LUCRARE DE ATESTAT

SCOTLAND

PROF. COORDONATOR

ELEV

TOZLOVANU CARMEN

SZABO ELENA

Covasna 2015

Table of Contents
Argument.....................................3
Introduction................................. 4
The History of Scotland4
Culture5
Historical Places in Scotland..6
The moster of Lock Ness.7
Edinburgh Castle..7
St. Margarets Chapel..8
Arthurs Seat9
Bibliography.10
Annexes..11

Argument
There are too many worthy landmarks and places in Scotland to
mention.
Several natural and man-made landmarks, sights stand out as
being of outstanding natural brilliance, while others have special
historical importance, offer impeccable facilities and an irresistible
ambiance.
The places and buildings keep us in close contact with the past,
and help to develop an emotional attachment to our land. We need to keep
the buildings in a good shape that create an unusual identity and hold our
individual and collective memories.
Scotland has very many tourists and its culture makes you desire to
know more and more about its life and traditions.

Introduction
3

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third
of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is
otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east and the
North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. In addition to the mainland, the country
is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh , the country's capital and second-largest city, was the hub of the Scottish of
the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual,
and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city was once one of
the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow
conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the
North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given
Aberdeen the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.
The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early
Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, King James VI of
Scotland became King of England and King of Ireland thus forming a personal union
of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with
England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain . The union also
created a new parliament of Great Britain , which succeeded both the Parliament of
Scotland and the Parliament of England. The Treaty of Union was agreed in 1706 and
enacted by the twin Acts of Union in 1707 passed by the Parliaments of both countries,
despite some popular opposition and anti-union riots in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and
elsewhere. Great Britain itself subsequently entered into a political union with Ireland
on 1 January 1801 to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Scotland's legal system has remained separate from those of England and Wales and
Northern Ireland , and Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in public and private
law. The continued existence of legal, educational and religious institutions distinct from
those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish
culture and national identity since the 1707 union. Following a referendum in 1997, a
Scottish Parliament was re-established, this time as a devolved legislature with
authority over many areas of home affairs.

The History of Scotland

The history of Scotland is known to have begun by the end of the last glacial period (in
the Paleolithic), roughly 10,000 years ago. Prehistoric Scotland entered the Neolithic
Era about 4000 BC, the Bronze Age about 2000 BC, and the Iron Age around 700 BC.
Scotland's recorded history began with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the
1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the line between the
firths of Clyde to the Forth. North of this was Caledonia, whose people were known in
Latinas "Picti", "the painted ones". Constant risings forced Rome's legions back:
Hadrian's Wall attempted to seal off the Roman south and the Antonine Wall attempted
to move the Roman border north. The latter was swiftly abandoned and the former
overrun, most spectacularly during the Great Conspiracy of the 360s. As Rome finally
withdrew from Britain, Gaelic raiders called the Scoti began colonizing Western
Scotland and Wales.
4

The Kingdom of Scotland was united under the descendants of Kenneth MacAlpin, first
king of a united Scotland. His descendants, known to modern historians as the House of
Alpin, fought among each other during frequent disputed successions. The last Alpin
king, Malcolm II, died without issue in the early 11th century and the kingdom passed
through his daughter's son, Duncan I, who started a new line of kings known to modern
historians as the House of Dunkeld or Canmore. The last Dunkeld king, Alexander III,
died in 1286 leaving only a single infant granddaughter as heir; four years later,
Margaret, Maid of Norway herself died in a tragic shipwreck en route to Scotland.
During the Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, Scotland became one of
the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Its industrial decline
following the Second World War was particularly acute, but in recent decades the
country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance, fuelled in part
by a resurgent financial services sector, the proceeds of North Sea oil and gas.

Culture
Scottish music is a significant aspect of the nation's culture, with both traditional
and modern influences. A famous traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland
Bagpipe, a wind instrument consisting of three drones and a melody pipe (called the
chanter), which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag. Bagpipe bands,
featuring bagpipes and various types of drums, and showcasing Scottish music styles
while creating new ones, have spread throughout the world. The clrsach (harp), fiddle
and accordion are also traditional Scottish instruments, the latter two heavily featured
in Scottish country dance bands. Today, there are many successful Scottish bands and
individual artists in varying styles including Annie Lennox , Amy Macdonald, Runrig,
Boards of Canada, Cocteau Twins, Deacon Blue, Franz Ferdinand, Susan Boyle, Emeli
Sande. Other Scottish musicians include Shirley Manson, Paolo Nutini and Calvin
Harris.
Scotland has a literary heritage dating back to the early Middle Ages. The
earliest extant literature composed in what is now Scotland was in Brythonic speech in
the 6th century, but is preserved as part of Welsh literature. Later medieval literature
included works in Latin, Gaelic, Old English and French. The first surviving major text
in Early Scots is the 14th-century poet John Barbour's epic Brus, focusing on the life of
Robert I,and was soon followed by a series of vernacular romances and prose works. In
the 16th century the crown's patronage helped the development of Scots drama and
poetry, but the accession of James VI to the English throne removed a major centre of
literary patronage and Scots was sidelined as a literary language. Interest in Scots
literature was revived in the 18th century by figures including James Macpherson,
whose Ossian Cycle made him the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation
and was a major influence on the European Enlightenment.

