Cosmo Innes and the sources of Scottish History c. 1825-1875
This thesis examines how primary sources were used to build conceptualisations of the Scottish past during the nineteenth century. To achieve this it focuses on the work of the record scholar and legal antiquary Cosmo Innes (1798-1874). Innes was a prolific editor of source material relating to parliament, the burghs, the medieval church, family history and the universities. He was also an authority on Scotlandâs legal history, an architectural antiquary, a practising lawyer, a university professor and one of Scotlandâs earliest photographers. Through an investigation of these activities, this thesis explores the ways in which Scots perceived their own history during the period of what Marinell Ash calls the 'strange death of Scottish historyâ. What differentiates this study from previous investigations is its emphasis on the presentation and associated interpretation of primary sources, as opposed to institutional frameworks or secondary narratives. Innes put particular types of source to specific uses in an attempt to rehabilitate the tarnished reputation of Scottish history. However, he was not a radical operating on the intellectual fringes, but a respected mainstream figure who worked within the
Marsden, Richard
DA Great Britain
Cosmo Innes and the sources of Scottish History c. 1825-1875. This thesis examines how primary sources were used to build conceptualisations of the Scottish past during the nineteenth century. To achieve this it focuses on the work of the record scholar and legal antiquary Cosmo Innes (1798-1874). Innes was a prolific editor of source material relating to parliament, the burghs, the medieval church, family history and the universities. He was also an authority on Scotlandâs legal history, an architectural antiquary, a practising lawyer, a university professor and one of Scotlandâs earliest photographers. Through an investigation of these activities, this thesis explores the ways in which Scots perceived their own history during the period of what Marinell Ash calls the 'strange death of Scottish historyâ. What differentiates this study from previous investigations is its emphasis on the presentation and associated interpretation of primary sources, as opposed to institutional frameworks or secondary narratives. Innes put particular types of source to specific uses in an attempt to rehabilitate the tarnished reputation of Scottish history. However, he was not a radical operating on the intellectual fringes, but a respected mainstream figure who worked within the
source scottish_history examines primary_source use build conceptualisation achieve focus work record scholar legal antiquary prolific editor source_material relate parliament burgh medieval_church family_history university also authority scotland legal_history architectural antiquary practise lawyer university professor scotland early investigation activity explore_way scots perceive history period ash call strange death scottish_history differentiates study previous investigation emphasis presentation associate interpretation primary_source oppose institutional framework secondary narrative put particular_type source specific use attempt rehabilitate reputation scottish_history however radical operate intellectual fringe respect mainstream figure work within