Stories that represent the hold that the Jacobites—and their resentment of British rule—still have in Scotland. An essential read for fans of Outlander.During the first half of the eighteenth century, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his diehard supporters—the Jacobites—almost changed the course of British history. Their attempts to drive out the house of Hanover and restore the Stuarts to the British throne is one of the great epics of history.In this book...

All over the world people associate the bagpipes with Scotland. In this informative and entertaining book Stuart McHardy introduces Scotland's national instrument - its history, development and repertoire - and examines the part that the piper himself has played in Highland and Lowland society over the centuries.The main bulk of the book is a series of thematically grouped tales from all periods and parts of the country in which we see aspects of traditional lore in stories of warr...

All over the world people associate the bagpipes with Scotland. In this informative and entertaining book Stuart McHardy introduces Scotland's national instrument - its history, development and repertoire - and examines the part that the piper himself has played in Highland and Lowland society over the centuries.The main bulk of the book is a series of thematically grouped tales from all periods and parts of the country in which we see aspects of traditional lore in stories of warr...

McHardy presents a new approach to history, changing our mindset to look at Scotland as the centre of our story. Rather than starting from the Mediterranean, from the classical/Christian bias we have been taught for centuries. Rather than being a remote dark land populated by barbaric tribes. Perhaps we were the centre of a well-organised civilisation around the Orkneys and islands and coasts and rivers, with our own priorities, community-centred, locally self-sufficient, well-versed in lo...

Stuart McHardy examines the Pictish symbols which have been discovered on various items across Scotland. The book sets out a cohesive interpretation of the Pictish past, using a variety of both temporal and geographical sources. This interpretation serves as a backdrop for his analysis of the symbols themselves, providing a context for his suggestion that there was an underlying series of ideas and beliefs behind the creation of the symbols.

King Arthur went to Avalon with Morgan and her eight sisters. In this book McHardy traces similar groups of nine maidens throughout the ancient Celtic and Germanic worlds and far beyond. In Pictland, Wales, Ireland, Scandinavia, Gaul and Iberia the nine Maidens were known in mythology and as practising priestesses. As far away as Kenya the Kikuyu people claim descent from nine sisters, while a cave painting in Catalonia shows nine dancing maidens from almost 15,000 years ago. Weather-worke...

The Wey Forrit is a political work written in Scots which examines the current British political climate, with a particular focus on how the inner workings of Westminster affect Scotland and her people. Arguing from a communitarian perspective, Stuart McHardy meticulously pulls apart the long-standing political ideas and traditions which many citizens of the United Kingdom have automatically accepted as correct or justified. He challenges his readers to re-think the consensus....

The culture of all nations is rooted in past experience, individual and communal. In Scotland's Future History McHardy looked at the misrepresentation of so much of Scotland's political and social history. In this new volume he takes a wider look at aspects of Scotland's culture that have been at the heart of how we have developed into who we are in today's world. Topics include literature, religion, history and story, the Radical 1790s, the remarkable Douglas Young and an introdu...

Lord Cockburn, Victorian defender of Edinburgh's beauties, describes Calton Hill as 'the Glory of Edinburgh'. 'It presents us,' enthused Cockburn, 'with the finest prospects both of its vicinity and the city… it is adorned by beautiful buildings dedicated to science and to the memory of distinguished men. 'Following on from the success of Arthur's Seat, the Journeys and Evocations series continues with a look at the events and folklore surrounding Edinburgh's iconic Calton Hill. Standing o...

Arthur's Seat is climbed (or walked up and around) by thousands of people each year. The views from the top of the 350-million year old landmark are breathtaking. In this book, Stuart McHardy and Donald Smith interweave the tales of folklore and customs that surround this iconic hill. Review Draws on folklore tales and real life stories to create a unique walkers' guide to the famous ridges, crags and valleys that make up the hill. EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS Back Cover: Standing in the Hunter'...

The real story of the last years of the ancient Celtic-speaking warrior society that had survived in the Scottish Highlands from time immemorial.Behind the tales of cateran raiding in the Scottish Highlands was an age-old practice, beloved of the clan warriors. Trained in the ways of the School of the Moon they liked little better than raiding other clans to lift their cattle and disappear into the wild mountains under the cover of darkness. If pursued and battle be...

When the Romans came north to what is now modern Scotland they encountered the fierce and proud warrior society known as the Picts, who despite their lack of discipline and arms, managed to prevent the undefeated Roman Army from conquering the northern part of Britain, just as they later repulsed the Angles and the Vikings.A New History of the Picts is an accessible true history of the Picts, who are so often misunderstood. New historical analysis, recently discovered evidence and an innov...