Introduction
Jagged hills, deep lochs, majestic castles, ancient
ruins, kilted
bagpipers, fierce warriors — these are just a few of the images the
name of Scotland conjures up. It is a wildly beautiful country,
peopled with characters to match. Many adventures await in
Scotland,
and many stories as well.
I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in Scotland. Growing up, I was surrounded by its beautiful music — joyful jigs and reels, and ballads that made the heart weep. My father had some Scottish blood in him, and I was fascinated by the stories I heard about my ancestors, whether from genealogical research or from family tradition that had been passed down through the years. I even developed a passion as a student of linguistics for Scottish Gaelic, a language of the highlands that dances upon the tongue. Although I have never been to Scotland, I feel as though a part of me belongs there.
Scotland is more of a diverse country than many people assume, both in terrain and in the people themselves. The main division is the Highland-Lowland line, which stretches diagonally from southwestern to northeastern Scotland. The Highlands are generally more mountainous, with many deep lochs and land much less hospitable to farming than the green, fertile Lowlands. The peoples of the Highlands are largely of Celtic descent. Many of them still speak Gaelic, a Celtic language, and until relatively recently they have maintained a tribal way of life with their clan system. The Lowlanders, on the other hand, are of roughly the same stock as their neighbors to the south, and have throughout the centuries maintained a culture similar to that of England, although still uniquely Scottish. They brought with them a form of English to Scotland called Scots. To this day, Scottish English is a dialect so strong that it is debated as to whether or not it is a language of its own!
Because of the variety of people and perspectives in Scotland, it seems likely that there would also be many different kinds of stories. Most of the stories I had heard previously were based on historical events — feuds between clans, struggles to survive, stories of romance and intrigue. However, if one were to talk to the people themselves, what kind of stories would they tell? What legends have the Highlanders passed down through the ages? What myths have the Lowlanders half-believed in since ancient times? These are a few of the questions I have explored in this storybook, through excerpts from the diary of a girl named Maggie Ferguson.
Maggie is an American college student who, like me, is very interested in her Scottish heritage. Each of her grandparents emigrated from very different places in Scotland: Dumfries, Argyll, the Shetland Islands, and Aberdeenshire. We join her in June, when she is finally getting the chance to go to Scotland on the trip of her dreams. She makes plans to stop at each of the places her grandparents grew up in, hoping both to find out more about them and better connect with her Scottish heritage. Little does she know what stories and adventures await her!
I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in Scotland. Growing up, I was surrounded by its beautiful music — joyful jigs and reels, and ballads that made the heart weep. My father had some Scottish blood in him, and I was fascinated by the stories I heard about my ancestors, whether from genealogical research or from family tradition that had been passed down through the years. I even developed a passion as a student of linguistics for Scottish Gaelic, a language of the highlands that dances upon the tongue. Although I have never been to Scotland, I feel as though a part of me belongs there.
Scotland is more of a diverse country than many people assume, both in terrain and in the people themselves. The main division is the Highland-Lowland line, which stretches diagonally from southwestern to northeastern Scotland. The Highlands are generally more mountainous, with many deep lochs and land much less hospitable to farming than the green, fertile Lowlands. The peoples of the Highlands are largely of Celtic descent. Many of them still speak Gaelic, a Celtic language, and until relatively recently they have maintained a tribal way of life with their clan system. The Lowlanders, on the other hand, are of roughly the same stock as their neighbors to the south, and have throughout the centuries maintained a culture similar to that of England, although still uniquely Scottish. They brought with them a form of English to Scotland called Scots. To this day, Scottish English is a dialect so strong that it is debated as to whether or not it is a language of its own!
Because of the variety of people and perspectives in Scotland, it seems likely that there would also be many different kinds of stories. Most of the stories I had heard previously were based on historical events — feuds between clans, struggles to survive, stories of romance and intrigue. However, if one were to talk to the people themselves, what kind of stories would they tell? What legends have the Highlanders passed down through the ages? What myths have the Lowlanders half-believed in since ancient times? These are a few of the questions I have explored in this storybook, through excerpts from the diary of a girl named Maggie Ferguson.
Maggie is an American college student who, like me, is very interested in her Scottish heritage. Each of her grandparents emigrated from very different places in Scotland: Dumfries, Argyll, the Shetland Islands, and Aberdeenshire. We join her in June, when she is finally getting the chance to go to Scotland on the trip of her dreams. She makes plans to stop at each of the places her grandparents grew up in, hoping both to find out more about them and better connect with her Scottish heritage. Little does she know what stories and adventures await her!
