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Scotland: A New History
From Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce to the union of the crowns and Mary, Queen of Scots; from the Reformation and John Knox, to the Enlightenment and the Highland Clearances, and right up to devolution, Scotland is the definitive history of a country that has experienced centuries of dramatic change.
Michael Lynch, named as 'one of the most influential historians in Scotland of the last thirty years', has penned an extraordinary one-volume history of the country that spans twenty centuries, from the Picts to the present day.
Thrilling, comprehensive, provocative and timely, Scotland is a monumental work of scholarship.
Michael Lynch, named as 'one of the most influential historians in Scotland of the last thirty years', has penned an extraordinary one-volume history of the country that spans twenty centuries, from the Picts to the present day.
Thrilling, comprehensive, provocative and timely, Scotland is a monumental work of scholarship.
506 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
21 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
About the author
Michael Lynch
13 books4 followersMichael Lynch, FRHistS, FRSE, FSA Scot is a Scottish historian and a leading expert in the history of the Scottish Reformation and pre-modern urbanisation in the Scottish kingdom. In 2010, five years after his retirement, he was described by one reviewer as 'one of the most influential historians in Scotland of the last thirty years', whose work has been characterised by an 'ability to bring ecclesiastical, cultural and urban perspectives to traditional Scottish political and governmental histories', as well as the ability 'to clarify a difficult theory within a deceptively simple phrase'.
Lynch was born in Aberdeen. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School before taking degrees at the University of Aberdeen and the University of London. His first academic post was a lectureship in the history department at University College, Bangor (now Bangor University) from 1971-1979. From there he took up a lectureship in the Scottish history department at the University of Edinburgh, where, in 1993, he was appointed Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography, holding this Chair - the oldest and most distinguished Scottish history professorship in the world - until his retirement in 2005. As Professor he served as chairman of the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland (1996-2002), president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1996-1999), and a trustee of the National Museum of Scotland (2002-2005).
Lynch was born in Aberdeen. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School before taking degrees at the University of Aberdeen and the University of London. His first academic post was a lectureship in the history department at University College, Bangor (now Bangor University) from 1971-1979. From there he took up a lectureship in the Scottish history department at the University of Edinburgh, where, in 1993, he was appointed Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography, holding this Chair - the oldest and most distinguished Scottish history professorship in the world - until his retirement in 2005. As Professor he served as chairman of the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland (1996-2002), president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1996-1999), and a trustee of the National Museum of Scotland (2002-2005).
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 7, 2011
This book is packed with detail and I imagine it would be excellent for someone who was already familiar with Scottish history. It assumes at times a detailed knowledge of the political and social landscape- referencing battles or the reputations of kings/nobles with no explanation as if the reader is already well aware of them. I found this somewhat annoying as I was hoping to read a 'big picture' history that would familiarize me with the basics of Scottish history. I don't mind detail- in fact I prefer it, but this is not an introductory book. Perhaps after I get ten other Scottish history books under my belt I'll return and find it much more palatable.
May 26, 2015
Scotland: A New History by Michael Lynch, London: Pimlico, 1992
Summary: This one volume work provides a comprehensive overview of the history of Scotland from the Roman invasions, through the kingdoms of the Picts, the Wars of Independence, the rise of the House of Stewart, the Treaty of Union in 1707, the commercial and intellectual zenith of Scotland in the late 18th/early 19th century and its continued efforts to define its relation with the U.K down to the time of writing in 1992.
Despite my name, part of my ethnic heritage is Scottish but until picking up this volume, I had never read a history of Scotland. The closest I'd gotten was to read a biography of Robert The Bruce, who led Scotland to victory in Bannockburn in 1314, regaining Scotland's independence. Despite my love of history, I knew little of Scotland's history and Michael Lynch's well-researched and meticulously documented one volume history amply redressed that balance, spanning twenty centuries over 450 pages.
Lynch begins with the Roman invasions and the resistance of the Caledonians leading to the building of Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall to control the restive clans. He traces the Gaelic influences on these tribes and the gradual formation of the kingdom of the Picts from the petty kingdoms in the sixth century. He traces the great kings from David I through Alexander III who provided a period of stability and growth of the towns in the 12th and 13th centuries. Then there was the period of the Wars of Independence including the "braveheart" resistance of William Wallace until Robert the Bruce's victory at Bannockburn secured Scotland's independence from England in 1314. War continued and the Bruce line gave way to the Stewarts culminating in the reign of James VI who also inherited the throne of England as James 1 in 1603 (the King James of the King James Version of the Bible). This union of two states in one king led, after much turmoil in the 17th century to the Treaty of Union in 1707..
