The Wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 - (New Edinburgh History of Scotland) by Michael Brown (Paperback)

About the Book

This book discusses the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in detail as a single period of both developing and fragmenting political hierarchies and communities. It provides a political narrative which places events in their immediate context as well as highlighting special issues and groups in thematic chapters.

Book Synopsis

The Wars of Scotland is the story of the pivotal period in Scottish history between 1214 and 1371. The century and a half between the death of King William the Lion and the accession of the Stewarts witnessed major changes in the internal character of the kingdom and its place in the wider European world. The opening decades of this era seemed to be dominated by the continued development of a defined Scottish realm but the crisis which engulfed the kings and their people meant that issues of war and allegiance would make fourteenth-century Scotland a very different place. This book is the first detailed discussion of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as a single period of both developing and fragmenting political hierarchies and communities. The Wars of Scotland provides a political narrative which places events in their immediate context as well as highlighting special issues and groups in thematic chapters. It also introduces a new discussion of the stability and unity of Scotland as a realm and community and of the impact of war and dynastic crisis on a Medieval state.

Review Quotes

Michael Brown has done an admirable job ... this is a highly readable survey that provides an excellent introduction to the period.-- "Scotia"

This is a superb book which should be widely read.-- "History: The Journal of the Historical Association"

The fruit of recent scholarship is gathered into a fresh, readable, informative, and balanced account. The original Edinburgh History of Scotland was the standard Scottish historical narrative for nearly two generations; if this volume is typical, its replacement will fulfill that role for at least as long ... Highly recommended.-- "Choice"

About the Author

Michael Brown is Reader in Scottish History at the University of St Andrews. He has written books on James I, the Black Douglases and volume four in the New Edinburgh History of Scotland, 'The Wars of Scotland, 1214-1371'.