Series: Traditional Scotland

Scotland has one of the richest traditions of folklore in the world, and the nation's greatest writers have been influenced by the country's abundance of customs, superstitions, ghost stories, and folktales. Robert Burns, Walter Scott, James Hogg, and Robert Louis Stevenson all used Scottish folklore in their work. Scottish Folklore traces the roots and traditions of Scottish folklore and introduces...

The Scots have always had a reputation for clarity of thought and also for the vigour with which it is put into words. This collection spans the entire gamut of a nation's recorded thought and experience from Roman Scotland to the present day. It covers a vast range of subject matter and demonstrates a remarkable variety of moods and tones,...

Names are very important and can unlock vast amounts of information about places and their origins. The placenames of Scotland are a goldmine of information about times past and the lives of early inhabitants. The different languages of their origin—Gaelic, Pictish, Cumbric, Old Norse, and Old English—reflect the many cultures that have been part of Scotland's story and preserve the...

The origins of many Scottish festivals, such as Beltane and Hallowe'en, lie deep in the pagan past, and although the significance of many festivals may now be long forgotten, they have continued to evolve to satisfy the needs of the time. Including extracts from prose, poetry, and historical documents, Scottish Festivals by Sheila Livingstone is an enthralling journey through the...

Proverbs, once described as 'the wisdom of many and the wit of one', offer unique insights into the way of life and the social mores of past generations. Scottish Proverbs features an introduction that explores the role of proverbs in Scottish culture and includes over 1,000 proverbs arranged in an easily accessible A-Z format. Many have been commonly used for...