An diofar eadar na mùthaidhean a rinneadh air "Rìoghachd na h-Alba"

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 [[Dail Riata|Dhail Riata]] san iar, Breatannaich [[Rìoghachd Shrath Chluaidh]] san iar-dheas agus [[Bernicia]], rìoghachd nan [[Anglaich|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 [[Ì|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.<ref>W. E. Burns, ''A Brief History of Great Britain'' (Infobase Publishing, 2009), ISBN 0816077282, pp. 44-5.</ref> 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)<ref name="Webster1997p15">B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), ISBN 0333567617, p. 15.</ref> agus leis a sin, stèidhich e [[Sliochd Ailpein]].<ref name="Yorke2006p54">B. Yorke, ''The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c.600-800'' (Pearson Education, 2006), ISBN 0582772923, p. 54.</ref> 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'').<ref>A. O. Anderson, ''Early Sources of Scottish History, A.D. 500 to 1286'' (General Books LLC, 2010), vol. i, ISBN 1152215728, p. 395.</ref> 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.<ref name="Webster1997p22">B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), ISBN 0333567617, pp. 22.</ref> 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]].<ref>A. Woolf, ''From Pictland to Alba: 789 - 1070'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), ISBN 0748612343, p. 128.</ref>

Bha buaidh aig rìghrean na h-Alba air Srath Chluaidh a-mach on 9mh linn ach b’ e [[Maol Chaluim I na h-Alba|Maol Chaluim I]] (no ''Máel Coluim mac Domnaill'' mar a bha air ’na linn, a’ riaghladh eadar 943–954 mu thuaiream) a cheannsaich [[Rìoghachd Shrath Chluaidh|Srath Chluaidh]].<ref>B. T. Hudson, ''Kings of Celtic Scotland'' (Westport: Greenhill 1994), ISBN 0313290873, pp. 95–6.</ref> Thàinig atharrachadh mòr mòr air Rìoghachd na h-Alba ri linn [[Daibhidh I na h-Alba|Daibhidh I]] (''Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim'')<ref name=Barrow1992pp9-11>G. W. S. Barrow, "David I of Scotland: The Balance of New and Old", in G. W. S. Barrow, ed., ''Scotland and Its Neighbours in the Middle Ages'', (London, 1992), pp. 9&ndash;11 pp. 9&ndash;11.</ref><ref>M. Lynch, ''Scotland: A New History'' (Random House, 2011), ISBN 1446475638, p. 80.</ref> is esan a’ cur toirt a-steach rian [[fiùdalachd]] dhan dùthaich, a’ stèidheachadh nan ciad [[Borgh rìoghail|bhuirgh rìoghail]], a’ chiad chùinneadh Albannach agus sreath de ath-leasachaidhean creidmheach is laghail.<ref name="Webster1997pp29-37">B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), ISBN 0333567617, pp. 29-37.</ref> 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 mac Eanraig|Maol Chaluim IV]] (''Máel Coluim mac Eanric'') e a-rithist ann an 1157.<ref>R. R. Davies, ''The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles, 1093-1343'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), ISBN 0198208499, p. 64.</ref> Chaidh a’ chrìoch a stèidheachadh ann an [[Cùmhnant Eabhraic]] ann an 1237, faisg air crìoch ar latha<ref>W. P. L. Thomson, ''The New History of Orkney'' (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2008), ISBN 184158696X, p. 204.</ref> Mu àm riaghladh [[Alasdair III na h-Alba|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.<ref name="Macquarrie2004p153">A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), ISBN 0-7509-2977-4, p. 153.</ref> Fhuair Sasainn smachd air [[Eilean Mhanainn]] san 14mh linn ged a rinn na h-Albannaich iomadh oidhirp fhaighinn air ais.<ref>A. Grant and K. J. Stringer, eds, ''Uniting the Kingdom?: the Making of British History'' (London: Routledge, 1995), ISBN 0415130417, p. 101.</ref> Cheannsaich na Sasannaich cuid mhòr de dh'Alba fo [[Èideard I Shasainn|Èideard I]] agus chuir iad pìos mòr dhen Ghalldachd ri Sasainn fo [[Èideard III Shasainn|Èideard III]] ach dhaingnich Alba a neo-eisimeileachd aig deireadh na 13mh linn fo stiùireadh dhaoine mar [[Raibeart I na h-Alba|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|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.<ref name="Bawcutt&Williams2006p21">P. J. Bawcutt and J. H. Williams, ''A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry'' (Woodbridge: Brewer, 2006), ISBN 1843840960, p. 21.</ref> 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.<ref name="J. Wormald, 1991 p. 5">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, p. 5.</ref> 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.<ref name=Bawcutt&Williams2006p21/> 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 [[Seumas IV Alba|Sheumais IV]] sa bhlàr ud, lean ùine fhada de chugallachd phoilitigeach.<ref name="G. Menzies 2002 p. 179">G. Menzies ''The Scottish Nation'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002), ISBN 190293038X, p. 179.</ref>

