The landscape of the north-east of Scotland ranges from wild mountains
to undulating farmlands; from cosy, quaint fishing coves to long, sandy
bays. This landscape witnessed the death of MacBeth, the final stand of
the Comyns earls of Buchan against Robert the Bruce and the last
victory, in Britain, of a catholic army at Glenlivet. But behind these
momentous battles lie the quieter histories of ordinary folk farming the
land - and supping their local malts.
Colin Shepherd paints a picture of rural life within the landscapes of
the north-east between the 13th and 18th centuries by using documentary,
cartographic and archaeological evidence. He shows how the landscape was
ordered by topographic and environmental constraints that resulted in
great variation across the region and considers the evidence for the way
late medieval lifestyles developed and blended sustainably within their
environments to create a patchwork of cultural and agricultural
diversity. However, these socio-economic developments subsequently led
to a breakdown of this structure, resulting in what Adam Smith, in the
18th century, described as 'oppression'.
The 12th-century Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation and the
Industrial Revolution are used here to define a framework for
considering the cultural changes that affected this region of Scotland.
These include the dispossession of rights to land ownership that
continue to haunt policy makers in the Scottish government today. While
the story also shows how a regional cultural divergence, recognized
here, can undermine 'big theories' of socio-political change when viewed
across the wider stage of Europe and the Americas.
