|
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy'', '' Waverley'', '' Old Mortality'', ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' and '' The Bride of Lammermoor'', and the narrative poems '' The Lady of the Lake'' and '' Marmion''. He had a major impact on European and American literature. As an advocate, judge and legal administrator by profession, he combined writing and editing with daily work as Clerk of Session and Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire. He was prominent in Edinburgh's Tory establishment, active in the Highland Society, long a president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1820–1832), and a vice president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1827–1829). His knowledge of history and literary facility equipped him to establish the historical novel genre as an exemplar of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Lawrence
Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at the Bear Hotel in the Market Square. At age ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his pastel portraits. At 18 he went to London and soon established his reputation as a portrait painter in oils, receiving his first royal commission, a portrait of Queen Charlotte, in 1790. He stayed at the top of his profession until his death, aged 60, in 1830. Self-taught, he was a brilliant draughtsman and known for his gift of capturing a likeness, as well as his virtuoso handling of paint. He became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1791, a full member in 1794, and president in 1820. In 1810 he acquired the generous patronage of the Prince Regent, was sent abroad to paint portraits of allied leaders for the Waterloo chamber a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lady Of The Lake (poem)
''The Lady of the Lake'' is a narrative poem by Sir Walter Scott, first published in 1810. Set in the Trossachs region of Scotland, it is composed of six cantos, each of which concerns the action of a single day. There are voluminous antiquarian notes. The poem has three main plots: the contest among three men, Roderick Dhu, James Fitz-James, and Malcolm Graeme, to win the love of Ellen Douglas; the feud and reconciliation of King James V of Scotland and James Douglas; and a war between the Lowland Scots (led by James V) and the Highland clans (led by Roderick Dhu of Clan Alpine). The poem was tremendously influential in the nineteenth century, and inspired the Highland Revival. Background The first hint of ''The Lady of the Lake'' occurs in a letter from Scott to Lady Abercorn dated 9 June 1806, where he says he has 'a grand work in contemplation … a Highland romance of Love Magic and War founded upon the manners of our mountaineers'. He saw this as doing for the Highl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh University Library
Edinburgh University Library is the main library of the University of Edinburgh and one of the most important libraries of Scotland. The University Library was moved in 1827 to William Playfair's Upper Library in the Old College building. The collections in Edinburgh University Old College were moved in 1967 to the purpose-built eight-storey Main Library building at George Square, one of the largest academic libraries in the world. Today, Edinburgh's university-wide library system holds over 3.8m books, e-books and e-journals in total. History The University was founded by Royal Charter from King James VI in 1582 and opened in 1583, however the library pre-dated this by three years. The initial collection was a bequest of 276 theological books from Clement Littill, an advocate who left his collection to the town in 1580. Until 1708, the teaching staff consisted of four regents and the Principal, the former taking each class through a year's part of the whole arts curriculum o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cowgate
The Cowgate ( Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, which lies below the elevated streets of South Bridge and George IV Bridge. It meets the Grassmarket at its west end and Holyrood Road to the east. History Early history The Cowgate developed around 1330 and represented Edinburgh’s first municipal extension. The original settlement on the Cowgate was concentrated on the south side because of a burn on the north, though that was filled in around 1490 and built upon. Archaeological excavations in the 2006 and 2007 found a boundary ditch, dating to the 14th century, near St Patrick's Church which might have been the full extent of the Cowgate at that time. The street's name is recorded from 1428, in various spellings, as Cowgate and in 1498 as Via Vaccarum. It is derived from the medieval practice of he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Town, Edinburgh
The Old Town ( sco, Auld Toun) is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-century New Town, and West End, it forms part of a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. Royal Mile The "Royal Mile" is a name coined in the early 20th century for the main street of the Old Town which runs on a downwards slope from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace and the ruined Holyrood Abbey. Narrow '' closes'' (alleyways), often no more than a few feet wide, lead steeply downhill to both north and south of the main spine which runs west to east. Significant buildings in the Old Town include St. Giles' Cathedral, the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland, the National Museum of Scotland, the Old College of the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament Building. The area contains underground vaults and hidden pass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Of Roxburgh
