The Exercise Of Power In Medieval Scotland C 1200 1500

When King David came to the throne of Scotland in the 11th century he gave formal written grants of land and titles from the crown to local aristocrats, initiating what was to become a long-lived relationship between the king and his lords and between the lord and his vassal.

The events of 1000-1130 were crucial to the successful emergence of the medieval kingdom of the Scots. Yet this is one of the least researched periods of Scottish history. We probably now know more about the Picts than the post-1000 events that underpinned the spectacular expansion of the small kingdom which came to dominate north Britain by the 1130s. This expansion included the defeat and absorption of other significant cultural and political groups to the north and south of the core kingdom, and was accompanied by the introduction of reformed monasticism. But perhaps the most momentous process amongst all these political and cultural changes was the move towards the domination of the kingship by just one segment of the royal kindred, the sons of King Mael Coluim mac Donnchada's second marriage to Queen Margaret. The story of how these sons managed to achieve political supremacy through machination, murder and mutilation runs like an unsavoury thread throughout this book. The book also investigates the building blocks from which the kingdom was constructed and the various processes which eventually allowed the kings of the different peoples of north Britain to describe themselves as Rex scottorum. It is a hugely rewarding voyage of discovery for anyone interested in the formation of the kingdom of the Scots.

This is the second update of "A Cumulative Bibliography of Medieval Military History and Technology," which appeared in 2002. It is meant to do two things: to present references to works on medieval military history and technology not included in the first two volumes; and to present references to all books and articles published on medieval military history and technology from 2003 to 2006. These references are divided into the same categories as in the first two volumes and cover a chronological period of the same length, from late antiquity to 1648, again in order to present a more complete picture of influences on and from the Middle Ages. It also continues to cover the same geographical area as the first and second volume, in essence Europe and the Middle East, or, again, influences on and from this area. The languages of these bibliographical references reflect this geography.

First full-length examination of bastardy in Scotland during the period, exploring its many ramifications throughout society.

This volume examines Highland society during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries highlighting the extent to which kinship and clientage were organising principles within clanship. Based on clans located in the central and eastern Highlands this study goes some way to addressing the imbalance in Highland historiography which hitherto has concentrated largely on the west Highlands and islands. Focusing initially on internal clan structure, the study broadens into an analysis of local politics within the context of regional and national affairs, raising questions regarding the importance of land and the nature of lordship as well as emphasising the need for Highland history to be integrated further into broader studies of Scottish society during this period.

It is well known that political, economic, and social power in the British Isles in the Middle Ages lay in the hands of a small group of domini-lords. In his final book, the late Sir Rees Davies explores the personalities of these magnates, the nature of their lordship, and the ways in which it was expressed in a diverse and divided region in the period 1272-1422. Although their right to rule was rarely questioned, the lords flaunted their identity and superiority through the promotion of heraldic lore, the use of elevated forms of address, and by the extravagant display of their wealth and power. Their domestic routine, furnishings, dress, diet, artistic preferences, and pastimes all spoke of a lifestyle of privilege and authority. Warfare was a constant element in their lives, affording access to riches and reputation, but also carrying the danger of capture, ruin and even death, while their enthusiasm for crusades and tournaments testified to their energy and bellicose inclinations. Above all, underpinning the lords' control of land was their control of men-a complex system of dependence and reward that Davies restores to central significance by studying the British Isles as a whole. The exercise and experience of lordship was far more varied than the English model alone would suggest.

This volume extends the 'British Isles' approach pioneered by Robin Frame and Rees Davies to the later middle ages. Through examination of issues such as frontier formation, colonial identities and connections with the wider world it explores whether this period saw the bonds between the British Isles weaken, strengthen, or simply alter.

This ambitious book, newly available in paperback, examines the encounter between Gaels and Europeans in Scotland in the central Middle Ages, offering new insights into an important period in the formation of the Scots' national identity. It is based on a close reading of the texts of several thousand charters, indentures, brieves and other written sources that record the business conducted in royal and baronial courts across the length and breadth of the medieval kingdom between 1150 and 1400.Under the broad themes of land, law and people, this book explores how the customs, laws and traditions of the native inhabitants and those of incoming settlers interacted and influenced each other. Drawing on a range of theoretical and methodological approaches, the author places her subject matter firmly within the recent historiography of the British Isles and demonstrates how the experience of Scotland was both similar to, and a distinct manifestation of, a wider process of Europeanisation.