Contents

1. Introduction 2. A short history of Scotland Icons Remarkable people Amazing sites Curious customs Scottish folklore 3. Loch Ness 4. Conclusion

Introduction
The work you are going to read is a pure Scottish brand and has the purpose of informing the reader about a few things that I consider worth reading. You will find out about the way, the Scots managed to unite and develop as a well organized country and the permanent struggling to maintain the integrity of their state, until the inevitable unification with England in 1707. You will also discover important people, that had a pregnant influence in the history of Scotland, and people that took part in the cultural life due to their works. Moreover the reader will have the chance to discover, how Scottish people celebrate important events during the year, and will get in contact through this essay with Scots folklore.

A short history of Scotland

Scotland is nowadays one of the administrative divisions, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean; on the east by the North Sea; on the southeast by England; on the south by Solway Firth and by the Irish Sea; and on the west by the North Channel and by the Atlantic Ocean. The total land area, including the islands of Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland is 78,790 km2. In its early times it was a Celtic kingdom with two societies separated by the Highland Line, a mountainous region passing through the middle of the territory. It was inhabited by four groups of people, the Picts (in the north and northeast), the Scots (in the western Highlands), the Britons (in the Lowlands), and the Angles (in the north part of the Lowlands). As the invaders intensified their attacks, they tried and partially succeeded to gather. But until the great unification the Scottish confronted with permanent British assaults and periodic invaders attacks. These and many others led the Scots to look for allies and one of them was France. They signed in 1295 the Auld (old) Alliance which lasted into the sixteen century. This pact had a major importance for the both countries because they agreed that whenever England attacked one of them the other would make trouble behind Englands back. After a century of war, plague and disorder, Scotland got in direct conflict with England for supporting France in the HundredYear War. The English repeatedly invaded the Scottish Lowlands, from which most of the Scots kings wealth came from. Therefore Scotland was broke especially that Edward IVs army occupied Edinburgh in 1482. By the end of Middle Ages, however, Scotland had developed as a nation in a number of ways. From 1399 the Scots demanded that a parliament should meet once a year, and kings often gathered leading the citizens to discuss matters of government. Like in

England, towns grew in importance, mainly because of the wool trade, which grew thanks to the help of the Flemish settlers. Because of the disorder in their country, the Scots were considered weak and therefore got under British governing in 1513 after the worst defeat Scotland ever experienced, at Flodden. The kings that followed were extremely clever diplomats, establishing and keeping good relations with both France and England fact that provided help for the social and cultural development of the Scottish society. The eighteen-century brought the most important change in Scotlands history and that is the union with England. The English Parliament offered to remove the limits on trade with the Scots if they agreed to unite with England. Thereby in 1707 the union of Scotland and England was completed by the Act of Parliament and from that moment both countries no longer had separate parliaments and a new parliament of Great Britain, the name of the new state, met for the first time. Though Scotland kept its own legal and judicial system and its own separate Church the new country developed faster culturally because of the mixture of the two people.

Remarkable people
Among the pregnant personalities of Scotlands history, Sir William Wallace is considered to be a national hero. Although he was outlawed by the English, he led the peoples army into capturing many English fortresses north of the Forth River, and on September 11, 1297, in the Battle of Stirling Bridge, he severely defeated English forces attempting to cross the Forth. He was then elected to the office of guardian of the kingdom. On July 22, 1298, Edward defeated Wallace's army in the Battle of Falkirk, and Wallace was forced into hiding. He was brought to London, tried for treason, and executed.

Another important figure is Mary Queen of Scots. Daughter of James V, raised in France, she returned in Scotland after the death of her husband, Francis II. She married in 1565 Lord Darnley a Scottish nobleman who was assassinated in 1567. She got married again to the Earl of Bothwell who betrayed her and let her surrender to the confederate lords. However, in 1568 she escaped to England where Elizabeth imprisoned her for nineteen years before she was finally executed. Her son, James VI started to rule in 1578 at the age of twelve. He was a skillful and cautious ruler as he managed to avoid dangerous conflicts with Spain and France. His greatest achievement was gaining the English throne after Elizabeths death in 1603. Unfortunately he is remembered as a weak man although he rebuilt the authority of the Scottish Crown. James VI died at the Theobalds in Hertfordshire on March 27, 1625, and was succeeded to the throne by his son, Charles I. Scottish literature has its roots in the middle of the thirteencentury. The first writing known as Scottish or lowland Scots is a fragment of an anonymous poem regarding the condition of Scotland after the death of king Alexander III. One of the most prominent figures in English romanticism is Sir Walter Scott. He was born in Edinburgh, August 15, 1771. Trained as a lawyer, he became a legal official, an occupation that allowed him to write. Scott is the first major historical novelist. In his portraits of Scotland, England, and the Continent from medieval times to the 18th century, he showed a keen sense of political and traditional forces and of their influence on the individual. The most important writings are Guy Mannering (1815), Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Midlothian (1818), Rob Roy (1818), The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), Ivanhoe (1819), Kenilworth (1821), Quentin Durward (1823), and The Fair Maid of Perth (1828). Another well-known Scottish writer is John Galt (1779-1839), born in Irvine. Early in the 1820s he wrote a series of colorful novels

