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Bha Rìoghachd na h-Alba (Beurla Ghallda: Kinrick o Scotland) 'na stàit neo-eisimeileach ann an iar-thuath na Roinn Eòrpa. Thathar ag ràdh a ghnàth gun deach a chur air bhonn ann an 843 agus gun deach aonadh le Rìoghachd Shasainn ann an 1707, a' toirt gu bith Rìoghachd na Breatainne Mòire. Dh'fhàs agus chrìon am fearann aice thairis air na linntean, gu sònraichte, leis gu bheil e suidhichte mu thuath Eileanan Bhreatainn le crìoch ri Sasainn, mu dheas. Bhris na Sasannaich a-steach oirre iomadh turas, gu sònraichte fo rìgh Èideard III agus strì i, gu soirbheachail, airson a neo-eisimeileachd fo rìgh Raibeart I ann an cogaidhean neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba agus bha i 'na stàit neo-eisimeileach air feadh nam meadhan-aoisean. Ghabh Seumas VI na h-Alba rìgh-chathair Shasainn ann an 1603, a' toirt còmhla Alba agus Sasainn ann an aonadh pearsanta. Cha deach an dà rìoghachd aonadh gu tur gu ruige 1707 nuair a thàinig iad còmhla ann an Achd an Aonaidh 1707, a' toirt gu bith Rìoghachd na Breatainne Mòire. A bharrachd air borgh rìoghail Bearuig le Rìoghachd Shasainn ann an 1482 (dìreach an dèidh glacadh nan Eileanan a Tuath o Rìoghachd Nirribhidh ann an 1472), bha fearann Rìoghachd na h-Alba o shean agus Alba an-diugh cha mhòr co-ionnann, leis a' Chuan a Tuath san ear, an Cuan Siar san iar is san iar-thuath agus Cuan na h-Èireann san iar-dheas.
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Tha cuideigin ag obair air an duilleig seo. Na deasaich an duilleag an-dràsta agus na cuir às don teamplaid, gus am bi ùine gu leòr air falbh. |
B' e an crùn am pìos as cudromaiche dhen riaghaltas san linn seo. Mus dàinig Dùn Èideann gu bhith 'na phrìomh bhaile san dàrna leth dhen chòigeamh linn deug, 's e monarcachd siubhail a bh' aig Alba sna meadhan-aoisean. Bha a' chùirt aig teis-mheadhan saoghal poileataigeach na dùthcha agus thàinig e gu bhith 'na àite a thug dìon, taic is cothrom taisbeanaidh dha na h-ealain cuideachd san t-siathamh linn deug gus an deach a leigeil mu sgaoil ann an Aonadh an Dà Chrùn ann an 1603. Thog crùn na h-Alba na h-oifisean a bha cumanta ann an cuairtean taobh an iar na Roinn Eòrpa aig an àm agus stèidhicheadh comhairle dhìomhair agus oifisean na stàite. Dh'èirich a' Phàrlamaid mar bhuidheann reachdais cuideachd is smachd aice air cìsean is poileasaidhean ach 'na àm, cha robh e cho cumhachdach cudromach ann an Alba 's a bha a chèile ann an Sasainn. Bha rìghrean tràth na h-Alba an eisimeil nan tighearnan mòra, na morairean is na toisich, ach a-mach o riaghladh Dhaibhidh I, chaidh siorrachdan a stèidheachadh a thug smachd dìreach dhan rìgh is, mean air mhean, a chuingich cumhachdan nan tighearnasan mòra. Chaidh britheamhan na sìthe agus coimiseanairean an t-solair a stèidheachadh san t-seachdamh linn deug agus rinn iad seo obair an riaghaltais fada nas èifeachdaiche. Ach air an làimh eile, bha barain na cùirte ann fhathast agus dhaingnich na tighearnan ionadail an cuid cumhachd le bhith a' stèidheachadh seiseanan na h-eaglaise.
Thàinig an lagh Albannach gu bhith 'na rian fa leth sna meadhan-aoisean is chaidh ath-leasachadh is còdachadh san t-siathamh agus san t-seachdamh linn deug. Fo Sheumas IV, thòisich cùirt rìoghail an t-seisein air coinneachadh gach latha ann an Dùn Èideann agus chaidh Colaiste Rìoghail a' Cheartais a stèidheachadh ann an 1532 agus ri linn sinn fhuair an luchd-lagha Albannach trèanadh nas fhearr.
B' e Daibhidh I a' chiad rìgh Albannach a bhuail a bhuinn-airgid fhèin fhad 's fhios dhuinne. Roimhe sin, bhiodh buinn na h-Alba cha mhòr co-ionnann ris an fheadhainn Shasannach a thaobh na bh' annta de dh'airgead ach a-mach o 1300, chaidh a' chuibhreann de dh'airgead an lughad na bu luaithe na ann an Sasainn. Aig àm Aonadh an Dà Chrùn, bha an dà-dheicheamh uiread a luach sa phunnd Albannach 's a bha sa phunnd Sasannach. Chaidh an t-airgead Albannach à bith aig àm Achd an Aonaidh ach tha na bancaichean Albannach a' clò-bhualadh notaichean Albannach sònraichte fhathast agus is ann aig Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba a tha an aon not luach £1 san Rìoghachd Aonaichte an-diugh.
Tha cladach na h-Alba cho fada 's a tha cladach Shasainn is na Cuimrigh còmhla is paileat mòr eileanan 'na cheann. San iar-thuath, tha na h-eileanan agus a' Ghàidhealtachd bheanntach agus san ear is mu dheas, a' Ghalldachd.
Nuair a bhuail a' phlàigh-dhubh air Alba, bha an sluagh air fàs o leth-mhillean gu millean ach ri linn na plàighe, thuit sinn gu millean. Thòisich e air fàs a-rithist sa chiad phàirt dhen t-siathamh linn deug agus sna 1690, bha mu 1.2 millean duine a' fuireach ann.
Aig toiseach nam meadhan-aoise, b' i a' Ghàidhlig an cànan as cudromaiche ann an Alba ach bha a-riamh Seann-Bheurla (sinnsir na Beurla Ghallda), Lochlannais agus Fraingis a-staigh san àireamh cuideachd. Cha d'fhuair a' Bheurla Ghallda làmh an uachdar ach mu thoiseach na linn nuadh.
Ràinig Crìosdaidheachd Alba san t-siathamh linn. San linn Fraingis, dh'atharraich eaglais na h-Alba gu mòr agus dh'èirich ùird mhanach is buidhnean cràbhach ùra ri linn sin. Bhuail ùpraid mhòr air eaglaisean ann an Alba san t-siathamh linn deug, an t-Ath-leasachadh Pròstanach a thoiseach air chàch agus às a sin, dh'èirich Eaglais na h-Alba a bha gu math Calbhanach 'na nàdar. Bha creideamh 'na chuspair connspaideach fad ùine mhòr agus dh'èirich iomadh sgaradh is geur-leanmhainn 'na chois.
Ged a stèidhich crùn na h-Alba feachdan mara aig diofar amannan 'na h-eachdraidh, 's e prìobhadairean a bh' annta gu tric is iad ri guerre de course. Bha an t-arm coitcheann an teis-mheadhan nam feachdan tìre ach ghabhadh ri iomadh rud is gleus ùr cuideachd a nochd san Roinn Eòrpa san t-siathamh linn deug cuideachd. A dh'aindeoin sin, bha iomadh Albannach a' strì san arm Sasannach mar shaighdear-tuarastail.
Bha an dà chuid bratach an leòmhainn agus crois Naomh Anndra 'nam brataichean aig Alba agus chaidh an tè mu dheireadh sin fhilleadh a-staigh do bhratach an Aonaidh ann an 1603.
