'Ye Jacobites by Name': The History and Songs of the Jacobite Risings

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prerequisites.

Content of Course

1. 1689-1707: the effect of the ‘Glorious Revolution’; the battle of Killiecrankie and Bonnie Dundee; Ireland; the Massacre of Glencoe; politics of pre-union Scotland.

2. 1708-1719: the reaction to the Union of Parliaments and the ‘Old’ Pretender; the earl of Mar and the raising of the Standard at Braemar; the ’15 and the battle of Sheriffmuir – was this the rising that could have succeeded; French and Spanish influence.

3. 1744-5: Bonnie Prince Charlie; international support; arrival at Glenfinnan; the battle of Prestonpans; the ‘royal’ court at Holyrood.

4. 1745-6: the march to Derby and back; the battle of Falkirk; the battle of Culloden and its aftermath.

5. The Jacobite legacy: the later years of Charles and the Catholic Stuarts; myths and romances.

Teaching method(s)

Lectures, with a strong emphasis on active class participation through discussions, questions and answers, and use of songs / poems and other documents.

Learning outcomes

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

• Outline the key events of the Jacobite risings within the context of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Scotland and Europe;

• Consider and discuss reasons for the rejection and support of the Catholic Stuart line;

• Assess the successes and failures of the Jacobite campaigns;

• Appreciate and assess reasons for the continued popularity (mythologizing) of the Jacobite reputation versus its dismissal and marginalization by British (Whig) history;

• Develop some familiarity with the sources including a selection of songs and poetry.

Sources

Core Readings

• Craig, Maggie, 1997. Damn Rebel Bitches: The Women of the ’45. Edinburgh/London: Mainstream.

• Duffy, Christopher, 2007. The ’45: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the untold story of the Jacobite Rising. London: W & N.

• Lenman, Bruce, 1984. The Jacobite Risings in Britain, 1689-1746. York: Methuen Publishing Ltd.

• Mcinnes, Allan, 1996. Clanship, Commerce and the House of Stuart, 1603-1788. East Linton: Tuckwell

• McLynn, Frank, 1984. France and the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Edinburgh: EUP.

• McLynn, Frank, 1985. The Jacobites. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

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.