The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford Quick Reference)

by Michael Lynch (Author)

35 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0199234820

ISBN-10: 0199234825

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From the Picts to the Scottish Parliament, The Oxford Companion to Scottish History is the definitive guide to twenty centuries of life in Scotland.
Compiled by more than 170 eminent contributors, it covers over 2000 years and extends from Galloway to Orkney and Shetland and from the Borders to the Western Isles. At more than half a million words and nearly 800 pages, this wide-ranging resource provides comprehensive coverage of Scotland's
eventful history--interpreting that history broadly enough to include archaeology, architecture, culture, folk belief, climate, geology, and languages. Readers will find entries on figures such as Columba, Macbeth, and William Wallace sitting alongside entries on sport and culture--on Burns Clubs,
curling, and shinty--and on major historical issues such as clans, Clearances, and Covenanters. In addition to concise factual entries, longer articles explore key themes such as kingship, national identity, migration, women, urban and rural life, the economy, housing, living standards, and
religious beliefs across the centuries. Maps, genealogies, a chronology, a substantial guide to further reading, a thematic contents list, and an index add further to the value of this excellent resource.
Authoritative and hugely informative, this superb Companion is an essential source of information for anyone interested in Scottish history.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition exemplary and wonderfully readable' Financial Times

`a treasure-trove of informed entries ... will become the main point of entry for both serious and casual readers of Scottish history' History Today

`an essential purchase for anyone who wants or needs to know about any aspect of Scotland' Glasgow Herald

`brings freshness to both subject matter and writing ... accurate and reliable' History Scotland

`compelling reading ... a handy and entertaining reference' Aberdeen Press and Journal

`an impressively informed volume' The Independent

`it should be part of any serious personal library' Glasgow Herald

About the Author

Michael Lynch is Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History at the University of Edinburgh. He is a Trustee of the National Museums of Scotland, Chairman of the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland, and President of the Historical Association of Scotland.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (November 1, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 732 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199234825
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199234820
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.2 x 1.4 x 6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,719,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,271 in Scotland History
- #5,411 in Historical Study Reference (Books)
- #7,202 in History Encyclopedias

Customer Reviews:
35 ratings

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C. Samples

Great Service

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017

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Great reference book, although a bit hard to navigate.

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Terry Lee

excellent book

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2011

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This a great book and very helpful in learning about the History of the Scottish people and their customs and country.

2 people found this helpful

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Tyler

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2017

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A nice encyclopedia of Scottish history that I used to brush up on some topics for a few essays.

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green-cheese

excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2012

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Just the job and well worth the asking price. Excellent! I shall dip into this volume for years to come.

One person found this helpful

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A very useful work. Well worth Buying. Note details of how it is set out

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2015

I have the hardback edition-- I would recommend getting it in Hardback if you can afford it, and are going to consult it often
This Oxford Companion to Scottish History is a very useful guide to Scottish History in a broad range of topics
Some 170 authors contribute to this companion
The articles are of a high scholarly quality
See the Amazon details on this work fora general overview
The companion assumes a moderate knowledge of Scottish History-- see my comments in Summary

It is difficult to explain how it is organised in a brief statement-- some will find the arrangement very helpful ,others will find it irritating
I tend to find it irritating ,but by the same token, I find the information very helpful
There is a thematic index at the start
Articles can be short or long, with major articles be large. There is a full index which you will need to consult regularly ( it partly depends on your question ) Another problem is the small type
The entries are in two columns per page

The articles are arranged around key words and concepts, and are often divided up by chronology
If you like long articles that draw many facts together you will probably like this dictionary (I certainly find much to commend in this approach )
To give an example
The article on culture is long and is dived into 25 sections. Pages. 116--159
Culture -- introduction)
1 -- Prehistoric Scotland
2-- Picto-Celtic
3--Medieval
4--Renaissance and Reformation (1460--1660 ) General
5--Renaissance and Reformation (1460--1660) Philosophy
6-- Renaissance and Reformation (1460--1660) Language and Literature
Other sections ( 7-- 10 ) cover Literature// Art // Poetry// Music // )

11--Enlightenment (1660--1843) General including Philosophy
Other Enlightment sections (12-- 16 ) are Art// Language and Literature //. the Novel //. Music // Medicine

17-- Age of Industry ( 1843--1914 ) general
Other sections of Age of Industry are (sections 18--20 ) Art// Medicine // Literature

21-- Modern Times (1914-- 1990's ) General
Other sections of Modern Times are ( sections 22-- ) Art//. Medicine and Medicial Achievements //. Literature // The Novel

As you can see, the general articles are very comprehensive
The articles have no bibliography but there is a very helpful bibliography divided into broad sections in the back
Cross references to Articles are starred *
I had thought of adding another general article but the review is already long