On chòigeamh linn AD a-mach, bha taobh tuath Bhreatainn air a roinn eadar diofar rìoghachdan beaga. ’Nam measg seo, b' e rìoghachd nan Cruithneach san ear-thuath, Albannaich Dhail Riata san iar, Breatannaich Rìoghachd Shrath Chluaidh san iar-dheas agus Bernicia, rìoghachd nan Anglach (a chaidh aontachadh mar rìoghachd Northumbria ann an 653) san ear-dheas, a’ gabhail a-staigh pìos de Shasainn a Tuath. Thàinig an dà latha air an t-suidheachadh seo ann an 793 nuair a thòisich na Lochlannaich air dubh-chreachadh nam manachainn, mar Mhanachainn Ì agus Lindisfarne, rud a dh’adhbharaich eagal is tro chèile am measg rìoghachdan taobh tuath Bhreatainn. Thàinig Arcaibh, Sealtainn agus Innse Gall gu tur fo smachd nan Lochlannach aig a’ cheann thall.[1] Dh’fhaoidte gun do luathaich an cunnart seo Gàidhealachadh rìoghachdan nan Cruithneach a ghabh cànan is gnàthasan nan Gàidheal thar ùine. Thàinig an dà rìoghachd, Dail Riata agus Rìoghachd nan Cruithneach, còmhla aig a’ cheann thall, ged a tha deasbad ann a thaobh cò fhuair làmh an uachdair air cò. Ri linn sin, ghabh Coinneach I na h-Alba (no Cínaed mac Ailpín mar a th’ air sna làmh-sgrìobhainnean), ainm "Rìgh nan Cruithneach sna 840an (mar is trice, ’s e 843 a’ bhliadhna a tha ’ga h-ainmeachadh)[2] agus leis a sin, stèidhich e Sliochd Ailpein.[3] Nuair a chaochail e ann an 900, thàinig Dòmhnall II na h-Alba ’na àite agus b' esan a’ chiad neach air an robh rí Alban (i.e. Rìgh na h-Alba).[4] Dh’fhas Alba agus Scotia cumanta mar ainm air cridhe rìoghachdan nan rìghrean seo tuath air Abhainn Foirthe agus aig a’ cheann thall, bha Scotland aig daoine air an rìoghachd air fad a bha aig rìghrean na h-Alba sa Bheurla Ghallda agus cànain eile.[5] Fhuair Còiseam I na h-Alba an crùn ’na dhèidh, no Constantín mac Cináeda mar a bha air ’na linn agus bha an riaghladh fada aige glè chudromach do stèidheachadh Rìoghachd na h-Alba agus fhuair e cliù mar am fear a thug còmhla an Eaglais Albannach agus an Eaglais Chaitligeach.[6]
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Bha buaidh aig rìghrean na h-Alba air Srath Chluaidh a-mach on 9mh linn ach b’ e Maol Chaluim I (no Máel Coluim mac Domnaill mar a bha air ’na linn, a’ riaghladh eadar 943–954 mu thuaiream) a cheannsaich Srath Chluaidh.[7] Thàinig atharrachadh mòr mòr air Rìoghachd na h-Alba ri linn Daibhidh I (Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim)[8][9] is esan a’ cur toirt a-steach rian fiùdalachd dhan dùthaich, a’ stèidheachadh nan ciad bhuirgh rìoghail, a’ chiad chùinneadh Albannach agus sreath de ath-leasachaidhean creidmheach is laghail.[10] Cha robh a’ chrìoch eadar Alba agus Sasainn seasmhach idir suas gun 13mh linn agus ged a chuir Daibhidh I Northumbria ri Alba, chaill ogha ’s iar-theachdaire Maol Chaluim IV (Máel Coluim mac Eanric) e a-rithist ann an 1157.[11] Chaidh a’ chrìoch a stèidheachadh ann an Cùmhnant Eabhraic ann an 1237, faisg air crìoch ar latha[12] Mu àm riaghladh Alasdair III, bha na h-Albannaich air smachd fhaighinn air cladach an iar na dùthchan an dèidh Blàr na Leargaidh Ghallda ann an Cùmhnant Pheairt ann an 1266.[13] Fhuair Sasainn smachd air Eilean Mhanainn san 14mh linn ged a rinn na h-Albannaich iomadh oidhirp fhaighinn air ais.[14] Cheannsaich na Sasannaich cuid mhòr de dh'Alba fo Èideard I agus chuir iad pìos mòr dhen Ghalldachd ri Sasainn fo Èideard III ach dhaingnich Alba a neo-eisimeileachd aig deireadh na 13mh linn fo stiùireadh dhaoine mar Raibeart Brus agus Uilleam Uallas agus na rìghrean ’na dhèidh san 14mh linn ann an cogaidhean neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba (1296-1357). Fhuair iad taic o rìghrean na Frainge san oidhirp seo, rud ris an can sinn an Seann-chaidreachas an-diugh, aonta taic a chumail ris a’ chèile an aghaidh Shasainn. Ged a bha an 15mh linn agus toiseach na 16mh linn ’na ùine aimhreiteach buaireasach fo na rìghrean Stiùbhartach, fhuair an crùn barrachd smachd air na tighearnan neo-eisimeileach agus ath-cheannsaich iad fearann a chaill iad roimhe gus an robh an dùthaich cha mhòr cho mòr ’s a tha e an-diugh.[15] Nuair a fhuair crùn na h-Alba Arcaibh agus Sealtainn mar thochradh ann an 1468, b’ e sin am pìos fearainn mòr mu dheireadh a fhuair an rìoghachd.[16] Cheannsaich na Sasannaich Bearaig, gearastan-crìche agus am port as motha ann an Alba mheadhan-aoiseil ann an 1482 agus is ann an Sasainn a tha e air a bhith on àm sin.[15] An cois an t-Seann-chaidreachais leis an Fhraing, dh’fhuiling arm nan Albannach call mòr aig Blàr Flodden ann an 1513 agus ri linn bàs Sheumais IV sa bhlàr ud, lean ùine fhada de chugallachd phoilitigeach.[17]
Fo Sheumas V agus Màiri Bànrigh nan Albannach san 16mh linn, a dh’aindeoin chogaidhean sìobhalta ’s aimhreit nan Sasannach is nam Frangach, thàinig buaidh an ath-nuadhachaidh agus na monarcachd ùr air a’ chrùn is a’ chùirt.[18] Thàinig Alba fo bhuaidh an ath-leasachaidh ann am meadhan na 16mh linn, gu sònraichte luchd Calbhanachais agus dh’adhbharaich seo briseadh ìomhaighean na h-Eaglaise fad is farsaing agus chaidh rian Clèireachais a stèidheachadh aig an robh buaidh mhòr air beatha nan daoine ann an Alba.[19] Bha Sheumas VI ’na eòlaiche cudromach aig deireadh na 16mh linn agus bha ùghdarras mòr aige air an rìoghachd.[20] Fhuair e crùn Shasainn agus crùn na h-Èireann mar dhìleab ann an 1603, rud a stèidhich Aonadh nan Crùn (ged a ghlèidh na trì stàitean an cuid buidhnean is an dearbh-aithne nàiseanta fhèin) agus ghluais e suidheachan na cumhachd rìoghail a Lunnainn.[21] Dh’fheuch a mhac Teàrlach I pìosan de rèite creideimh Shasainn a sparradh air Alba agus dh’adhbharaich seo Cogaidhean nan Easbaig (1637-40), còmhstri a chaill an rìgh agus chaidh stàit Chùmnantaichean Clèireach cha mhòr neo-eisimeileach a stèidheachadh mar thoradh air.[22] Phiobraich seo cogadh ann an Èirinn is Sasainn cuideachd, leis na h-Albannaich a' briseadh a-steach air cùisean gu mòr. An dèidh call Theàrlaich I, chuir na h-Albannaich taic ris an rìgh ann an Dàrna Cogadh Sìobhalta Shasainn agus nuair a chaidh a chur gu bàs, ghairm iad Teàrlach II mar rìgh, rud a dh'adhbharaich Treas Cogadh Sìobhalta Shasainn an aghaidh poblachd òg Shasainn fo Oilibhear Crombalach. Dh'fhuiling na h-Albannaich call an dèidh caill agus ri linn sin, chaidh Alba a ghabhail a-staigh ann an Co-fhlaitheas Shasainn, Alba agus Èireann fad greis (1653–60).[23]
An dèidh aiseag na monarcachd ann an 1660, fhuair Alba air ais a h-inbhe fa leth agus na h-eagrachasan aice ach dh'fhan cridhe na cumhachd ann an Lunnainn.[24] An dèidh an aramaich ghlòrmhoir 1688-89 nuair a chaidh Seumas VII a chur às an rìgh-chathair leis an nighean aice, Màiri agus an duine aice, Uilleam Orains ann an Sasainn, ghabh Alba riutha fo Achd Tagradh Còrach 1689,[24], dh'fhan sliochd fuadaichte nan Stiùbhartach aig teis-meadhan cùis nan Seumasach is inneadh iomadh oidhirp an tilleadh tro aramach is strì, gu sònraichte air a' Ghàidhealtachd.[25] Bha an eaconamaidh tro chèile gu mòr sna 1690an agus dh'adhbharaich seo aonadh poileataigeach le Sasainn mar Rìoghachd na Breatainne Mòire 1ad dhen Chèitean 1707. Chaidh Pàrlamaid na h-Alba agus Pàrlamaid Shasainn a chur còmhla ann am Pàrlamaid Bhreatainn ach leis gun robh e suidhichte ann am Westminster, lean e air cha mhòr mar a bha e roimhe, mar Phàrlamaid Shasainn ach gun deach 45 ball-pàrlamaid Albannach a chur ri 513 ball Taigh nan Cumantan agus 16 Albannaich ri 190 ball Taigh nam Morairean. ’S e làn-aonadh eaconamach a bh’ ann cuideachd agus thàinig airgead, cìsean is laghan malairt na h-Alba gu crìoch mar shiostam fa leth leis a sin.[26]
