Description
Book SynopsisThe Wars of Scotland is the story of the pivotal period in Scottish history between 1214 and 1371. The century and a half between the death of King William the Lion and the accession of the Stewarts witnessed major changes in the internal character of the kingdom and its place in the wider European world. The opening decades of this era seemed to be dominated by the continued development of a defined Scottish realm but the crisis which engulfed the kings and their people meant that issues of war and allegiance would make fourteenth-century Scotland a very different place. This book is the first detailed discussion of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as a single period of both developing and fragmenting political hierarchies and communities. The Wars of Scotland provides a political narrative which places events in their immediate context as well as highlighting special issues and groups in thematic chapters. It also introduces a new discussion of the stability and unity of Scotland as a realm
Trade ReviewThe fruit of recent scholarship is gathered into a fresh, readable, informative, and balanced account. The original Edinburgh History of Scotland was the standard Scottish historical narrative for nearly two generations; if this volume is typical, its replacement will fulfill that role for at least as long ! Highly recommended. Choice This is a superb book which should be widely read. History: The Journal of the Historical Association Michael Brown has done an admirable job ! this is a highly readable survey that provides an excellent introduction to the period. Scotia The fruit of recent scholarship is gathered into a fresh, readable, informative, and balanced account. The original Edinburgh History of Scotland was the standard Scottish historical narrative for nearly two generations; if this volume is typical, its replacement will fulfill that role for at least as long ! Highly recommended. This is a superb book which should be widely read. Michael Brown has done an admirable job ! this is a highly readable survey that provides an excellent introduction to the period.
Table of ContentsList of Maps and Tables; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part One: The Scottish Realm (1214-1286); Chapter 1 King and Kingdom; Chapter 2 Alexander II; Chapter 3 Alexander III; Chapter 4 The Sea Kings; Chapter 5 Lords and Communities: Political Society in the Thirteenth Century; Chapter 6 Church and Realm; Chapter 7 Scotland and the Anglo-French World; Part Two: War and the Reshaping of Scotland (1286-1371); Chapter 8 The Crisis of Kingship (1286-96); Chapter 9 The Scottish Wars (1297-1314); Chapter 10 Robert I; Chapter 11 The War of the Three Kings (1332-1357); Chapter 12 Lordship of the Isles; Chapter 13 Europe and the Scottish Wars; Chapter 14 Allegiance and Identity; Chapter 15 The Legacy of War: Scotland in the Thirteen-sixties; Conclusion A United Kingdom?; Table of Events; Guide to Further Reading; Bibliography; Index.
