Alexander Reid (playwright)
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Alexander Reid (playwright)
Alexander Reid (1914–1982) was a Scottish playwright and poet, "one of the neglected dramatists of the Scottish Renaissance". His two best-known plays are ''The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou'', based on the legend of Thomas the Rhymer, and ''The Warld's Wander'', about Michael Scot, the famous magician. Life Alexander Reid was born on 19 August 1914 in Edinburgh, and educated at George Heriot's School. From 1929 to 1936 he worked as a journalist for the ''Edinburgh Evening News'', before writing on Scottish history and literature for the ''SMT Magazine''. A conscientious objector during World War II, he worked as a bookseller and accountant before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster in 1948. ''The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou'' was first performed at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre in November 1950. He died in Edinburgh on 1 July 1982. Reid edited the Saltire Society's quarterly ''Saltire Review'' from 1954 until 1960.Reid, Alexander (ed.), ''Saltire Review'' 1, The Saltire Socie ...
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Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands. Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas. Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the Scott ...
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Playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder (as in a wheelwright or cartwright). The words combine to indicate a person who has "wrought" words, themes, and other elements into a dramatic form—a play. (The homophone with "write" is coincidental.) The first recorded use of the term "playwright" is from 1605, 73 years before the first written record of the term "dramatist". It appears to have been first used in a pejorative sense by Ben Jonson to suggest a mere tradesman fashioning works for the theatre. Jonson uses the word in his Epigram 49, which is thought to refer to John Marston: :''Epigram XLIX — On Playwright'' :PLAYWRIGHT me reads, and still my verses damns, :He says I want the tongue of epigrams ; :I have no salt, no bawdry he doth mea ...
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Scottish Renaissance
The Scottish Renaissance ( gd, Ath-bheòthachadh na h-Alba; sco, Scots Renaissance) was a mainly literary movement of the early to mid-20th century that can be seen as the Scotland, Scottish version of modernism. It is sometimes referred to as the Scottish literary renaissance, although its influence went beyond literature into music, visual arts, and politics (among other fields). The writers and artists of the Scottish Renaissance displayed a profound interest in both modern philosophy and technology, as well as incorporating Scottish folklore, folk influences, and a strong concern for the fate of Scotland's endangered language, declining languages. It has been seen as a parallel to other movements elsewhere, including the Irish Literary Revival, the Harlem Renaissance (in United States, America), the Bengal Renaissance (in Kolkata, India) and the Jindyworobak Movement (in Australia), which emphasised indigenous folk traditions. Beginnings The term "Scottish Renaissance" was ...
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Thomas The Rhymer
Sir Thomas de Ercildoun, better remembered as Thomas the Rhymer (fl. c. 1220 – 1298), also known as Thomas Learmont or True Thomas, was a Scottish laird and reputed prophet from Earlston (then called "Erceldoune") in the Borders. Thomas' gift of prophecy is linked to his poetic ability. He is often cited as the author of the English ''Sir Tristrem'', a version of the Tristram legend, and some lines in Robert Mannyng's ''Chronicle'' may be the source of this association. It is not clear if the name ''Rhymer'' was his actual surname or merely a sobriquet. In literature, he appears as the protagonist in the tale about Thomas the Rhymer carried off by the " Queen of Elfland" and returned having gained the gift of prophecy, as well as the inability to tell a lie. The tale survives in a medieval verse romance in five manuscripts, as well as in the popular ballad "Thomas Rhymer" (Child Ballad number 37).Child Ballad #37. "Thomas the Rymer", The romance occurs as "Thomas off ...
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Michael Scot
Michael Scot (Latin: Michael Scotus; 1175 – ) was a Scottish mathematician and scholar in the Middle Ages. He was educated at Oxford and Paris, and worked in Bologna and Toledo, where he learned Arabic. His patron was Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire and Scot served as science adviser and court astrologer to him. Scot translated Averroes and was the greatest public intellectual of his day. Early life and education Scot was born somewhere in the border regions of Scotland. He studied first at the cathedral school of Durham and then at Oxford and Paris, devoting himself to philosophy, mathematics, and astrology. It appears that he had also studied theology and become an ordained priest, as Pope Honorius III wrote to Stephen Langton on 16 January 1223/4, urging him to confer an English benefice on Scot, and nominated Scot as archbishop of Cashel in Ireland. Scot declined this appointment, but he seems to have held benefices in Italy. From Paris, Scot went to Bologna, an ...