Ghlèidh rìoghachd aonaichte na h-Alba cuid a ghnàthasan a bhiodh aig na Cruithnich roimhe. Chithear seo sna gnàthasan ealanta aig crùnadh Sgàin.[27] Ged a bha monarcachd na h-Alba sna meadhan-aoisean a' siubhal o àite gu àite a ghnàth, bha Sgàin fhathast am measg nan àitichean as cudromaiche agus dh'fhàs caistealan rìoghail mar Chaisteal Shruighlea agus Chaisteal Pheairt cudromach aig deireadh nam meadhan-aoisean mus do dh'fhàs Dùn Èideann 'na cheanna-bhail ann an dàrna leth na còigeamh linn dheug.[28][29] Ged a bha iomadh rìgh ann nach robh aig inbheachd, mhair an crùn ann mar phrìomh-eileamaid an riaghaltais. Aig deireadh nam meadhan-aoisean, thàinig an aon at air a’ chrùn ’s a thàinig air feadhainn eile san Roinn Eòrpa.[30] Chaidh teòirigean air cuingeachadh na monarcachd agus comhaireachd a dheasbad ann an Alba, gu sònraiche le Seòras Bochanan san 16mh linn ach bhrosnaiche Rìgh Seumas VI teòirig còir dhiadhaidh rìghrean agus dh'èirich an deasbad seo a-rithist 's a-rithist, rìgh air rìgh, èiginn air èiginn. Dh'fhuirich a' chùirt rìoghail fhathast aig teis-mheadhan an t-saoghail phoilitigich agus b' e a' chùirt prìomh-ionad taisbeanadh nan ealain agus cùl-taic nan ealain a-mach on t-siathamh linn dheug gus an deach a leigeil mu sgaoil aig àm Aonadh nan Crùintean ann an 1603.[31]
Thog crùn na h-Alba na dreuchdan a bha cumanta ann an cùirtean taobh an iar na Roinn Eòrpa, mar an stiùbhard, seumarlan, constabal, marasgal agus seansalair.[32] Dh'fhàs Comhairle an Rìgh na bhuidheann làn-ùine sa chòigeamh linn dheug agus thar ùine, fhuair daoine nach robh nan clèireach agus a bha tàireil air rian a' cheartais làmh an uachdair ann.[33] Bha a' chomhairle dhìomhair, a thàinig gu bith aig meadhan na siathamh linn dheug,[34] agus oifisean mòra na stàite, a' gabhail a-staigh an t-seansalair, rùnaire agus agus ionmhasair, aig teis-mheadhan rianachd an riaghaltais fad ùine mhòr, fiù an dèidh dha na monarcan Stiùbhartach falbh a Shasainn a-mach o 1603.[35] Ge-tà, chaidh a chur gu taobh gu tric agus chaidh cur às dha an dèidh Achd an Aonaidh ann an 1707 agus chaidh Alba a riaghladh calg-dhìreach o Lunnainn an uairsin.[36] Dh'fhàs a' Phàrlamaid na bhuidheann chudromach cuideachd agus fhuair e smachd air cùisean co-cheangailte ri cìsean is poileasaidhean.[37] Bha i a' suidhe cha mhòr gach bliadhna aig deireadh nam Meadhan Aoisean, gu sònraichte leis gun robh uiread a rìghrean mion-aoiseach is tànaisteachdan ann sna linntean ud, rud a chùm a' mhonarcachd o bhith ga chur gu taobh ma dh'fhaoidte.[38] Bha e air leth cudromach ann an rianachd na dùthcha tràth san linn ùr, a' stèidheachadh laghan is cìsean ach dh'fhàs is chrìon a' bhuaidh aice agus cha robh e a-riamh cho cudromach ann an Alba 's a bha e ann an Sasainn gus an deach cur às dha ann an 1707.[39]
Bha rìghrean tràtha nan Albannach gu mòr an eisimeil tighearnan mòra nam mormaer (morairean), a bha ann ro linn nan iarlan, agus nan toísech (toiseach), a bha ann ro na taidhnichean ach a-mach o rìoghachd Daibhidh I, chaidh siorramachdan a stèidheachadh a thug barrachd smachd dìreach dhan rìgh agus a chuingich cumhachd nan tighearnasan mòra mean air mhean.[40] Chaidh maoir-cheartai agus Coimiseanairean an t-Solair a stèidheachadh san t-seachdamh linn dheug agus dh'fhàs an riaghaltas ionadail fada nas èifeachdaiche ri linn sin.[41] Eadar bàrain na cùirte a chùm a' dol agus stèidheachadh seiseanan na h-Eaglaise, chaidh aca cumhachd nan tighearnan ionadail a dhaingneachadh.[42]
Dh'fhàs lagh na h-Alba na lagh fa leth sna meadhan aoisean agus chaidh ath-leasachadh is a sgrìobhadh sìos san t-siathamh is san t-seachdamh linn dheug. Chan eil againn ach tomhas air cò ris a bha lagha na h-Alba coltach ron aonamh linn dheug,[43] ach 's mathaid gun robh e na mheasgachadh de dhiofar thradaiseanan lagha a thàinig a-nuas o na sluaghan a bha a' fuireach ann an Alba aig an àm, a' gabhail a-steach gnàthasan nam Breatannach, Èireannach and Angla-Shasannach.[44] Tha an tràchd laghail air a bheil Leges inter Brettos et Scottos "Laghan eadar na Breatannaich agus na h-Albannaich" a' stèidheachadh rian ath-dhìol airson leòn no bàs a-rèir inbhe agus dlùth-chomann nan dàimhean.[45] Bha cùirtean poblach ann, na còmhdhailean, mar a tha pailteas de dh'ainmean-àite ann an taobh an ear na h-Alba ag innse.[40] Sna ceàrnaidhean a bha fo smachd nan Lochlannach, b' e lagh ùdail bun-stèidh an rian laghail agus tha fhios gun deach cìsean a thogail sna h-Eileanan Siar a rèir ungannan.[46] 'S e cruinneachadh a-muigh aig an riaghaltas a bha sna h-uil-thingean, an làthair iarla agus bha cead aig cha mhòr fireannach saor sam bith a dhol ann. Chaidh co-dhùnaidhean a ghabhail, laghan a chruthachadh agus breithean a thoirt air gearain aig na coinneamhan seo.[47]
Nuair a thàinig fiùdalachd a dh'Alba fo rìgh Daibhidh I, bha buaidh dhomhain aige air lagh na h-Alba oir stèidhich seo sealbh fearainn fiùdalach ann an iomadh sgìre ann an taobh a deas is an ear na dùthcha agus mean air mhean, sgaoil seo air feadh na dùthcha.[48] Ged a bhiodh an rìgh ag ainmeachadh siorraman mar luchd-rianachd is luchd-togail chìsean rìoghail o shean, ghabh iad ri dreuchdan laghail thar ùine.[49] Chùm tighearnan fiùdalach cùirtean cuideachd airson còmhstrithean eadar na gabhaltaichean aca a bhreithneachadh. Mun cheathramh linn deug, bha cuid dhe na cùirtean fiùdalach seo air fàs cho làidir 's gun robh iad cha mhòr nan rìoghachdan beaga fa leth anns nach robh ùghdarras aig cùirtean an Rìgh ach nuair a thigeadh e gu brathadh.[50] Bha laghan ionadail aig na borghan cuideachd a bha, mar is trice, a' dèiligeadh ri cùisean co-cheangailte ri marsantachd is malairt a dh'fhàs car coltach ri obair cùirtean nan siorraman.[51] Cha robh uachdranas laghail ach aig cùirtean na h-eaglaise a thaobh phòsaidhean, cùmhnantan stèidhichte air bòidean, oighreachd is dligheachd-bhreithe.[52] Bha na judices nan oifigearan rìoghail a chùm sùil air na "cùirtean" ìseal, mar chùirtean nam baran, aba no feadhainn eile aig an ìre ud.[53] Ach a dh'aindeoin sin, b' e an giuistear prìomh-oifigear an lagha ann an Rìoghachd na h-Alba an dèidh Dhaibhidh I agus chumadh e cùirtean agus thugadh e aithrisean dhan rìgh fhèin gu pearsanta. Bha dà ghiuistear ann mar is trice a-rèir crìochan nan cànan ann an Alba: Giuistear na h-Alba agus Giuistear Lodainn ach bha giustear fa leth aig Gall-Ghàidhealaibh aig amannan.[53] Thàinig lagh coitcheann na h-Alba, an ius commune, gu bith aig deireadh na linne seo a thug còmhla gnàthasan lagha na Gàidheal is nam Breatannach agus feadhainn à Sasainn nan Angla-Nòrmannach agus tìr-mòr na Roinn Eòrpa.[54]
Tha fianais ann gun do rinn Rìgh Èideard I oidhirp air laghan Albannach a bha ann an còmhstri le laghan Shasainn a chur gu neoini mar a rinn e sa Chuimrigh.[55] Fo Rìgh Raibeart I ann an 1318, chuir pàrlamaid aig Sgàin còd laghan an gnìomh a bha stèidhichte air seann-ghnàthaidhean. Mhìnich e mar a chumar triailean eucorach agus an dìon aig basaillean o fhuadachadh.[56] Tha sgrìobhainnean tràtha lagh na h-Alba againn an-diugh a tha a' dol air ais chun na ceathreamh linn deug, mar an Regiam Majestatem (a thaobh ghnàthasan sna cùirtean rìoghail) agus an Quoniam Attachiamenta (a thaobh ghnàthasan sna cùirtean baranach), a thug a-steach an dà chuid an lagh coitcheann agus lagh nan Ròmanach.[57]
Thug na rìghrean Stiùbhartach ionnsaigh air an lagh ghnàthachail, mar lagh Chlann 'icDhubhaich agus dh'fhàs na ceàrnaidhean far an robh an lagh coitcheann an gnìomh ri linn sin.[58] Thàinig an dreuchd laghail gu bith a-mach o rìoghachd Sheumais I agus chaidh rianachd a' cheartais eucoirich agus shìobhalta a' toirt cruinn.[59] Leis gun robh obair na pàrlamaid a' fàs agus leis gun robhar a' toirt rianachd na dùthcha cruinn ann an Alba, bha feum air dòighean nas fheàrr airson achdan na pàrlamaid a sgaoileadh chun nan cùirtean is luchd-èigneachaidh eile an lagha.[60] Aig fìor dheireadh na còigheamh linn dheug, rinneadh oidhirpean air lagh na h-Alba a chòdachadh, a mhìneachadh agus ùrachadh ann an coimiseanan ach cha do shoirbhich leotha.[61] Mar a tha clàran eachdraidheil nan cùisean lagha on linn seo ag innse, 's e an gnàthas a bha aca aig an àm sin gèilleadh ri laghan Albannach sònraichte ma bha gin ann agus mur an robh dad ann, na beàrnan a lìonadh leis an lagh choitcheann a bha, gu fortanach, air a sgrìobhadh sìos.[62]
