Download or read book The West Highland Galley written by Denis Rixson and published by Birlinn Publishers. This book was released on 1998 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text provides an assessment of the importance of the galley in the economy of the Scottish Highlands as a means of transporting mercenaries to Ireland. It argues that surplus manpower following the Union of the Crowns became a major factor in the collapse of Scotland into civil war.
Download or read book The West Highland Galley from Carvings on the Late Medieval Grave Stones and Crosses in the West Highlands written by Alison Gunn and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book West Highland Galleys written by Alison Gunn and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Galloglas written by John Marsden and published by Birlinn Ltd. This book was released on 2016-07-05 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Galloglas were mercenary warriors from the Hebrides and West Highlands who settled in Ireland in the later 13th century and achieved an extraordinary prominence on Irish battlefields throughout the three hundred years following. Fighting as heavy infantry - highly-disciplined, mail-armoured and wielding their characteristic weapon of the long-staved war-axe - they were the decisive military component in the Gaelic Irish resurgence of the 14th century and represented the cutting-edge of resistance to Tudor reconquest two hundred years later. Found first in the service of native Irish lords in Ulster and Connacht, they were later brought into Munster and Leinster by the gaelicised Anglo-Irish earls. By the 15th century they were established as Ireland's first professional warrior class and, like other professional classes in the Gaelic world, they were organized on the basis of kin-group. The names of hereditary commanders of galloglas entered in the Irish annals identify these mercenary warrior kindreds as the MacCabes, MacDonnels, MacDowells, MacRorys, MacSheehys and MacSweeneys, all of them families descended from the Gaelic-Norse aristocracy of Argyll and the Isles - and yet their story has been called "a forgotten chapter of West Highland history". This account of the Galloglas is written from a decidedly Scottish perspective, tracing the origins of six kindreds and investigating the circumstances which brought about their relocation to Ireland. It goes on to examine the galloglas as warriors, pointing to their distinctly Norse character and proposing their battle-fury as "the last unmistakable echo of the Scandinavian impact on the Celtic west".
Download or read book The Politics of Religion in the Age of Mary Queen of Scots written by Jane E. A. Dawson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-05-30 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early modern historians have theorized about the nature of the new 'British' history for a generation. This study examines how British politics operated in practice during the age of Mary, Queen of Scots, and explains how the crises of the mid-sixteenth century moulded the future political shape of the British Isles. A central figure in these struggles was the fifth earl of Argyll, the most powerful magnate not only at the court of Queen Mary, his sister-in-law, but throughout the three kingdoms. His domination of the Western Highlands and Islands drew him into the complex politics of the north of Ireland, while his Protestant commitment involved him in Anglo-Scottish relations. His actions also helped determine the Protestant allegiance of the British mainland and the political and religious complexion of Ireland. Argyll's career therefore demonstrates both the possibilities and the limitations of British history throughout the early modern period.
Download or read book Military History of Scotland written by Spiers Edward M. Spiers and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-11 with total page 857 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish soldier has been at war for over 2000 years. Until now, no reference work has attempted to examine this vast heritage of warfare.A Military History of Scotland offers readers an unparalleled insight into the evolution of the Scottish military tradition. This wide-ranging and extensively illustrated volume traces the military history of Scotland from pre-history to the recent conflict in Afghanistan. Edited by three leading military historians, and featuring contributions from thirty scholars, it explores the role of warfare in the emergence of a Scottish kingdom, the forging of a Scottish-British military identity, and the participation of Scots in Britain's imperial and world wars. Eschewing a narrow definition of military history, it investigates the cultural and physical dimensions of Scotland's military past such as Scottish military dress and music, the role of the Scottish soldier in art and literature, Scotland's fortifications and battlefield archaeology, and Scotland's military memorials and museum collections.
