The genealogy of the king of Scots as charter and panegyric

Broun, D. (2019) The genealogy of the king of Scots as charter and panegyric. In: Davies, J. R. and Bhattacharya, S. (eds.) Copper, Parchment, and Stone: Studies in the Sources for Landholding and Lordship in Early Medieval Bengal and Medieval Scotland. Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, University of Glasgow: Glasgow, pp. 209-260. ISBN 9780852619506

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Abstract

When we think of genealogies in medieval Scotland our minds might turn at once to Gaelic, the Celtic language that was spoken in the Middle Ages from the southern tip of Ireland to the northernmost coast of Scotland. This is not unnatural. Texts that trace the ancestry of a notable individual generation by generation survive in their hundreds from the medieval Gaelic world. They are found today almost exclusively in late-medieval Irish manuscripts. Some genealogies originated in collections made as early as the tenth century. Presumably there were once many Scottish manuscripts containing genealogies, too. A reason why they would not have survived is that, in the Scottish kingdom during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Gaelic learned orders who would have had a primary interest in writing and copying this material declined in significance and ceased to participate in Gaelic literate culture. This chapter will open with a brief survey of medieval genealogical texts relating to the Scottish kingdom, followed by a closer discussion of the limited number that are known to have existed between about 995 and 1250. Thanks to some recent insights about the physicality of texts, and the example of Bengali copper charters, a new approach to this material will be developed that offers a fresh perspective on the role of genealogy as a written expression of kingship and lordship.

Item Type:Book Sections
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Broun, Professor Dauvit
Authors: Broun, D.
Subjects:D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
D History General and Old World > DS Asia
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
Publisher:Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, University of Glasgow
ISBN:9780852619506
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 The Author
First Published:First published in Copper, Parchment, and Stone: Studies in the Sources for Landholding and Lordship in Early Medieval Bengal and Medieval Scotland 2019
Publisher Policy:Reproduced with the permission of the Publisher

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