so Bruce you like science. You claim the Declaration of Arbroath is JUST a story; a scottish myth: propaganda. You Stress these points. why? please read the following that counters your arguments that it is scottish myth - based on DNA and more. (maybe you did not know; if you did not know, then i hope you change your 'Propaganda') You ignore Dr. Mark Jobling's genetic migration research tracing scottish dna migration from anatolia(today's turkey) along the mediterranean sea coast to scotland. of course, the land dna CAN be traced, but the sea route can NOT be traced(europe coast; not north africa coast) ? my point about the migration by sea not being traced is because Greater Scythia is thought to be on North coast of the black sea. there is a sea route through the black sea to the mediterranean sea(long history of trading via sea). so dna specific to greater scythia may not be traced. also, there could have been a focus on dna from the greater scythia area. also, anatolia and scythia are close to each other. long history in that region. more amazing in this dna migration research is that this migration dates back to 7,000 BC. yes, that's BC; that's a lonnnnng time in scotland. now, there were many white caucasians like scottish in North africa as were many of the egyptian pharaohs(pharaoh mummies; dna; and art) until the kushites(who ruled only 70 years; however, their rulers were not the same as sub saharans today). there is dna research that shows scottish dna traces to the same region in North africa where Amazighs(berbers) live (let's just North West africa coast). in regard to stories on the stone of destiny, there is verbal history; as to which story is correct, i don't know. i wasn't living then. but verbal history should never be taken so lightly as you repeatedly expressed. i hope this helps in understanding scotland's history.
@@natekelly6435 is this another wise crack comment? is anyone serious online? so if nobody is serious on here, then why take what Bruce says as such truth? i don't understand what you are saying.
Wonderful to listen to a true Scot telling the story of Scotland in a old fashioned story telling way,as the bards of old did.I suspect with a wee bit more truth involved.Love your work.Thanks for all your efforts. From a Northumbrian who has a love hate border hating mindset.Complicated rules apply here which you make less complicated by offering facts that change everything into a pleasing shade of grey(payne’s grey or indigo in it’s finest shades)rather than the vulgar black and white that I was taught at school. Bravo should I ever by chance meet you I shall buy you your drinks
Thank you so much, Bruce. I love your channel. I am one of the diaspora Scots living in South Africa. I am simply going to say that science might feed our quest for knowledge but it is storytelling that feeds our soul.
Quite agree, my Scots cousins who all grew up in Fort William ,have all emigrated abroad ,same story for me growing up in Northern Ireland ,lovely scenery but not much in the way of jobs, best wishes from the wirral.
I don’t know if I’ll ever make it back to Scotland 🏴, but if I do I’d be honored to get to know you on a personal level. I’ve become addicted to your videos and appreciate your passion for Scottish History!
I love the fact you give a very measured, dialectic analysis of something so important to scotland. Nothing is simple, everything has its reason as to why it was created. Very grown up!
Bruce it’s nothing to do with this video but I live in Bannockburn and I had never been to bannockburn house till I seen ur video on the Prince Charlie and now I work there and I’m loving it thank too you and the knowledge u gave me
Brilliant vid. I’ve lived in Arbroath all my life and now I work in tourism. I take great delight in sharing info about our Declaration of Independence and how it is said to have influenced their own founding fathers
G'day from one of your Aussie viewers. I don't have Scottish heritage, but my wife's heritage is from the Isle of Skye. I love the way you present the history which is why i keep watching. Cheers Mate.
If your mrs is blonde then she probably has Viking ancestry,they settled the islands around the mainland and the north,if she has red hair the she is of Scottish ancestry that came over-from Ireland,if she has dark hair she is of calidonean ancestry who were the actual original popualation.
Hit the nail on head there Bruce. Your postings are filling-in the gaps that the SCE curriculum quickly skipped-over when I was at the Academy. I find your pre-placation of the 'Yeh-Butters' highlights something deeply Scottish; the enduring, visceral, honest tribalism that ensures someone, whether best pal* or someone on the street, will tell you you're talking pish, whilst simultaneously preventing the rise of any demagogues or 'unifying dogma'. Imagine Christ coming back in Scotland?! That would be a Ken Loach masterpiece. Irony warnings at the box-office!