Fo [[Seumas V Alba|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 t-Ath-nuadhachadh|an ath-nuadhachaidh]] agus na [[monarcachd ùr]] air a’ chrùn is a’ chùirt.<ref name="Thomas2012p188">A. Thomas, "The Renaissance", in T. M. Devine and J. Wormald, ''The Oxford Handbook of Modern Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), ISBN 0191624330, p. 188.</ref> Thàinig Alba fo bhuaidh an [[Ath-leasachadh na h-Alba|ath-leasachaidh]] ann am meadhan na 16mh linn, gu sònraichte luchd [[Calbhanachas|Calbhanachais]] agus dh’adhbharaich seo briseadh ìomhaighean na h-Eaglaise fad is farsaing agus chaidh rian [[Clèireachas|Clèireachais]] a stèidheachadh aig an robh buaidh mhòr air beatha nan daoine ann an Alba.<ref>J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, pp. 120-33.</ref> Bha [[Seumas VI Alba|Sheumas VI]] ’na eòlaiche cudromach aig deireadh na 16mh linn agus bha ùghdarras mòr aige air an rìoghachd.<ref name="Thomas2012p200">A. Thomas, "The Renaissance", in T. M. Devine and J. Wormald, ''The Oxford Handbook of Modern Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), ISBN 0191624330, p. 200.</ref> 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.<ref>D. L. Smith, ''A History of the Modern British Isles, 1603-1707: The Double Crown'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 1998), ISBN 0631194029, ch. 2.</ref> Dh’fheuch a mhac [[Teàrlach I Shasainn|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 [[Na Cùmhnantaichean|Chùmnantaichean Clèireach]] cha mhòr neo-eisimeileach a stèidheachadh mar thoradh air.<ref name="Mackieetal1991p200-6">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, pp. 200-6.</ref> Phiobraich seo [[Cogadh nan Trì Rìoghachdan|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 Shasainn|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|Co-fhlaitheas Shasainn, Alba agus Èireann]] fad greis (1653–60).<ref>J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, pp. 225-6.</ref>

Ghlèidh rìoghachd aonaichte na h-Alba cuid a ghnàthasan a bhiodh aig na Cruithnich roimhe. Chithear seo sna gnàthasan ealanta aig crùnadh [[Sgàin]].<ref name="Webster1997pp45-7">B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), ISBN 0333567617, pp. 45-7.</ref> 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 [[Caisteal Shruighlea|Chaisteal Shruighlea]] agus [[Caisteal Pheairt|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.<ref name=McNeil&MacQueenpp159-63>P. G. B. McNeill and Hector L. MacQueen, eds, ''Atlas of Scottish History to 1707'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1996), pp. 159–63.</ref><ref name="Wormald1991pp14-5">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, pp. 14-15.</ref> 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.<ref>J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jGYDyP0xkFcC&pg=PT150&dq=renaissance+scotland+monarchy&hl=En&ei=-D2dT_iHIaPN0QXwrJDlDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=3&ved=0CEcQ6wEwAg#v=onepage&q=renaissance%20scotland%20monarchy&f=false ''A History of Scotland''] (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495.</ref> Theories of [[limited monarchy]] and resistance were articulated by Scots, particularly [[George Buchanan]], in the sixteenth century, but [[James VI of Scotland|James VI]] advanced the theory of the [[divine right of kings]], and these debates were restated in subsequent reigns and crises. The court remained at the centre of political life and in the sixteenth century emerged as a major centre of display and artistic patronage, until it was effectively dissolved with the [[Union of Crowns]] in 1603.<ref name="Thomas2012pp200-2">A. Thomas, "The Renaissance", in T. M. Devine and J. Wormald, ''The Oxford Handbook of Modern Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), ISBN 0191624330, pp. 200-2.</ref>

The Scottish crown adopted the conventional offices of western European courts, including [[Steward of Scotland|steward]], [[Chamberlain of Scotland|chamberlain]], [[Constable of Scotland|constable]], [[Marischal of Scotland|marischal]] and [[Chancellor of Scotland|chancellor]].<ref name=Barrow1965pp11-12>G. W. S. Barrow, Robert Bruce (Berkeley CA.: University of California Press, 1965), pp. 11-12.</ref> The King's Council emerged as a full-time body in the fifteenth century, increasingly dominated by laymen and critical to the administration of justice.<ref name="Wormald1991pp22-3">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, pp. 22-3.</ref> The [[Privy council of Scotland|Privy Council]], which developed in the mid-sixteenth century,<ref name="Goodacre2004pp35&130">J. Goodacre, ''The Government of Scotland, 1560-1625'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), ISBN 0199243549, pp. 35 and 130.</ref> and the great offices of state, including the chancellor, secretary and [[Treasurer of Scotland|treasurer]] remained central to the administration of the government, even after the departure of the Stuart monarchs to rule in England from 1603.<ref name="Goodacre2004pp150-1">J. Goodacre, ''The Government of Scotland, 1560-1625'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), ISBN 0199243549, pp. 150-1.</ref> However, it was often sidelined and was abolished after the [[Acts of Union 1707|Act of Union of 1707]], with rule direct from London.<ref>J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, p. 287.</ref> Parliament also emerged as a major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy.<ref>K. M. Brown and R. J. Tanner, ''The History of the Scottish Parliament volume 1: Parliament and Politics, 1235-1560'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), pp. 1-28.</ref> By the end of the Middle Ages it was sitting almost every year, partly because of the frequent minorities and regencies of the period, which may have prevented it from being sidelined by the monarchy.<ref name="Wormald1991p21">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, p. 21.</ref> In the early modern era was also vital to the running of the country, providing laws and taxation, but it had fluctuating fortunes and never achieved the centrality to the national life of its counterpart in England before it was disbanded in 1707.<ref>R. Mitchison, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Routledge, 3rd edn., 2002), ISBN 0415278805, p. 128.</ref>