One of my dislikes is that there are relatively few biographical articles
Eg on Sir Walter SCOTT
True the information is all there when one consults the index but all this jumping around form place to place can made it hard to keep the details in mind
He is mentioned in a number of articles including Buildings // Culture 11--14--24--25. //. Dress -- Highland // Economy, Tertiary Sector --3. // Edinburgh --3//. Edinburgh Castle// Gardening and Landscapes // Germany, The Baltic and Poland --2. // historians 4--5. //Historical Clubs and Societies // Historical Sources--2 // Ireland --3// National Identity -4--5 //. Oral Tradition 1--2 //. Printing and Publishing. //. Russia. //. The Scots Language. //song -Traditional and Folk -1

As you can see you do get a lot of material on Sir Walter Scott when you have looked up the various references
Also the references put Sir Walter Scott in a number of historical or literary contexts
You also see the fragmentation of the presentation

Major figures like Kings and Queen have articles along with a helpful articles on Kingship
Major figures like John Knox has an articles and some lesser figures also have articles -- my guess is a short article on them would do and they didn't need to be woven into the larger arlicles
Important Highland and Island Clans , and Families are also covered like the Campbells

Being an editor is no easy job
You need a good set of authors. -- this work scores well here
You need to get the most information into the least amount of space
You need to decide on how to present the information-- recognising that it is usually differcult to please everybody
Given the Editors choice of presentation did they achieve there goal -- well at least for me , I think they did do a good job
### The Companion gives a broad overview of many major subjects to understanding Scottish History and Culture
###. Many insights come from there approach that are hard to get by dividing up the topics on a different basis
###. One can track long term developments like in the article on Culture
%%%%%% What was happening in the areas of thought, literature, music , art and later Medicine etc

Or using the Section on Renaissance and Reformation and articles on Religious Life, Schools and Schooling and Churches among others what picture can one draw of both the continuities and discontinuities of the times

SUMMARY
This Companion is packed full of important and often hard to find information
The articles are well written and signed
It is organised around key words and concepts like culture mentioned above
There are extensive starred cross references
The bibliography is arranged by broad categories and us up to date to the time of publishing. Pages 684--706
There is a comprehensive index. Pages. 707--732
Although the some of the features -- see my note on Sir Walter Scott can be a bit irritating, the wide coverage of important topics and the depth of coverage make this a very important Companion. I have found it full of excellent material, and refer to it often when I am reading about Scotland

There are about grey scale maps of high quality
There are 5. genealogical tables

Who is this work for
This work will work best with those who know a moderate amount about Scottish History or have studied History

Can a novice use it
It all depends on your level of interest. By way of example
I live in New Zealand at the bottom of the world. Many people emigrated to New Zealand to find a better life and many people married across non traditional lines for their home countries, so a number of us have say some English, Scottish and Irish blood among others. When you you want to find out about you background you need to start reading somewhere and having Companions or Dictionaries are often helpful. Why do the Scots put such as emphasis on education ? did you fore bearers come from the Highlands or Lowlands? . Did they leave because of the Highland clearances and many such issues ? As you read about these you see how they were related to many other issues in Scotland. In New Zealand Dunedin and Otago was settled by Free Church Colonists so you start reading about churches and related articles ( the Free Church was a major rupture in the State Church -- the Church of Scotland when about a third of it Ministers and Elders left over issues of State Control -- see the article for a better fuller definition).
I am not sure whether you see where I am going but there are many ways into Scottish History-- your questions may be very different from mine, but if you you have questions and an inquisitive mind then you could well find this companion a life investment. You will dip to to it at times and read it more fully at other times. It will deepen your understanding and deepen your insight

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dag Stomberg

Comprehensive coverage of the Country's Past

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2010

Thoroughly researched and written in a spirited and approachable style, here is a comprehensive coverage of Scotland's rich past.
Truly an encyclopedic reference to a complex story with unparalleled insight.

This is a book for lovers of a fascinating history!

Dag Stomberg

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

AndyB

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

Excellent

James Henry

Potential headache

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2015

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The typeface is almost too small to read without a magnifying glass.

Anne Bennett

ancestry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2016

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great for my ancestry

Digestive

A disappointment

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2003

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Very different in format from the Oxford Companion to British History I feel this should be reissued with the title "Themes in Scottish History". With this book instead of having an A to Z of items you have a collection of themes and an index.The selection of themes is apparently random so that if you look up Mackintosh in the "themes" i.e. the main body of the book you will find Mackintosh J P but not Charles Rennie. But if you go the index at the back you will find no reference to J P Mackintosh though you will find Charles Rennie but then you have to go to "archtitects, artists and craftsmen;architectural styles and features;culture" to find out more
The content of the book is fine, but accessing it is a nightmare. If you want to know a specific fact about Scottish History I suggest you look it up in the Oxford Companion to British History. You will probably find it there and it will take a quarter of the time.

12 people found this helpful

Ann

The Oxford Companion to Scottish History

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2013

Verified Purchase

Great book, gives you a good insight into a Scottish history. It's easy to find required information. Yes I would recommend it to my friend.

2 people found this helpful

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