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Magician (paranormal)
Magic, sometimes spelled magick, is an ancient praxis rooted in sacred rituals, spiritual divinations, and/or cultural lineage—with an intention to invoke, manipulate, or otherwise manifest supernatural forces, beings, or entities in the natural, incarnate world. It is a categorical yet often ambiguous term which has been used to refer to a wide variety of beliefs and practices, frequently considered separate from both religion and science. Although connotations have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history, magic continues to have an important religious and medicinal role in many cultures today. Within Western culture, magic has been linked to ideas of the Other, foreignness, and primitivism; indicating that it is "a powerful marker of cultural difference" and likewise, a non-modern phenomenon. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commo ...
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Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is Scotland's List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, second-most populous city, after Glasgow, and the List of cities in the United Kingdom, seventh-most populous city in the United Kingdom. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and the Courts of Scotland, highest courts in Scotland. The city's Holyrood Palace, Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchy in Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, Scottish law, literature, philosophy, the sc ...
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George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George Heriot, and opened in 1659. It is governed by George Heriot's Trust, a Scottish charity. Architecture The main building of the school is notable for its renaissance architecture, the work of William Wallace, until his death in 1631. He was succeeded as master mason by William Aytoun, who was succeeded in turn by John Mylne. In 1676, Sir William Bruce drew up plans for the completion of Heriot's Hospital. His design, for the central tower of the north façade, was eventually executed in 1693. The school is a turreted building surrounding a large quadrangle, and built out of sandstone. The foundation stone is inscribed with the date 1628. ...
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Edinburgh Evening News
The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by JPIMedia, which also owns ''The Scotsman''. Much of the content of the ''Evening News'' concerns local issues such as transport, health, the local council and crime in Edinburgh and the Lothians. The paper has a significant number of journalists covering sport, with a dedicated reporter assigned to each of the city's football teams, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian. Circulation According to ABC figures for February 2014, the paper's circulation was 28,000, down from 32,160 in the preceding February. In 2016 this had dropped to 18,362, falling again to 16,660 by February 2018. In November 2018, the owners of the ''Edinburgh Evening News'' holding company The Scotsman Publications, Johnston Press, went into administration. The assets were sold to JPIMedia ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ...
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Glasgow Citizens' Theatre
The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal Producing house, producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various studio theatres over time. The Citizens' Theatre repertory was founded in 1943 by dramatist and screenwriter James Bridie, author of some 40 plays presented in Britain and overseas, art gallery director Tom Honeyman, cinema impresario George Singleton, known by many as "Mr Cosmo", whose headquarter cinema continues today as the Glasgow Film Theatre, and Paul Vincent Carroll, whose plays were first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin (founder W.B.Yeats) and later on Broadway, winning the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for ''Shadow and Substance'' (1938) and ''The White Steed'' (1939). Under the leadership of James Bridie (Dr O.H. Mavor), the Citizens Company was based at first in the Glasgow Athenaeum. It moved i ...
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Saltire Society
The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland. Founded in 1936, the society was "set up to promote and celebrate the uniqueness of Scottish culture and Scotland’s heritage, and to reclaim Scotland’s place as a distinct contributor to European and international culture." The society organises lectures and publishes pamphlets, and presents a series of awards in the fields of art, architecture, literature and history. The society is based in Edinburgh, with branches in Aberdeen, Dumfries, Glasgow, Helensburgh, the Highlands, Kirriemuir and New York City. The current president is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, Sally Mapstone. History The society was founded on 22 April 1936 in Glasgow, conceived by Andrew Dewar Gibb and George Malcolm Thomson. Subscription for a year cost five shillings. By the early 1950s the society had almost 2000 members. In 1954 they launc ...
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