Scots law developed into a distinctive system in the Middle Ages and was reformed and codified in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Knowledge of the nature of Scots law before the eleventh century is largely speculative,<ref name="Thronton2009">D. E. Thornton, "Communities and kinship", in P. Stafford, ed., ''A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland, c.500-c.1100'' (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), ISBN 140510628X, pp. 98.</ref> but it was probably a mixture of legal traditions representing the different cultures inhabiting the land at the time, including [[Celtic people|Celtic]], [[Britons (historical)|British]], [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] customs.<ref>[http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/scottishlegalhistory.cfm Scottish Legal History: A Research Guide], Georgetown Law Library, retrieved 2011-10-22.</ref> The legal tract known as ''[[Laws of the Brets and Scots]]'', set out a system of compensation for injury and death based on ranks and the solidarity of kin groups.<ref name="Grant1993">A. Grant, "Thanes and Thanages, from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries" in A. Grant and K. Stringer, eds., ''Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community, Essays Presented to G. W. S. Barrow'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993), ISBN 074861110X, p. 42.</ref> There were popular courts, the ''comhdhail'', indicated by dozens of place names in eastern Scotland.<ref name="McNeil&MacQueenpp191-4"/> In Scandinavian-held areas, [[Udal law]] formed the basis of the [[legal system]] and it is known that the Hebrides were taxed using the [[Ounceland]] measure.<ref>N. Sharples and R. Smith, "Norse settlement in the Western Isles" in A. Woolf, ed., ''Scandinavian Scotland – Twenty Years After'' (St Andrews: St Andrews University Press), ISBN 978-0-9512573-7-1, pp. 104, 109 and 124.</ref> [[Thing (assembly)|Althings]] were open-air governmental assemblies that met in the presence of the ''[[Earl of Orkney|jarl]]'' and the meetings were open to virtually all free men. At these sessions decisions were made, laws passed and complaints adjudicated.<ref>[http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/laws.htm "Laws and legal procedures"], ''hurstwic.org'', retrieved 15 August 2010.</ref>

Under James IV the legal functions of the council were rationalised, with a royal [[Court of Session]] meeting daily in Edinburgh to deal with civil cases. In 1514 the office of justice-general was created for the [[Duke of Argyll|Earl of Argyll]] (and held by his family until 1628).<ref>K. Reid and R. Zimmerman, ''A History of Private Law in Scotland: I. Introduction and Property'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), ISBN 0-19-829941-9, p. 68.</ref> In 1532 the Royal [[College of Justice]] was founded, leading to the training and professionalisation of an emerging group of career lawyers. The Court of Session placed increasing emphasis on its independence from influence, including from the king, and superior jurisdiction over local justice. Its judges were increasingly able to control entry to their own ranks.<ref name="Wormald1991pp24-55">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, pp. 24-5.</ref> In 1672 the [[High Court of Justiciary]] was founded from the College of Justice as a supreme court of appeal.<ref>Anne-Marie Kilday, ''Women and Violent Crime in Enlightenment Scotland'' (Boydell & Brewer, 2007), ISBN 0861932870, p. 29.</ref>

Early Scottish coins were virtually identical in silver content to English ones, but from about 1300 the silver content began to depreciate more rapidly than English. Between then and 1605 they lost value at an average of 12 per cent every ten years, three times the then English rate. The Scottish penny became a base metal coin in about 1484 and virtual disappeared as a separate coin from about 1513.<ref name=Chown1996p24>J. Chown, ''A History of Money: From AD 800'' (London: Routledge, 1996), p. 24.</ref> In 1423 the English government banned the circulation of Scottish coins. At the union of the crowns in 1603 the Scottish [[Pound Scots|pound]] was fixed at only one-twelfth that of the English pound.<ref name=Cannon1997p225/> The Parliament of Scotland of 1695 enacted proposals to set up the [[Bank of Scotland]].<ref name="Mitchison2002pp291&301-2">R. Mitchison, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Routledge, 3rd edn., 2002), ISBN 0415278805, pp. 291-2 and 301-2.</ref> The bank issued pound notes from 1704, which had the face value of £12 Scots. Scottish currency was abolished at the Act of Union, the Scottish coin in circulation was drawn in to be re-minted according to the English standard.<ref>M. Rowlinson, "'The Scots hate gold': British identity and paper money", in E. Gilbert and E. Helleiner, ''Nation-States and Money: The Past, Present and Future of National Currencies'' (Routledge, 1999), ISBN 0203450930, p. 51.</ref>{{clear}}

