Scotland

SCOTLAND. —

I. GEOGRAPHY

S. consists of two mountainous masses, separated by a short level strip. The northern mass is itself divided from a first alignment of uplands (Highlands), which continues into the Orkney Islands and faces, beyond the Minch Channel, the Hebrides: a sterile landscape of moorlands, alternating with lakes and peat bogs, rising on average to 900 m. (Ben Attow, 1291 m.); it is separated from a broader complex of elevations by the narrow Caledonian Canal. This second mass as well (Grampian Mountains; Ben Nevis, 1343 m.) essentially constitutes a rugged and inhospitable region; nevertheless, the level strip (Central Lowlands) opens to the S., less humid and considerably more fertile, into which the sea penetrates deeply (Clyde, Firth of Forth), and where more than two-thirds of the Scottish population is concentrated. The southern mass (Southern Uplands), lower (500 m.) and broader, gives way to wider and deeper valleys, and is closed to the S. by the Cheviot Mountains, which mark the traditional border with England.

Over an area of 77,170 sq. km., S. has 5,200,000 inhabitants (67 per sq. km.; but with local fluctuations from 3 in the extreme N. to 450–550 in the industrial districts), whose strong individuality has lost nothing through union with their English neighbors.

In contrast to the modest importance of agriculture (cereals, potatoes, and fodder) and the more considerable importance of livestock breeding (cattle), S. is notable for its industrial and commercial development, which is likewise concentrated essentially in the central lowlands, favored by the abundance of raw materials (coal and iron), the proximity of the sea, and the presence of good ports along the coasts. This also explains the strong urban concentration (70%) of the population and the fact that the largest population centers are all seaports, with the exception of the capital, Edinburgh (490,000 inhabitants), which, in any case, is not far from the sea. Glasgow (1 million inhabitants), the third city in the United Kingdom in terms of population, is the metropolis of the Scottish economy, just as Edinburgh is that of culture. Aberdeen (190,000 inhabitants) and Dundee (180,000) lie on the more favored and more densely populated eastern face of the Grampians.

The Irish monk St. Columba first evangelized the Kingdom of Dalriada, founding a monastery on the island of Iona (563), and then converted the Picts of Caledonia, where he established other monasteries of the Celtic type, while Strathclyde too was gradually evangelized. In its early period the Church of Iona remained attached to Irish customs, but after the Synod of Whitby (664) most of the Christian Celts accepted Roman usages and organized themselves under a regular hierarchy (v. IRLANDA, III). Toward the middle of the 9th century, Kenneth MacAlpine, who had become king of the Picts and Scots, transferred the relics of St. Columba and the Scottish religious center from Iona to Dunkeld, at the heart of his Kingdom. Under Alexander I, the Norman Turgot became bishop of St. Andrews, and the Irish monks were replaced by English Augustinian canons, while the archbishop of York claimed metropolitan jurisdiction over S. The penetration of the English religious Orders increased under David I. In 1188 Clement III ordered that the nine bishoprics of S. should depend directly on the Holy See. In 1225 Honorius III granted the bishops the right to convene synods and decreed that these should be presided over by one of them. In 1472 Sixtus IV established St. Andrews as an archbishopric with twelve suffragans; in 1492 the archbishopric of Glasgow was created with four suffragans.