The next couple of centuries marked a time of great intellectual and commercial flourishing in Scotland including the development of shipbuilding in the Clydeside yards. Edinburgh became a center of intellectual luminescence giving us the likes of Adam Smith and Thomas Reid among others. The 18th century was not without uprisings as "Jacobites" contested the Union while various parties wrangled for ascendancy in the Protestant church, and Highlanders were expelled from their lands in "Clearances.". Two wars in the 20th century led to periods of great prosperity followed by great depressions, and continuing Labor advocacy as well as pressures for an independent Scotland (most recently in 2014). The book closes with the new prosperity coming from North Sea oil revenues.
It would seem that the challenge of writing Scottish history is all the cross-currents one must deal with: Highlands vs. Lowlands, conflicting clans, Catholic and Protestant, Labor and Landowner, independence vs union. Lynch covers it all with admirable thoroughness, which is both the strength and weakness of this history. Various periods, and developments of commerce, politics, and the church are covered in turn. Yet what is lost at times is the sense of a narrative. To deal with varying factions and developments, he will often go back and forth in time over a century or more and explain various developments in careful detail. What also seems apparent is that he assumes some basic knowledge of the contours of this history, the geography of Scotland and even some terminology--likely not problematic for a native, but for Americans like me trying to understand our heritage, a bit confusing and daunting at times.
However, read map in hand and a basic timeline in front of one, this history certainly fills out the story in a comprehensive way that it appears no, or few other authors have attempted. The extensive footnotes and bibliography give the person who wants to explore further ample resources. One hopes that this work might be brought up to date, with perhaps a few more aids including more detailed maps and perhaps a glossary of terms, and maybe some judicious editing. The history of this people is full of narrative power and pathos and should not be overshadowed by the other "kingdoms" that make up the United Kingdom.
Summary: This one volume work provides a comprehensive overview of the history of Scotland from the Roman invasions, through the kingdoms of the Picts, the Wars of Independence, the rise of the House of Stewart, the Treaty of Union in 1707, the commercial and intellectual zenith of Scotland in the late 18th/early 19th century and its continued efforts to define its relation with the U.K down to the time of writing in 1992.
Despite my name, part of my ethnic heritage is Scottish but until picking up this volume, I had never read a history of Scotland. The closest I'd gotten was to read a biography of Robert The Bruce, who led Scotland to victory in Bannockburn in 1314, regaining Scotland's independence. Despite my love of history, I knew little of Scotland's history and Michael Lynch's well-researched and meticulously documented one volume history amply redressed that balance, spanning twenty centuries over 450 pages.
Lynch begins with the Roman invasions and the resistance of the Caledonians leading to the building of Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall to control the restive clans. He traces the Gaelic influences on these tribes and the gradual formation of the kingdom of the Picts from the petty kingdoms in the sixth century. He traces the great kings from David I through Alexander III who provided a period of stability and growth of the towns in the 12th and 13th centuries. Then there was the period of the Wars of Independence including the "braveheart" resistance of William Wallace until Robert the Bruce's victory at Bannockburn secured Scotland's independence from England in 1314. War continued and the Bruce line gave way to the Stewarts culminating in the reign of James VI who also inherited the throne of England as James 1 in 1603 (the King James of the King James Version of the Bible). This union of two states in one king led, after much turmoil in the 17th century to the Treaty of Union in 1707..
The next couple of centuries marked a time of great intellectual and commercial flourishing in Scotland including the development of shipbuilding in the Clydeside yards. Edinburgh became a center of intellectual luminescence giving us the likes of Adam Smith and Thomas Reid among others. The 18th century was not without uprisings as "Jacobites" contested the Union while various parties wrangled for ascendancy in the Protestant church, and Highlanders were expelled from their lands in "Clearances.". Two wars in the 20th century led to periods of great prosperity followed by great depressions, and continuing Labor advocacy as well as pressures for an independent Scotland (most recently in 2014). The book closes with the new prosperity coming from North Sea oil revenues.