At its borders in 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland was half the size of England and Wales in area, but with its many inlets, islands and inland [[lochs]], it had roughly the same amount of coastline at 4,000 miles.<ref name="C. Harvie, 2002 pp. 10-11"/> Scotland has over 790 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: [[Shetland Islands|Shetland]], [[Orkney Islands|Orkney]], and the [[Hebrides]], sub-divided into the [[Inner Hebrides]] and [[Outer Hebrides]].<ref name="Smith">H. Haswell-Smith, ''The Scottish Islands'' (Edinburgh: Canongate, 2004), ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.</ref> Only a fifth of Scotland is less than 60&nbsp;metres above sea level.<ref name="C. Harvie, 2002 pp. 10-11">C. Harvie, ''Scotland: a Short History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), ISBN 0192100548, pp. 10-11.</ref> The defining factor in the geography of Scotland is the distinction between the Highlands and Islands in the north and west and the Lowlands in the south and east. The highlands are further divided into the [[Northwest Highlands]] and the [[Grampian Mountains]] by the fault line of the [[Great Glen]]. The Lowlands are divided into the fertile belt of the [[Central Lowlands]] and the higher terrain of the [[Southern Uplands]], which included the [[Cheviot hills]], over which the border with England ran.<ref name="autogenerated2002">R. Mitchison, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Routledge, 3rd edn., 2002), ISBN 0415278805, p. 2.</ref> The Central Lowland belt averages about 50 miles in width<ref>''World and Its Peoples'' (London: Marshall Cavendish), ISBN 0761478833, p. 13.</ref> and, because it contains most of the good quality agricultural land and has easier communications, could support most of the urbanisation and elements of conventional government.<ref name="Wormald1991pp39-40">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, pp. 39-40.</ref> However, the Southern Uplands, and particularly the Highlands were economically less productive and much more difficult to govern.<ref>A. G. Ogilvie, ''Great Britain: Essays in Regional Geography'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952), p. 421.</ref>

From the formation of the [[kingdom of Alba]] in the tenth century, to before the [[Black Death]] reached the country in 1349, estimates based on the amount of farmable land, suggest that population may have grown from half a million to a million.<ref>R. E. Tyson, "Population Patterns", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (New York, 2001), pp. 487–8.</ref> Although there is no reliable documentation on the impact of the plague, there are many anecdotal references to abandoned land in the following decades. If the pattern followed that in England, then the population may have fallen to as low as half a million by the end of the fifteenth century.<ref name="Rigby2003p109-11">S. H. Rigby, ed., ''A Companion to Britain in the Later Middle Ages'' (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003), ISBN 0631217851, pp. 109-11.</ref> Compared with the situation after the redistribution of population in the later [[highland clearances|clearances]] and the [[industrial revolution]], these numbers would have been relatively evenly spread over the kingdom, with roughly half living north of the Tay.<ref>J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, p. 61.</ref> Perhaps ten per cent of the population lived in one of many burghs that grew up in the later medieval period, mainly in the east and south. They would have had a mean population of about 2,000, but many would be much smaller than 1,000 and the largest, Edinburgh, probably had a population of over 10,000 by the end of the Medieval era.<ref name="Gemmill&Mayhew1995pp8-10">E. Gemmill and N. J. Mayhew, ''Changing Values in Medieval Scotland: a Study of Prices, Money, and Weights and Measures'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), ISBN 0521473853, pp. 8-10.</ref>

Historical sources, as well as place name evidence, indicate the ways in which the Pictish language in the north and Cumbric languages in the south were overlaid and replaced by Gaelic, [[Old English]] and later [[Norse language|Norse]] in the [[Early Middle Ages]].<ref>W. O. Frazer and A. Tyrrell, ''Social Identity in Early Medieval Britain'' (London: Continuum, 2000), ISBN 0718500849, p. 238.</ref> By the [[High Middle Ages]] the majority of people within Scotland spoke the Gaelic language, then simply called ''Scottish'', or in [[Latin]], ''lingua Scotica''.<ref>G. W. S. Barrow, ''Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000-1306'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989), ISBN 074860104X, p. 14.</ref> In the Northern Isles the Norse language brought by Scandinavian occupiers and settlers evolved into the local [[Norn language|Norn]], which lingered until the end of the eighteenth century<ref>G. Lamb, "The Orkney Tongue" in D. Omand, ed., ''The Orkney Book'' (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2003), p. 250.</ref> and Norse may also have survived as a spoken language until the sixteenth century in the [[Outer Hebrides]].<ref>A. Jennings and A. Kruse, "One Coast-Three Peoples: Names and Ethnicity in the Scottish West during the Early Viking period", in A. Woolf, ed., ''Scandinavian Scotland – Twenty Years After'' (St Andrews: St Andrews University Press, 2007), ISBN 0951257374, p. 97.</ref> [[French language|French]], [[Flemish]] and particularly English became the main language of Scottish burghs, most of which were located in the south and east, an area to which Anglian settlers had already brought a form of Old English. In the later part of the twelfth century, the writer [[Adam of Dryburgh]] described lowland Lothian as "the Land of the English in the Kingdom of the Scots".<ref>K. J. Stringer, "Reform Monasticism and Celtic Scotland", in E. J. Cowan and R. A. McDonald, eds, ''Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages'' (East Lothian: Tuckwell Press, 2000), ISBN 1862321515, p. 133.</ref> At least from the accession of David I, Gaelic ceased to be the main language of the royal court and was probably replaced by French, as evidenced by reports from contemporary chronicles, literature and translations of administrative documents into the French language.<ref>K. M. Brown, ''Noble Society in Scotland: Wealth, Family and Culture from the Reformation to the Revolutions'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), ISBN 0748612998, p. 220.</ref><ref name="Houston2002p76">R. A. Houston, ''Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600-1800'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), ISBN 0521890888, p. 76.</ref>

