10/4: Edinburgh: Through the Ages at the Scottish National Museum!

Earlier that day Steven and I had toured the wondrous St. Giles' Cathedral and learned more about the important Scottish reformer John Knox. After that, it was time to move on to the National Museum of Scotland which was described as having "amassed more historical artifacts than any other place in Scotland combined" Being museum geeks, that seemed a good enough reason to lure us!

The museum was like a Buy One, Get One Free with one wing covering the Natural World galleries and the Science and Technology galleries and the other wing taking us through Scottish history from the Roman and Viking times. One look at the impressive Grand Gallery was enough to know we'd picked the right place to come on our last day in Edinburgh.

The 30-foot-high Millennium Clock, made in Glasgow in 1999,  marked not just the passage of time but also a summary of the best and worst of the last century! 

 At the base of the tower was the Crypt which contained a bewildering array of wheels and chains, an oak figure of an ancient spirit and a mischievous Egyptian monkey.

In the center was a Nave holding a pendulum with a skeletal death figure straddling a convex mirror. Above the Belfry was the clock and the Requiem - a circle of twelve figures, each representing a hardship or tragedy that has afflicted humanity. 

At the top of the spire was the Pieta, a female figure carrying a dead man, which symbolized mourning and compassion for humanity. 

James Bruce (1730-1794) was an important early Scottish explorer in Africa. After taking a diplomatic post, he went in search of the source of the Nile which had fascinated European explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1770, when Bruce found the source of the Blue Nile in the Ethiopian Highlands, he was the first European explorer to follow the Blue Nile to the point where it joined the White Nile in Sudan. 

Bruce received this ancient inscribed Egyptian stone slab, called the Bruce cippus, that had been found in northern Ethiopia. It likely arrived there via an ancient trading route. James Bruce drank to the health of King George III from this silver-mounted coconut shell, now known as the Bruce Nile Cup, at the springs of Gish Abbay in west-central Ethiopia in 1770.

Scots and the Empire: For over 200 years, the British Empire connected Scots to the world. As colonial administrators, soldiers, missionaries, traders, and settlers, Scots were deeply involved in, and profited from, the Empire's growth and success. The British Empire presented a chance to build a career, to lead a new and better life, and to make money. Many Scots believed that they were bringing the imperial ideal of European 'civilization' to other people and cultures. 

Dolly the sheep became the most famous sheep in the world in 1966 when she was the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. Dolly was the only live lamb from 277 eggs used in cloning. 

There was a large display on designing and making textiles. I read that scientific and technological innovation was fundamental to the evolution of textile design. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries transformed the work of weaving, knitting, and printing fabrics by merchandising production. The innovation of synthetic dyes and fibers created an array of dye-fast, affordable and durable fabrics in unfamiliar colors and textures.

James Watt (1736-1819) from near Glasgow was an inventor and mechanical engineer who changed the face of manufacturing. In this marble statue, Watt was depicted drawing one of his most significant inventions - the double-acting beam engine which was used to drive machinery in factories around the world. The statue by Francis Chantrey was important because he was normally commissioned to sculpt prime ministers, kings, and presidents.

We then entered the Kingdom of the Scots, the period from 1300-1700 where Scotland was determined to be free from English rule from the very beginning. On the walls were the names of kings of the Picts and Scots that had been taken from the lists of medieval kings.

They were kings centuries before Robert the Bruce came to the throne in 1306 and the call for Scottish independence as marked in 1320 by the Declaration of Arbroath, a defiant letter written to Pope John XXII. The declaration maintained the independence of Scotland and to support King Robert Bruce in the name of the 'whole community of the realm.'

As we had discovered earlier in this trip through Scotland, St. Andrew was its patron saint and his saltire or X-shaped cross is included in the country's flag to this day. For centuries, the saltire was used as a symbol of the Scottish people. According to legend, St. Andrew intervened to assist the Picts and Scots by defeating the English Angles.  

In the next room were imposing artifacts related to Scotland's most famous patriots: William Wallace and Robert the Bruce whose descendants ruled the country for the next 300 years. 

Bruce's family was followed by King James VI of Scotland who also ruled England as King James I. This was his baby cradle. He was just 13 months old when he became the Scottish king as his mother, Queen Mary, had been removed from the throne after being suspected in the murder of his father.

Witches and Witchcraft: In the late 16th and 17th century Scotland, between three and four thousand people were tortured and executed as 'witches,' a group identified as threatening social stability. Most of the accused were women - spinsters or widows with no means of support and unable to defend themselves. 

Often they had a local reputation for herbal remedies, folk medicine, and healing. The persecution of witches in Scotland was an extreme example of a movement that swept across Europe. 

Nearby was a copy of the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, the 16th century Stuart monarch who opposed the Scottish church. The original was in Westminster Abbey in London. After she was imprisoned and then executed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1587, her supporters rallied by invoking her memory.

This jewelry was associated with the queen. The beads, known as paternoster or Our Father beads, would have contained perfume and likely formed a rosary. The lockets containing miniatures were uniquely Scottish and possibly had been commissioned by the Queen to give to her friends and supporters as part of royal gift-giving.

I loved the carved panels as they were so intricate. What a story they told.

These three panels from a mid-16th century home in Dundee showed biblical images: the judgment of Solomon, the Annunciation, and the Adoration of the Magi. The high relief was a feature of the Renaissance.

The shape of this tall 14th-century Argyll cross belonged to a distinctive Gaelic tradition where crosses were put up as memorials to the dead. It commemorated the daughter-in-law of  John, the Lord of the Isles in Eilean Mor. The cross was not only typical of West Highland art but indicated the patronage of the arts by the leading family.

The Red Book of Clanranald stated the church on Eilean Mor had been repaired by the Lord in the 14th century. 

In the 1700s Scotland Transformed gallery, we were introduced to artifacts related to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite rebellions. Prince Charles Edward Stuart was born in Rome in 1720 and soon became the focus of the Jacobite cause. To the British government, he was the Young Pretender. He came to Scotland as the Young Regent in 1745 to claim the three kingdoms of Scotland, Ireland, and England for his father. 

With few roads and little need to exchange goods, most materials were carried on the backs of people or ponies in baskets like these. Baskets were woven from local plants as were household containers, furnishings, and even part of buildings.

The advances of the Industrial Revolution made a large impact on Scottish life. The mammoth Newcomen steam-engine water pump helped the country's mining industry develop sites with difficult drainage. 

Linen production increased from 2 million yards in 1727 to a staggering 24 million yards by the end of the century. With mechanization in the 19th century, linen manufacturing became a mostly factory industry.

The figure in the Edinburgh wooden shop sign represented a flax dresser!

After touring the slate factory in Wales, it was interesting seeing the model of the Minto Colliery or coal mine that was sunk in 1902-3. To provide fuel for its linen and cotton factories, coal-rich Scotland exploited the natural resource.

We learned how the traditionally thrifty Scots financed the expensive enterprises in an exhibit on the Bank of Scotland called Money Comes of Age: 1810-1920.

By about 1810, many provincial banks were in trouble as they were too small to handle increased demand and unable to respond quickly to market changes. The joint-stock bank emerged in response - they were large-scale partnerships with hundreds of shareholders and aimed at providing nationwide branch networks. 

The Bank of Scotland was referred to as the Old Bank as it was established in 1695 by the Scottish Parliament and created by a group of private shareholders. The bank's monopoly lasted until 1727 when the Royal Bank of Scotland or the New Bank was set up.

It's not just a myth that the Scots have a canny ability to handle money! In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Scots were inventive bankers and financiers and initiated many of the advances which we're all familiar with today, like the overdraft, limited liability, branch banking, and widespread acceptance of banknotes.

With the beginning of the modern age, people enjoyed more leisure time. Clubs of all kinds were prominent in the Scottish social scene. Membership varied depending on whether the club was for political, debating, literary purposes, or simply for fun. Many met at pubs where members could meet to enjoy a night of lively debate and drinking. Some clubs produced their own insignia and medals.

The growth of sport came about partly by the growing belief that exercise was necessary for a healthy life. The idea appeared first in Scotland in a book called Domestic Medicine in 1769. The Dutch game of kolf was played over short distances. The word 'golf' first appeared in the Scots language in 1457 when the game was banned by an Act of Parliament because it interfered with archery practice! The first golfing society was the Company of Gentleman Golfers of St. Andrews which was founded in 1754.  By contrast, the Royal Society of Archers, the oldest sporting club in Britain, was founded in 1676 as the Company of Scottish Archers. 

These early golf balls dated from about 1820 and were made of leather and stuffed with feathers. Suellen: Not sure you and Ron would enjoy playing with those nowadays, would you?!

The banner came from the Midlothian Brotherly Society which was founded in 1798 to provide death benefits and insurance against unemployment caused by poor health. The society was founded in a period of growing instability and provided a measure of mutual welfare support when no other means existed. 

Upstairs was the Industry and Empire section which focused on Scottish life in the 1800s when industry had already helped to transform the country. This was when farmers from the Highlands found work in Lowland factories.

It was fun coming across this cooper whisky still as it had come from Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown that we'd stopped at on our whistle-stop tour across Scotland a few days earlier. That distillery is one of the very few that still uses coal to heat their stills. If we hadn't too late for the distillery tour, I am sure we would have learned there that whisky, the name of Scotland's national drink, was derived from Gaelic, uisge beatha or water of life! It was made from fermented grain mash throughout Scotland beginning in the 15th century. 

For most of the 18th century, Scottish shipbuilding was located mainly on the country's east coast as it supplied the needs of a flourishing trade with Scandinavia, the Baltic and the German states. 

A steam-powered train helped to revolutionize everyday life.

When have you ever seen a designated picnic space in a museum before? I can safely say this was the first time and I was very impressed with the novel idea.

Near the turn of the 20th century, internationally famous architect Charles Rennie Macintosh started out by making chairs for tearooms in Glasgow. This type of heavy, dark chair was intended for the male domain in the Smoking and Billiard Rooms. The silver-painted chair was also designed by Macintosh in 1903 for the Willow Tea Rooms we'd stopped at while in Glasgow.

Music at home was revolutionized at the end of the 19th century with the invention by Thomas Edison of a machine that could reproduce sound mechanically. It was called a talking machine or phonograph. Then came the gramophone which could reproduce sound from discs or records. They were sold for home use in Britain from about 1900. The large horn was decoratively finished to look like flower petals!

The Scots and Emigration: During the 18th century, most Scottish emigrants to the US came from the Lowlands but the flow of Highlanders increased after the Seven Years War of 1756-1773. Some didn't go by choice as they were either political exiles or indentured servants. Others were highly skilled or well educated which allowed them to assume the highest positions in American society. 

As my own father's family had emigrated from Scotland in the early 1700s, I was especially curious to read about Scots in Canada. Centuries before the 'Wild West' became the stuff of heroes and legends, Scots were trailblazing Canada. My native country was seen as a source of land, trade, and adventure and Scots found and exploited its natural resources: fish, timbers, and furs. The Scots were among the first Europeans to settle in the era of mass migration. Until around 1850, most Scottish emigrants went to Canada.

The smoking bag with its floral motif resembled a thistle, the Scottish flower, and was probably made in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Scotland: A Changing Nation explored some of the major challenges, changes, and continuities with the past, faced by those living and working in Scotland from WW I to the present day. 

The granite block had cross-cutting veins in the shape of the Scottish flag called the saltire. The granite was quarried in Aberdeen, known as the Granite City because many of its buildings were constructed of that stone. 

