Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list.
Tuesday, November 14 2017, 1 pm
The Establishment of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain and its Influence on the Ukrainian Diaspora in Scotland
Peter Kormylo, University of Glasgow
Venue: G16, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
Diaspora Studies graduate workshop. For more information see http://edin.ac/1MSzwtw
Tuesday, November 14 2017, 10:15 - 11:45
U3A Family History Group
Open Session
Venue: Turriff Library, Grange Villa, The Square, Turriff, AB43 5AE
Tuesday, November 14 2017, 5.30 pm - 7.30 pm
Modern Scotland
Callum Brown, Richard Finlay, W. Hamish Fraser
Venue: Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
This free public programme of talks, interviews and panel discussions (organised by Dr Catriona Macdonald, Scottish History and Dr Stephen Mullen, History, University of Glasgow) hosted in the Kelvin Hall in academic term 2017-18 (in partnership with The Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, The Hunterian, UofG Library, Archives and Special Collections) explores the remarkable transformation of Scottish history over the course of the last fifty years; the current challenges faced by the discipline; and leading practitioners’ hopes for the future. The range of speakers in the programme lends this initiative authority and remarkable range: there’s something here for all lovers of Scottish history, and an opportunity to get to know a little better the writers behind the books that have shaped how we understand our past. Indeed, all events will be recorded and hosted online by the University library, establishing a fantastic resource for scholars in the future.
Tuesday, November 14 2017, 7.30 pm
The Northern Picts Project
Dr Gordon Noble
Venue: Buchan Hotel, Ellon
Ellon and District Heritage Society
Entrance £3
Tuesday, November 14 2017, 7.30 pm
Court of the Lord Lyon
Lord Lyon - Joseph Morrow
Venue: Volunteer House (Vonef Centre) in 69 Crossgate Cupar KY15 5AS
Tea/coffee and biscuits included. Members entry free - Non members very welcome entry £2 for refreshments. Phone Dave Reid on 01333 350557 for any queries re talks.
Tuesday, November 14 2017, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
Women in Glasgow in WW1
Fiona Hayes (Glasgow Museums)
Venue: Masonic Halls, Collier Street, Johnstone
Wednesday, November 15 2017, 10 am - 11 am
Standing Stones of Stenness Walk
Venue: Stones of Stenness Circle and Henge
Join the Orkney Ranger Service for a free guided tour of our oldest stone circle, and explore the fascinating links with the nearby Neolithic village of Barnhouse.
Wednesday, November 15 2017, 7 pm
Marks, Meanings & Messages: an Archaeology of Hidden Voices
Alex Hale, RCAHMS
Venue: Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh
Free to members, £5 for guests. Disabled access and hearing loop
Wednesday, November 15 2017, 7.30 pm
The Remarkable Life of Mary Lee Milne: Her adventures with the Scottish Women’s Hospital during the Great War
Shona Sinclair
Venue: Selkirk Parish Church Hall
Joint meeting with Selkirk Antiquarian Society
Wednesday, November 15 2017, 7.30 pm
The Lost Mansions of the Clyde and Renfrewshire
Dan Sweeney
Venue: Best Western Eglinton Arms Hotel, Eaglesham
Members free, non-members £3 at the door
Wednesday, November 15 2017, 7.30 pm
Scotland and the Spanish Civil War
Fraser Raeburn
Venue: Chalmers Hall, Linlithgow Bridge
West Lothian History and Amenity Society
Thursday, November 16 2017, 5.15 pm for 5.30 pm
‘Remembering Revolution: The Covenants after 1660’
Dr Neil McIntyre (University of Glasgow)
Venue: Room 1.434 (Teaching Room 7), Doorway 3, Old Medical School
University of Edinburgh
Scottish history research seminar. See here for more details.
Thursday, November 16 2017, 7.30 pm
TBA
Venue: Portland Church hall, South Beach, Troon
Troon & Ayrshire Family History Society
Thursday, November 16 2017, 7.30 pm
Dunfermline/Trondheim Connection
Gifford Lind
Venue: Abbey Church Hall, Abbey Park Place, Dunfermline
Dunfermline Historical Society
Visitors are charged a fee of £2.00 per meeting and are made very welcome.