From the mid sixteenth century, written Scots was increasingly influenced by the developing [[Standard English]] of Southern England due to developments in royal and political interactions with England.<ref>J. Corbett, D. McClure and J. Stuart-Smith, "A Brief History of Scots" in J. Corbett, D. McClure and J. Stuart-Smith, eds, ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scots'' (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2003), ISBN 0-7486-1596-2, p. 10ff.</ref> With the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England, most writing in Scotland came to be done in the English fashion.<ref name="Scots' 2003 p. 11">J. Corbett, D. McClure and J. Stuart-Smith, "A Brief History of Scots" in J. Corbett, D. McClure and J. Stuart-Smith, eds, ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scots'' (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2003), ISBN 0-7486-1596-2, p. 11.</ref> Unlike many of his predecessors, James VI generally despised Gaelic culture.<ref>J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, p. 40.</ref> Having extolled the virtues of Scots "poesie", after his accession to the English throne, he increasingly favoured the language of southern England. In 1611 the Kirk adopted the 1611 [[Authorized King James Version]] of the Bible. In 1617 interpreters were declared no longer necessary in the port of London because as Scots and Englishmen were now "not so far different bot ane understandeth ane uther". Jenny Wormald, describes James as creating a "three-tier system, with Gaelic at the bottom and English at the top".<ref name="Wormald1991pp192-3">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, pp. 192-3.</ref>

The Pictish and Scottish kingdoms that would form the basis of the Kingdom of Alba were largely converted by Irish-Scots missions associated with figures such as [[St Columba]], from the fifth to the seventh centuries. These missions tended to found [[monastery|monastic]] institutions and collegiate churches that served large areas.<ref>O. Clancy, "The Scottish provenance of the ‘Nennian’ recension of Historia Brittonum and the Lebor Bretnach " in: S. Taylor (ed.), ''Picts, Kings, Saints and Chronicles: A Festschrift for Marjorie O. Anderson'' (Dublin: Four Courts, 2000), pp. 95–6 and A. P. Smyth, ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989), ISBN 0748601007, pp. 82–3.</ref> Partly as a result of these factors, some scholars have identified a distinctive form of [[Celtic Christianity]], in which [[abbot]]s were more significant than [[bishop]]s, attitudes to [[clerical celibacy]] were more relaxed and there were some significant differences in practice with Roman Christianity, particularly the form of [[tonsure]] and the method of [[Computus|calculating Easter]]. Most of these issues had been resolved by the mid-seventh century.<ref name="Evans1985">C. Evans, "The Celtic Church in Anglo-Saxon times", in J. D. Woods, D. A. E. Pelteret, ''The Anglo-Saxons, synthesis and achievement'' (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1985), ISBN 0889201668, pp. 77-89.</ref><ref>C. Corning, ''The Celtic and Roman Traditions: Conflict and Consensus in the Early Medieval Church'' (Macmillan, 2006), ISBN 1403972990.</ref> After the reconversion of [[Scandinavian Scotland]] from the tenth century, Christianity under papal authority was the dominant religion of the kingdom.<ref name="Macquarrie2004pp67-8">A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), ISBN 0-7509-2977-4, pp. 67-8.</ref>

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.<ref name="Macquarrie2004pp109-117">A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), ISBN 0-7509-2977-4, pp. 109-117.</ref> 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.<ref name="Bawcutt&Williams2006pp26-9">P. J. Bawcutt and J. H. Williams, ''A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry'' (Woodbridge: Brewer, 2006), ISBN 1843840960, pp. 26-9.</ref> 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.<ref name="Wormald1991pp75-87">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, pp. 76-87.</ref> While some historians have discerned a decline of monasticism in the late Middle Ages, the [[mendicant]] orders of [[friar]]s grew, particularly in the expanding [[burgh]]s, 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.<ref name="Wormald1991pp75-87"/>

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.<ref name="Mackieetal1991p203">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, p. 203.</ref> Representatives of various sections of Scottish society drew up the [[National Covenant]] on 28 February 1638, objecting to the King's liturgical innovations.<ref name="Mackieetal1991p204">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, p. 204.</ref> 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.<ref name="Mackieetal1991p205-6">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, pp. 205-6.</ref> Disagreements over collaboration with Royalism created a major conflict between [[Protesters (Act of Classes)|Protesters]] and [[Resolutioners]], which became a long term divide in the Kirk.<ref>M. Lynch, ''Scotland: a New History'' (London: Random House, 1991), ISBN 1446475638, pp. 279-81.</ref>

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.<ref name="autogenerated231">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, pp. 231-4.</ref> 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 [[conventicle]]s.<ref>R. Mitchison, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Routledge, 3rd edn., 2002), ISBN 0415278805, p. 253.</ref> 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]]".<ref name="Mackie1991p.241">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, p. 241.</ref> 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.<ref>J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, pp. 252-3.</ref>