I was scrolling through RU-vid and saw my hometown! What a shock 🥰🥰 We learnt about the declaration of arbroath in school, and went on school trips to the Abbey, it was super weird to leave arbroath and find out hardly anyone knew about it
Your just a wee breath of fresh air where our history is concerned. Love watching your videos as it gives us all the insight to our true history through the ages. Your comment re the use of the Declaration in 2014 is also a very important part of political history but , again, you're right we don't need it for the future as we have so many more reasons and truths to use in the future. Great work Bruce! Saor Alba Gu Bragh
"When does an arachnophile get a break in this town?" At that point, my laughter scattered the pigeons outside the window. Thank you so much for that (and all the other fascinating information).
@@ScotlandHistoryTours so you like science. You claim the Declaration of Arbroath is JUST a story; a scottish myth: propaganda. You Stress these points. why? please read the following that counters your arguments that it is scottish myth - based on DNA and more. (maybe you did not know; if you did not know, then i hope you change your 'Propaganda') You ignore Dr. Mark Jobling's genetic migration research tracing scottish dna migration from anatolia(today's turkey) along the mediterranean sea coast to scotland. of course, the land dna CAN be traced, but the sea route can NOT be traced(europe coast; not north africa coast) ? my point about the migration by sea not being traced is because Greater Scythia is thought to be on North coast of the black sea. there is a sea route through the black sea to the mediterranean sea(long history of trading via sea). so dna specific to greater scythia may not be traced. also, there could have been a focus on dna from the greater scythia area. also, anatolia and scythia are close to each other. long history in that region. more amazing in this dna migration research is that this migration dates back to 7,000 BC. yes, that's BC; that's a lonnnnng time in scotland. now, there were many white caucasians like scottish in North africa as were many of the egyptian pharaohs(pharaoh mummies; dna; and art) until the kushites(who ruled only 70 years; however, their rulers were not the same as sub saharans today). there is dna research that shows scottish dna traces to the same region in North africa where Amazighs(berbers) live (let's just North West africa coast). in regard to stories on the stone of destiny, there is verbal history; as to which story is correct, i don't know. i wasn't living then. but verbal history should never be taken so lightly as you repeatedly expressed. i hope this helps in understanding scotland's history.
@@guyanaspice6730 When you challenge Bruce, or anyone, on the basis of "science", and make some rather contentious assertions, you ought to give a link to the scientific papers which support your assertions. Which of the various publications of Professor Mark Jobling supports the narrative you have given above? In the meantime, I refer anyone interested to: JOBLING, M.A., Rasteiro, R., and Wetton, J.H. (2016) In the blood: the myth and reality of genetic markers of identity. Ethnic Racial Stud., 39, 142-161, where the authors point out the pitfalls of making strong assertions, of the type you are making, about ancestry etc. I quote from one paragraph from this study "The degree of general shared ancestry is not widely appreciated. We are all related to each other: ...even when we consider the markedly non-‐random mating habits of our fellow humans, a simulation-‐based study suggests that a common ancestor in the family trees of all 7 billion humans on the planet lived only 3400 years ago (Rohde, Olson, and Chang 2004)."
Another superb video, thanks Bruce. The mediaevals were a slippery bunch (not least the chronicling monks) but the Declaration of Arbroath is an extraordinary document. Beats Magna Carta with all its odd bits, but for the stuff that captured the imagination of later generations. This is bringing back so much of what I (inadequately) studied at university so perhaps when I find my old books I'll have another dig through it all!
Bruce your presenting skills are world class mate.i could honestly see you present a program on bbc or history channel ect. Im from glasgow and im honoured and proud that you are explaining our rich history to the world. Iv learned so much about my motherland just from your videos and it just makes it that bit more special when im doing my munroe bagging to know the history of my ancestors is all around me and For that i thank you brother. 🏴⛰️🏕️
Thank you for helping those of us with little knowledge of the history of Scotland, gain a greater understanding of where it is some of my ancestors came from. You have been most helpful and I appreciate the content
I listened to this on a set of headphones and all the audio after 04:38 comes solely from my left earcup. Thought it best to pipe up, something you may want to check on in future, keep up the awesome work.
