Scottish Independence and the Idea of Britain: From the Picts to Alexander III - Paperback

by Dauvit Broun (Author)

What did Scots think of Scotland's place in Britain before Wallace and Bruce? When did they first see it as an independent kingdom?

The answers put forward in this book provide a fresh perspective on Scotland's relationship with Britain. Broun challenges the idea that the Scots were an ancient nation whose British identity only emerged later on, in the early modern era, and provides new evidence that the idea of Scotland as an independent kingdom in actual fact predated Wallace and Bruce. This leads him to radically reassess several fundamental issues: the fate of Pictish identity and the origins of Alba; the status of Scottish kingship vis-à-vis England; the papacy's recognition of the independence of the Scottish Church; and the idea of Scottish freedom. He also sheds new light on the authorship of John of Fordun's 'Chronicle' - the first full-scale history of the Scots - and explains, in historical terms, the widespread English inability to distinguish between England and Britain.

Broun places his arguments in the wider context of the concepts of ultimate secular power in Britain and Ireland and the construction of national histories which were emerging in the middle ages. In conclusion, he casts a fresh aspect on how a Scottish national identity emerged and how the medieval era and, more specifically the Scots, contributed to what is often regarded as an exclusively modern phenomenon.

Back Jacket

When did Scots first think of Scotland as an independent kingdom? What did they think was Scotland's place in Britain before the age of Wallace and Bruce? The answers argued in this book offer a fresh perspective on the question of Scotland's relationship with Britain. Dauvit Broun challenges the standard concept of the Scots as an ancient nation whose British identity only emerged in the early modern era, but also provides new evidence that the idea of Scotland as an independent kingdom was older than the age of Wallace and Bruce.This leads to radical reassessments of a range of fundamental issues: the fate of Pictish identity and the origins of Alba, the status of Scottish kingship vis-à-vis England, the papacy's recognition of the independence of the Scottish Church, and the idea of Scottish freedom. It also sheds new light on the authorship of John of Fordun's 'Chronicle' - the first full-scale history of the Scots - and offers an historical explanation of the widespread English inability to distinguish between England and Britain. All this is placed in the wider context of ideas of ultimate secular power in Britain and Ireland and the construction of national histories in this period. The book concludes with a fresh perspective on the origin of national identity, and the medieval and specifically Scottish contribution to understanding what is often regarded as an exclusively modern phenomenon. Dauvit Broun teaches medieval Scottish hsitory from the sixth to the fifteenth centuries at the University of Glasgow.

Author Biography

Dauvit Broun is Professor of Medieval Scottish History at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of 'Scottish Independence and the Idea of Britain: From the Picts to Alexander III' (EUP, 2007).