The Invention of Scotland
Subtitle: Myth and History
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: July 28, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780300136869
Subjects: British & Irish history; History; History - General History; History: World; British Isles; Europe; Europe - Great Britain - Scotland; History / General; Europe - General
Description: "This book argues that while Anglo-Saxon culture has given rise to virtually no myths at all, myth has played a central role in the historical development of Scottish identity. Trevor-Roper explores three myths across 400 years of Scottish history: the political myth of the 'ancient constitution' of Scotland; the literary myth, including Walter Scott as well as Ossian and ancient poetry; and the sartorial myth of tartan and the kilt, invented - ironically by Englishmen - in quite modern times." "Trevor-Roper reveals myth as an often deliberate cultural construction used to enshrine a people's identity. While his treatment of Scottish myth is highly critical, indeed debunking, he shows how the ritualisation and domestication of Scotland's myths as local colour diverted the Scottish intelligentsia from the path that led German intellectuals to a dangerous myth of racial supremacy. This compelling script was left unpublished on Trevor-Roper's death in 2003 and is now made available for the first time."--Jacket.