Download or read book The Sea Kings written by R. Andrew McDonald and published by Birlinn Ltd. This book was released on 2020-05-28 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The archipelagic kingdoms of Man and the Isles that flourished from the last quarter of the eleventh century down to the middle of the thirteenth century represent two forgotten kingdoms of the medieval British Isles. They were ruled by powerful individuals, with unquestionably regnal status, who interacted in a variety of ways with rulers of surrounding lands and who left their footprint on a wide range of written documents and upon the very landscapes and seascapes of the islands they ruled. Yet British history has tended to overlook these Late Norse maritime empires, which thrived for two centuries on the Atlantic frontiers of Britain. This book represents the first ever overview of both Manx and Hebridean dynasties that dominated Man and the Isles from the late eleventh to the mid-thirteenth centuries. Coverage is broad and is not restricted to politics and warfare. An introductory chapter examines the maritime context of the kingdoms in light of recent work in the field of maritime history, while subsequent chronological and narrative chapters trace the history of the kingdoms from their origins through their maturity to their demise in the thirteenth century. Separate chapters examine the economy and society, church and religion, power and architecture.
Download or read book Pirate Hunting written by Benerson Little and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For thousands of years pirates, privateers, and seafaring raiders have terrorized the ocean voyager and coastal inhabitant, plundering ship and shore with impunity. From the victim's point of view, these attackers were not the rebellious, romantic rulers of Neptune's realm, but savage beasts to be eradicated, and those who went to sea to stop them were heroes. Engaging and meticulously detailed, Pirate Hunting chronicles the fight against these plunderers from ancient times to the present and illustrates the array of tactics and strategies that individuals and governments have employed to secure the seas. Benerson Little lends further dimension to this unending battle by including the history of piracy and privateering, ranging from the Mycenaean rovers to the modern pirates of Somalia. He also introduces associated naval warfare; maritime commerce and transportation; the development of speed under oar, sail, and steam; and the evolution of weaponry. More than just a vivid account of the war that seafarers and pirates have waged, Pirate Hunting is invaluable reading in a world where acts of piracy are once more a significant threat to maritime commerce and voyagers. It will appeal to readers interested in the history of piracy, anti-piracy operations, and maritime, naval, and military history worldwide.
Download or read book Frontiers for Peace in the Medieval North written by Ian Peter Grohse and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Frontiers for Peace in the Medieval North. The Norwegian-Scottish Frontier c. 1260-1470, Ian Peter Grohse examines social and political interactions in Orkney, a Norwegian-held province with long and intimate ties to the Scottish mainland. Commonly portrayed as the epicentre of political tension between Norwegian and Scottish fronts, Orkney appears here as a medium for diplomacy between monarchies and as an avenue for interface and cooperation between neighbouring communities. Removed from the national heartlands of Scandinavia and Britain, Orcadians fostered a distinctly local identity that, although rooted in Norwegian law and civic organization, featured a unique cultural accent engendered through Scottish immigration. This study of Orcadian experiences encourages greater appreciation of the peaceful dimensions of pre-modern European frontiers.
Download or read book Northern Atlantic Islands and the Sea written by Andrew Jennings and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2017-05-11 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Orkney, Shetland and, to some extent, the Hebrides, share both a Nordic cultural and linguistic heritage, and the experience of being surrounded by the ever-present North Atlantic Ocean. This has been a constant in the islanders’ history, forging their unique way of life, influencing their customs and traditions, and has been instrumental in moulding their identities. This volume is an exploration of a rich, intimate and, at times, terrifying relationship. It is the result of an international conference held in April 2014, when scholars from across the North Atlantic rim congregated in Lerwick, Shetland, to discuss maritime traditions, islands in Old Norse literature, insular archaeology, folklore, and traditional belief. The chapters reflect the varied origins of the contributors. Icelanders are well represented, as are scholars based in Orkney and Shetland, indicating the strength of scholarship in these seemingly isolated archipelagos. Peripheral they may be to the UK, but they lie at the heart of the North Atlantic, at the intersection of British and Nordic cultures. This book will be of interest to scholars of a wide range of disciplines, such as those involved in island studies, cultural studies, Old Norse literature, Icelandic studies, maritime heritage, oceanography, linguistics, folklore, British studies, ethnology, and archaeology. Similarly, it will also appeal to researchers from a wide geographical area, particularly the UK, and Scandinavia, and indeed anywhere where there is an interest in the study of islands or the North Atlantic.