It would seem that the challenge of writing Scottish history is all the cross-currents one must deal with: Highlands vs. Lowlands, conflicting clans, Catholic and Protestant, Labor and Landowner, independence vs union. Lynch covers it all with admirable thoroughness, which is both the strength and weakness of this history. Various periods, and developments of commerce, politics, and the church are covered in turn. Yet what is lost at times is the sense of a narrative. To deal with varying factions and developments, he will often go back and forth in time over a century or more and explain various developments in careful detail. What also seems apparent is that he assumes some basic knowledge of the contours of this history, the geography of Scotland and even some terminology--likely not problematic for a native, but for Americans like me trying to understand our heritage, a bit confusing and daunting at times.
However, read map in hand and a basic timeline in front of one, this history certainly fills out the story in a comprehensive way that it appears no, or few other authors have attempted. The extensive footnotes and bibliography give the person who wants to explore further ample resources. One hopes that this work might be brought up to date, with perhaps a few more aids including more detailed maps and perhaps a glossary of terms, and maybe some judicious editing. The history of this people is full of narrative power and pathos and should not be overshadowed by the other "kingdoms" that make up the United Kingdom.
October 14, 2021
While outlining one of the interminable disputes between the various Scottish churches, Professor Lynch characterizes an important document thusly: "The National Covenant was a document striking for both its length and its dullness." One cannot help but wonder if he was thinking about his own book when he wrote it. Scotland: A New History certainly leaves no stone unturned and I suppose that it covers adequately the many important episodes in Scottish history. However, the book is a slog; a long boring account of a country whose history ought to, in the right hands, read like Game Of Thrones, at least in the medieval periods. The author assumes a knowledge of Scottish history and geography which the novice (like myself) might lack, and a good map of the country, it's geographical and political divisions would have been a welcome addition. You'd think that the history of a country that included Columba, Bannockburn, Robert Bruce, the hyper-powerful aristocracy, Home Rule, Kenneth mac Alpin, the Wars of Independence, the Union of the crowns, Mary Queen of Scots, the Reformation, Flodden, John Knox, Glencoe, the Enlightenment, the Highland Clearances, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and even more would have plenty of zip but the truth is that I couldn't wait to finish the book.
August 7, 2014
I have always been interested in Scottish History. When a course was offered at our local Community College I jumped at the chance. This is the book we used as a textbook. It's a great book! It's loaded with information about the wars, the heroes, the strife and struggle of a country who just wanted to be left on their own.
When going through this book it's best not to try to absorb more than two chapters at a time. It also helps to use a timeline and separate information by ruler, battle, or time.
If anyone is watching Vikings, this is book covers some of the raids on Scottish soil.
I had a list of sites I wanted to see when I visited Scotland, but this book helped me triple my list! Half of the list was covered in 2012 and the second trip hasn't been scheduled yet.
When going through this book it's best not to try to absorb more than two chapters at a time. It also helps to use a timeline and separate information by ruler, battle, or time.
If anyone is watching Vikings, this is book covers some of the raids on Scottish soil.
I had a list of sites I wanted to see when I visited Scotland, but this book helped me triple my list! Half of the list was covered in 2012 and the second trip hasn't been scheduled yet.
January 19, 2019
Scotland: A New History is an interesting attempt to fit 2000 years of Scottish history into a single volume. In this attempt, Lynch's attempts to produce an exhaustive and all inclusive narrative simply succeed in being exhausting, tiring and inaccessible.
To be fair to Lynch, he makes a valiant effort, and his work on the earlier chapters of Roman, Dark Age and Medieval Scotland are certainly interesting, where the comparative sparsity of settled fact mean that there's more space for commentary, explanation and analysis. At the same time, some of his analysis is insightful and clear, and he's willing to entertain questions of scholarship and alternative interpretation when he wishes.
That being said, the later chapters are hugely dense, with facts and narratives layered on thick like cement without any real unpacking or explanation. Lynch's focus on the various changes of the Church in Scotland (which seems to be his particular interest) may well be accurate when talking about schisms and changes, but if he doesn't explain what the schism was about or why it was important, it just washes over the reader and they skip forward.
This is a major issue with the work, in that it assumes a level of knowledge beyond most readers' understandings, and the frustration is that even a small amount of explanation and the inclusion of some small aides for those without prior knowledge would hugely improve our grip of his analysis. One very simple example is that of mapping - there are many maps in the book indicating routes of campaigns and the like, but not one which simply shows which bits of Scotland are which. For those of us not lucky enough to be born in Scotland, it means that a lot of assumptions made about the geography of the Firth of Forth or the difference between Aberdeenshire and Perthshire are much more obscure than need be.