Thursday, November 16 2017, 7.30 pm
The Wilkhouse Excavations of May 2019
Warren Baillie and Donald Adamson - Archaeologists, GUARD Archaeology Ltd
Venue: Brora Community Centre
Thursday, November 16 2017, 7:30 pm
The Covenanters in Renfrewshire
Dane Love
Venue: Paisley Museum, High Street, Paisley
Renfrewshire Family History Society
Friday, November 17 2017, 7.30 pm
John Carswell’s Adventure: 450 years of Gaelic in print
Mark Wringe
Venue: Hilton Church, Inverness
Friday, November 17 2017, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
The Flyting
Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh
Previously Scotland's History Festival
A welcome return for this lively showcase for the Scots language. William Dunbar and Walter Kennedy, the two great makars at the court of James IV, squared up to each other for a verbal battering, around 1508. The verse is sublime, the insults are grotesque and the swearing is genuine. This couldn't be more Scottish if it tried. You, the audience, get to judge the winner of this poetic pyrotechnic who goes home victorious? Dunbar? Kennedy? Ultimately, it's the Scots language itself!
Tickets £8 / £6 / £5.50 SCS
Friday, November 17 2017, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
John Carswell's Adventure: 450 years of Gaelic in Print
Mark Wringe
Venue: Hilton Church, Inverness
Saturday, November 18 2017, 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm
In the footsteps of CK Scott Moncrieff
Jean Findlay
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX
Previously Scotland's History Festival
From the outside an enigma, Scott Moncrieff left a trail of writings that describe a man expert at living a paradoxical life: fervent Catholic convert and homosexual, gregarious party-goer and deeply lonely, interwar spy in Mussolini’s Italy and public man of letters – a man for whom honour was the most abiding principle. He was a decorated war hero, and his letters home are an unusually light take on day-to-day life on the front. Described as ‘offensively brave’, he was severely injured in 1917 and, convalescing in London, became a lynchpin of literary society – friends with Robert Graves and Noel Coward, enemies with Siegfried Sassoon and in love with Wilfred Owen.
Scott Moncrieff’s great-great-niece, Jean Findlay, has exclusive access to the family archive, creating a a portrait of a man hurled into war, through an era when the world was changing fast and forever, who brought us the greatest epic of time and memory that has ever been written.
Jean Findlay has walked in the footsteps of CK Scott Moncrieff….. For eight years she carefully disinterred his life : visiting the battlefields of Flanders and Picardie, finding his flat in Rome, flying to New York to read his letters in the NYPL, tracing his steps up and down the Mediterranean coast of Italy. Jean has described this epic task as being like Scott Moncrieff’s translation of Proust itself, it seemed a never ending task, but it was worth the wait.
Ticket Price : £3.00
Saturday, November 18 2017, 2 pm - 3 pm
Greedy Queen
Annie Gray
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Voracious and adventurous in her tastes, Queen Victoria was head of state during a revolution in how we ate - from the highest tables to the most humble. Bursting with original research, The Greedy Queen considers Britain's most iconic monarch from a new perspective, telling the story of British food along the way.
Born in May 1819, Victoria came 'as plump as a partridge'. In her early years she lived on milk and bread under the Kensington system; in her old age she suffered constant indigestion yet continued to over-eat. From intimate breakfasts with the King of France, to romping at tea-parties with her children, and from state balls to her last sip of milk, her life is examined through what she ate, when and with whom. In the royal household, Victoria was surrounded by ladies-in-waiting, secretaries, dressers and coachmen, but below stairs there was another category of servant: her cooks. More fundamental and yet completely hidden, they are now uncovered in their working environment for the first time.
Annie Gray: historian, cook, lecturer, broadcaster, writer & consultant. She specialises in the history of food and dining in Britain from around 1600 to the present day, and does this fascinating research both in libraries and in my own (and others') kitchens.
Ticket price : £5.00
Saturday, November 18 2017, 2 pm - 4 pm
Canadian Records
Neil Menzies
Venue: Renfield Saint Stephen's Church Centre
Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society
Saturday, November 18 2017, 2.30 pm - 4 pm
In The Footsteps of the Enlightenment
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Join writer and walking enthusiast Stephen Millar, author of Edinburgh’s Hidden Walks, on a wee wonder around Edinburgh’s Old Town and discover the sites of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Meet at 14.30 at the portico of the City Of Edinburgh Methodist Church Hall on Nicholson Square. Remember, it is November, and Scotland, so sensible shoes and equally sensible clothing would be a great idea!
Ticket price : £8.00
Saturday, November 18 2017, 2.30pm-4.30pm
Dominican Blackfriars
Alison Cameron
Venue: Unitarian Church Centre, 43A Skene Terrace, Aberdeen, AB10 1RN
Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society
Saturday, November 18 2017, 3.30 pm - 4.30 p
The Prince Who Would Be King: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart
Sarah Fraser
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Henry Stuart, Prince of Wales was once the hope of Britain. Eldest son to James VI of Scotland, James I of England, Henry was the epitome of heroic Renaissance princely virtue, his life set against a period about as rich and momentous as any. A lively, intelligent prince destined for greatness, but dead at only 18.
