The Spirit of Scotland. Presentation theme.
The Lyceum of Information Technologies
Humanity Sciences
Presentation theme
The Spirit of Scotland
Written by: A. Semchenko
Grade 9B
Tutor L.P. Rakitskaya
Khabarovsk
2005
CONTESTS
Introduction………………………………………………………………………....3
1. Scotland FOREVER……………………………………………………………….3
2. A Small Part of England?……………..…………………………………….......…4
3. Born Fighting……………………………………………………………………....5
4. Three Hundred Years\' War……………………………………………………......8
5.
Reformation............................................................................................................11
6. Covenant and
Revolution.......................................................................................14
7. King over the
Water...............................................................................................16
8. The Scottish Enlightenment and
Beyond...............................................................19
9. Three literatures in
One………...……………………...........................................21
10. Trotting the
Globe.................................................................................................22
11. Conclusion………………………………………………………….……………24
References…………………………………………………………….….…...…25
Supplement…………………………………………………………..………..…26
Introduction
I\'d like to start with the fact that nowadays people have been travelling
all over the world and tourism has become an international business. Being
abroad people sometimes feel uncomfortable, confused or embarrassed
because of so called “culture shock”. It happens when they don\'t know the
history of the country, its culture, customs traditions people\'s lifestyle
and so on.
The subject of my work is “The Spirit of Scotland”. Of course, you have
heard of Hogmanay, haggis, Loch Ness Monster, Balmoral, the favourite
holiday home of the Royal family. These are just a few things Scotland is
famous for. Although it forms part of the UK, Scotland has district
national identity and character of its own.
Scotland Forever
Describe Scotland? Where do we start?! \"Land of the mountain and the
flood\" - the magnificent scenery will surely stir even the most sluggish
imagination, and though sometimes it can get wet, Edinburgh\'s rainfall is
no worse than that of New York or Rome, while the Moray coast is the
sunniest place in Britain.
Land of Castles. No one has ever managed to list all these, but in sheer
numbers and remarkable features they are on a par with anything Europe can
offer. Symbols of turbulent past, they represent a vast variety of ages,
layouts and styles - from huge citadels of Edinburgh and Stirling through
stout free-standing peels (tower-houses) to stately NeO-Gothic palaces.
Many are ruinous, not a few are still lived in by the same families that
built them and, needless to say, virtually all are haunted. .The Drummer
of Cortachy, the Green Lady of Crathes, General Tarn of the Binns and a
host of other apparitions mean as much to local lore as castles do to
romantic sights.
Land of Cakes, i.e. baps, buns, bannocks, scones and shortbread, usually
taken with tons of jam, jelly and marmalade. The insatiable sweet tooth of
the natives, who also consume over 9 oz. of confectionery per person per
week, made the Guinness Book of Records.
Land of Football. Scots may have little to celebrate in the World Cup, but
the very first mention of the sport does occur in an act of a king of
theirs as early as 1424. At that period it already had to be banned by the
crown on pain of a fine, obviously because the populace neglected all
other occupations. Later the epidemic spread abroad, and even the English
Football League was launched by a McGregor. Besides, at least two more
games were invented in Scotland - golf (which, over there, can be enjoyed
by everyone, not just the better-off) and curling (now a winter Olympic
event, where they try to hit the target with a round polished piece of
granite, and help it along by rubbing the ice with brooms).
Whatever the nicknames, here is, beyond doubt, one of the most vivid and
distinctive cultures in the world. Is there another race with national
dress as easily recognizable and so much clannish pride that one can
guess a person\'s name by the pattern of his clothes? Is there a country
where a meal course is regularly and respectfully greeted with lines
written by her greatest bard, or where a staple drink is synonymous with
her own identity? And can anyone, fail to acknowledge the sight and sound
of a bagpipe, and readily associate it with its homeland?
A Small Part of England?
In the eyes of many Scotland is a mere extension of her bigger and richer
southern neighbour. There are few fallacies so complete! It is true that
by the Union of 1707 she has lost her parliament and was governed from
London ever since. But any serious comparison between the two makes one
wonder what they have in common, apart from sharing the same island. Their
landscapes, national characters, languages, churches, social, legal and
educational systems, architectural styles and even senses of humour - all
differ markedly. They are as much alike as mountain and valley, granite
and brick, whisky and gin, or thistle and rose.
This diversity was shaped by nature and history. Often called a small
country, Scotland, in fact, is about the size of Austria and twice as big
as Switzerland; on the patchy map of medieval Europe she was one of the
major kingdoms. But the number of her inhabitants was never large. Even
today it is just over 5 million, half the population of Greater London or
Moscow, and the bulk of it is concentrated in the Glasgow-Edinburgh belt,
while in the north-west you can roam for days with not a soul around.
There are also countless lakes, including Loch Lomond (Britain\'s biggest)
and Loch Ness with its elusive monster. Of the many rivers the longest is
the Tay, and some smaller ones achieved universal fame for a lot more
than salmon-fishing - the Clyde for its great shipbuilding tradition
(until World War I it supplied one-third of all British tonnage), the
Tweed for fine wool and knitwear produced on its banks, and the Spey for
the malt whisky distilleries about it.
Scottish mountains, although tallest in the British Isles, are
geologically very old and yield in height to the Alps and Pyrenees.
Nonetheless, the challenge they pose to human endeavour and the
admiration their stern grandeur excites in the spirit strongly
influenced national character. So did the unpredictably changeful
climate, that of a Northern country, but rather tempered by the sea. The
Highlands are often shrouded in snow into the summer months, while just
several dozen miles away the Gulf Stream allows palm trees and subtropic
plants to grow. Sometimes all seasons seem to come and go in a single
day. As a result, the Scottish temperament is one of barely reconcilable
contrasts, defined by a modern author as \"fiery imagination, incisive
intellect, tough stoicism and gentle affection\". It is a nature at once
daring and cautious (canny, to use a Scots word), thrifty and generous,
mild and aggressive. Warlike qualities, in particular, came to the fore —
and they had to be there.
Born Fighting
The Scottish realm, goes the proverb, was born fighting. Since the days of
the Roman Empire, Caledonia, as she was known to the ancients, was under
constant threat of invasion. In the first centuries A.D. the Roman legions
led by able commanders like Agricola, and even the emperors in person,
strove to subdue the unruly northern tribes. Despite the seemingly
decisive defeat of their chieftain Calgacus (the first native recorded by
name), and the construction of colossal protective walls against them
across the whole country, Caledonia never became a province of Rome,
unlike southern Britain. In the end, the mighty conquerors were forced to
abandon their crumbling defences and withdrew from the island.
During the \"Dark Ages\" Caledonia was a melting pot of peoples vying for
supremacy. The most powerful adversaries of Rome were the Picts (the word
literally means \"painted folk\"). For hundreds of years they dominated
northern Britain from the Shetland Islands to the Firth of Forth. By the
eighth century their ruler Brude mac Bile and his heirs forged a kingdom
that foreshadowed a unified Scotland. Carved Pictish symbol-stones and
metalwork with graceful ornamentation are among the finest of that
period. Still, the written evidence is so scarce that their language is
undeciphered, and in many respects they remain a mystery. It is not even
clear whether these natives were full-fledged Celts or not. One striking