I agree, I wish there were more Bruce's telling the histories of other countries as well, but I haven't found a Bruce clone for Mexico, France, Ireland, USA, Basque, Spain, Portugal from where my own ancestors come, and who knows what else. Hands down, Bruce is the best storyteller of all with his intelligence, originality and extraordinary sense of humor. Very engaging. There are a bunch of Bruce addicts on this channel 😄
There is truth to this part of the story however. There was an invasion of Porto-Scythians into Europe around 3,500 BC. These were the people from which the Celtic language and culture comes from. Not the ice age Neolithic peoples. There were celts in Spain that sailed to Ireland and became the Gaels. That is widely accepted as fact due to the language difference between the celts of mainland Britain and of Ireland.
I love this guy. "I've just offended half of you; but don't feel left out, I'll offend the rest of you soon enough." He sounds like a fun guy to randomly meet up with in a pub.
Thank you so much for this. I only read the full version of the Declaration recently and was struck by the origin story. One of the leading archaeologists on the Celts has postulated that they did not move across the land mass of Europe but did so by coastal Mediterranean settlements and landed in Spain before migrating onwards to the western reaches of the continent. That so clearly chimed with our origin story that I had a “eureka” moment. Keep delving into our past, it is really appreciated.
Same! Maybe you are referring to Bryan Sykes and his excellent book, Saxons, Viking and Celts. He does a great job of tying DNA evidence to natural history.
@@darlenewood9657- That’s what I’m am looking for- DNA should show in the route they took. I’ve seen some are claiming the Scots are Viking- which doesn’t match the story.
Dear Bruce I really enjoy this channel and your very interesting stories about Scottish history. My mother, a Canadian with a lot of Scottish ancestry, always said the origin story was that the Scots were the lost tribe of Judea. That when the Jews were expelled from ancient Judea one tribe ended up in Scotland. She has no idea where she heard the story. Now she is now too old to remember its origin. I always thought it was rather intriguing.
As a descendant of a long line of Kennedy’s thank you for this explanation of the document. I just found my massively huge Scots ancestry. When my family came to the states it was forgotten somehow. I greatly enjoy your videos and I am very grateful. Thanks.
Great video...too few Scots know anything about the Declaration of Arbroath,that the Unicorn is our national animal,that our Stewart dynasty ended up ruling of of the UK,etc etc...great that you are out there putting it right.
So wonderful to see you in my home town, the hame o the Reid Lichties and the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath. Keep up the excellent work of telling Scottish history. So good to hear it being told as it was never taught in schools back in my day.
dr. mark jobling dna migration research. scottish dna migration is traced from anatolia(today's turkey; but could be all around the black sea via sea) to scotland approximately 7,000 BC. that's BC. lonnnnng time ago. so declaration of arbroath is based on science; it is not based on 'STORIES', 'MYTHS', 'PROPAGANDA' as bruce claims. the other stories may have truth based on this research.
Great video, learned more from this than I did in school. I go through to Arbroath most weeks. Also, I saw a poster of yourself on a lamppost where I live today 🙂
@@ScotlandHistoryTours I think it was for a comedy thing, I just had a quick look but you were on it with a few other guys, recognised you right away. It was on a lamppost near the Montrose Golf Course 🙂
Why you are not on the BBC or some other big network etc. I'll never know. You are TALENTED! Man, you had me engaged from the start. You have a great way of presenting this history with passion and it shows. You are passionate in teaching because you simply are a human wanting to share what you know to others so we as a world can be a better place.