The writing and editorial style don't really help here, either. The book moves forward at such a breakneck pace that there's no room to try and engage the reader with any information which isn't deemed absolutely vital to the continuation of the narrative, and historical figures are rendered dull and lifeless due to the real failure to explore their psychological or personal makeup. While it's fair to say that one can venture too far in that direction and ignore fact in favour of flights of fancy about a king's personal life affecting policy, the failure to really expand upon or relish the personal is a major failing of the book both from a narrative and historical perspective.
Lynch is evidently a fine historian, and his analysis looks to be pretty sound. That being said, it's hard to think of a niche into which this book falls; it's too long and inaccessible to be read for pleasure, but not detailed or focused enough to act as a reference book for serious study. One suspects it might have been marketed as a tool for first year students to give them a taste of a topic, but how many would relish it as opposed to be being put off remains up in the air.
To be fair to Lynch, he makes a valiant effort, and his work on the earlier chapters of Roman, Dark Age and Medieval Scotland are certainly interesting, where the comparative sparsity of settled fact mean that there's more space for commentary, explanation and analysis. At the same time, some of his analysis is insightful and clear, and he's willing to entertain questions of scholarship and alternative interpretation when he wishes.
That being said, the later chapters are hugely dense, with facts and narratives layered on thick like cement without any real unpacking or explanation. Lynch's focus on the various changes of the Church in Scotland (which seems to be his particular interest) may well be accurate when talking about schisms and changes, but if he doesn't explain what the schism was about or why it was important, it just washes over the reader and they skip forward.
This is a major issue with the work, in that it assumes a level of knowledge beyond most readers' understandings, and the frustration is that even a small amount of explanation and the inclusion of some small aides for those without prior knowledge would hugely improve our grip of his analysis. One very simple example is that of mapping - there are many maps in the book indicating routes of campaigns and the like, but not one which simply shows which bits of Scotland are which. For those of us not lucky enough to be born in Scotland, it means that a lot of assumptions made about the geography of the Firth of Forth or the difference between Aberdeenshire and Perthshire are much more obscure than need be.
The writing and editorial style don't really help here, either. The book moves forward at such a breakneck pace that there's no room to try and engage the reader with any information which isn't deemed absolutely vital to the continuation of the narrative, and historical figures are rendered dull and lifeless due to the real failure to explore their psychological or personal makeup. While it's fair to say that one can venture too far in that direction and ignore fact in favour of flights of fancy about a king's personal life affecting policy, the failure to really expand upon or relish the personal is a major failing of the book both from a narrative and historical perspective.
Lynch is evidently a fine historian, and his analysis looks to be pretty sound. That being said, it's hard to think of a niche into which this book falls; it's too long and inaccessible to be read for pleasure, but not detailed or focused enough to act as a reference book for serious study. One suspects it might have been marketed as a tool for first year students to give them a taste of a topic, but how many would relish it as opposed to be being put off remains up in the air.
March 8, 2024
This was a real slog. 500 pages is about a week's reading for me, but this has taken me two months because I never wanted to pick it back up.
I am familiar with the outlines of Scottish history and wanted to fill in a lot of detail, but because everything is told with the same pace and tone, it became really hard to see what was important and what was background. An additional problem is that Lynch would refer to things he'd only explain several chapters later and I was left floundering.
It's not a bad book, but it was that rare thing, a history book I didn't actively enjoy reading.
I am familiar with the outlines of Scottish history and wanted to fill in a lot of detail, but because everything is told with the same pace and tone, it became really hard to see what was important and what was background. An additional problem is that Lynch would refer to things he'd only explain several chapters later and I was left floundering.
It's not a bad book, but it was that rare thing, a history book I didn't actively enjoy reading.
August 5, 2024
First Primer
An excellent introduction to Scottish History. The chapter headings could be used as a book title in their own right, as could the sub headings within each chapter. Each individual mentioned has their own story to be explored.
A great deal of history is summarised, requiring more study, and although the book is stand alone it should be treated as a guide to further study.
An excellent introduction to Scottish History. The chapter headings could be used as a book title in their own right, as could the sub headings within each chapter. Each individual mentioned has their own story to be explored.
A great deal of history is summarised, requiring more study, and although the book is stand alone it should be treated as a guide to further study.
