The Kingdom of the Scots: Government, Church and Society from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century - Softcover

Barrow, G.W.S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0748618031 ISBN 13: 9780748618033

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2003

Synopsis

This book explores the formative period when Scotland acquired the characteristics that enabled it to enter fully into the comity of medieval Christendom. These included a monarchy of a recognisably continental type, a feudal organisation of aristocratic landholding and military service, national boundaries, and a body of settled law and custom. By the end of the thirteenth century Scotland had a church based on territorial dioceses and parishes, centres of learning including monastic houses representing the main orders of western Europe, and thriving urban communities whose economic power counterbalanced the aristocracy's. How and to what effect these characteristics were acquired are the main subjects of the book. After the introduction eighteen chapters are divided into three parts devoted to government, church and society. The volume comprises some of the most important as well as the most consistently readable work ever published on medieval Scotland. First published in 1973, it is now reissued in an updated edition. Three additional chapters are included: on the Scots and the north of England in the time of King Stephen, on the Anglo-Scottish border in the middle ages, and on King David I and the church of Glasgow. The book also appears in paperback for the first time.

About this title

Review:

Thanks to the author's wide-ranging knowledge and high standards of scholarship "Barrow's Kingdom" is an exciting place to visit.

"An admirable guide to the growth of the 'regnum scotiae.'" -- "Scottish Historical Review"

"Thanks to the author's wide-ranging knowledge and high standards of scholarship "Barrow's Kingdom" is an exciting place to visit." -- "History"

"Thanks to the author's wide-ranging knowledge and high standards of scholarship "Barrow's Kingdom" is an exciting place to visit." -- "History"

"An admirable guide to the growth of the 'regnum scotiae.'" -- "Scottish Historical Review"

"The topics covered are large and important." -- "English Historical Review"

About the Author:

Geoffrey Barrow was Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography, University of Edinburgh, 1979-92, where he is currently Professor Emeritus.

About this edition

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0748618031
• ISBN 13: 9780748618033
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 352