Category Archives: History

Our History lecturer, Dr Allan Kennedy, explores the life and legacy of King Robert II’s notorious third son, Alexander Stewart, better known as ‘the Wolf of Badenoch’. This article first appeared as part of the ’10 Minutes On…’ column in History Scotland magazine, with whose kind permission it is republished here. When King Robert II

Our History lecturer, Dr Allan Kennedy, looks at the notorious executions of two noblemen under suspicious circumstances during the minority of James II. This article first appeared as part of the ’10 Minutes On…’ column in History Scotland magazine, with whose kind permission it is republished here. The assassination of King James I in 1437

In this guest post, Dr Craig Lamont (University of Glasgow) explores how we can go about rediscovering and reimagining Georgian Glasgow. When I embarked on the ‘Georgian Glasgow’ PhD project in 2012, I did not know all that much about the Georgian era. My knowledge of Glasgow, shaped almost completely by the 20th century, was

Our History Lecturer, Dr Allan Kennedy, provides a brief summary of the long-standing resistance offered to the MacMalcolm kings of the 12th and 13th centuries by the rival Meic Uilleim family. This article first appeared as part of the ’10 Minutes On…’ column in History Scotland magazine, with whose kind permission it is republished here. Malcom III, the

Our History Lecturer, Dr Allan Kennedy, provides an overview of the Roman attempt to subjugate Scotland towards the end of the 1st century CE. This article first appeared as part of the ’10 Minutes On…’ column in History Scotland magazine, with whose kind permission it is republished here. Julius Caesar was the first Roman commander to set foot

Our History Lecturer, Dr Allan Kennedy, provides an overview of the short but vicious civil war that followed the deposition in 1567 of Mary, Queen of Scots. This article first appeared as part of the ’10 Minutes On…’ column in History Scotland magazine, with whose kind permission it is republished here. The turbulent personal rule

In an exclusive preview of his new book, Professor Graeme Morton explores the rise of meteorological science in the nineteenth century, and asks how it might have related to the Scottish experience of mass emigration. Even when the rain and temperature gauge, the barometer and anemometer were commonly used to record meteorological observations, the popularity

The Union of 1707 did not come out of nowhere; Scots had been discussing the concept almost ceaselessly throughout the 17th century. Dr Allan Kennedy outlines the major models of Union they came up with, demonstrating that the form adopted in 1707 was by no means the only possible version. Follow Allan of Twitter at

A plot-point in numerous books, films, and TV shows, the tontine is among the most notorious financial products every devised. But, as Dr Andrew McDiarmid explains, this most infamous of investment schemes had a notable – and broadly positive – impact on Scotland during the early 19th century. Follow Andrew on Twitter at @apmcdiarmid1. From