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History

COL at the National Museum of Scotland: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites

Course Times & Enrolment

This course is currently unavailable.

Course Summary

There is an enduring fascination with the Jacobite story, which includes love, loss, exile, rebellion and retribution. This course will examine the background, events, and people involved with Charles Edward Stuart and the Jacobite Risings, from the first rejection of the Protestant reign of William and Mary to the humiliating defeat and subsequent state-ordered reprisals after the battle of Culloden in 1746. The various attempts to restore the senior Catholic line of the Stuart dynasty will be considered, using a selection of songs and poetry associated with, or commemorating, the events. The programme will include a self-guided visit to the exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, followed by class discussion about the display and exhibits.

Please note, this course includes a field trip (a visit to the National Museum of Scotland).

Course Details

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.

6. A self-guided tour of the exhibition with discussion before and after.

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 the 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.

Sources

Core Readings

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

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

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

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

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

  • Pittock, M., 1995. Poetry and Jacobite Politics in Eighteenth-century Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: CUP.

  • Pittock, M., 1998. Jacobitism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

  • Pittock, M., 2nd ed. 2009. The Myth of the Jacobite Clans. Edinburgh: EUP.

  • Prebble, J., 2002. Culloden. London: Pimlico.

  • Szechi, D., 1994. The Jacobites: Britain and Europe, 1688 -1788. Manchester: MUP.

  • Szechi, D., 2006. 1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion. Yale: YUP.

Web Sources

www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/union_and_jacobites

www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory

www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandssongs

www.nationalarchives/gov/uk/education/resources/jacobite-1715

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/jacobite-1745

www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/Learning/resources

Class Handouts

Handouts will include chronology, document extracts, poems and songs.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email 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.