Undiscovered Scotland

 

Never can the phrase "do not judge a book by its cover" have been more apt. On the shelf of the bookshop, this atlas comes over as rather like a blue covered phone book. Don't let that put you off, because within the covers you find one of the best books about Scottish history ever published. Yes, it is called an "atlas". And yes, it contains lots of maps and diagrams. But most of the maps and diagrams are accompanied by explanatory text, in some cases a considerable amount of it, and the end result is a remarkable and fascinating visual history of Scotland until 1707.

Do you want to see Scotland's place in the world when seen from a Roman or Viking perspective? Locate the distribution of Scandinavian place names across Scotland? Plot the growth and later development of religion in Scotland? Find every parish church in the country in 1300? Understand where each Scottish King signed the acts passed during his rule? Chart the growth of Sheriffdoms across Scotland? Locate all the baronies, lordships and earldoms? Plot overseas trade from the middle ages onwards? Chart prices and wages across the centuries? See where James V went on his visits to France? See the pattern of linguistic changes over the centuries? Look at the position of Darien in relation to other colonial powers interests in Central America?

You'll find all this and much, much more in this superb book, which is an absolute must for anyone with any interest in Scottish history up to 1707. the book is published by the Scottish Medievalists in conjunction with the Department of Geography at the University of Edinburgh and each element within it is the work of one of over 80 experts in their field who have contributed to the book.