AboutKaye McAlpine Expertise Lifecycle (birth, marriage, death) customs in Scotland, Early Modern Scottish social
customs, modern Scottish social customs, Border March laws and procedures, criminal
processes and judicial execution practices, social history in Early Modern Scotland,
ephemera printing in Scotland. While I have knowledge of the clan system and function of
the clan society (Highland and Lowland), I am not a an expert in clan genealogy.
Experience Freelance tutor in outreach courses from Edinburgh University on Scottish Culture and Tradition, including lifecycle customs, broadsheet ballads in Scotland, the traditional ballad and history. Freelance writer, guest presenter on Ch4 History Hunters programme, contributor to BBC Radio Scotland's 'Songlines' series on 'The Dowie Dens of Yarrow'. Currently co-director of amedia production company
Publications Books: Forthcoming - Compendium of Scottish Ethnology, chapter on The Traditional and the Border Ballad; The Harris Repertoire (2000, Scottish Text Society, co-editor), The Ballad in History (chapter on Border ballads). Journals include Folklore, The Review of Scottish Culture,Sottish Studies, and The Scottish Literary Journal
Question Hey, I am currently writing my first novel, a work of fantasy, and am basing one of the lands on 13th century scotland. I was wondering if you could tell me what a typical scottish dwelling was like then, in both style and materials, as well as the typical dress for a Scotsman living at this time. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Answer Hi Craig
I've had a few questions like this - people writing novels, and my answer usually starts off the same - part of this particular creative process involves personal research. It's not great to be asking someone else, as they don't know what's in your head. I write myself, and I have spent hours checking details - and it's the minutiae that make for authenticity, although you have more free rein with fantasy.
At the moment, your remit is way too big. There is no such thing as a typical Scottish dwelling at that time. Are you thinking about Highland or Lowland? Someone in the far North or out into the Orkneys, which is Norweigan territory at that time? Are you thinking about the home of a farmer, a serf, a minor noblemen or even a lord? decide where you are first - North or South, an isolated place or a settlement - even then many lords were living in stone-built towers, bastles and castles. There are great monasteries along the Borders at Jedburgh and Melrose. But out in the wilds, people were living in little cottages, dim and dark, with no chimneys but central fires and with the smoke escaping from the roof hole - not dissimilar to some late Iron Age buildings.
Typical dress also depends on location and social class - one thing I would say - and I am begging you on this - do not even think about the likes of that Braveheart film, otherwise you will end up with a terrible and inaccurate parody on the dress and life of many of the time. So think - are they Highland, Lowland, Norse, Norman lords who have settled in Scotland,warriors, peasants, free-men or vassals, and so on? That dictates what they wore. Obviously, it goes for women too. I'm not sure if they were in place in the 13th C, but you might want to check into Sumptuary Laws, which meant only people of particular positions could wear certain fabrics and colours.
Are your characters noble or not (with lords you can have a lot more fun, to be honest, given the facts that they have access to collateral, better housing and you have possibility for legitimate travel). Remember, Macbeth was in Rome 'scattering money like seed' in the 11th C (I add him in, as he has a McAlpine link through Gruoch, his wife - and the fact that he was a damn good king for the time), and Wallace travelled through France and Italy too, as I recall.
I know this is a shedload of questions in response, but these are your starting points.
For some read-around background, get something like The Lion in The North by John Prebble, which covers centuries of history, but gives an idea of the huge political upheavals of the 13th and 14th centuries.
One of the most useful books I have is the very dry-sounding 'Armies of the 16th century', by Ian Heath (Foundry Books,Guernsey, 1997) which covers 'the Armies of England, Scotland, Ireland, the United Provinces and the Spanish Netherlands 1487-1609'. Sounds dull? it tells you who is wearing what and there are illustrations - you might want to check out if there is something similar for your period, 'cause you get so much out of it.
So, get thinking really hard. Otherwise you'll find that you are putting in a lot of wasted time. Oh, and enjoy it. If you are doing this for your pleasure, make sure it stays enjoyable. I've had a great time in the last year dragging a highwayman from one end of the country to the other (well, around Banbury way in England to Scotland and back - he's been out to Jamaica too, which was not quite so pleasant for him), so I know about doing background reading - whether it's what he's stealing, where and what and how he's eating, what he's wearing and why - and why he is going where he does.
as I say, enjoy and happy and productive writing - and you know where to get me if you have some specific questions - I will do my best to answer them.