Download or read book The Seaforth Bibliography written by Eugene Rasor and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-04-17 with total page 875 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This remarkable work is a comprehensive historiographical and bibliographical survey of the most important scholarly and printed materials about the naval and maritime history of England and Great Britain from the earliest times to 1815. More than 4,000 popular, standard and official histories, important articles in journals and periodicals, anthologies, conference, symposium and seminar papers, guides, documents and doctoral theses are covered so that the emphasis is the broadest possible. But the work is far, far more than a listing. The works are all evaluated, assessed and analysed and then integrated into an historical narrative that makes the book a hugely useful reference work for student, scholar, and enthusiast alike. It is divided into twenty-one chapters which cover resource centres, significant naval writers, pre-eminent and general histories, the chronological periods from Julius Caesar through the Vikings, Tudors and Stuarts to Nelson and Bligh, major naval personalities, warships, piracy, strategy and tactics, exploration, discovery and navigation, archaeology and even naval fiction. Quite simply, no-one with an interest and enthusiasm for naval history can afford to be without this book at their side.
Download or read book Clan Battles written by Chris Peers and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2023-08-30 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Warfare between the clans of the Highlands in the late Middle Ages determined the course of history in this region of Scotland, and Chris Peers’ gripping account of it – and of the rivalry between the strongest clans – gives the reader a deep insight into this bloody, turbulent phase in the development of the far north of the British Isles. The battles he describes, all of them fought between the 1430s and the 1540s, were flash points in the long struggle for dominance between the leading clans of the region. The battles are reconstructed in vivid detail. The first, Druim n Coub, was fought in 1433 between the Mackays and the Sutherlands. Then came Bloody Bay, a sea fight between rival MacDonald factions, Blar na Parc between the MacDonalds and the Mackenzies, Creag an Airgid between the MacDonalds and the MacIains, Glendale between the MacDonalds and MacLeods, and Torran Dubh between alliances headed by the Mackays and Sutherlands. The final battle, Blar na Leine, fought between the MacDonalds and the Frasers in 1544, marked the end of an era. The subsequent fate of the leading clans, principally the MacDonalds and Mackays, is also covered in a narrative that gives the reader a fascinating new perspective of clan loyalties and conflict which still resonates today. As well as covering the fighting Chris Peers explains the way war in the Highlands was organized by the contending clans during the period – the strategies and tactics, weapons and armor they employed. The result is an absorbing all-round account of the military history of the Highlands before the clans eventually lost their independence.
Download or read book Maritime Societies of the Viking and Medieval World written by James H. Barrett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-11-25 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a study of communities that drew their identity and livelihood from their relationships with water during a pivotal time in the creation of the social, economic and political landscapes of northern Europe. It focuses on the Baltic, North and Irish Seas in the Viking Age (ad 1050–1200), with a few later examples (such as the Scottish Lordship of the Isles) included to help illuminate less well-documented earlier centuries. Individual chapters introduce maritime worlds ranging from the Isle of Man to Gotland — while also touching on the relationships between estate centres, towns, landing places and the sea in the more terrestrially oriented societies that surrounded northern Europe’s main spheres of maritime interaction. It is predominately an archaeological project, but draws no arbitrary lines between the fields of historical archaeology, history and literature. The volume explores the complex relationships between long-range interconnections and distinctive regional identities that are characteristic of maritime societies, seeking to understand communities that were brought into being by their relationships with the sea and who set waves in motion that altered distant shores.
