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Ballads, Ridings and Truces
Summer time in Scotland marks the celebration of the Common Ridings during which some towns – particularly in the Borders – organise ceremonies to confirm the boundaries of the town and other lands. In former centuries the local landowners were often asked to inspect boundaries which were in ... more
Saint Andrew - what's in a name?
Saint Andrew was the younger brother of Saint Peter, both fishermen from Galilee in the Holy Land, and followers of Jesus. The orginal form of his name – Andreas – is Greek, but we do not know what his Aramaic name was. Andrew lived during the late first century BC and early 1st century AD an... more
Border Ballads
The publication of Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border’ in 1802 was the foundation for the belief that the ballads of the Scottish Borders constituted the greatest ballad tradition in Scotland. In fact, the North East of Scotland also ranks equally with the Borders in ball... more
Oldest Diplomatic Act in Scots
The background to the Common Ridings was the lawless nature of the borderlands which persisted between the 13th and 17th centuries. There were often feuds between kindreds and frequent raiding by armed gangs known as reivers (‘thieves’). On a national scale, Scotland was often at war with Eng... more
Twa Corbies
Search on the internet for the Twa Corbies and you’ll see how much of an impact this Scots ballad has had on the worlds of poetry and traditional music. Here is a Danish version of the song. You can read the Scots words at http://www.twocrows.co.uk/twa_
Image copyright David W Hood more
Anniversary of oldest surviving document in Scots
The month of March marks the anniversary of the oldest entire text in Scots, strictly speaking. On 12 March 1380 (1379 old calendar) Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk put his seal to a letter (see text below) which is now the oldest original document – wholly in Scots – to survive. To this we may ... more
Oldest act of government in Scots
In the year 1397 – apparently during the month of April – a General Council of the Kingdom was held at Stirling. The significance of this Council for Scots was the statute that it passed in the name of King Robert III (ruled 1390-1406). The Statute of Stirling is now the earliest surviving a... more
A braw nicht, thanks tae the SLC
Hello aw, howp ye hae been makkin the maist o wit braw simmer...or the twa-thrie braw hours we hae been gettin. Michael wis sayin this wad be the year fer a bonnie simmer - but sae faur it's ainlie been sunny whan I'm warkin inbye, an whan I'm daein pentin outside it buckets doun!
It wis ma 1... more