January 6, 2021
This book takes you through Scottish history from the time of Kenneth MacAlpine up to the modern age. I liked this book a lot because it told me more about the MacAlpine family.
September 25, 2021
I've tried to read this twice now and just can't get through it. Maybe it's me.
August 13, 2025
Couldn't get passed the middle ages chapters , my brainrotted zoomer mind could not slog through this snooze-fest.
August 9, 2011
It was perhaps a mistake on my part to try and read this one all in one go, like it was a novel. A novel it most certainly isn’t and I can’t blame the author for that, it’s my mistake to think of it as such.
It’s clear, as the book develops, that it is intended as a work of reference and, whilst for me the beginning few sections at least, do seem to be intended to read like a sequential story, later sections are organised such that it becomes very difficult to read as if it was a historical novel.
I think the early pages covering Scotland’s earliest history, read like they do, in contrast to the rest, due to the lack of detailed information for him to show you he’s got a hold of.
My criticism of the book, if I can find one, is that Lynch does seem very keen to show us all the exhaustive research he’s done and then present us with all the exhausting information he possibly can. It seems sometimes, as if he wants to show us that’s it’s only he who can decide the meaning behind what happened. He’s clearly setting himself as the authority here. I’m maybe being too harsh, but sometimes it isn’t necessary to lay so much information down at one time. Not if you’re producing a one volume edition. The book could easily have gone over two or three volumes and not suffered. It would have been a bit more open and readable, in my humble opinion.
It actually made me think of the telephone book. Full of interesting, even vital information and an absolute triumph of collation of the information. But not something you’d want to wade through at one sitting.
As a work, fantastic. As a historical novel, not quite so. But that’s just me.
I haven't actually finished it. I can't at the moment. It's taking so long and I want to move on to others.
It’s clear, as the book develops, that it is intended as a work of reference and, whilst for me the beginning few sections at least, do seem to be intended to read like a sequential story, later sections are organised such that it becomes very difficult to read as if it was a historical novel.
I think the early pages covering Scotland’s earliest history, read like they do, in contrast to the rest, due to the lack of detailed information for him to show you he’s got a hold of.
My criticism of the book, if I can find one, is that Lynch does seem very keen to show us all the exhaustive research he’s done and then present us with all the exhausting information he possibly can. It seems sometimes, as if he wants to show us that’s it’s only he who can decide the meaning behind what happened. He’s clearly setting himself as the authority here. I’m maybe being too harsh, but sometimes it isn’t necessary to lay so much information down at one time. Not if you’re producing a one volume edition. The book could easily have gone over two or three volumes and not suffered. It would have been a bit more open and readable, in my humble opinion.
It actually made me think of the telephone book. Full of interesting, even vital information and an absolute triumph of collation of the information. But not something you’d want to wade through at one sitting.
As a work, fantastic. As a historical novel, not quite so. But that’s just me.
I haven't actually finished it. I can't at the moment. It's taking so long and I want to move on to others.
abandoned-forever
June 7, 2017Horrible.
A ponderous read, quite badly organized, that assumes the reader is already familiar with the Geography, History and Language of Scotland. Imagine an old and ineffectual professor giving a dull speech to his very specialized colleagues, for hours. Multiply it by three and you will get a sense of what this book is. Awful style.
A ponderous read, quite badly organized, that assumes the reader is already familiar with the Geography, History and Language of Scotland. Imagine an old and ineffectual professor giving a dull speech to his very specialized colleagues, for hours. Multiply it by three and you will get a sense of what this book is. Awful style.
October 7, 2016
I finally gave up on the book on page 115. The information is interesting but not organized in a way that is memorable. He does follow a timeline of sorts. He will talk about some kings for the section of Scottish Wars, and then go back to some of the same kings for the section on church. I keep forgetting the last sentence I would finish on and end up re-reading half a page.
September 21, 2008
Read this book prior to our trip to Scotland in June 2008. It is a very detailed history, but at times a little difficult to follow for someone new to the history of Scotland. It did help make our trip more enjoyable though. A great place to visit with a very interesting history.
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April 11, 2010Scotland: A New History by Michael Lynch (1992)
December 16, 2014
A good introduction to Scottish history. Inevitably some of the earliest work has been overtaken by more recent scholarship but that is a trivial carp.
October 3, 2015
very detailed with lots of information on the history of Scotland
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews