Scotland and the First World War

Gill Plain is professor of English at the University of St. Andrews.

What did war look like in the cultural imagination of 1914? Why did men in Scotland sign up to fight in unprecedented numbers? What were the martial myths shaping Scottish identity from the aftermath of Bannockburn to the close of the nineteenth century, and what did the Scottish soldiers of the First World War think they were fighting for? Scotland and the First World War: Myth, Memory and the Legacy of Bannockburn is a collection of new interdisciplinary essays interrogating the trans-historical myths of nation, belonging and martial identity that shaped Scotland's encounter with the First World War. In a series of thematically linked essays, experts from the fields of literature, history and cultural studies examine how Scotland remembers war, and how remembering war has shaped Scotland.

ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Anniversary Culture and the legacy of BannockburnGill PlainPart I: Anniversary Culture1. Missing Dates and Magic Numbers: Reflections on 1914Fran Brearton2. Bruce, Wallace and the Diminished Present, 1800-1964Graeme MortonPart II: Making the Myths of War and Nation3. "Men Brave And Strong": Bannockburn, the Auld Alliance and Scottish MartialIdentity in the Late Middle AgesMichael Brown4. "Not my land's hills": War and the Problem of Scottish HomecomingCaroline McCracken-Flesher5. Medieval Battlefields and National Narratives, 1830-1918Carol Symes6. Bannockburn after BastonRobert CrawfordPart III: Making the Memory of the First World War7. "The Spirit of the Crusaders": Scottish Peculiarities, British Commonalities and European Convergences in the Memorialisation of the Great WarStefan Goebel8. Buchan, Bannockburn and Beyond: popular histories of Scotland's martial pastCatriona M. M. Macdonald9. Women, War and Internationalism: Notes towards a Counter-HistoryMargaret R. Higonnet10. Freedom from judgement above? Predestination and Cultural Trauma in Scottish Gaelic Poetry of World War IPeter Mackay11. Shades of Bruce: Independence and Union in First-World War Scottish LiteratureDavid GoldieBibliographyNotes on Contributors