The Spirit of Scotland. Presentation theme.

The Spirit of Scotland. Presentation theme.

The Lyceum of Information Technologies

Humanity Sciences

Presentation theme

The Spirit of Scotland

Written by: A. Semchenko

Grade 9B

Tutor L.P. Rakitskaya

Khabarovsk

2005

CONTESTS

Introduction………………………………………………………………………....3

1. Scotland FOREVER……………………………………………………………….3

2. A Small Part of England?……………..…………………………………….......…4

3. Born Fighting……………………………………………………………………....5

4. Three Hundred Years\' War……………………………………………………......8

5.

Reformation............................................................................................................11

6. Covenant and

Revolution.......................................................................................14

7. King over the

Water...............................................................................................16

8. The Scottish Enlightenment and

Beyond...............................................................19

9. Three literatures in

One………...……………………...........................................21

10. Trotting the

Globe.................................................................................................22

11. Conclusion………………………………………………………….……………24

References…………………………………………………………….….…...…25

Supplement…………………………………………………………..………..…26

Introduction

I\'d like to start with the fact that nowadays people have been travelling

all over the world and tourism has become an international business. Being

abroad people sometimes feel uncomfortable, confused or embarrassed

because of so called “culture shock”. It happens when they don\'t know the

history of the country, its culture, customs traditions people\'s lifestyle

and so on.

The subject of my work is “The Spirit of Scotland”. Of course, you have

heard of Hogmanay, haggis, Loch Ness Monster, Balmoral, the favourite

holiday home of the Royal family. These are just a few things Scotland is

famous for. Although it forms part of the UK, Scotland has district

national identity and character of its own.

Scotland Forever

Describe Scotland? Where do we start?! \"Land of the mountain and the

flood\" - the magnificent scenery will surely stir even the most sluggish

imagination, and though sometimes it can get wet, Edinburgh\'s rainfall is

no worse than that of New York or Rome, while the Moray coast is the

sunniest place in Britain.

Land of Castles. No one has ever managed to list all these, but in sheer

numbers and remarkable features they are on a par with anything Europe can

offer. Symbols of turbulent past, they represent a vast variety of ages,

layouts and styles - from huge citadels of Edinburgh and Stirling through

stout free-standing peels (tower-houses) to stately NeO-Gothic palaces.

Many are ruinous, not a few are still lived in by the same families that

built them and, needless to say, virtually all are haunted. .The Drummer

of Cortachy, the Green Lady of Crathes, General Tarn of the Binns and a

host of other apparitions mean as much to local lore as castles do to

romantic sights.

Land of Cakes, i.e. baps, buns, bannocks, scones and shortbread, usually

taken with tons of jam, jelly and marmalade. The insatiable sweet tooth of

the natives, who also consume over 9 oz. of confectionery per person per

week, made the Guinness Book of Records.

Land of Football. Scots may have little to celebrate in the World Cup, but

the very first mention of the sport does occur in an act of a king of

theirs as early as 1424. At that period it already had to be banned by the

crown on pain of a fine, obviously because the populace neglected all

other occupations. Later the epidemic spread abroad, and even the English

Football League was launched by a McGregor. Besides, at least two more

games were invented in Scotland - golf (which, over there, can be enjoyed

by everyone, not just the better-off) and curling (now a winter Olympic

event, where they try to hit the target with a round polished piece of

granite, and help it along by rubbing the ice with brooms).

Whatever the nicknames, here is, beyond doubt, one of the most vivid and

distinctive cultures in the world. Is there another race with national

dress as easily recognizable and so much clannish pride that one can

guess a person\'s name by the pattern of his clothes? Is there a country

where a meal course is regularly and respectfully greeted with lines

written by her greatest bard, or where a staple drink is synonymous with

her own identity? And can anyone, fail to acknowledge the sight and sound

of a bagpipe, and readily associate it with its homeland?

A Small Part of England?

In the eyes of many Scotland is a mere extension of her bigger and richer

southern neighbour. There are few fallacies so complete! It is true that

by the Union of 1707 she has lost her parliament and was governed from

London ever since. But any serious comparison between the two makes one

wonder what they have in common, apart from sharing the same island. Their

landscapes, national characters, languages, churches, social, legal and

educational systems, architectural styles and even senses of humour - all

differ markedly. They are as much alike as mountain and valley, granite

and brick, whisky and gin, or thistle and rose.

