Cosmo Innes and the Defence of Scotland's Past c. 1825-1875 - 9781409455936

Taylor & Francis

Cosmo Innes and the Defence of Scotland's Past c. 1825-1875Author(s): Richard A. Marsden\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781409455936, 978-1409455936\nSynopsis\nToday, Scotland's history is frequently associated with the clarion call of political nationalism. However, in the nineteenth century the influence of history on Scottish national identity was far more ambiguous. How, then, did ideas about the past shape Scottish identity in a period when union with England was all but unquestioned? \n\nThe activities of the antiquary Cosmo Innes [tel] help us to address this question. Innes was a prolific editor of medieval and early modern documents relating to Scotland's parliament, legal system, burghs, universities, aristocratic families and pre-Reformation church. Yet unlike scholars today, he saw that editorial role in interventionist terms. His source editions were artificial constructs that powerfully articulated h.