Fo rìgh Seumas IV, chaidh rian nas fheàrr a chur air dreuchdan laghail na comhairle, le Cùirt an t-Seisein rìoghail a' coinneachadh gach latha ann an Dùn Èideann a dhèilig ri cùisean sìobhalta. Chaidh dreuchd a' bhritheimh choitchinn a chruthachadh do Dhiùc Earra-Ghàidheal agus chùm a theaghlach an dreuchd sin gu ruige 1628.[63] Chaidh Colaiste Rìoghail a' Cheartais a chur air bhonn ann am 1532 agus leis an trèanadh a thug sin seachad, thàinig buidheann de luchd-lagha profeiseantach gu bith. Thar ùine, dh'fhàs Cùirt an t-Seisein nas neo-eismeiliche o bhuaidh dhaoine is bhuidhnean, a' gabhail a-staigh an rìgh, agus fhuair e làmh an uachdair air rianan ceartais ionadail agus chuir na britheamhan air Cùirt an t-Seisein smachd air na daoine a leigeadh a-steach ann.[64] Chaidh Àrd-chùirt a' Cheartais a chur air bhonn ann am 1672 le Colaiste a' Cheartais mar àrd-chùirt tagraidh.[65]
B' e Daibhidh I a' chiad rìgh Albannach a chuir a-mach a bhuinn fhìn agus gu luath, bha taighean-cùinnidh ann an Dùn Èideann, Bearuig agus Rosbrog.[66] Bha na buinn a chaidh a bhualadh ann an Alba an toiseach coltas ris an fheadhainn Shasannach ach a' sealltainn lethcheann an rìgh seach aodann.[67] Cha deach cus bhonn a bhualadh agus tha coltas gun robh buinn Shasannach cumanta is cudromach san linn seo ann an Alba.[66] 'S e an nòbal a' chian bhonn òir (6s. 8d.) a chaidh a bhualadh le Daibhidh II.[68] Thug Seumas I a-steach sgillinnean is leth-sgillinnean de bhileon (sin co-mheatailt de dh'airgead agus meatailt neo-uasal) agus nochd feòirlingean fo Sheumas III.[68] Chaidh an crotach (1½ d) agus leth-chrotach a bhualadh fo Sheumas V agus chaidh bonn dà sgillinn, an ceann cruaidh, a bhualadh fo Mhàiri Bànrigh na h-Alba airson comas a thoirt "don t-sluagh chumanta aran, deoch, feòil is iasg a cheannach". Thàinig crìoch air na buinn de bhuileon ann an 1603 ach mhair na buinn dà sgillinn de chopar gu ruige Achd an Aonaidh ann an 1707.[66]
A thaobh cuibhreann an airgid, bha na buinn a chleachdadh ann an Alba tràth cha mhòr co-ionnann ris an fheadhainn a bhathar a' cleachdadh ann an Sasainn ach a-mach o 1300, chaidh cuibhreann an airgid sìos nas luaithe na ann an Sasainn. Eadar 1300 agus 1603, chaill iad mu 12 sa cheud gach deich bliadhna, trì uiread na chailleadh ann an Sasainn. Cha robh san sgillinn Albannach ach meatailt neo-uasal a-mach on bhliadhna 1484 agus cha robh sgeul air mar bhonn fa leth a-mach o 1513 mu thuaiream.[67] Thoirmisg riaghaltas Shasainn ruith nam bonn Albannach ann an 1423. Chaidh luach a' Phuinnd Albannaich a shocrachadh aig dà dheugamh dhen phunnd Sasannach aig am aonadh an dà chrùn ann an 1603.[66] Ghabh Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ri achd ann an 1695 a stèidhich Banca na h-Alba.[69] Chuir am banca a-mach notaichean a-mach o 1704 de luach £12 Albannach ach chuireadh às dhan airgead Albannach ann an Achd an Aonaidh agus chaidh na buinn Albannach a thogail à ruith agus ath-bhualadh mar bhuinn Shasannach.[70]
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A-rèir crìochan na h-Alba ann an 1707, bha Rìoghachd na h-Alba mu leth-mheud Shasainn is na Cuimrigh còmhla a thaobh meud na talmhainn ach leis a' phailteas de dh'eileanan, lochan-mara is geodhan, tha cladach na h-Alba mu thuaiream dhen aon fhaid, mu 4,000 mìle.[71] Tha barrachd air 790 eilean-mara ann an Alba, a' mhòrchuid dhiubh ann an ceithir buidhnean mòra: Eileanan Shealtainn, Eileanan Arcaibh, na h-Eileanan Siar agus na h-Eileanan A-staigh.[72] Chan eil ach a' chòigeamh phàirt de dh'Alba nas ìsle na 60m os cionn ìre na mara.[71] 'S e an sgaradh mòr ann an Alba a' chrìoch eadar an talamh àrd 's na h-eileanan, a' Ghàidhealtachd agus na h-Eileanan, ann an taobh an iar is a tuath na dùthcha agus an talamh ìseal ann an taobh an ear agus a tuath na dùthcha, a' Ghalldachd. Tha an Gleann Mòr an uairsin a' sgaradh na Gàidhealtachd ann an dà leth, Iar-thuath na Gàidhealtachd agus Roinn nam Monadh Liath. A thaobh na Galldachd, tha talamh torrachd Meadhan na Galldachd air a sgaradh o thalamh àrd a' Mhonaidh a Deas a tha a' gabhail a-staigh Monadh Cheviot far an robh a' chrìoch eadar Alba agus Sasainn roimhe.[73] Tha bann Meadhan na Galldachd mu 50 mìle a leud sa chuibheas[74] agus, a chionn 's gur ann an-seo a tha a' chuid as motha de dh'fhearann torrach na dùthcha agus deagh cheanglaichean còmhdhalach, 's ann an-seo far an deach Alba a bhailteachadh agus far an deach na riaghaltasan a stèidheachadh.[75] Cha robh agus chan eil fearann a' Mhonaidh a Deas agus na Gàidhealtachd buileach cho torrach agus aig amannan, cha robh smachd ro mhòr aig an riaghaltas sna ceàrnaidhean seo.[76]
Leis gu bheil Alba air taobh an ear a' Chuain Shèimh, tha sin a' ciallachadh gum bi sileadh mòr ann. Tuitidh mu 700 mm a dh'uisge gach bliadhna ann an taobh an ear na dùthcha agus barrachd air 1,000 mm ann an taobh an iar na dùthcha. Ri linn seo, dh'fhàs na brat-bhoglaichean ann an Alba agus leis cho geur 's a tha an t-uisge annta agus leis na th' ann de ghaoth mhòr is cathadh an t-sàil, cha robh cus chraobhan a' fàs sna h-eileanan uair sam bith. Eadar na cnuic, beanntan, beò-ghainmheach is boglaichean, bha còmhdhail agus ceannsachadh furasta taobh a-staigh na dùthcha ach dh'fhaoidte gun robh iomadh tighearnas is rìoghachd ann fad ùine mhòr.[71] Tha ùine fàis gu math goirid air a' Ghàidhealtachd is talamh àrd eile agus sa Mhonadh Liath, chan eil ach ceithir mìosan gun deigh ann no fiù nas lugha agus chan eil ach seachd mìosan air a' char as motha air a' Ghàidhealtachd is talamh àrd. Bha buaidh aig an linn-deighe bheag cuideachd tràth san linn ùr agus bha 33 latha de shìor-reòthadh ann an 1564. Reòth na h-aibhnichean is na lochan agus bha gainneadh bìdh ann gu ruige na 1960an.[77]
Eadar stèidheachadh Rìoghachd na h-Alba san deicheamh linn gu ruige toiseach na plàighe-duibhe ann an 1349, tha coltas gun do dh'fhàs an sluagh o leth-mhillean gu millean, stèidhichte air rannsachadh meud an fhearainn.[78] Ged nach eil cunntas oifigeach ann mu bhuaidh na plàighe-duibhe, tha iomadh cunntas neo-fhoirmeil a' toirt iomradh air fearann fàs sna deicheadan na dèidh. Ma bha car mun aon bhuaidh aig an tinneas ann an Alba 's a bh' aice ann an Sasainn, bhiodh an sluadh air tuiteam gu leth-mhillean aig deireadh na còigeamh linn deug.[79] Seach mar a ghluais an sluagh rè ùpraidean sluaigh eile, can fuadach nan Gàidheal agus san tionndadh ghnìomhachais, bhiodh an aon bhuaidh aice anns gach sgìre, cha mhòr, a' fàgail mun dàrna leth dhen t-sluagh tuath air Abhainn Tatha.[80] Bha mu thuaiream deich sa cheud dhen t-sluagh a' fuireadh sna buirgh a nochd aig deireadh nam meadhan-aoisean, gu sònraichte san ear is taobh a deas na dùthcha. Bhiodh mu 2,000 de shluagh annta sa mheadhan, ach bhiodh mòran nas lugha na 1,000 agus bha barrachd air 10,000 sa bhorgh as motha, Dùn Èideann, aig deireadh nam meadhan-aoisean ma dh'fhaoidte.[81]
Tha atadh nam prìsean - a dh'innseas gu bheil barrachd iarrtas ann airson biadh mar is trice - gun dàinig fàs air an àireamh-shluaigh sa chiad leth dhen t-siathamh linn deugh, agus gun dàinig rèidheadh air an dèidh goirt 1595 leis gun robh na prìsean gu math seasmhach tràth san t-seachdamh linn deug.[82] Stèidhichte air an dàta airson cìs an teallaich on bhliadhna 1691, bha sluagh dhe 1,234,575 ach dh'fhaoidte gun robh buaidh mhòr air an àireamh seo an cois nan goirtean aig deireadh nan 1690an.[83] Mun bhliadhna 1750, bhiodh mu thuaireamh 57,000 duine a' fuireach ann an Dùn Èideann. Cha robh ann de bhailtean eile os cionn 10,000 duine ach Glaschu (mu 32,000), Obar Dheathain (mu 16,000) agus Dùn Dè (mu 12,000).[84]
