Remembering the Past in Nineteenth-Century Scotland ― Commemoration, Nationality, and Memory

At a time when the Union between Scotland and England is once again under the spotlight, this book examines the way in which Scotland's national heroes were once remembered as champions of both Scottish and British patriotism.

Whereas 19th-century Scotland is popularly depicted as a mire of sentimental Jacobitism and kow-towing unionism, this book shows how Scotland's national heroes were once the embodiment of a consistent, expressive and robust view of Scottish nationality.

Whether celebrating the legacy of William Wallace and Robert Bruce, the reformer John Knox, or the Covenanters, 19th-century Scots rooted their national heroes in a Presbyterian and unionist view of Scotland's past. Examined through the prism of commemoration, this book uncovers collective memories of Scotland's past entirely opposed to 21st-century assumptions of medieval proto-nationalism and Calvinist misery.

James Coleman is a freelance historia, he is currently based at the University of Glasgow.