Sarah Fraser seeks to restore Henry to his place in history. Set against the bloody traumas of the Thirty Years’ War, the writing of the King James Bible, the Gunpowder Plot and the dark tragedies pouring from Shakespeare’s quill, Henry’s life is the last great forgotten Jacobean tale: the story of a man who, had he lived, might have saved Britain from King Charles I, and the Civil War.
Sarah's outstanding work on restoring Prince Henry is the foundation of a new documentary on the lost prince, scheduled to air this autumn.
Ticket Price : £3.00
Saturday, November 18 2017, 5 pm - 6 pm
Culloden
Trevor Royle
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Culloden. The last major battle fought on British soil: a vicious confrontation between Scottish forces supporting the Stuart claim to the throne and forces loyal to the Hanoverian cause. But this wasn't just a conflict between the Scots and the English, the battle was also part of a much larger campaign to protect the British Isles from the growing threat of a French invasion.
Trevor Royale takes us into the ranks, on both sides, alongside doomed Jacobites fighting fellow Scots dressed in the red coats of the Duke of Cumberland's Royal Army. And we meet the Duke himself, a skilled warrior who would gain notoriety due to the reprisals on Highland clans in the battle's aftermath. Royle also takes us beyond the battle as the men of the Royal Army, galvanized by its success at Culloden, expand dramatically and start to fight campaigns overseas in America and India in order to secure British interests; we see the revolutionary use of fighting techniques first implemented at Culloden; and the creation of professional fighting forces.
Culloden changed the course of British history by ending all hope of the Stuarts reclaiming the throne, cementing Hanoverian rule and forming the bedrock for the creation of the British Empire. Royle's lively and provocative history looks afresh at the period and unveils its true significance, not only as the end of a struggle for the throne but the beginning of a new global power.
Ticket Price : £3.00
Saturday, November 18 2017, 7 pm - 8 pm
War. What is it good for?
Aaron Edwards
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX
Previously Scotland's History Festival
War has been a perennial feature of human history since ancient times, yet it remains a poorly understood phenomenon. It has done much to shape our world, from overthrowing leaders, establishing international governance, and inspiring social change, to destroying cities, dividing nations and breeding animosity.
Dr Aaron Edwards succinctly combines political theories with historical realities. and invites us to question whether violence is the most effective way to resolve disputes.
Dr Aaron Edwards is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Defense and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Ticket Price : £3.00
Saturday, November 18 2017, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
Runaway Slaves In Britain
Simon Newman and Mara Menzies
Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Relatively little is known about the enslaved people who lived and died in 18th century Britain. Runaway slaves inadvertently generated records of themselves, when slave-owners placed advertisements in newspapers, describing people who are otherwise all but completely absent from historical records.
The Runaway Slave Project in Britain, has been uncovering and cataloguing these advertisements. Professor Simon Newman, of the University of Glasgow’s School Of Humanities has been leading the effort to collate these records, and joins us to tell us more about this project. Mara Menzies, internationally renowned Scots Kenyan storyteller will weave these tiny fragments of lives lived into tales of the people history ignored, but are slowly uncovering again.
TICKETS £8 / £6 / £5.50 SCS
Saturday, November 18 2017, 8.30 pm - 9.30 pm
Scotland : A Century of Nationalism
Tommy Sheppard
Venue: The Canon's Gait, 232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ
Previously Scotland's History Festival
For many, the very real possibility of a sovereign Scotland brought the Independence movement with its hopes, dreams and aspirations into sharp focus for the first time. But what about the history of this ambition? The story of Scottish nationalism is far deeper than the galvanising two year independence campaign of 2012 -2014. Join Tommy Sheppard MP as he explores this rich and sometimes controversial history with Professor Richard Finlay (University of Strathclyde).
Ticket price : £3.00
Sunday, November 19 2017, 1.30 pm - 3 pm
GUIDED TOUR OF DEAN CEMETERY
Venue: Dean Cemetery, 63 Dean Path, Edinburgh EH4 3AT, UK
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Opened in 1846, this is one of the Capital’s early Victorian designed garden cemeteries. It quickly became one of the premier burial grounds of the City, so that many eminent persons chose Dean for their final resting-places. It’s still immaculately maintained by the Dean Cemetery Trust, thus the many fine monuments may be viewed clearly as intended. The tour will introduce you to many of the personalities interred within, including Dr Elsie Inglis and some of the family and friends of Robert Louis Stevenson.