Tha na tùsan eachdraidheil agus fianais nan ainmean-àite ag innse mar a fhuair a' Ghàidhlig - agus an uairsin an t-Seann Bheurla agus Lochlannais làmh an uachdair air cànan nan Cruithneach mu thuath agus air na cànain Chuimreach mu dheas agus mar a ghabh iad an àite an uair sin tràth sna meadhan-aoisean.[85] Mu mheadhan nam meadhan-aoisean, b' i a' Ghàidhlig cànan na mòrcuid ann an Alba agus cha robh aig daoine air ach Albais no ann an Laideann, lingua Scotica.[86] Sna h-eileanan a tuath, thug an luchd-tuineachaidh Lochlannach leotha an cànan aca fhèin, an Lochlannais, agus b' e sin bun-stèidh a' chànain ionadail a dh'fhàs na àite, an Nòrnais. Mhair Nòrnais beò gu deireadh na h-ochdamh linn deug[87] agus dh'fhaoidte gun do mhair fiù an Lochlannais fhèin beò sna h-Eileanan an Iar mar chànan labhartha gun t-siathamh linn deug.[88] Thar ùine, ghabh an Fhraingis, an Fhlanndrais agus gu sònraichte a' Bheurla àite na Gàidhlig ann am buirgh na h-Alba, a' mhòrchuid dhiubh ann an taobh a deas agus an ear na dùthcha, na sgìrean far an dàinig an luchd-tuineachaidh Anglach a thug leotha nàdar dhen t-Seann-Bheurla. San dàrna leth dhen dàrna linn deug, thug an sgrìobhadair Adam of Dryburgh "`tìr na Beurla ann an Rìoghachd na h-Alba" air tìr ìseal Lodainn.[89] Co-dhiù mun àm a shuidh Daibhidh I air rìgh-chathair na h-Alba, cha b' a' Ghàidhlig cànan na cùirte rìoghail tuileadh agus tha coltas gum b' i an Fhraingis a ghabh a h-àite, stèidhichte air croinicean, litreachas is sgrìobhainnean oifigeach eile a chaidh eadar-theangachadh gu Fraingis mun àm sin.[90][91]
Aig deireadh meadhan nam meadhan-aoisean, b' e Meadhan-Albais - agus ris an canadh daoine dìreach Inglis mun àm ud, prìomh-chànan na rìoghachd. Tha an cànan a' tighinn a-nuas on t-Seann-Bheurla ach tha fuaigheall na Gàidhlig is na Fraingis an-siud is an-seo. Bha e gu math coltach ri cainnt nan daoine ann an taobh tuath Shasainn ach mean air mhean, thàinig sgaradh eadar an dà dhual-chainnt a-mach o dheireadh na ceathramh linn deug.[92] Mar a chuir na h-urracha mòra cùl ris an Fhraingis mean air mhean, ghabh iad ris a' chànan seo na àite. Mun chòigeamh linn deug, b' i cànan an riaghaltais agus 's gann gun do nochd cànan eile ann an achdan na pàrlamaid, clàran nan comhairlean is cunntasan ionmhasairean a-mach o riaghladh Seumas I. Ri linn sin, thàinig sìor-chrìonadh air a' Ghàidhlig a bha fhathast làidir tuath air Uisge Tatha aig an àm.[92] Thòisich sgrìobhadairean air tàir a dhèanamh air a' Ghàidhlig mar chànan ìosal aig daoine gun sgoil is fiù mar chainnt èibhinn agus bha buaidh aige seo air na beachdan aig daoine air a' Ghàidhealtachd is an sgaradh cultarach a dh'fhàs eadar a' Ghàidhealtachd is a' Ghalltachd.[92]
O mheadhan na siathamh linn deug, thàinig buaidh na Beurla dheasach air dòighean-sgrìobhadh na h-Albaise an cois na bha a' tachairt sna cùirtean agus ann an saoghal poileataigs.[93] Ri linn fàs buaidh na Beurla Shasannach agus nan leabhraichean clò-bhuailte a bha a' tighinn à Sasainn, thòisich daoine air rudan a sgrìobhadh san dòigh Shasannach.[94] Cha robh uiread a ghràin is dìmeas air cultar nan Gàidheal aig rìghrean Albannach mar a bha aig Seumas VI.[95] Mhol e bàgh na h-Albaise roimhe ach an dèidh dha rìgh-chathair Shasainn a ghabhail, bha e a' taobhadh ri cànan taobh a deas Shasainn. Ann an 1611, ghabh Eaglais na h-Alba ri eadar-theangachadh ùghdarraichte a' Bhìobaill aig Rìgh Seumas. Chaidh fios a sgaoileadh ann an 1617 nach robh feum air eadar-theangadairean ann am port Lunnainn tuilleadh leis nach robh na h-Albannaich is na Sasannaich "not so far different bot ane understandeth ane uther". Tha Jenny Wormald a' mìneachadh gun do chruthaich Seumas rian cànain le trì ìrean - leis a' Ghàidhlig aig a' bhonn agus a' Bheurla air an ìre as àirde.[96]
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Chaidh na rìoghachdan Cruithneach is Albannach air an deach rìoghachd na h-Alba a stèidheachadh iompachadh gu Crìosdaidheachd an cois miseanan Èireannach is Albannach, a' gabhail a-staigh Calum Cille, eadar a' chòigeamh is an t-seachdamh linn. Mar is trice, stèidhich na miseanan seo manachainnean is eaglaisean colaisteach a bha a' frithealadh sgìrean mòra.[97] Ri linn sinn, dh'èirich rud ris an can sgoilearan Crìosdaidheachd Cheilteach, eaglais anns an robh abachan nas cudromaiche na h-easbaigean, gun riaghailtean seasganachd cho teann dhan chlèir agus rudan eile a bha gu math eadar-dhealaichte on Chrìosdaidheachd Ròmanach aig an àm, gu sònraichte a thaobh falt còirneach nam manach is rìomhaireachd ceann-là na Càisge. Ach cha do mhair a' mhòr-chuid dhen eadar-dhealachadh seo nas fhaide na meadhan na seachdamh linn.[98][99] An dèidh ath-iompachadh sgìrean Lochlannach na h-Alba, b' e Crìosdaidheachd a' Phàpa am prìomh-chreideamh san rìoghachd a-mach on 10mh linn.[100]
In the Norman period the Scottish church underwent a series of reforms and transformations. With royal and lay patronage, a clearer parochial structure based around local churches was developed.[101] Large numbers of new foundations, which followed continental forms of reformed monasticism, began to predominate and the Scottish church established its independence from England, developed a clearer diocesan structure, becoming a "special daughter of the see of Rome", but lacking leadership in the form of Archbishops.[102] In the late Middle Ages the problems of schism in the Catholic Church allowed the Scottish Crown to gain greater influence over senior appointments and two archbishoprics had been established by the end of the fifteenth century.[103] While some historians have discerned a decline of monasticism in the late Middle Ages, the mendicant orders of friars grew, particularly in the expanding burghs, to meet the spiritual needs of the population. New saints and cults of devotion also proliferated. Despite problems over the number and quality of clergy after the Black Death in the fourteenth century, and some evidence of heresy in this period, the Church in Scotland remained relatively stable before the sixteenth century.[103]
During the sixteenth century, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation that created a predominately Calvinist national kirk, which was strongly Presbyterian in outlook, severely reducing the powers of bishops, although not abolishing them. The teachings of first Martin Luther and then John Calvin began to influence Scotland, particularly through Scottish scholars who had visited continental and English universities. Particularly important was the work of the Lutheran Scot Patrick Hamilton.[104] His execution with other Protestant preachers in 1528, and of the Zwingli-influenced George Wishart in 1546, who was burnt at the stake in St. Andrews, did nothing to stem the growth of these ideas. Wishart's supporters seized St. Andrews Castle, which they held for a year before they were defeated with the help of French forces. The survivors, including chaplain John Knox, were condemned to be galley slaves, helping to create resentment of the French and martyrs for the Protestant cause.[105] Limited toleration and the influence of exiled Scots and Protestants in other countries, led to the expansion of Protestantism, with a group of lairds declaring themselves Lords of the Congregation in 1557. By 1560 a relatively small group of Protestants were in a position to impose reform on the Scottish church. A confession of faith, rejecting papal jurisdiction and the mass, was adopted by Parliament in 1560.[106] The Calvinism of the reformers led by Knox resulted in a settlement that adopted a Presbyterian system and rejected most of the elaborate trappings of the Medieval church. This gave considerable power within the new Kirk to local lairds, who often had control over the appointment of the clergy, and resulting in widespread, but generally orderly, iconoclasm. At this point the majority of the population was probably still Catholic in persuasion and the Kirk would find it difficult to penetrate the Highlands and Islands, but began a gradual process of conversion and consolidation that, compared with reformations elsewhere, was conducted with relatively little persecution.[107]
In 1635, Charles I authorised a book of canons that made him head of the Church, ordained an unpopular ritual and enforced the use of a new liturgy. When the liturgy emerged in 1637 it was seen as an English-style Prayer Book, resulting in anger and widespread rioting.[108] Representatives of various sections of Scottish society drew up the National Covenant on 28 February 1638, objecting to the King's liturgical innovations.[109] The king's supporters were unable to suppress the rebellion and the king refused to compromise. In December of the same year matters were taken even further, when at a meeting of the General Assembly in Glasgow the Scottish bishops were formally expelled from the Church, which was then established on a full Presbyterian basis. Victory in the resulting Bishops' Wars secured the Presbyterian Kirk and precipitated the outbreak of the civil wars of the 1640s.[110] Disagreements over collaboration with Royalism created a major conflict between Protesters and Resolutioners, which became a long term divide in the Kirk.[111]
At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, legislation was revoked back to 1633, removing the Covenanter gains of the Bishops' Wars, but the discipline of kirk sessions, presbyteries and synods were renewed.[112] The reintroduction of episcopacy was a source of particular trouble in the south-west of the country, an area with strong Presbyterian sympathies. Abandoning the official church, many of the people here began to attend illegal field assemblies led by excluded ministers, known as conventicles.[113] In the early 1680s a more intense phase of persecution began, in what was later to be known in Protestant historiography as "the Killing Time".[114] After the Glorious Revolution, Presbyterianism was restored and the bishops, who had generally supported James VII, abolished,. However, William, who was more tolerant than the kirk tended to be, passed acts restoring the Episcopalian clergy excluded after the Revolution. The result was a Kirk divided between factions, with significant minorities, particularly in the west and north, of Episcopalians and Catholics.[115]
The establishment of Christianity brought Latin to Scotland as a scholarly and written language. Monasteries served as repositories of knowledge and education, often running schools and providing a small educated elite, who were essential to create and read documents in a largely illiterate society.[116] In the High Middle Ages new sources of education arose, with song and grammar schools. These were usually attached to cathedrals or a collegiate church and were most common in the developing burghs. By the end of the Middle Ages grammar schools could be found in all the main burghs and some small towns.[117] There were also petty schools, more common in rural areas and providing an elementary education.[118] Some monasteries, like the Cistercian abbey at Kinloss, opened their doors to a wider range of students.[118] The number and size of these schools seems to have expanded rapidly from the 1380s. They were almost exclusively aimed at boys, but by the end of the fifteenth century, Edinburgh also had schools for girls, sometimes described as "sewing schools", and probably taught by lay women or nuns.[117][118] There was also the development of private tuition in the families of lords and wealthy burghers.[117] The growing emphasis on education cumulated with the passing of the Education Act 1496, which decreed that all sons of barons and freeholders of substance should attend grammar schools to learn "perfyct Latyne". All this resulted in an increase in literacy, but which was largely concentrated among a male and wealthy elite,[117] with perhaps 60 per cent of the nobility being literate by the end of the period.[119]
Until the fifteenth century, those who wished to attend university had to travel to England or the continent, and just over a 1,000 have been identified as doing so between the twelfth century and 1410.[120] Among these the most important intellectual figure was John Duns Scotus, who studied at Oxford, Cambridge and Paris and probably died at Cologne in 1308, becoming a major influence on late medieval religious thought.[121] The Wars of Independence largely closed English universities to Scots, and consequently continental universities became more significant.[120] This situation was transformed by the founding of the University of St Andrews in 1413, the University of Glasgow in 1450 and the University of Aberdeen in 1495.[117] Initially these institutions were designed for the training of clerics, but they were increasingly used by laymen who would begin to challenge the clerical monopoly of administrative posts in the government and law. Those wanting to study for second degrees still needed to go abroad.[120] The continued movement to other universities produced a school of Scottish nominalists at Paris in the early sixteenth century, of which John Mair was probably the most important figure. By 1497 the humanist and historian Hector Boece, born in Dundee, returned from Paris to became the first principal at the new university of Aberdeen.[120] These international contacts helped integrate Scotland into a wider European scholarly world and would be one of the most important ways in which the new ideas of humanism were brought into Scottish intellectual life.[119]
The humanist concern with widening education was shared by the Protestant reformers, with a desire for a godly people replacing the aim of having educated citizens. In 1560, the First Book of Discipline set out a plan for a school in every parish, but this proved financially impossible.[122] In the burghs the old schools were maintained, with the song schools and a number of new foundations becoming reformed grammar schools or ordinary parish schools. Schools were supported by a combination of kirk funds, contributions from local heritors or burgh councils and parents that could pay. They were inspected by kirk sessions, who checked for the quality of teaching and doctrinal purity. There were also large number of unregulated Teamplaid:Anchor "adventure schools", which sometimes fulfilled a local needs and sometimes took pupils away from the official schools. Outside of the established burgh schools, masters often combined their position with other employment, particularly minor posts within the kirk, such as clerk.[123] At their best, the curriculum included catechism, Latin, French, Classical literature and sports.[124]
In 1616 an act in Privy council commanded every parish to establish a school "where convenient means may be had", and when the Parliament of Scotland ratified this with the Education Act of 1633, a tax on local landowners was introduced to provide the necessary endowment. A loophole which allowed evasion of this tax was closed in the Education Act of 1646, which established a solid institutional foundation for schools on Covenanter principles. Although the Restoration brought a reversion to the 1633 position, in 1696 new legislation restored the provisions of 1646. An act of the Scottish parliament in 1696 underlined the aim of having a school in every parish. In rural communities these obliged local landowners (heritors) to provide a schoolhouse and pay a schoolmaster, while ministers and local presbyteries oversaw the quality of the education. In many Scottish towns, burgh schools were operated by local councils.[125] By the late seventeenth century there was a largely complete network of parish schools in the Lowlands, but in the Highlands basic education was still lacking in many areas.[126]
The widespread belief in the limited intellectual and moral capacity of women, vied with a desire, intensified after the Reformation, for women to take personal moral responsibility, particularly as wives and mothers. In Protestantism this necessitated an ability to learn and understand the catechism and even to be able to independently read the Bible, but most commentators, even those that tended to encourage the education of girls, thought they should not receive the same academic education as boys. In the lower ranks of society, they benefited from the expansion of the parish schools system that took place after the Reformation, but were usually outnumbered by boys, often taught separately, for a shorter time and to a lower level. They were frequently taught reading, sewing and knitting, but not writing. Female illiteracy rates based on signatures among female servants were around 90 percent, from the late seventeenth to the early eighteenth centuries and perhaps 85 percent for women of all ranks by 1750, compared with 35 per cent for men.[127] Among the nobility there were many educated and cultured women, of which Mary, Queen of Scots is the most obvious example.[128]