This diversity was shaped by nature and history. Often called a small

country, Scotland, in fact, is about the size of Austria and twice as big

as Switzerland; on the patchy map of medieval Europe she was one of the

major kingdoms. But the number of her inhabitants was never large. Even

today it is just over 5 million, half the population of Greater London or

Moscow, and the bulk of it is concentrated in the Glasgow-Edinburgh belt,

while in the north-west you can roam for days with not a soul around.

There are also countless lakes, including Loch Lomond (Britain\'s biggest)

and Loch Ness with its elusive monster. Of the many rivers the longest is

the Tay, and some smaller ones achieved universal fame for a lot more

than salmon-fishing - the Clyde for its great shipbuilding tradition

(until World War I it supplied one-third of all British tonnage), the

Tweed for fine wool and knitwear produced on its banks, and the Spey for

the malt whisky distilleries about it.

Scottish mountains, although tallest in the British Isles, are

geologically very old and yield in height to the Alps and Pyrenees.

Nonetheless, the challenge they pose to human endeavour and the

admiration their stern grandeur excites in the spirit strongly

influenced national character. So did the unpredictably changeful

climate, that of a Northern country, but rather tempered by the sea. The

Highlands are often shrouded in snow into the summer months, while just

several dozen miles away the Gulf Stream allows palm trees and subtropic

plants to grow. Sometimes all seasons seem to come and go in a single

day. As a result, the Scottish temperament is one of barely reconcilable

contrasts, defined by a modern author as \"fiery imagination, incisive

intellect, tough stoicism and gentle affection\". It is a nature at once

daring and cautious (canny, to use a Scots word), thrifty and generous,

mild and aggressive. Warlike qualities, in particular, came to the fore —

and they had to be there.

Born Fighting

The Scottish realm, goes the proverb, was born fighting. Since the days of

the Roman Empire, Caledonia, as she was known to the ancients, was under

constant threat of invasion. In the first centuries A.D. the Roman legions

led by able commanders like Agricola, and even the emperors in person,

strove to subdue the unruly northern tribes. Despite the seemingly

decisive defeat of their chieftain Calgacus (the first native recorded by

name), and the construction of colossal protective walls against them

across the whole country, Caledonia never became a province of Rome,

unlike southern Britain. In the end, the mighty conquerors were forced to

abandon their crumbling defences and withdrew from the island.

During the \"Dark Ages\" Caledonia was a melting pot of peoples vying for

supremacy. The most powerful adversaries of Rome were the Picts (the word

literally means \"painted folk\"). For hundreds of years they dominated

northern Britain from the Shetland Islands to the Firth of Forth. By the

eighth century their ruler Brude mac Bile and his heirs forged a kingdom

that foreshadowed a unified Scotland. Carved Pictish symbol-stones and

metalwork with graceful ornamentation are among the finest of that

period. Still, the written evidence is so scarce that their language is

undeciphered, and in many respects they remain a mystery. It is not even

clear whether these natives were full-fledged Celts or not. One striking

fact may indicate non-Indo-European origin. Pictish monarchs, unequally in

medieval Europe, inherited power through the female line.

In the south dwelt another group of tribes, there definitely the Celtic

Britons. As subjects of Rome for quite a while they were strongly

influenced by Roman culture, then formed several early kingdoms of their

own. The biggest of those, Strathclyde, stretched to the borders of Wales,

where the legendary British King Arthur is said to have reigned. Scotland

looms large in the Arthurian romance, and from times immemorial the

highest point of Edinburgh, a city founded in the land of the Britons, was

called Arthur\'s Seat. A less illustrious Briton named Aneirin composed the

epic poem \"Gododdin\", the oldest surviving literary work to come from

Scotland.