about Scottish life, including The Ayrshire Legatees (1820); The Annals of the Parish (1821) and The Entail, a horrifying study of greed and obsession. Between 1825 and 1829 he served in Canada as an official of the Canada Company, a land-development organization. After his return from Canada to live in England and Scotland, he wrote several works, including The Life of Lord Byron (1830), a biography of his friend, and Lawrie Todd (1830), the first novel to deal with Scottish settlers in Canada.

Amazing sites

If you ever want to visit Scotland here you have some sites you definitely have to visit. First of all there is Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland also a very important industrial center and seaport. The citys central dominating landmark is Edinburgh Castle, rising on sheer cliffs above the city. Located here is the 11th-century Chapel of Saint Margaret, the city's oldest structure. The Castle Rock is connected to the 16th-century royal Scottish residence of Holyrood Palace by a road known as the Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of the Old Town district of the city. Among Edinburgh's cultural institutions are the National Gallery of Scotland (1859), the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (1882), the Royal Scottish Museum (1854), and museums of modern art and Scottish history. The Edinburgh International Festival, held here annually since 1947, is a worldrenowned arts festival. The University of

Edinburgh (1583) is especially noted for its schools of medicine and law. Other important cities are Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee. Among the islands surrounding Scotland, the most famous are Shetland, Orkney and Prince Edwards island which offer a terrific view of the mountains, emerging from the sea. Another Scottish site, with great potential is the Grampian chain. They extend through the center of Scotland in a southwestern to northeastern direction. At the western extremity of the mountain mass is Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Great Britain, which rises 1343 m (4406 ft) above sea level. In the north the mountains are more rugged and difficult to traverse. Among the famous passes through them are those of Aberfoyle and Killiecrankie. The Grampians are famous for the finest deer forests in Scotland. These and many others turned Scotland in one of Europes most appreciated countries for its landscapes and mysteries that are well known worldwide.

Curious Customs
Scotland, and Britain in general, is famous for the way it celebrates certain events. It is a fact that these traditions have very uncertain chronological base, however they spring either from the passage of the seasons such as those surrounding the advent of spring or mid summer at Stonehenge, or from festivities and rites associated with the Christian Church. Another thing it is that there is no really satisfactory definition of custom therefore Shakespeare tried to sum it up in As you like it: Hath not old custom made this life more sweet Than that of painted pomp?

An interesting custom that is called Burning the Clavie takes place in Burghead, Morayshire at 11 January. The clavie is the base of a wooden barrel, mounted on a pole and filled with tar-soaked wood. After it had been lit one of the clavie-crew takes it on his shoulders and begins a hazardous tour of the town. Others take the clavie in turn until it reaches an ancient mound called Doorie, where it is ritualistically broken up with a hatchet. Locals link this custom with the suggestion that there was a Roman altar at Doorie and see a relation between the Clavi and clavus the Latin for nail. On the 31st of December, at Stonehaven in Kincardineshire, the Swinging of Fireballs is held. The people burn the old year out in a very dramatical way, by lighting up baskets made of wire-netting, stuffed with drift wood, pine cones, attached to a stout length of wire. The fireballs burn up to twenty minutes. Somerset is cider country, and theres a good reason for the people of Carhampton to keep alive the custom of Wassailing the apple trees on the 17th of January. After mulling some cider they take it out to a selected tree, where they drink its health and sing the wassail song: Old apple tree, we wassail thee, And hoping thou wilt bear For the Lord doth know where we shall be Till apples come another year For to bear well So let us merry be. Let every man take off his hat And shout to the old apple tree! Old apple tree we wassail thee And hoping thou wilt bear Hatfuls, capfuls, three-bushel bagfuls And a little heap under the stairs After that they shout Hip, Hip hooray! and fire shotguns to the tree to frighten the evil spirits. These are just a few customs that are still kept alive in Scotland from time immemorial.