The taxpayer funded paid house of...not fools....that is insulting...the house of corruption..sorry ..had to say it ..peace and love from the wirral..E
Interesting how Irish Monks were instrumental in Scotland and mainland Europe but could not save Celtic History and ancient traditions in Ireland, Scotland or Wales. England is a monster and only the 26 counties in Ireland have been able to escape the monster. It is time for Scotland to grow up and become a Country l
It's not the English version that is the danger. The "Woke" politically correct version is what will see many world histories be distorted , about faced or deleted ( as if the writers haven't distorted them enough ;-) ). Marxism is the iceberg on the starboard bow and our ass hats are holding the tiller to that direction and most of the crew and almost all the passengers are oblivious. How to bring Titanic story from the declaration of Arbroath. Side note. Nice short book on the Declaration of Arbroath by Tom Turpie. £5 or so.
As an Irishman I find these videos both entertaining and educational... you're a great story teller, Bruce. Regarding the Irish monk who created the spin job for the Pope to anoint Christian kings, I wonder was he the guy who became Charlemagne's tutor... Johannes Scotus Erigenus (literally John the Gaelic speaking Learned Person)? Scotus was the latin term for those who spoke Gaelic (Ireland)/Gallic (Scotland), which distinguished them from the Norman/French/English speaking lowlanders in Scotland, I believe.
Omg.. I ve just discovered your vlogs.. Absolutely love them.. I Love how passionate you are.. Like the oral story tellers off the pass.. You actually reminded me of my gran and my mum who loved to tie the past, present, and future together
@@ScotlandHistoryTours thank you.. 😂 😂 Well actually.. You do have a look of my granny Betty..😂 😂 I love history.. But even more so when Brought to life with such enthusiasm and even better when you are sharing your own with others.. Cant wait to make my way through all the vlogs..
How do we view a king? The English Domesday Book commissioned by William I presents him as the ultimate landowner. What if that king were to collect a load of rent and then hand it over to Danish pirates instead of spending it on the Royal Navy? The Declaration of Arbroath indicates that we should depose him. This makes it a revolutionary document of universal significance.
Love learning the histories of Scotland. I have followed my family back to Banff and proudly carry the name Elgin. I would to see some history on Elgin and the Cathedral.
Interesting. Possibly Scotland's greatest mediaevalist, Prof. Geoffrey Barrow said of Bruce, he was, "no Anglo Norman fish grassed on a Celtic river bank but a potentate in the immemorial mould of the Western Gaidhealtachd". Scotland was still majority Gaelic-speaking in Bruce's time. He was raised in the Gaidhealtachd of Carrick and spoke Gaelic. He died at Cardross, also in the Gaidhealtachd, surrounded by Gaelic speaking servants (Their names are on record.). His army was Gaelic-speaking and at Bannockburn he had paraded before it the Brecbennach of Columba, the Monymusk Reliquary, containing the relics of the patron saint of Gaelic Scotland and the Scottish army, St Calum Cille, Columba of Donegal and Iona. If further confirmation is needed of the strongly Gaelic identity of contemporary Scotland, have a read of "Bruce's letter to the Irish".
I've just stumbled across this channel while looking for something completely unconnected. Glad I did, but it does mean that I'm going to have to go through all your previous work now, though I love how you present your content and looking forward to the task.
Welcome on board Some of the very early stuff has somewhat ropey sound and production values, but that improves over time. Maybe go to the Playlists section on the channel and see which topics interest you the most
Another interesting and informative post. And interesting (and plausible) that the record of human migration may have been preserved in the Scottish origins myth
it's also backed up by DNA evidence apparently , you might want to watch the 2nd half of this short video , it covers how the trail mentioned in the Declaration matches up with DNA ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KqvdRN7gnWQ.html
Another DNA study apparently traced King King Macbeth, s DNA cluster back to Munster in Ireland, maybe further part evidence of the North east migration of the scotti and attacotti gael,tribes displacing and absorbing the pictish tribes of north east Ulster and north western Scotland
a study conducted by geneticists based at a DNA genealogy center in Zurich (Switzerland), have determined that up to 70% of British men, Irish 80% and around 50% of all western European men are related to the famous Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. This story does open up questions about multiple possibilities that may have occurred in ancient times.
@@ScotlandHistoryTours This guy is very interesting in the mythology and history of the origins of the Irish. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zYqtx5C8iOs.html
The Myth is plausible, its been Oral since it was first recorded around 600AD in Ireland, Also the route is supported through Celtic DNA spread in Europe. Northern Italy, Coasts of Spain, Up toward Ireland.