War had a greater impact on Scotland during the 20th century than in any previous age. Whether through active service or by their experience at home, war touched the lives of most Scots. The country suffered a huge loss of life during WW I. The Scottish National Memorial honored nearly 150,000 casualties. The deaths of so many men devastated Scottish communities and Scotland lost proportionally more than most other combatant nations.

Oil and Gas: After the discovery of oil in the North Sea in 1966, international oil companies started bringing oil ashore in Scotland nine years later. Production peaked in 1999 and Aberdeen became the oil capital of Europe. The industry dramatically changed the people and the environment of the NE of Scotland and many of its islands. 

The Scottish Diaspora: Emigrants often have a strong sense of Scottish identity as we knew from Canada's latest census with 4.2 million describing their ethnic group as 'Scottish.' Reinforcement of 'Scottishness' is heightened through the global network of St. Andrews and Caledonian societies and activities such as Highland dancing and Highland games. 

Going through the Health of a Nation exhibit was downright depressing after I learned that life expectancy in the poorest areas of Scotland was 64.4 years, lower than in Lebanon, North Korea, or the Gaza strip. How sad knowing the Scots have had to struggle with poor health throughout the 20th century and beyond because of substandard living conditions, poor diets, and enduring poverty. The country is known as the 'sick man of Europe.'

In the 1990s, devolution or the legal transfer of power began to attract support from campaigners of different political beliefs working across Scotland. Some wanted home rule but others wanted complete independence.

The new Labour government, under Prime Minister Tony Blair, promised constitutional reform within the United Kingdom. The 

Scottish referendum was held on September 11, 1977, to decide whether or not there should be a Scottish parliament and whether that parliament should have the power to vary taxation. The majority of Scots voted Yes to both questions. On July 1, 1999, a Scottish Parliament met in Edinburgh for the first time since the Union of the Parliaments in 1707.

The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame celebrated the nation's greatest sportsmen and women including golfer Tom Morris to car racers Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark.

If you'd told us we could possibly spend almost a half-day at the museum, I would have said that was nonsense but we did and I wouldn't have missed any of it as it was engrossing from beginning to end!

Before finishing this post finally, I want to show you a few photos I took at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery as its entry hall was especially grand and the galleries highlighted the great Scots of each age.

The marble statue of Edinburgh native Robert Louis Stevenson rightly was the center of attention.

Around the mezzanine were large murals that depicted important events in the country's history.

After just learning about Mary, Queen of Scots, (1542-1587) in the Scottish National Museum, I was intrigued to see what Mary I of Scotland looked like. Soon after this portrait was painted at the age of 18, Mary returned to Scotland from France, a Catholic monarch of a newly Protestant nation. 

The Execution of Charles I took place in January 1649 outside Whitehall Palace in London after he was the first reigning monarch in the British Isles to be put on trial for high treason.

There was a significant collection of paintings by Scottish artists who lived in Italy because the country was celebrated as the center of ancient and modern European civilization.

The painting of Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was completed shortly after WW I when he served as First Lord of the Admiralty, and Minister of Munitions and Secretary for War. I hadn't known that a major contribution of the outcome of the war was his part in the introduction of the tank. 

A painting of the young Queen Victoria (1819-1901): When she died, she was buried with mementos of her beloved husband, Prince Albert, whom she mourned so profoundly she retreated from the throne for twenty years.

The Gallery's Library looked like a peaceful place to work and is a perfect place to finish this very long post! Since this is my last one writing about Scotland, I hope you have a greater appreciation of Scottish history, life, and culture if you've been reading my tales of our discovering the intriguing nation and also seeking out my family's heritage.

Next post: Onto London, our last stop on our six-week trip to Ireland and the United Kingdom.

If you fast forward from last fall to this spring, here's a link to my most recent post on our trip to Sri Lanka in March when we were fortunate enough to explore the island nation's ancient cities:

https://bergersadventures8.blogspot.com/2020/06/310-climbing-1840-steps-to-mihinitale.html

Posted on June 6th, 2020, after a major windstorm swept through town. Steven and I hope you stay well and healthy.