Protest, Resistance and Popular Politics in Late Medieval Scotland

Despite the long-running historiography on popular protests in both England and continental Europe, there has been little discussion of this phenomenon in Scotland, in part because historians specialising in Scotland have paid little attention to the phenomenon of popular revolt, save an occasional comment in wider studies. This book is the first sustained analysis of popular politics in Scotland during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Despite the long-running historiography on popular protests in both England and continental Europe, there has been little discussion of this phenomenon in Scotland, in part because historians specialising in Scotland have paid little attention to the phenomenon of popular revolt, save an occasional comment in wider studies. There were no large-scale popular uprisings in Scotland, like the Peasants’ Revolt in England, the Jacquerie in France, or the Ciompi in Florence, but that does not mean that the wider populace was not politically engaged. Indeed, many of the key sources for late medieval Scotland, including The Bruce, Scotichronicon, The Dethe of the Kynge of Scotis and the records of the Scottish parliament, all contain hints of popular political engagement. It is only when these sources are read with a focus on the lower echelons of society that a clearer picture—of a populace with political ideals they sought to uphold—emerges. Gordon McKelvie is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Winchester, UK. This book is the first sustained analysis of popular politics in Scotland during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Despite the long-running historiography on popular protests in both England and continental Europe, there has been little discussion of this phenomenon in Scotland, in part because historians specialising in Scotland have paid little attention to the phenomenon of popular revolt, save an occasional comment in wider studies. There were no large-scale popular uprisings in Scotland, like the Peasants’ Revolt in England, the Jacquerie in France, or the Ciompi in Florence, but that does not mean that the wider populace was not politically engaged. Indeed, many of the key sources for late medieval Scotland, including The Bruce, Scotichronicon, The Dethe of the Kynge of Scotis and the records of the Scottish parliament, all contain hints of popular political engagement. It is only when these sources are read with a focus on the lower echelons of society that a clearer picture—of a populace with political ideals they sought to uphold—emerges.