I like Christine Grahams take on it. "It is sometimes important to work back to why certain assertions are made-for example, in the claim of right, the assertion that the Scottish people are sovereign. Much slips into our everyday parlance that has a deep-rooted and substantive cultural constitutional genesis. For example, we hear Scots being reprimanded for saying “I seen it” or “I done it”. That is, in fact, grammatical language. Those phrases have survived through centuries of spoken Scots. They are not lazy or ignorant slang, but an echo from the past. That takes me to the claim of right from 1989 and the words: “We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs”. That Constitutional Convention was proposed in a private members bill way back in 1980 by the SNP leader, Gordon Wilson. Where did that sovereign right come from? There is no written UK constitution, but there are fragments of an incomplete constitutional jigsaw, some of which predate the treaty of union. We have to go as far back as the declaration of Arbroath-a declaration of Scottish independence and of conditional monarchy. Talking of Robert the Bruce, it says: “Yet if he should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.” That shows that he was a king who was in office by leave of those who, at the time, represented the people. They were a narrow bunch-some 51 magnates and nobles-but, nevertheless, he was on parole. The significance of those words, resonating through the centuries, is that the monarch’s power to rule was conditional on the will of the people of Scotland. That is reflected in the fact that Queen Elizabeth is Queen of Scots and not of Scotland. Therefore, sovereignty-now exercised in this democracy by various institutions-is exercised through the expressed will of the Scottish people. That takes me to why Queen Elizabeth is designed Queen of England. If my recollection is accurate, Henry VIII of the Tudor dynasty, installing himself as the head of the church, embedded the divine right of kings to rule. Sovereignty-the embodiment of which was the monarch-was absolute. However, as power was removed from the Crown and transferred to the English Parliament through the centuries, so was sovereignty. Therefore, the English Parliament was, indeed, sovereign, but that does not overrule or supersede the conflicting principle of the sovereignty of the Scottish people. Article III of the Union with Scotland Act 1706 says: “That the United Kingdom ... be represented by one and the same Parliament to be stiled The Parliament of Great Britain.” The significance of that is that that Parliament was not a continuation of the English Parliament or of the Scottish Parliament. Therefore, for Scotland, sovereignty remains as it always was-with the people. I pray in aid the case of MacCormick v the Lord Advocate, from the 1953 session cases. At that time, postboxes with “E II R” on them had been blown up, because Elizabeth was the first Elizabeth of Scotland. In that case, the following remarks were made obiter: “Considering that the Union legislation extinguished the Parliaments of Scotland and England and replaced them by a new Parliament, I have difficulty in seeing why it should have been supposed that the new Parliament of Great Britain must inherit all the peculiar characteristics of the English Parliament ... as if all that happened in 1707 was that Scottish representatives were admitted to the Parliament of England. That is not what was done ... The principle of the unlimited sovereignty of Parliament is a distinctively English principle which has no counterpart in Scottish constitutional law.” -So, why the potted constitutional history lesson? It is because it is significant to the legitimacy of the referendum, which will of course not be consultative, but will have legal and constitutional authority, as well as political authority.- In 1979 and 1997, there was no Scottish institution to provide a mechanism for asking the Scottish people a question on the constitution. In 1979, the UK Government took it upon itself to draw up a referendum. Of course, it produced the question and chose the date-1 March 1979, which was right in the middle of the winter of discontent, when snow was falling over Scotland. That was an omen, but the 40 per cent rule, which in effect counted the dead and those who did not exercise their franchise as having voted no, was the real treachery. That was compounded by Sir Alec Douglas-Home broadcasting on the eve of the poll that we should vote no for a better deal. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Now we have our own mechanism in the Scottish Parliament, but we do not need to have a Parliament. Even if the Parliament did not exist, if the Scottish people streamed out on to the streets of our towns, cities and villages to say with a clear voice on megaphones, on marches and online that they wanted an independent Scotland again, that would be a declaration of independence. No challenge from the Palace of Westminster, the corridors of the United Nations, this place or any courts could gainsay that. The Scottish people would say that they done it, and they done it their way.
@@johnfinister5011 Me neither, but if democracy is thwarted then that is the inevitable outcome. Like it or not, that is the direction of travel that we find ourselves on.
@@johnfinister5011 Then you fail to understand whats been said, silence is always acquiescence. Also who's idea are you espousing as nothing written herein proports such a claim.
History is the means by which you build a better future, no need to ask for apologies for the actions of individuals kings or commoners. living in different times.
If you check the linguistic links between Old Gaelic and Phonecian/Classical Semetic languages you would be surprised. Personally I believe in Scota and Arbroath until disproven.
I can imagine the Pope reading the 'As long as but a hundred of us remain alive' section and thinking 'Ah! Very clever, quoting Sallust. These Scots deserve some consideration.'
Before one dismiss Scotia and Gaytholos story research RH B- R1B Haplo group L-21, pull up a world map showing RH B-, it matches the Gaels track to Scotland.
This one is brilliant! Got to watch it again. I hoped to see the document itself. Is the one under glass the original? I read somewhere about its discovery from obscurity, rescued and then pit in a public space. Subjecting the claims made in this, and any document to critical analysis is a skill that has to be cultivated, or we’re all up the creek.
There was an item about the document, or was it a portrayal - a painting? - of the event itself, languishing in a shed somewhere, retrieved and then resurrected for public viewing. i can’t remember the details, nor where I read about it, but I thought how wonderful it would be to view it. I will pay a visit to Google and see what I can find out because it looked like an intriguing story.
The giant mural of the Arbroath Declaration, rescued and put on display at the Arbroath rail station is a story on a par with hearing a Verdi aria in an Italian train station.
You have a knowledgable following here. It’s high value. I talk to spiders. I’m upset, and not even Scottish. I’d like to see you fight Neal Oliver, man to man. Actually, that was incredibly deep, and I enjoyed it immensely. Struggling to pay you. Do the PayPal thing please ….
Aww dude. Wish I knew you were in Arbroath. Would of loved to say hello, absolutely love your channel. The very first house at the end of the Abbey archway you walk through Is my uncles house. You can just see the edge of it in your shot. Although he is still renovating it just now. He used to own the Harbour nights guest house, which is a lovely guest house right on the harbour. But he's retired now and sold it to a lovely couple from England who used to be regular guests. They loved it so much they bought the place lol. Hope you enjoyed your time in Arbroath, and if you're ever back, hope I get a chance to say hi. Keep up the great work.
@@ScotlandHistoryTours Ah right, I stayed in Brechin myself briefly. It's a nice wee town. Sorry, city lol. Usually signed into my Scottish metal channel when watching your channel. And usually end up binge watching your content instead of working on new songs. As a guy from a staunch Jacobite family, who grew up listening to the Corries and all that. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Jacobite era. But watching your channel, I've genuinely learned things I never knew before. Even hearing stories like your video on the last Jacobite Peter Grant (or Auld Dubrach) was great. Actually took your advice and paid a wee visit to his grave. Which gave me some ideas to write a song as a tribute to the guy. For a Scottish history nerd like myself, your channel is an absolute treasure. Cheers.
We literally just keep missing each other Bruce!!! My better half and I were just there about a week/2 weeks ago, from a trip back fae dunnotar castle... Will you be doing anyone on standing stones along Grampian and Fife/Dundee.
I find it absolutely fascinating that the Scottish origin myth so closely echoes the migration pattern that scientists have found in our DNA. Interestingly, when I had my DNA run, it came back mostly Scottish and Norwegian/Scandinavian largely tied to the Viking invaders of the British Isles and Ireland, with some German and Irish thrown in from my father's side. However, there were trace amounts of both African and Iberian DNA in my test that I couldn't explain from my genealogy - but if the Scottish origin myth has its basis in some level of fact that just might explain it. The myth is simply too close to the reality of the human migration pattern out of Africa and across into Europe for their not to be some amount of truth to it.