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berwickshire to the north. To the south-west it borders Cumberland and to the south-east Northumberland, both in England. It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh, a town which declined markedly in the 15th century and is no longer in existence. Latterly, the county town of Roxburghshire was Jedburgh. The county has much the same area as Teviotdale, the basin drained by the River Teviot and tributaries, together with the adjacent stretch of the Tweed into which it flows. The term is often treated as synonymous with Roxburghshire, but may omit Liddesdale as Liddel Water drains to the west coast.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, publ. 2nd edition 1896. Article on Roxburghshire History The county appears to have ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th century, however in its current usage was created by James I of England in 1611 as a means of raising funds for the crown. A baronetcy is the only British hereditary honour that is not a peerage, with the exception of the Anglo-Irish Black Knights, White Knights, and Green Knights (of whom only the Green Knights are extant). A baronet is addressed as "Sir" (just as is a knight) or "Dame" in the case of a baronetess, but ranks above all knighthoods and damehoods in the order of precedence, except for the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle, and the dormant Order of St Patrick. Baronets are conventionally seen to belong to the lesser nobility, even though William Thoms claims that: The precise quality of this dignity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genre Fiction
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A number of major literary figures have written genre fiction. John Banville publishes crime novels as Benjamin Black, and both Doris Lessing and Margaret Atwood have written science fiction. Georges Simenon, the creator of the Maigret detective novels, has been described by André Gide as "the most novelistic of novelists in French literature". The main genres are crime, fantasy, romance, science fiction and horror—as well as perhaps Western, inspirational and historical fiction. The opposite of genre fiction is mainstream fiction. Slipstream genre is sometimes located in between the genre and non-genre fictions. Genre and the marketing of fiction In the publishing industry the term "category fiction" is often used as a synony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other types of narrative, including theatre, opera, cinema, and television, as well as video games and graphic novels. An essential element of historical fiction is that it is set in the past and pays attention to the manners, social conditions and other details of the depicted period. Authors also frequently choose to explore notable historical figures in these settings, allowing readers to better understand how these individuals might have responded to their environments. The historical romance usually seeks to romanticize eras of the past. Some subgenres such as alternate history and historical fantasy insert intentionally ahistorical or speculative elements into a novel. Works of historical fiction are sometimes criticized for lack of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Society Of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established in 1783. , there are around 1,800 Fellows. The Society covers a broader selection of fields than the Royal Society of London, including literature and history. Fellowship includes people from a wide range of disciplines – science & technology, arts, humanities, medicine, social science, business, and public service. History At the start of the 18th century, Edinburgh's intellectual climate fostered many clubs and societies (see Scottish Enlightenment). Though there were several that treated the arts, sciences and medicine, the most prestigious was the Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge, commonly referred to as the Medical Society of Edinburgh, co-founded by the mathematician Colin Maclaurin in 1731. Maclaurin was unhapp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Highland And Agricultural Society Of Scotland
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) was founded in Edinburgh in 1784 as the Highland Society of Edinburgh. The Society had its root in 1723 when the Society of Improvers of the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland was created in Edinburgh.Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.15 It was remodelled and renamed in 1784 largely in reaction to the subsistence crises of 1782/3 when many of the estates in the highlands and islands of Scotland were not producing enough food to feed tenants. The Society is responsible for organising the annual Royal Highland Show. Famous members include Sir Walter Scott and James MacDonald, secretary from 1893 to 1912. See also * Highland Society of London The Highland Society of London is a charity registered in England and Wales, with "the view of establishing and supporting schools in the Highlands and in the Northern parts of Great Britain, for relieving distressed Highlanders at a distance from ... * Royal Hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tory (political Faction)
The Tories were a loosely organised political faction and later a political party, in the Parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. They first emerged during the 1679 Exclusion Crisis, when they opposed Whig efforts to exclude James, Duke of York from the succession on the grounds of his Catholicism. Despite their fervent opposition to state-sponsored Catholicism, Tories opposed exclusion in the belief inheritance based on birth was the foundation of a stable society. After the succession of George I in 1714, the Tories were excluded from government for nearly 50 years and ceased to exist as an organised political entity in the early 1760s, although it was used as a term of self-description by some political writers. A few decades later, a new Tory party would rise to establish a hold on government between 1783 and 1830, with William Pitt the Younger followed by Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool. The Whigs won control of Parl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> The Lady Of The Lake (poem)")