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.<ref name="Macquarrie2004p128">A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), ISBN 0-7509-2977-4, p. 128.</ref> In the High Middle Ages new sources of education arose, with [[choir school|song]] and [[grammar school]]s. 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.<ref name=Bawcutt&Williams2006pp29-30/> There were also petty schools, more common in rural areas and providing an elementary education.<ref name="Lynchpp104-7">M. Lynch, ''Scotland: A New History'' (Random House, 2011), ISBN 1-4464-7563-8, pp. 104-7.</ref> Some monasteries, like the Cistercian [[Kinloss Abbey|abbey at Kinloss]], opened their doors to a wider range of students.<ref name=Lynchpp104-7/> 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.<ref name=Bawcutt&Williams2006pp29-30/><ref name=Lynchpp104-7/> There was also the development of private tuition in the families of lords and wealthy burghers.<ref name=Bawcutt&Williams2006pp29-30/> 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,<ref name="Bawcutt&Williams2006pp29-30">P. J. Bawcutt and J. H. Williams, ''A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry'' (Woodbridge: Brewer, 2006), ISBN 1-84384-096-0, pp. 29-30.</ref> with perhaps 60 per cent of the nobility being literate by the end of the period.<ref name="Wormald1991pp68-72">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0-7486-0276-3, pp. 68-72.</ref>

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.<ref name=Websterpp124-5/> Among these the most important intellectual figure was [[John Duns Scotus]], who studied at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] and [[University of Paris|Paris]] and probably died at [[University of Cologne|Cologne]] in 1308, becoming a major influence on late medieval religious thought.<ref name="Websterpp119">B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), ISBN 0-333-56761-7, pp. 119.</ref> The Wars of Independence largely closed English universities to Scots, and consequently continental universities became more significant.<ref name="Websterpp124-5">B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), ISBN 0-333-56761-7, pp. 124-5.</ref> 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.<ref name=Bawcutt&Williams2006pp29-30/> 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.<ref name=Websterpp124-5/> 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.<ref name=Websterpp124-5/> 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.<ref name=Wormald1991pp68-72/>

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.<ref>R. A. Houston, ''Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600-1800'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), ISBN 0-521-89088-8, p. 5.</ref> 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 [[heritor]]s 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 {{anchor|adventure schools}} "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.<ref>M. Todd, ''The Culture of Protestantism in Early Modern Scotland'' (Yale University Press, 2002), ISBN 0-300-09234-2, pp. 59-62.</ref> At their best, the curriculum included [[catechism]], [[Latin language|Latin]], [[French language|French]], [[Classical literature]] and sports.<ref name="Wormald1991pp182-3">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0-7486-0276-3, pp. 183-3.</ref>

In 1616 an [[School Establishment Act 1616|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 1633|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 1646|Education Act of 1646]], which established a solid institutional foundation for schools on [[Covenanter]] principles. Although the [[English Restoration|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 [[Presbyterian polity|presbyteries]] oversaw the quality of the education. In many Scottish towns, burgh schools were operated by local councils.<ref>{{Citation |last = |title = School education prior to 1873 | journal = Scottish Archive Network |year = 2010 |url = http://www.scan.org.uk/knowledgebase/topics/education_box1.htm | archiveurl =http://www.webcitation.org/5zt4xQMkX| archivedate =3 July 2011}}.</ref> 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.<ref name="Anderson2003">R. Anderson, "The history of Scottish Education pre-1980", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd edn., 2003), ISBN 0-7486-1625-X, pp. 219-28.</ref>

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.<ref name=Wormald1991pp183-4/> He introduced new specialist teaching staff, replacing the system of "regenting", where one tutor took the students through the entire arts curriculum.<ref>J. Kirk, "'Melvillian reform' and the Scottish universities", in A. A. MacDonald and M. Lynch, eds, ''The Renaissance in Scotland: Studies in Literature, Religion, History, and Culture Offered to John Durkhan'' (BRILL, 1994), ISBN 90-04-10097-0, p. 280.</ref> [[Metaphysics]] were abandoned and [[Ancient Greek|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]], [[University of Aberdeen|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.<ref name="Thomas2012pp196-7">A. Thomas, ''The Renaissance'', in T. M. Devine and J. Wormald, ''The Oxford Handbook of Modern Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), ISBN 0-19-162433-0, pp. 196-7.</ref> 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.<ref name="Wormald1991pp183-4">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0-7486-0276-3, pp. 183-4.</ref> 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 [[University of Glasgow#High Street|High Street]] in Glasgow. They were still largely seen as a training school for clergy, and came under the control of the hard line [[Protesters (Act of Classes)|Protestors]].<ref name="Mackieetal1991pp225and227-8">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), ISBN 0140136495, pp. 227-8.</ref> After the Restoration there was a purge of the universities, but much of the intellectual advances of the preceding period was preserved.<ref name="Lynchp262">M. Lynch, ''Scotland: A New History'' (Random House, 2011), ISBN 1-4464-7563-8, p. 262.</ref> 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.<ref name=Anderson2003/>