Download or read book Gentleman Captain written by J. D. Davies and published by Canelo. This book was released on 2018-05-07 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heroism, gunpowder and treachery in the Royal Navy. The first in an extraordinary series of naval adventures 1662: After Matthew Quinton sunk the first ship he was given to command, he is surprised when the King gives him captaincy of H.M.S. Jupiter with orders to stamp out a Scottish rebellion. This time Quinton is determined to prove his worth. In a country of divided loyalties, Charles II needs someone he can trust, and – with an elder brother deep in the King’s confidence – Matthew is one of the few eligible candidates. But now Quinton must face an unruly crew, suspicions of murder, stirrings of conspiracy and the angry seas. Will treason be found in Scotland... or is it lurking closer to home? Packed with gripping naval adventure, Gentleman Captain is the first in the epic Matthew Quinton Journals. It will enthral fans of Julian Stockwin, C.S. Forester’s Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian. ‘Hornblower, Aubrey and Quinton – a pantheon of the best adventures at sea!’ Conn Iggulden ‘Swashbuckling suspense, royal intrigue, and high seas naval action ... an excellent series’ Publishers Weekly ‘Utterly impossible to put down... finely-shaded characters, excellent plotting, gut-clenching action and immaculate attention to period detail ... superb’ Angus Donald, author of The Outlaw Chronicles The Matthew Quinton Journals 1. Gentleman Captain 2. The Mountain of Gold 3. The Blast that Tears the Skies 4. The Lion of Midnight 5. The Battle of the Ages 6. The Rage of Fortune 7. Death's Bright Angel 8. The Devil Upon the Wave
Download or read book Only the Ancestors written by Hugh Fife and published by Austin Macauley Publishers. This book was released on 2024-01-05 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hugh Graham lived from the start of the 20th century to the start of the 21st, in the sea-girt Highland Parish of North Knapdale in Argyll, Scotland. Great changes occurred in his lifetime, and the centuries before – changes in land use and culture that saddened him, even angered him, but he had ever the serenity and pragmatism of the West Highlander – the Gael. In this place the Irish Gaels arrived over 1,500 years ago, establishing the proto-Scottish nation, in a green place amidst the ancient grey crags, with the blessing of the monks in the holy island of Iona on Argyll’s North-Western edge. Amidst the craggy hills and raised lochs of Knapdale, and prehistoric standing stones and burial mounds of wide Kilmartin Glen, and old chapels on the long peninsulas reaching into the Hebridean Sea, and the ruins of villages in the now-sheep-cropped glens, lived Hugh Graham and his ancestors.
Download or read book Scotland Re formed 1488 1587 written by Jane Dawson and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2007-10-26 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the death of James III to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, Jane Dawson tells story of Scotland from the perspective of its regions and of individual Scots, as well as incorporating the view from the royal court. Scotland Re-formed shows how the country was re-formed as the relationship between church and crown changed, with these two institutions converging, merging and diverging, thereby permanently altering the nature of Scottish governance. Society was also transformed, especially by the feuars, new landholders who became the backbone of rural Scotland. The Reformation Crisis of 1559-60 brought the establishment of a Protestant Kirk, an institution influencing the lives of Scots for many centuries, and a diplomatic revolution that discarded the 'auld alliance' and locked Scotland's future into the British Isles.Although the disappearance of the pre-Reformation church left a patronage deficit with disastrous effects for Scottish music and art, new forms of cultural expression arose that
Download or read book Plantation and Civility in the North Atlantic World written by Aonghas MacCoinnich and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-09-17 with total page 598 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The settlement of the Hebrides is usually considered in terms of the state formation agenda. Yet the area was subject to successive attempts at plantation, largely overlooked in historical narrative. Aonghas MacCoinnich’s study, Plantation and Civility, explores these plantations against the background of a Lowland-Highland cultural divide and competition over resources. The Macleod of Lewis clan, ‘uncivil’, Gaelic Highlanders, were dispossessed by the Lowland, ‘civil,’ Fife Adventurers, 1598-1609. Despite the collapse of this Lowland Plantation, however, the recourse to the Mackenzie clan, often thought a failure of policy, was instead a pragmatic response to an intractable problem. The Mackenzies also pursued the civility agenda treating with Dutch partners and fending off their English rivals in order to develop their plantation.
