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Wallace Monument
The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) is a 67 metre tower on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig, a hilltop overlooking Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero. The tower is open to the public for an admission fee. Visitors approach by foot from the base of the crag on which it stands. On entry there are 246 steps to the final observation platform, with three exhibition rooms within the body of the tower. The tower is not accessible to disabled visitors. Background The tower was constructed following a fundraising campaign, which accompanied a resurgence of Scottish national identity in the 19th century. The campaign was begun in Glasgow in 1851 by Rev Charles Rogers who was joined by William Burns. Burns took sole charge from around 1855 following Rogers' resignation. In addition to public subscription, it was partially funded by contributions from a number of foreign donors, including I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gillies Hill
Gillies Hill is located west of Stirling and the M9, south of Cambusbarron, and north of the Bannock Burn in Central Scotland. Gillies Hill covers a crag and tail which rises from a height of at the Bannock Burn Bridge near Sauchie Craig to an elevation of 162 m (531 ft) at a point which overlooks the former quarrying operation to the west and Stirling Castle to the east. The hill lies north of the Bannock Burn, northeast of Sauchie Craig (an area designated SSSI, Site of Special Scientific Interest), east of the Touch Hills and Murrayswood, south of Cambusbarron, and west of Stirling and the M9. Gillies Hill is the hill from which Robert the Bruce’s camp followers, or Gillies, descended onto the field of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 turning the tide of the battle which granted Scotland nearly 400 years of independence. The majority of Gillies Hill has been classified as a Semi-natural Ancient Woodland by The Woodland Trust using aerial surveys and by a fol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world. Celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature. In 2009 he was chosen as the greatest Scot by the Scottish publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allan Ramsay (poet)
Allan Ramsay (15 October 16867 January 1758) was a Scottish poet (or ''makar''), playwright, publisher, librarian, and impresario of early Enlightenment Edinburgh. Life and career Allan Ramsay was born at Leadhills, Lanarkshire, to John Ramsay, superintendent of Lord Hopetoun's lead-mines and his wife, Alice Bower, a native of Derbyshire. Allan Ramsay and his elder brother Robert probably attended the parish school at Crawfordjohn. In 1701 Allan was apprenticed to a wig-maker in Edinburgh and received his indentures back by 1709. He married Christian Ross in 1712; a few years after he had established himself as a wig-maker (not as a barber, as has been often said) in the High Street, and soon found himself in comfortable circumstances. They had six children. His eldest child was Allan Ramsay, the portrait painter. Ramsay's first efforts in verse-making were inspired by the meetings of the Easy Club (founded in 1712), of which he was an original member; and in 1715 he bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Knox
John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lothian, Knox is believed to have been educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest. Influenced by early church reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the movement to reform the Scottish church. He was caught up in the and political events that involved the murder of Cardinal David Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the regent Mary of Guise. He was taken prisoner by French forces the following year and exiled to England on his release in 1549. While in exile, Knox was licensed to work in the Church of England, where he rose in the ranks to serve King Edward VI of England as a royal chaplain. He exerted a reforming influence on the text of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Buchanan
George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." His ideology of resistance to royal usurpation gained widespread acceptance during the Scottish Reformation. Brown says the ease with which King James VII was deposed in 1689 shows the power of Buchananite ideas. His treatise ''De Jure Regni apud Scotos'', published in 1579. discussed the doctrine that the source of all political power is the people, and that the king is bound by those conditions under which the supreme power was first committed to his hands, and that it is lawful to resist, even to punish, tyrants. The importance of Buchanan's writings is shown by the suppression of his work by James VI and the British legislature in the century following their publication. It was condemned by act of parliament in 1584, and burned by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert The Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent kingdom and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero. Robert was a fourth great-grandson of King David I, and his grandfather, Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, was one of the claimants to the Scottish throne during the " Great Cause". As Earl of Carrick, Robert the Bruce supported his family's claim to the Scottish throne and took part in William Wallace's revolt against Edward I of England. Appointed in 1298 as a Guardian of Scotland alongside his chief rival for the throne, John Comyn of Badenoch, and William Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews, Robert resigned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hall Of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums that enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia and general information regarding the inducted recipients. Sometimes, the honorees' plaques may instead be posted on a wall (hence a "wall of fame") or inscribed on a sidewalk (as in a "walk of fame", "walk of stars", or "avenue of fame"). In other cases, the hall of fame is more figurative and consists of a list of names of noteworthy people and their achievements and contributions. The lists are maintained by an organization or community, and may be national, state, local, or private. Etymology The term "hall of fame" first appeared in German with the Ruhmeshalle, built in 1853 in Munich. The Walhalla memorial in Bavaria was conceived in 1807 and built ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximately . The "longsword" type exists in a morphological continuum with the medieval knightly sword and the Renaissance-era Zweihänder. It was prevalent during the late medieval and Renaissance periods (approximately 1350 to 1550), with early and late use reaching into the 12th and 17th centuries. Names English The longsword has many names in the English language, which, aside from variant spellings, include terms such as "bastard sword" and "hand-and-a-half sword." Of these, "bastard sword" is the oldest, its use being contemporaneous with the weapon's heyday. The French ' and the English "bastard sword" originate in the 15th or 16th century, originally in the general sense of "irregular sword, sword of uncertain origin", but by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wallace Sword
The Wallace Sword is an antique two-handed sword purported to have belonged to William Wallace (1270–1305), a Scottish knight who led a resistance to the English occupation of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence. It is said to have been used by William Wallace at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 and the Battle of Falkirk (1298). The sword is . long, of which the blade is . The blade tapers from wide at the guard to before the point. The sword weighs . The sword is currently on display in the National Wallace Monument in Stirling, Scotland. History It has been alleged that after William Wallace's execution in 1305, John de Menteith, governor of Dumbarton Castle received the sword in August of that year, but there are no records to that effect. Two hundred years later, in 1505, accounts survive which state that at the command of King James IV of Scotland, the sum of 26 shillings was paid to an armourer for the "binding of Wallace's sword with cords of s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Forth
The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of the river, above Stirling, is ''Abhainn Dubh'', meaning "black river". The name for the river below the tidal reach (just past where it is crossed by the M9 motorway) is ''Uisge For''. Name ''Forth'' derives from Proto-Celtic ''*Vo-rit-ia'' (slow running), yielding '' Foirthe'' in Old Gaelic. Course The Forth rises in the Trossachs, a mountainous area west of Stirling. Ben Lomond's eastern slopes drain into the Duchray Water, which meets with Avondhu River coming from Loch Ard. The confluence of these two streams is the nominal start of the River Forth. From there it flows roughly eastward through Aberfoyle, joining with the Kelty Water about 5 km further downstream. It then flows into the flat expanse of the Carse of Stirling, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills (; gd, Monadh Ochail is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross, Auchterarder and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/ Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90 Edinburgh-Perth motorway cutting through the eastern foothills. The hills are part of a Devonian lava extrusion whose appearance today is largely due to the Ochil Fault which results in the southern face of the hills forming an escarpment. The plateau is undulating with no prominent peak, the highest point being Ben Cleuch at . The south-flowing burns have cut deep ravines including Dollar Glen, Silver Glen and Alva Glen, often only passable with the aid of wooden walkways. The extent of the Ochils is not well-defined but by some definitions continues to include the hills of north Fife. Historically, the hills, combined with the town's si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