Historical Places in Scotland

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, situated in Lothian on the southern shore of
the Firth of Forth. It is the second most populous city in Scotland and the seventh most
5

populous in the United Kingdom. Edinburgh lies at the heart of a larger urban zone
with a population of 778,000.
Edinburgh has been recognized as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century
but political power moved south to London after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and
the Union of Parliaments in 1707. After nearly three centuries of unitary government, a
measure of self-government returned in the shape of the devolved Scottish Parliament,
which officially opened in Edinburgh in 1999. Edinburgh's relatively buoyant economy,
traditionally centred on banking and insurance but now encompassing a wide range of
businesses, makes it the biggest financial centre in the UK after London. Many Scottish
companies have established their head offices in the city.
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and the third largest in the United Kingdom.
At the 2011 census, it had a population density of 8,790/sq mi (3,390/km2), the highest of
any Scottish city. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central
Lowlands.
Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become one of the
largest seaports in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh,
and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a
major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century
the city also grew as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North
America and the West Indies.
Dundee officially the City of Dundee, is the fourth-largest city in Scotland by
population. At the 2011 census, it had a population density of 3,298 people per square
kilometre, the second highest of any Scottish city. It lies within the eastern central
Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under
the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32 council areas used for local government
in Scotland.
The town developed into a burgh in medieval times, and expanded rapidly in the 19th
century largely due to the jute industry.

The monster of Loch Ness

The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid who reputedly inhabits Loch Ness in the Scottish
Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere,
though its description varies from one account to the next, with most describing it as
large in size. Popular interest and belief in the animal's existence has varied since it was
first brought to the world's attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with
minimal and much-disputed photographic material and sonar readings.
The most common speculation among believers is that the creature represents a line of
long-surviving plesiosaurs.Much of the scientific community regards the Loch Ness
Monster as a modern-day myth, and explains sightings as including misidentifications of

more mundane objects, outright hoaxes, and wishful thinking. The creature has been
affectionately referred to by the nickname Nessie since the 1940s.
The term "monster" was reportedly applied for the first time to the creature on 2
May 1933 by Alex Campbell, the water bailiff for Loch Ness and a part-time journalist,
in a report in The Inverness Courier.On 4 August 1933, the Courier published as a full
news item the assertion of a London man, George Spicer, that a few weeks earlier while
motoring around the Loch, he and his wife had seen "the nearest approach to a dragon
or pre-historic animal that I have ever seen in my life", trundling across the road
toward the Loch carrying "an animal" in its mouth.Other letters began appearing in
the Courier, often anonymously, with claims of land or water sightings, either on the
writer's part or on the parts of family, acquaintances or stories they remembered being
told. These stories soon reached the national (and later the international) press, which
described a "monster fish", "sea serpent", or "dragon", eventually settling on "Loch
Ness Monster".

Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of
Edinburgh, Scotland from its position on the Castle Rock. Archaeologists have
established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age (2nd century AD),
although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle on
the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to
be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the
castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as
military barracks with a large garrison. Its importance as a part of Scotland's national
heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19th century onwards, and various
restoration programmes have been carried out over the past century and a half. As one
of the most important strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was
involved in many historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th
century to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. It has been besieged, both successfully and
unsuccessfully, on several occasions.The castle is in the care of Historic Scotland and is
Scotland's most-visited paid tourist attraction, with over 1.4 million visitors in 2013. As
the backdrop to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo during the annual Edinburgh
International Festival the castle has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and of
Scotland and indeed, it is Edinburgh's most frequently visited visitor attraction according to the Edinburgh Visitor Survey, more than 70% of leisure visitors to
Edinburgh visited the castle.

St. Margarets Chapel

St Margaret's Chapel, in Edinburgh Castle, is the oldest surviving building in
Edinburgh, Scotland. An example of Romanesque architecture, it is a category A listed
building. It was constructed in the 12th century, but fell into disuse after the
Reformation. In the 19th century the chapel was restored and today is cared for by the
St Margaret's Chapel Guild.
7

Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045 16 November 1093) was an English

princess of the House of Wessex, the sister of Edgar theling. Margaret and her family
fled to Scotland following the Norman conquest of England of 1066. Around 1070
Margaret married Malcolm III of Scotland. She was a pious woman, and among many
charitable works she established a ferry across the Firth of Forth for pilgrims travelling
to Dunfermline Abbey. According to the Life of Saint Margaret, attributed to Turgot of
Durham, she died at Edinburgh Castle in 1093, just days after receiving the news of her
husband's death in battle. In 1250 she was canonised by Pope Innocent IV.

Arthurs Seat
Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills in Scotland which form most of
Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a
mountain in virtue of its bold design" .It is situated in the centre of the city of
Edinburgh about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill itself rises
above the city to a height of 250.5 m (822 ft), provides excellent panoramic views of the
city, is relatively easy to climb, and is popular for hillwalking. Though it can be climbed
from almost any direction, the easiest and simplest ascent is from the east, where a
grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch. At a spur of the hill, Salisbury Crags has
historically been a rock climbing venue with routes of various degrees of difficulty;
however due to hazards rock climbing is now restricted to the South Quarry and a free
permit is required.
Arthur's Seat is the largest of the three parts of the Arthur's Seat Volcano site of special
scientific interest which is designated to protect its important geology (see below),
grassland habitats and uncommon plant and animal species.
Like the castle rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built, it was formed by an
extinct volcano system of Carboniferous age,
which was eroded by a glacier moving from
west to east during the Quatemary , explosing
rocky crags to the west and leaving a tail of
material swept to the east.
Huttons Section

Bibliography

Nicolae Plopeanu Itinerar Britanic

William Wallace The Brave Heart of Scotland
Wilson, Daniel (1891). Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time
MacIvor, Iain (1993). Edinburgh Castle

The Loch Ness lake

10