After the Reformation, Scotland's universities underwent a series of reforms associated with Andrew Melville, who returned from Geneva to become principal of the University of Glasgow in 1574. He placed an emphasis on simplified logic and elevated languages and sciences to the same status as philosophy, allowing accepted ideas in all areas to be challenged.[129] He introduced new specialist teaching staff, replacing the system of "regenting", where one tutor took the students through the entire arts curriculum.[130] Metaphysics were abandoned and Greek became compulsory in the first year followed by Aramaic, Syriac and Hebrew, launching a new fashion for ancient and biblical languages. Glasgow had probably been declining as a university before his arrival, but students now began to arrive in large numbers. He assisted in the reconstruction of Marischal College, Aberdeen, and in order to do for St Andrews what he had done for Glasgow, he was appointed Principal of St Mary's College, St Andrews, in 1580. The University of Edinburgh developed out of public lectures were established in the town 1440s on law, Greek, Latin and philosophy, under the patronage of Mary of Guise. These evolved into the "Tounis College", which would become the University of Edinburgh in 1582.[131] The results were a revitalisation of all Scottish universities, which were now producing a quality of education the equal of that offered anywhere in Europe.[129] Under the Commonwealth, the universities saw an improvement in their funding, as they were given income from deaneries, defunct bishoprics and the excise, allowing the completion of buildings including the college in the High Street in Glasgow. They were still largely seen as a training school for clergy, and came under the control of the hard line Protestors.[132] After the Restoration there was a purge of the universities, but much of the intellectual advances of the preceding period was preserved.[133] The universities recovered from the upheavals of the mid-century with a lecture-based curriculum that was able to embrace economics and science, offering a high quality liberal education to the sons of the nobility and gentry.[126]
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There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings including William the Lion[134] and Alexander II. The latter took personal command of a large naval force which sailed from the Firth of Clyde and anchored off the island of Kerrera in 1249, intended to transport his army in a campaign against the Kingdom of the Isles, but he died before the campaign could begin.[135][136] Records indicate that Alexander had several large oared ships built at Ayr, but he avoided a sea battle.[134] Defeat on land at the Battle of Largs and winter storms forced the Norwegian fleet to return home, leaving the Scottish crown as the major power in the region and leading to the ceding of the Western Isles to Alexander in 1266.[13]
Part of the reason for Robert I's success in the Wars of Independence was his ability to call on naval forces from the Islands. As a result of the expulsion of the Flemings from England in 1303, he gained the support of a major naval power in the North Sea.[137] The development of naval power allowed Robert to successfully defeat English attempts to capture him in the Highlands and Islands and to blockade major English controlled fortresses at Perth and Stirling, the last forcing Edward II to attempt the relief that resulted in English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314.[137] Scottish naval forces allowed invasions of the Isle of Man in 1313 and 1317 and Ireland in 1315. They were also crucial in the blockade of Berwick, which led to its fall in 1318.[137] After the establishment of Scottish independence, Robert I turned his attention to building up a Scottish naval capacity. This was largely focused on the west coast, with the Exchequer Rolls of 1326 recording the feudal duties of his vassals in that region to aid him with their vessels and crews. Towards the end of his reign he supervised the building of at least one royal man-of-war near his palace at Cardross on the River Clyde. In the late fourteenth century naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers.[138] James I took a greater interest in naval power. After his return to Scotland in 1424, he established a shipbuilding yard at Leith, a house for marine stores, and a workshop. King's ships were built and equipped there to be used for trade as well as war, one of which accompanied him on his expedition to the Islands in 1429. The office of Lord High Admiral was probably founded in this period. In his struggles with his nobles in 1488 James III received assistance from his two warships the Flower and the King's Carvel also known as the Yellow Carvel.[138]
There were various attempts to create royal naval forces in the fifteenth century. James IV put the enterprise on a new footing, founding a harbour at Newhaven and a dockyard at the Pools of Airth.[139] He acquired a total of 38 ships including the Great Michael,[140] at that time, the largest ship in Europe.[140][141] Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king on his expeditions in the islands and intervened in conflicts in Scandinavia and the Baltic,[138] but were sold after the Flodden campaign and after 1516 Scottish naval efforts would rely on privateering captains and hired merchantmen.[138] James V did not share his father's interest in developing a navy and shipbuilding fell behind that of the Low Countries.[142] Despite truces between England and Scotland there were periodic outbreaks of a guerre de course.[143] James V built a new harbour at Burntisland in 1542.[144] The chief use of naval power in his reign was a series of expeditions to the Isles and France.[145] After the Union of Crowns in 1603 conflict between Scotland and England ended, but Scotland found itself involved in England's foreign policy, opening up Scottish shipping to attack. In 1626 a squadron of three ships was bought and equipped.[141] There were also several marque fleets of privateers.[146] In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and accompanying contingents of burgh privateers participated in the major expedition to Biscay.[147] The Scots also returned to the West Indies[148] and in 1629 took part in the capture of Quebec.[149]
During the Bishop's Wars the king attempted to blockade Scotland and planned amphibious assaults from England on the East coast and from Ireland to the West.[150] Scottish privateers took a number of English prizes.[151] After the Covenanters allied with the English Parliament they established two patrol squadrons for the Atlantic and North Sea coasts, known collectively as the "Scotch Guard".[152] The Scottish navy was unable to withstand the English fleet that accompanied the army led by Cromwell that conquered Scotland in 1649-51 and the Scottish ships and crews were split up among the Commonwealth fleet.[153] Scottish seamen received protection against arbitrary impressment by English men of war, but a fixed quota of conscripts for the Royal Navy was levied from the sea-coast burghs during the second half of the seventeenth century.[154] Royal Navy patrols were now found in Scottish waters even in peacetime.[155] In the Second (1665–67) and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars (1672–74) between 80 and 120 captains, took Scottish letters of marque and privateers played a major part in the naval conflict.[156] In the 1690s a small fleet of five ships was established by merchants for the Darien Scheme,[157] and a professional navy was established for the protection of commerce in home waters during the Nine Years War, with three purpose-built warships bought from English shipbuilders in 1696. After the Act of Union in 1707, these vessels were transferred to the Royal Navy.[158]