At the risk of starting a flamewar. When it comes to calling back to the myth of the past, in my opinion previous identities of greatness or something at there core that never went away is brought back to the surface, to use an origin myth to justify what they are doing in the present and make it sound like a return to something that already existed instead of some new risky step into the future. People return to a core identity when they feel under threat during times of change such as the declining British Empire and Brexit. It replaces the one that existed before, in this case Britishness and Empire to create what Billy Bragg calls a post Imperial indentity. Ireland had the Gaelic revival in the 1900s that created a new identity based on what had been written down but was largely destroyed from the early 1600s to 1850s, which served as a template for a new sense of Irishness when independence came twenty years later. Maybe Scottish indepence won't come to pass, but with the same thing happening in Wales and perhaps the baby steps of something similar with the Northern Independence party, at the very least, as the old frames of reference fail, England, like Tolkien tried to do with the Lord of the Rings have a new English mythology, will need a new origin or creation myth for itself. For until that happens there can never be a truly united kingdom of Great Britain.
i agree with this, i grew up in edinburgh and remember Billy Connolly saying he never saw anyone in a kilt when working in the shipyards of the Clyde. Indeed, the tartan army (scotland soccer team supporters) went to Hampden Park dressed like the lead singer from the bay city rollers. I left scotland in my late teens and spent a decade away before returning in 1992. I first noticed the change looking at the wedding photos in the local newspaper on a friday, only mug shots of the happy couple but you can tell if the groom was wearing a kilt or not because of the square silver buttons on their shoulders. Then the local schools introduced the gordon highlander kilt as part of their school uniforms when previously folk would have seen their children dressed in a tea towel before a kilt. Now, of course, every second Glaswegian you meet is related to Mel Gibson and/or a direct descendant of William Wallace. So origin myths are not a thing of the past, neither are they static, the evolve and change through time in parallel with the politics of the day and how collectively people see themselves. Scotland isnt unique in this.All countries do this
There was always still a connection in Ireland to the old ways, the language only died "tar eis na drochshaoil" in the 1840s, ( after the bad life, famine ). Indeed when the French General landed in Killala bay in 1798 he was met by the Irish chief O Dubhda with a small force of horse. The MacDiarmada Clann princes of Coolvin still lived upon his ancient land untill a few years ago. Baron Inchiquin a direct descendant of Brian Boru still lives today in his castle on clann lands. The revolutionarys such as Pearse, his mother being a native speaker did use the language to great effect. He had a Gaelic school St Ednas in Rathfarnham which is now as he left it and can be toured. The pupils did adopt the Saffron kilt after much debate but this addition was brought to Ireland by Northern regiments in the British army not by nationalist Gaels. William Butler yeats probably did a lot more for the movement than even pearse himself, by writing plays such as Cathaláin ní Uallacháin a modern version of a thousand year old Gaelic poem An Cailleach Barra meaning the old hag of beare. In Yeats version which was performed to great crowds in Dublins Abbey theatre the hag is Ireland and she travels the country looking for men to fight for Ireland's freedom and when they do she is no longer a hag but a beautiful young woman. the blood sacrifice required to renew Ireland's fight for freedom had been achieved and the next generation will take up the fight a new. Yeats lamented after the 1916 rising, "had he sent men out to die" Relating to the declaration of Arbroath, the Irish sent a similar document to Rome in 1316 known as the remonstrance of the princes but the pope did nothing.
GREAT WORK TELLING US THE TRUTH NOT SUGAR COATED JUST WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AND TRUE FACTS AND EVENTS BRUCE , SOMETIME THE TRUTH MIGHT HURT TO SOME PEOPLE BUT ALWAYS GREAT TO KNOW THE REAL STUFF BRUCE , BRING ONNN THE NEXT ADVENTURE THROUGH SCOTISH HISTORY BRUDDA TAKE CARE 👌
My Father Thomas MacAlester the 9th taught me Scotlands real history. And when King Kenneth MacAlpine united Alba, it was called Scotland and it was free until the Duke of Normandy went into England and Invaded Scotland. And now you are Talking about my Family History. Because my Ancestry goes back to Charlemagne and beyond.
