Scotland

A study of the hostile legends, immortalized in Shakespeare’s tragic drama, that have gathered around the real historical figure of Macbeth.

John McEwen describes the events of September 9th, 1513, as Scotland lost her King and suffered appalling losses during a disastrous battle that “remains in large measure a mystery.”

Though Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, the influence of St Columba on Scottish Christianity remains profound. Ian Bradley examines the Celtic evangelist’s legacy 1,450 years after his arrival on the Hebridean island of Iona.

S.M. Toyne investigates how, from earliest times, the migration of the herring has exercised an important influence on the history of the peoples living around the North Sea and the Baltic.

Deborah Cohen opens the archives of the Scottish Marriage Guidance Council, founded in 1946, and finds that couples in the postwar years were more than happy to air their dirty linen.

J.J. Bell describes a powerful force of raiders on the early modern Scottish Borders.

John Clive records how, during the opening years of the 19th century, Edinburgh added to its European reputation by producing one of the most famous critical magazines of the age.

Walter Elliott on how an illustrious institution has weathered countless storms.

Henry Bashford looks back at the birth of one of modern medicine's pillars.

Eric Linklater finds that among medieval champions of Scottish independence was an ancestor of Elizabeth II, the heroic Robert the Bruce.