Before the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-seventeenth century, there was no standing army in the Kingdom of Scotland. In the Early Middle Ages war in Scotland was characterised by the use of small war-bands of household troops often engaging in raids and low level warfare.[159] By the High Middle Ages, the kings of Scotland could command forces of tens of thousands of men for short periods as part of the "common army", mainly of poorly armoured spear and bowmen. After the "Davidian Revolution" of the twelfth century, which introduced elements of feudalism to Scotland, these forces were augmented by small numbers of mounted and heavily armoured knights. These armies rarely managed to stand up to the usually larger and more professional armies produced by England, but they were used to good effect by Robert I at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 to secure Scottish independence.[160] After the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France played a large part in the country's military activities, especially during the Hundred Years' War. In the Late Middle Ages under the Stewart kings forces were further augmented by specialist troops, particularly men-at-arms and archers, hired by bonds of manrent, similar to English indentures of the same period.[161] Archers became much sought after as mercenaries in French armies of the fifteenth century in order to help counter the English superiority in this arm, becoming a major element of the French royal guards as the Garde Écossaise.[162] The Stewarts also adopted major innovations in continental warfare, such as longer pikes and the extensive use of artillery. However, in the early fifteenth century one of the best armed and largest Scottish armies ever assembled still met with defeat at the hands of an English army at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513, which saw the destruction of a large number of ordinary troops, a large section of the nobility and the king, James IV.[163] In the sixteenth century the crown took an increasing role in the supply of military equipment.[164] The pike began to replace the spear and the Scots began to convert from the bow to gunpowder firearms.[165] The feudal heavy cavalry had begun to disappear from Scottish armies and the Scots fielded relatively large numbers of light horse, often drawn from the borders.[166] James IV brought in experts from France, Germany and the Netherlands and established a gun foundry in 1511.[145] Gunpowder weaponry fundamentally altered the nature of castle architecture from the mid-fifteenth century.[167]
In the early seventeenth century relatively large numbers of Scots took service in foreign armies involved in the Thirty Years War.[168] As armed conflict with Charles I in the Bishop's Wars became likely, hundreds of Scots mercenaries returned home from foreign service, including experienced leaders like Alexander and David Leslie and these veterans played an important role in training recruits.[150] These systems would form the basis of the Covenanter armies that intervened in the Civil Wars in England and Ireland.[169] Scottish infantry were generally armed, as was almost universal in Western Europe, with a combination of pike and shot. Scottish armies may also have had individuals with a variety of weapons including bows, Lochaber axes, and halberds.[170] Most cavalry were probably equipped with pistols and swords, although there is some evidence that they included lancers.[171] Royalist armies, like those led by James Graham, Marquis of Montrose (1643–44) and in Glencairn's rising (1653–54) were mainly composed of conventionally armed infantry with pike and shot.[172] Montrose's forces were short of heavy artillery suitable for siege warfare and had only a small force of cavalry.[173]
At the Restoration the Privy Council established a force of several infantry regiments and a few troops of horse and there were attempts to found a national militia on the English model. The standing army was mainly employed in the suppression of Covenanter rebellions and the guerilla war undertaken by the Cameronians in the East.[174] Pikemen became less important in the late seventeenth century and after the introduction of the socket bayonet disappeared altogether, while matchlock muskets were replaced by the more reliable flintlock.[174] On the eve of the Glorious Revolution the standing army in Scotland was about 3,000 men in various regiments and another 268 veterans in the major garrison towns.[175] After the Glorious Revolution the Scots were drawn into King William II's continental wars, beginning with the Nine Years' War in Flanders (1689–97).[176] By the time of the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland had a standing army of seven units of infantry, two of horse and one troop of Horse Guards, besides varying levels of fortress artillery in the garrison castles of Edinburgh, Dumbarton, and Stirling, which would be incorporated into the British Army.[177]
The earliest recorded use of the Lion rampant as a royal emblem in Scotland was by Alexander II in 1222.[178] It is recorded with the additional embellishment of a double border set with lilies during the reign of Alexander III (1249–86).[178] This emblem occupied the shield of the royal coat of arms which, together with a royal banner displaying the same, was used by the King of Scots until the Union of the Crowns in 1603.[179] Then it was incorporated into both the royal arms and royal banners of successive Scottish then British monarchs in order to symbolise Scotland; as can be seen today in the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom.[180] Although now officially restricted to use by representatives of the Sovereign and at royal residences, the Royal Standard of Scotland continues to be one of Scotland's most recognisable symbols.[181]
According to legend, the apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras, (Patrae), in Achaea.[182] Use of the familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, first appears in the Kingdom of Scotland in 1180 during the reign of William I. This image was again depicted on seals used during the late thirteenth century; including on one particular example used by the Guardians of Scotland, dated 1286.[182] Use of a simplified symbol associated with Saint Andrew which does not depict his image, namely the saltire, or crux decussata, (from the Latin crux, 'cross', and decussis, 'having the shape of the Roman numeral X'), has its origins in the late fourteenth century; the Parliament of Scotland decreed in 1385 that Scottish soldiers wear a white Saint Andrew's Cross on their person, both in front and behind, for the purpose of identification.[183] The earliest reference to the Saint Andrew's Cross as a flag is to be found in the Vienna Book of Hours, circa 1503, where a white saltire is depicted with a red background.[183] In the case of Scotland, use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century,[184] with the first certain illustration of a flag depicting such appearing in Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount's Register of Scottish Arms, circa 1542.[185]
Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, commissioned new designs for a banner incorporating the flags of the Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of England. In 1606, a Union Flag was commissioned, combining the crosses of Saint George, (the Flag of England), with that of Saint Andrew.[186] There was also a Scottish version of this flag, in which the cross of Saint Andrew overlaid the cross of St George. This design may have seen limited, unofficial use in Scotland until 1707, when the English variant of the same, whereby the cross of St George overlaid that of St Andrew, was adopted as the flag of the unified Kingdom of Great Britain.[187][188][189][190]
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