The ''Mercurius Caledonius - Comprising The Affairs now in Agitation in Scotland With A Survey of Forraign Intelligence'' was arguably Scotland's first newspaper. It was founded in
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 ...
in 1660 by the playwright Thomas Sydserf, the son of the
Bishop of Galloway
The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th ...
. It contained domestic news such as reports of parliamentary debates, reports from abroad and reprints of news from London newspapers.
Twelve editions were published between 1660 and 1661, the first having the date "From Monday Decemb. 21 to Tuesday, Jan. 8th, 1661".
According to Francis Groome, ''Mercurius Caledonius'' was preceded by ''The Scots Intelligencer'' (1643, AKA ''The Kingdom's Intelligencer'') and ''Mercurius Publicus'' (1652).
See also
*''
Caledonian Mercury
The ''Caledonian Mercury'' was a Scottish newspaper, published three times a week between 1720 and 1867. In 2010 an online publication launched using the name.
17th century
A short-lived predecessor, the ''Mercurius Caledonius'', published for j ...
''
References
Newspapers published in Scotland
History of Edinburgh
17th century in Scotland
1660 works
Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom
Publications established in 1660
1661 disestablishments
1660 establishments in Scotland
17th-century Scottish literature
Publications disestablished in the 17th-century
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