Rev. James Fraser, 1634-1709 : : A New Perspective on the Scottish Highlands before Culloden / / David Worthington.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2023 English
• VerfasserIn: Worthington, David,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (248 p.) :; 20 B/W illustrations

Reveals the Scottish Highlands as a dynamic and intellectual region in the century before CullodenChallenges the assumption that the Highlands comprised a vacuum, sealed off from the rest of Scotland and the world beyond prior to the eighteenth centurySituates Fraser within his locality, his region, country, archipelago and continent in a way unparalleled by any other contemporary exampleExamines the self-presentation and self-curation of an energetic, curious, mobile Gaelic-speaking manThis book studies the revealing autobiographical sources left by Rev. James Fraser of Kirkhill (1634–1709), a Gaelic-speaking scholar, traveller and minister. It examines Fraser’s self-presentation and situates him within his locality, Scotland, the British Isles and Europe, also incorporating recent historiography to provide a more comprehensive presentation of the social, economic and cultural trajectories of the early modern Highlands. David Worthington focuses on the Scottish Highlands’ strong engagement with Europe and early entanglement with empire. He challenges the assumption that the north Highlands, in particular, was sealed off from the rest of the world before Culloden and he identifies the agency, vitality and resilience of the people of the Highlands prior to the peripheralisation, depopulation and under-development that then occurred.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introducing the ‘Curious Cleric’: James Fraser and the Early Modern Scottish Highlands -- Part One (1634–60) Acquiring Knowledge: Fraser’s Training as an Early Modern Scottish Highland Scholar -- 1 The Student: The Curious Mind of James Fraser -- 2 The Traveller: Fraser’s ‘Grand Tour’ in Early Modern Europe -- 3 The Linguist: Fraser and a Multilingual Scottish Highlands -- Part Two (1660–1709) Communicating Knowledge: Fraser’s Adult Life as an Early Modern Scottish Highland Scholar -- 4 The Scientist: ‘Natural Philosophy’ in Fraser’s Scholarly Networks and Life-writing -- 5 The Minister: Fraser’s Influence on Kirkhill Parish and Community -- 6 The Historian: Fraser’s Contribution to Early Modern Highland and Scottish History and Historiography -- Conclusion: Memory, Biography and Scottish Highland History before Culloden -- Bibliography -- Index