There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings including [[William the Lion]]<ref name=Tytler1829pp309-10>P. F. Tytler, ''History of Scotland, Volume 2'' (London: Black, 1829), pp. 309-10.</ref> and [[Alexander II of Scotland|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.<ref>J. Hunter, ''Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland'' (London: Random House, 2011), ISBN 1-78057-006-6, pp. 106–111.</ref><ref name="Macquarrie2004p147">A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), ISBN 0-7509-2977-4, p. 147.</ref> Records indicate that Alexander had several large oared ships built at [[Ayr]], but he avoided a sea battle.<ref name=Tytler1829pp309-10/> 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.<ref name="Macquarrie2004p153" />

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, Edinburgh|Newhaven]] and a dockyard at the Pools of [[Airth]].<ref>N. Macdougall, ''James IV'' (Tuckwell, 1997), p. 235.</ref> He acquired a total of 38 ships including the ''[[Michael (ship)|Great Michael]]'',<ref name="Smout1992p45">T. Christopher Smout, ''Scotland and the Sea'' (Edinburgh: Rowman and Littlefield, 1992), ISBN 0-85976-338-2, p. 45.</ref> at that time, the largest ship in Europe.<ref name=Smout1992p45/><ref name="Murdoch-p33-34">S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 90-04-18568-2, pp. 33-4.</ref> 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,<ref name="Grant" /> but were sold after the Flodden campaign and after 1516 Scottish naval efforts would rely on privateering captains and hired merchantmen.<ref name="Grant" /> James V did not share his father's interest in developing a navy and shipbuilding fell behind that of the Low Countries.<ref>J. E. A. Dawson, ''Scotland Re-Formed, 1488-1587'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), ISBN 0748614559, pp. 181-2.</ref> Despite truces between England and Scotland there were periodic outbreaks of a ''[[guerre de course]]''.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 9004185682, p. 39.</ref> James V built a new harbour at [[Burntisland]] in 1542.<ref>T. Andrea, ''The Princelie Majestie: The Court of James V of Scotland 1528-1542'' (Birlinn, 2005), p. 164.</ref> The chief use of naval power in his reign was a series of expeditions to the Isles and France.<ref name="Dawson-p76">J. E. A. Dawson, ''Scotland Re-Formed, 1488-1587'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), ISBN 0-7486-1455-9, p. 76.</ref> 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.<ref name="Murdoch-p33-34" /> There were also several [[letter of marque|marque fleets]] of privateers.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 90-04-18568-2, p. 169.</ref> In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and accompanying contingents of burgh privateers participated in the [[Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)|major expedition to Biscay]].<ref>R. B. Manning, ''An Apprenticeship in Arms: The Origins of the British Army 1585-1702'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), ISBN 0199261490, p. 118.</ref> The Scots also returned to the West Indies<ref name="Murdoch2010p172">S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 90-04-18568-2, p. 172.</ref> and in 1629 took part in the capture of [[Quebec]].<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 90-04-18568-2, p. 174.</ref>

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.<ref name=Wheeler2002pp19-21/> Scottish privateers took a number of English prizes.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 90-04-18568-2, p. 198.</ref> 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".<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 90-04-18568-2, pp. 204-10.</ref> 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.<ref name="Murdoch2010p239">S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 9004185682, p. 239.</ref> 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 [[burgh]]s during the second half of the seventeenth century.<ref>D. Brunsman, [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ypImFPnX_1UC&pg=PT77&dq=press+gang+scotland+royal+navy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zBPCUZLBO7Kb0wXbuoGABA&redir_esc=y ''The Evil Necessity: British Naval Impressment in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World''] (University of Virginia Press, 2013), ISBN 0813933528.</ref> Royal Navy patrols were now found in Scottish waters even in peacetime.<ref>A. Campbell, ''A History Of Clan Campbell: From The Restoration To The Present Day'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), ISBN 0748617906, p. 44.</ref> In the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War|Second]] (1665–67) and [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]]s (1672–74) between 80 and 120 captains, took Scottish letters of marque and privateers played a major part in the naval conflict.<ref name="Murdoch2010pp239-41">S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), ISBN 9004185682, pp. 239-41.</ref> In the 1690s a small fleet of five ships was established by merchants for the [[Darien Scheme]],<ref>A. I. MacInnes and A. H. Williamson, eds., ''Shaping the Stuart World, 1603-1714: The Atlantic Connection'' (Brill, 2006), ISBN 900414711X, p. 349.</ref> 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 [[Acts of Union 1707|Act of Union]] in 1707, these vessels were transferred to the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=Grantp48>J. Grant, "The Old Scots Navy from 1689 to 1710", ''Publications of the Navy Records Society'', 44 (London: Navy Records Society, 1913-4), p. 48.</ref>