It was not, however, the indigenous Picts or Britons who eventually gave

their name to the country Jin the last years of the fifth century a band

of Irish Celts, called Scoti in Latin, crossed over from Ulster to

Kintyre peninsula under Fergus mac Ere. They established a settlement

which soon grew into the tribal kingdom of Dal Riata. From then on, it

coexisted with rival states, engaging in conflicts and mutual contacts.

Differences notwithstanding, the peoples of northern Britain shared a

similar social structure and way of life. A vital force which drew them

even closer together was Christianity. Of the multitude of obscure Celtic

churchmen several saintly preachers stand out - Ninian and Kentigern (or

Mungo), both British, and Columba, the Irish Scot who founded the famous

monastery at lona. The fervent labours of these \"Caledonian Apostles\" and

their followers brought about the conversion of the Picts. Curiously, St.

Patrick of Ireland was very probably born on Scottish soil, in

Strathclyde. As for the veneration of St. Andrew as Patron of Scotland,

his relics were presumably brought from Greece to the Pictish province of

Fife, where the see and city of St. Andrews were dedicated to him. His

diagonal cross (the saltire) became a national emblem in the thirteenth

century.

Relations between all these tribes were far from friendly, and as if the

ethnic picture of northern Britain had not been complex enough already,

pagan Germanic invaders imposed themselves upon it -the Angles from the

south in the sixth century, the Scandinavians from the north in the eighth

and thereafter. The former occupied Lothian (the most fertile part of

Scotland around Edinburgh) and pushed further on, but were rebuffed by the

Picts at the battle of Dunnichen in 685. The fast-sailing Vikings, the

scourge of entire Europe, infested Scottish waters and shores in the first

place, as lying nearest to Norway, and soon seized and colonized the

islands of Shetland, Orkney and Hebrides as well as parts of mainland.

Joint resistance to common enemies, along with dynastic ties, trade and

cultural affinity caused the union of Scots and Picts under Kenneth mac

Alpin. In 843 he became sole ruler of the kingdom of Scotia, or in the

Celtic tongue, both then and now, Alba. The capital was moved to the

heart of the country, Dunkeld and Scone, where kings were enthroned on the

Stone of Destiny. Few of Kenneth\'s successors died in their beds, but they

did all they could to strengthen and augment their dominions. Royal

authority was often threatened from within, by their own kinsmen. One such

case gave birth to the tragedy whose title actors usually avoid for some

superstitious reason, referring to it as \"that Scottish play\". In 1040 a

northern governor named Macbeth rebelled against King Duncan, slew him and

usurped the crown, only to be overthrown by Malcolm, the rightful heir,

with English help. Strangely enough, medieval annals do not support the

image of a wicked tyrant; on his pilgrimage to Rome, for instance, Macbeth

\"scattered money, like seed, for the poor\".

The auspicious reign of David 1(1124-1153), who made himself master of

northern England as far as Lancashire, ushered in a new epoch. In the

twelfth and thirteenth centuries many burghs (i.e. towns), castles and

abbeys were built, as Anglo-French or Flemish knights and tradesmen

settled all over Scotland in significant numbers. In sharp contrast with

England, where the violent Norman conquest wiped out the Saxon elite, it

was a gradual and peaceful penetration, so that Celtic monarchy,

aristocracy and customs stayed very much alive. Feudalism and the clan

system evolved side by side at the same time and, far from being

antagonistic, complemented each other. The avowed differences between

clannish, pastoral. Gaelic-speaking Highlands and feudal, agricultural,

Scots-speaking Lowlands were never clear-cut or insuperable. Despite the

unlikely mixture, Pict, Briton, Scot, Angle and Norseman blended into one.

When the grim hour of trial came, the kingdom rallied and stood firm.

Three Hundred Years\' War

The long spell of peace and prosperity came to a close with the accidental

deaths of King Alexander III in 1286 and his only descendant, the

Norwegian princess Margaret (The Maid of Norway), four years later. Since

the ruling I house became extinct. Scottish magnates wisely appointed six

\"Guardians of the I Realm\" to govern it and protect its privileges, which

they did quite well. But [when the pretenders to the throne took up arms,

the Scots sought advice from their \"good neighbour!\', King Edward I of

England. The man who crushed Wales could not miss this chance to get rid

of the \"Celtic fringe\" altogether. He presided over the election of the

legitimate King of Scots, John Balliol, - then, as a token of gratitude,

received his homage and treated him as a humble vassal. As soon as the

Scots saw their liberties trampled, they concluded an alliance with

England\'s archenemy, France. The clash was imminent, and neither side

imagined how bitter and drawn out it would prove.