Scottish folklore
The Scottish folklore has its roots in the early Celtic manifestation of culture. But Samuel Pepys collected the first traces of folklore in Scotland in the 17th century. That was of course a poor quality information but as technology advanced, better evidence could be kept regarding folklore. Among the things that resisted as time went on the most important are the kilt, the bagpipes and Scottish dances. The Highland Fling is a traditional folk dance very appreciated Scotland. It was originally a dance performed after battle, and the bagpipe is the instrument most often associated with it. Although bagpipes are found throughout the world, Scotland is probably the country most identified with the instrument. Around 1670, bagpipers began to play for the Highland troops serving the English Army. Since that time, bagpipers have accompanied Scottish troops through many wars.

Loch Ness
One of Scotlands greatest mysteries is Loch Ness, a long, narrow lake, in the northern part of the country, forming part of the Caledonian Canal. It extends in a northeastern direction for 37 km from Fort Augustus to a point near the city of Inverness. The average width of the lake is about 2 km, and the greatest depth is about 230 m (about 754 ft). The Ness River drains into Moray Firth. The lake has a great reputation because of the monster that inhabits it. Nessie, as the locals call it, was first seen in 1933 by Mr. George Spencer who described it as a large grey animal with an undulating neck hurrying across the road in front of his car. From then on, the eyewitnesses like Margaret Cameron and her brother who fled in terror after watching a 20-foot animal like a huge caterpillar crash trough foliage on the other side of tiny Inchnacardoch Bay. On 28 May 1934 Brother Richard Horan, one of the Benedictine monks at Fort Augustus Abbey confesses watching for five minutes a long-necked animal dart about in the water at a distance of just 30 yards, before it dived. Another sightseeing was in 1952 when Greta Finlay and her 12year-old son observed a long-necked animal looking at them from a distance of 20 yards which paralyzed them with fear. These and many others pretend seeing the monster but the scientists state that in the early 60es the press had been inundated with hundreds of reports of eyewitness sightings and there seemed a proper investigative body. Although the pastimes of monster hunting would gain semi-credibility as crypto-zoology (the study of cryptids or unknown animals) the scientific community preferred to avoid an affiliation with such a fringe subject. Thereby Loch Ness researcher Alistair Boyd explains: The stability of their career probably depends, to some extent, on maintaining the status quo. Nobody really wants to stick their neck out, and go looking for something which could prove to be an embarrassment in their careers. A biologist at the Natural History Museum, Dr. P.J.H. Lambshead says that scientists always gave a nervous twitch when the Loch was mentioned. As you can quite

imagine, it could be the kiss of death to your career as an example one of my predecessors was actually sacked from his job for going up to the loch, confesses the doctor. A more recent investigation is the 1987 Operation Deepscan consisting of a flotilla of 20 motor-cruisers strung out across the loch, scanning the depths with a sonar. Although many targets were dismissed as stationary debris or shoals of fish, three still remained unexplained to this day. The research was considered to be ambiguous and therefore more art than science because it didnt indicate the length of the underwater target. Nothing is sure but I tend to agree with the fact that the Loch Ness monster is not really a monster but a word, which has caused the subject to be classed as a silly-season joke. Fake photographs, genuine mistakes of wild life, driftwood and the occasional April Fool pranks have combined to make this subject the butt of much ridicule. And yet the mystery remains- and the sightings continue.

Conclusion
After days of researching and looking for information I began realizing that Scotland is a modern country that hasnt yet forgotten its traditions, customs and moral values. In a world that everything happens so fast, we tend to put away the only things that really define us as human beings. The process of globalization that we pass through, is going, one way or another, to deprive us of everything we respect and care for in this moment. Therefore we must act wisely in order not to lose our identities as nations and individuals. The way I see the problem there is one simple matter that we have to do and that is holding on to our beliefs and analyzing all the consequences of every action In the hope that we would not become a huge mixture of traditions and customs I want to add that the Scottish had offered a good example of how to behave in the new era and my suggestion is that we should follow that example.

Bibliography
I. II. III. IV. Green, Martin Curious Customs, Impact Books, 1993, p 25, 107, 112, 118, 138. McDowall, David An illustrated history of Britain, Longman, 1989, p 21, 31,43, 73-79. Owens, Andy The complete visitors guide to Loch Ness, Mainstream Publishing, 2000, p 16, 17, 45. Britannica Encyclopedia