Before the [[Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms|Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] in the mid-seventeenth century, there was no [[standing army]] in the Kingdom of Scotland. In the [[Scotland in the Early Middle Ages|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.<ref>L. Alcock, ''Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests in Northern Britain AD 550&ndash#x2013;850'' (Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland), ISBN 0-903903-24-5, p. 56.</ref> By the [[Scotland in the High Middle Ages|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.<ref>M. Brown, ''Bannockburn: the Scottish War and the British Isles, 1307-1323'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), ISBN 0-7486-3333-2, pp. 95-9.</ref> 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 [[Scotland in the Late Middle Ages|Late Middle Ages]] under the [[Royal House of Stewart|Stewart kings]] forces were further augmented by specialist troops, particularly [[men-at-arms]] and [[archery|archers]], hired by bonds of ''[[manrent]]'', similar to English [[indentures]] of the same period.<ref name="Brown2004">M. Brown, ''The Wars of Scotland, 1214-1371'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), ISBN 0-7486-1238-6, p. 58.</ref> 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]].<ref>P. Contamine, "Scottish soldiers in France in the second half of the 15th century: mercenaries, immigrants, or Frenchmen in the making?" in G. G. Simpson, ed., ''The Scottish Soldier Abroad, 1247-1967'' (Edinburgh: Rowman & Littlefield, 1992), ISBN 0-85976-341-2, pp. 16-30.</ref> 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 of Scotland|James IV]].<ref name="Wormald1991p19">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0-7486-0276-3, p. 19.</ref> In the sixteenth century the crown took an increasing role in the supply of military equipment.<ref name="Phillips1999p61">G. Phillips, ''The Anglo-Scots Wars, 1513-1550: A Military History'' (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1999), ISBN 0851157467, p. 61.</ref> The pike began to replace the spear and the Scots began to convert from the bow to gunpowder firearms.<ref>G. Phillips, ''The Anglo-Scots Wars, 1513-1550: A Military History'' (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1999), ISBN 0851157467, p. 68.</ref> 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 [[Scottish Borders|borders]].<ref>G. Phillips, ''The Anglo-Scots Wars, 1513-1550: A Military History'' (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1999), ISBN 0851157467, pp. 69-70.</ref> James IV brought in experts from France, Germany and the Netherlands and established a gun foundry in 1511.<ref name="Dawson-p76" /> Gunpowder weaponry fundamentally altered the nature of castle architecture from the mid-fifteenth century.<ref name="West1985p27">T. W. West, ''Discovering Scottish Architecture'' (Botley: Osprey, 1985), ISBN 0-85263-748-9, p. 27.</ref>

In the early seventeenth century relatively large numbers of Scots took service in foreign armies involved in the [[Thirty Years War]].<ref>R. Mitchison, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Routledge, 3rd edn., 2002), ISBN 0415278805, p. 183.</ref> 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 Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven|Alexander]] and [[David Leslie, Lord Newark|David Leslie]] and these veterans played an important role in training recruits.<ref name="Wheeler2002pp19-21">J. S. Wheeler, ''The Irish and British Wars, 1637-1654: Triumph, Tragedy, and Failure'' (London: Routledge, 2002), ISBN 0415221315, pp. 19-21.</ref> These systems would form the basis of the Covenanter armies that intervened in the Civil Wars in England and Ireland.<ref>J. S. Wheeler, ''The Irish and British Wars, 1637-1654: Triumph, Tragedy, and Failure'' (London: Routledge, 2002), ISBN 0415221315, p. 48.</ref> 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 axe]]s, and halberds.<ref>P. Edwards, S. Murdoch and A. MacKillop, ''Fighting for Identity: Scottish Military Experience c. 1550-1900'' (Leiden: Brill, 2002), ISBN 9004128239, p. 240.</ref> Most cavalry were probably equipped with pistols and swords, although there is some evidence that they included lancers.<ref>M. C. Fissel, ''The Bishops' Wars: Charles I's Campaigns Against Scotland, 1638-1640'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), ISBN 0521466865, p. 28.</ref> Royalist armies, like those led by [[James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose|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.<ref>S. Reid, ''The Campaigns of Montrose: A Military History of the Civil War in Scotland 1639-1646'' (Mercat Press, 1990), ISBN 0901824925, p. 51.</ref> Montrose's forces were short of heavy artillery suitable for siege warfare and had only a small force of cavalry.<ref>J. Barratt, ''Cavalier Generals: King Charles I and his Commanders in the English Civil War, 1642-46'' (Pen & Sword Military, 2004), ISBN 184415128X, p. 169.</ref>

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 [[Cameronian]]s in the East.<ref name="Furgol2001pp637-82">E. M. Furgol, "Warfare, weapons and fortifications: 3 1600-1700" in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 637-8.</ref> 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]].<ref name=Furgol2001pp637-82/> 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.<ref name="Young2001pp24-5">J. Young, "Army: 1600-1750" in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 24-5.</ref> After the Glorious Revolution the Scots were drawn into [[King William III|King William II]]'s continental wars, beginning with the [[Nine Years' War]] in Flanders (1689–97).<ref>{{cite book|last=Leask|first=Anthony|title=Sword of Scotland: Our Fighting Jocks|year=2006|publisher=Pen and Sword Books Limited|isbn=184415405X|page=85}}</ref> By the time of the [[Acts of Union 1707|Act of Union]], the Kingdom of Scotland had a [[standing army]] of seven units of infantry, two of horse and one troop of [[Household Cavalry|Horse Guards]], besides varying levels of fortress artillery in the garrison castles of Edinburgh, [[Dumbarton Castle|Dumbarton]], and Stirling, which would be incorporated into the [[British Army]].<ref name="Grove38">D. Grove, and C. Abraham, ''Fortress Scotland and the Jacobites'' (Batsford/Historic Scotland, 1995), ISBN 978-0-7134-7484-8, p. 38.</ref>