Scotland now had an army devoted just to Scotland for a while, and the immediate task was to clear away the vestiges of rebellion and civil war. Montrose of courseRead More

I am glad to be back in the land of the brave. And just to make sure we are all together in the same place, singing from the same psalter,Read More

I did once read one of those quotes that frequently get posted on Twitter, might have been one from Bertrand Russell, I think, the philosopher rather than Bertie, the blokeRead More

The news of the Cessation was incendiary, in many ways. Of course in England and Scotland many took it as proof positive that Charles was a man who would doRead More

A bit like Charles Dickens and his writing for a regular publication, I have come to the habit of ending each of your History of Scotland instalments with a bitRead More

Last time we looked at the Rebellion in Ireland, and the cat that was duly placed among the pigeons. An army had been duly sent by the designated Cat controller,Read More

Now last time I left you on a bit of a cliff hanger; the King, was not turning up to the expected party of war on the Scottish-English border; theRead More

Hamilton did his very best to head off protest from the Covenanters – and yet it was pretty clear from early in his return in June 1638 that the prospectsRead More

Last time I left you with the news that Charles I, in the spirit of flexibility and responsiveness to the needs of his Scottish subjects, had decided to charge aheadRead More