£5 free to children under 12. Pay at Gate. Booking essential. To book email secretary@deanvillage.org
Sunday, November 19 2017, 1.45 pm - 2.45 pm
Pirates!
Dr Eric Graham
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Do you have what it takes to join the crew of a Black Flag pirate? How would you fare on the decks of a cruising 30 gunner looking for prey off the Gold Coast? Can you handle the cut and thrust of the boarding party? Would you have been a Blade of Fortune or a Forced Man? And did they all say 'arrr Jim, lad' (hint: they didn't.)
Dr Eric Graham, maritime historian and pirate king can take you through what it really meant to be a pirate in the Golden Age of Piracy, and what happened if your pirate dream was to retire…
Ticket price : £3.00
Sunday, November 19 2017, 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm
A Very Short Introduction To : Hieroglyphs
Penelope Wilson
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Hieroglyphs were far more than a language. They were an omnipresent and all-powerful force in communicating the messages of ancient Egyptian culture for over three thousand years; used as monumental art, as a means of identifying Egyptianness, and for rarefied communication with the gods. Penelope Wilson explores the cultural significance of the script with an emphasis on previously neglected areas such as cryptography, the continuing decipherment into modern times, and examines the powerful fascination hieroglyphs still hold for us today.
Ticket price : £3.00
Sunday, November 19 2017, 3 pm - 4 pm
Castle Hunter
David Weinczok
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK
Previously Scotland's History Festival
David Weinczok hunts castles, and for that Scotland is undoubtedly the place to be. You won't find him at many gold-laden palaces; he's more the ‘windswept ruin atop a seaside crag’ sort of guy. Some of his favourites, however, exist in the realm of fiction and to that end he is now looking at the castles of the big, silver, and video game screens and asking, 'but could it actually keep the bad guys out?'
From Game of Thrones' Winterfell to Disney's iconic turreted tower and the classic keeps of Super Mario Bros., David will lay siege to the cracks in their defences and crown a King of (Fantasy) Castles. Find out what separates proper castles from phoney ones and prepare for a nostalgic, pixellated assault on the castles all good geeks grew up with.
Ticket Price : £3.00
Sunday, November 19 2017, 3 pm - 4 pm
Pixelated Pagans: Four Decades of Vikings in Video Game History
Christian Cooijmans
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Christian Cooijmans of the School of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh looks at the Vikings.
From Golden Axe to Skyrim, the Vikings have been a well-represented, recognisable subject of video game design for almost forty years. Bridging the gap between history and popular culture, Chris Cooijmans will consider how these Scandinavian seafarers and their society have thus far been (mis)represented by this rapidly-evolving creative medium, horned helmets and all.
Ticket price : £3.00
Sunday, November 19 2017, 4 pm - 5 pm
A Very Short Introduction To The Napoleonic Wars
Mike Rapport
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK
Previously Scotland's History Festival
The Napoleonic Wars have an important place in the history of Europe, leaving their mark on European and world societies in a variety of ways. In many European countries they provided the stimulus for radical social and political change - particularly in Spain, Germany, and Italy - and are frequently viewed in these places as the starting point of their modern histories.
In this Very Short Introduction, Mike Rapport provides a brief outline of the wars, introducing the tactics, strategies, and weaponry of the time. He considers the origins and course of the wars, the ways and means in which it was fought, and the social and political legacy it has left to the world today.
Ticket price : £3.00
Sunday, November 19 2017, 5 pm - 6 pm
Ghosts, Skeletons and Koopa Troopas: A Brief History of Baddies in Computer Games
Dr Chris Jefferson
Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Anyone will tell you that since the beginning of entertainment history, the baddies have always had the best lines, the smartest gear and the coolest weapons. The computer games industry is no different. Learn the history of the pixelated villains with Dr Chris Jefferson of St Andrews University, and possibly even some tricks to defeat them!
Ticket price : £3.00
Sunday, November 19 2017, 7 pm - 9 pm
HAPpening: History in Art Projects Launch
Venue: The Canon's Gait, 232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ
Previously Scotland's History Festival
Previously… is launching History in Art Projects, a new scheme to encourage the exploration of history through the arts! Our aim is to support artists of all sorts by bringing them into contact with historians looking for new ways to share their research with the world. Through seed funding and matchmaking, we want to help new projects to come to life.
Join us at our launch event to hear more – we’ll be announcing the first recipient of our Seed Fund for New History Plays, and there’ll be a special performance by storyteller Mara Menzies who is developing a piece in collaboration with The Runaway Slave Project. Come and find out what’s HAPpening!
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