History Scotland

Explore centuries of Scottish history and archaeology with fascinating features on topics from all branches and periods of Scottish history and archaeology, written by leading historians, archaeologists and museum curators. With news on the latest research, opinion, expert reviews and spotlights on the country's most significant historical archives, this lavishly-illustrated magazine has everything you need to explore Scotland's rich past.

Welcome...

Fife Pilgrim Way reaches milestone at St Andrews • An important milestone has been reached on the Fife Pilgrim Way with the dedication of its final gateway panel at the ultimate pilgrim destination of St Andrews

Most popular baby names across eight decades revealed • National Records of Scotland has revealed the most popular names given to babies born over the past eight decades - with 12 names staying in the top 100 for 88 years

Stirling’s lost hogback • Dr Murray Cook reports from his home city of Stirling, on the trail of a reputed ‘missing’ hogback monument

THE QUEST FOR THE LOST CHURCH OF SALINE • John Gooder and Linda Moyes of Saline & District Heritage Society chart an archaeological dig in search of a ruined medieval church whose location had become lost in the mists of time

Historic Environment Scotland unveils plans for new Archive House covering 5,000 years of history • Plans are underway to move approximately six million archive items to what will become a ‘world-class’ archive facility in Bonyrigg

MÁEL COLUIM III: THE COMPLICATED LEGACY OF AN 11TH-CENTURY KING • Dr Neil McGuigan reassesses the reign of Malcolm III, a king long overshadowed by his famous predecessor (Macbeth) and wife (St Margaret), but who deserves to be remembered as a pivotal figure in the evolution of the medieval Scottish kingdom

...THOMAS AND JEAN WEIR • History Scotland’s consultant editor, Dr Allan Kennedy, explores the scandalous lives and deaths of Thomas and Jean Weir, whose convictions for incest, bestiality and sorcery in 1670 have variously horrified and fascinated people ever since

SEEKING SOCIAL HISTORY IN SCOTTISH CRIMINAL RECORDS: WHAT ELSE CAN CRIME TELL US? • Dr Louise Heren demonstrates how criminal case files not only provide us with the details of serious crimes, but can also reveal fascinating insights into people’s way of life

EMBROIDERING HER TRUTH: Mary, queen of Scots and the language of power • Mary, queen of Scots might be the most widely-discussed of all Scottish monarchs, but one aspect of her life has been consistently overlooked: textiles. Mary used fabrics throughout her reign to send political messages, and during her long imprisonment in England, embroidery became a vital lifeline and tool. Clare Hunter explains

WHAT’S IN THE NAME OF MY STREET? • Adrian Clark presents a study of the many different places named after Charles Pratt, 1st earl Camden, onetime lord chancellor of Great Britain, including two Caribbean slave plantations – something that may not have pleased this friend of civil liberties

‘THE TOURIST INDUSTRY HAD BEEN KILLED ALMOST STONE DEAD BY THE RESTRICTIONS’: THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND IN 1940 • Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, the government imposed tight restrictions on citizens’ access to, and movement within, significant swathes of Scotland, including most of the north. Neil M. Bruce explores the impact of these restrictions, and asks how people responded to them

Donald Ross and the highland Clearances • Andrew J. Ross provides the background to his new book on the life of his relative Donald Ross, a critic of the highland clearances who raised money and provided supplies for sufferers of the potato famine, but ultimately became a victim of his own success and emigrated to Canada following fraudulent fund-raising

THE DAPHNE...