highlandersofsco00skenuoft/highlandersofsco00skenuoft_djvu.txt

http://www.nls.uk/about-us/publications/discover-nls/2009/lyon-in-mourning

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/gael/scottishgaelndx.htm

http://archive.org/stream/mannerscustomshi00scotuoft/mannerscustomshi00scotuoft_djvu.txt

http://archive.org/details/sketchesofcharac00stewrich

http://archive.org/details/historyofscottis00kelt

http://archive.org/stream/highlandersofsco00skenuoft/highlandersofsco00skenuoft_djvu.txt

Class Handouts

Excerpts from Roman sources and Irish Annals.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.