In 1296, with deceptive ease, Edward brushed away the raw recruits facing

him, penetrated deep into Scotland, deposed Balliol and removed the Stone

of Destiny, whereon every king of Scots was crowned, to London (despite

doubts of the trophy\'s authenticity, 700 years later it returned home).

Edward could have hardly worried that one William Wallace, a younger son

of an obscure knight, failed to swear fealty to him. Yet Wallace it was

who within a few months raised the Scottish banner again, undid all of

Edward\'s gains and on 11 September 1297 vanquished a strong force sent

against him at Stirling bridge - one of the first successes of foot

levies over heavy cavalry. The victor was then proclaimed Guardian of the

Realm. Even having suffered defeat by a vastly superior army under Edward

himself, Wallace refused to give up. Not until 1305 did the English manage

to take him - through betrayal by a Scot. Condemned for high treason

(though never a sworn subject of the English crown!), he was executed, and

the limbs of his dismembered body were sent to his compatriots.

By then, however, the Scottish cause passed into the hands of an even more

gifted leader, Robert Bruce. Of noble blood, and with his own right to the

throne, he knew there could be no king in a dependent lordship, and

pursued both personal and patriotic aims with relentless vigour. After his

coronation in 1306 the struggle cost him the lives or freedom of his whole

family, but he met defeat only » once - in his very first encounter.

Having subdued his opponents in Scotland, Bruce showed what he meant by

fighting \"with the longest stick that he had\". He made full use of his

country\'s terrain, manoeuvred swiftly, destroyed castles and smaller enemy

units and relied on \"scorched earth\" tactics until punitive expeditions

were starved into retreat. At last he gave the decisive pitched battle the

English hoped for. Near a small stream called Bannockburn on 24 June,

1314, with almost no horsemen to field, he ventured to attack a I host

over twice his strength, described as \"the greatest ever to proceed from

England\"! At the end of the day the English king barely escaped with his

life, and his army ceased to exist.

After Bannockburn the Scottish offensive began in earnest. Bruce expelled

the last enemy garrisons and unleashed a series of devastating campaigns

on English and English-held Irish territory (the term \"blackmail\"

initially meant tribute paid to the Scots). The diplomatic duel went on

with equal ardour. In 1320 Bruce\'s barons dispatched to the pope the

Declaration of Arbroath, an eloquent statement, perhaps the earliest in

Europe, of nascent nationhood: \"As long as but a hundred of us remain

alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It

is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,

but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

The English government had no choice but to acknowledge the state of

things, which it did by the solemn treaty of 1328. Robert Bruce had only

one year to live, but his quest to become the sovereign of the independent

and united country was fully accomplished.

During the minority of Bruce\'s son David II \"perpetual peace\", not

surprisingly, held for just a few years, and the English onslaught

resumed. King Edward HI, invited and assisted by some disinherited •

Scottish lords, won a notable victory at Halidon Hill and installed a

puppet ruler of Scotland. The Scots reverted to their proven guerrilla

strategy and little by little regained the initiative. When the great

Anglo-French war broke out in 1337, they staunchly supported their old

allies and fought by their side. Interrupted by short periods of truce,

border raids went on in Britain with varied success: the English were

defeated at Otterburn in 1388, but took their revenge at Homildon in 1402.

On the French front the Scots also took part in every major action. Thus,

when Joan of Arc raised the siege of Orleans, she was welcomed to the

city by its Scottish bishop, John Carmichael, and escorted by her loyal

Garde Ecossaise (their march tune, used by Robert Burns for his stirring

hymn \"Scots wha hae wi Wallace bled\", is still played in the French army,

too).

Anglo-Scottish hostilities went on until the mid-sixteenth century. Still

sung today in many a ballad on both sides, they were replete with acts of

valour and treachery, good fortune and tragedy, as when the Scottish King

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