Ebook: Nine Centuries of Man: Manhood and Masculinities in Scottish History

What did it mean to be a man in Scotland over the past nine centuries?

Scotland, with its stereotypes of the kilted warrior and the industrial ‘hard man’ has long been characterised in masculine terms, but there has been little historical exploration of what masculinity actually means for men (and women) in a Scottish context. This interdisciplinary collection explores a diverse range of the multiple and changing forms of masculinities from the late eleventh to the late twentieth century, examining the ways in which Scottish society through the ages defined expectations for men and their behaviour.

How men reacted to those expectations is examined through sources such as documentary materials, medieval seals, romance, poetry, begging letters, police reports and court records, charity records, oral histories and personal correspondence. Focusing upon the wide range of activities and roles undertaken by men ‒ work, fatherhood and play, violence and war, sex and commerce ‒ the book also illustrates the range of masculinities which affected or were internalised by men. Together, they illustrate some of the ways Scotland’s gender expectations have changed over the centuries and how more generally masculinities have informed the path of Scottish history.

Contributors

• Lynn Abrams, University of Glasgow
• Katie Barclay, University of Adelaide
• Angela Bartiem University of Edinburgh
• Rosalind Carr, University of East London
• Tanya Cheadle, University of Glasgow
• Harriet Cornell, University of Edinburgh
• Sarah Dunnigan, University of Edinburgh
• Elizabeth Ewan, University of Guelph
• Alistair Fraser, University of Glasgow
• Sergi Mainer, University of Edinburgh
• Jeffrey Meek, University of Glasgow
• Cynthia J. Neville, Dalhousie University
• Janay Nugent, University of Lethbridge
• Tawny Paul, Northumbria University