During the Norwegian incursions, the kings of England imposed their rule on S., through agreements or by force; but the Nordic invasion resulted in the dissolution of the Kingdom of Northumbria and the incorporation of Lothian into S. In the 11th century all S., with the exception of the lands still occupied by the Norwegians, was united into a single kingdom by Duncan. He was killed by Macbeth, who in turn was killed by Duncan’s son, Malcolm III, who recovered the throne with English assistance. Malcolm attempted to oppose William the Conqueror, who compelled him by force of arms to acknowledge his suzerainty. During this period many exiled Englishmen took refuge in S., while Malcolm’s wife, St. Margaret (canonized in 1250), spread English culture in S., strengthened the Roman ecclesiastical system against the Celtic tradition, encouraged the arts and sciences, and exercised an effective moralizing influence on the customs of the Scottish Church. Under David I (1124–53), S. underwent a peaceful Norman penetration and became a feudal-type Kingdom, which David consolidated and enlarged, also obtaining the investiture of Northumberland and Cumberland. In 1286, after the death of Alexander III and shortly afterward of his only descendant, his granddaughter Margaret, who was to marry the prince of Wales, the future Edward II, a long struggle began between two claimants: John Balliol and Robert Bruce. A court of justice appointed by Edward I of England recognized Balliol. New revolts and English interventions followed until, after the death of Edward I, Robert Bruce defeated the army of Edward II, freeing S. Allied with France, he was recognized by the Pope, and in 1328 the Treaty of Northampton confirmed the independence of the Kingdom. But new struggles broke out after Robert’s death, between his son David II and Edward, the son of John Balliol. In 1371, upon the death of David II, the throne passed to Robert II, nephew of the first Robert and son of Walter, steward of S. Thus began the new Stuart dynasty. For many years S. was troubled by civil struggles between the Crown and the nobles who relied on England and on the turbulent Highlanders. In the 15th century Scottish culture made considerable progress; religious controversies, however, began, aroused by the penetration of Lollard doctrines. James IV (1488–1513) attempted to subdue the nobility, but was defeated and killed by the English. His successor, James V, sought to strengthen relations with France by marrying Mary of Guise. Upon his death (1542), the crown passed to his daughter Mary, still a child, while the Kingdom was governed by Archbishop David Beaton (nephew of James Beaton and his successor in the archbishopric of Glasgow), whom Paul III created a cardinal. Beaton made every effort to halt the Protestant movement and opposed the proposed marriage of Mary to the son of Henry VIII. Mary was sent to France, where she married Francis II. Cardinal Beaton was killed in 1546, and the assassins, who had taken refuge in the fortress of St. Andrews, were compelled to surrender by a French fleet; one of them, John Knox, fled to Geneva, where he embraced Calvinism. When Elizabeth ascended the English throne, while the Catholics regarded Mary, great-granddaughter of Henry VII, as the legitimate queen, the Scottish Protestants united their interests with those of England; meanwhile, the armed support that France gave to the regent Mary of Guise enabled Knox to identify Calvinism with the defense of national independence. After Mary of Guise died in 1560, the French troops, threatened by English intervention, surrendered; a regency of nobles governed pending Mary’s return, while Knox organized the Reformed Church on democratic foundations. From this moment the elected General Assembly, which stood at the summit of the Calvinist hierarchy, dominated the country’s entire political life. The Reformation had thus become so firmly established in S. that Mary, who returned there in 1561, was unable to suppress II. Mary’s followers were defeated, and she took refuge in England, where Elizabeth later had her executed (1587). After a failed attempt at a Catholic resurgence in 1579, James VI, Mary’s son, who was hostile to Scottish Presbyterianism, became James I of England and imposed the Anglican confession on S. But when his son Charles I sought to replace the nobles with bishops, the nobles in 1638 entered into a national pact (Covenant) in defense of Presbyterianism. The Scottish revolt initiated the English Revolution. After the defeat and execution of Charles I, who had been unsuccessfully aided by the Earl of Montrose and the Catholic Highlanders, Cromwell used force to suppress a revival of non-Presbyterian Scottish royalism. The restoration of the Stuarts under Charles II rekindled the religious struggles. The new King showed a certain tolerance toward the Presbyterians, but declared the Covenant suppressed and restored the bishops to office. The rebellions that followed were ferociously subdued until 1688. After the flight of James II, the Catholic and Episcopal officials left S., and the Scots restored Calvinism and offered the crown to William of Orange and his wife. The rebellious Highlanders were exterminated. The restoration of Presbyterianism did not, however, return to the General Assembly its pre-

predominance that it had previously exercised over governmental affairs. Finally, the economic necessities of Scotland and the fact that England was engaged in war with France induced the two states to negotiate their union, which was concluded after lengthy negotiations in 1707. The agreement did not eliminate discontent. Further Jacobite revolts and futile attempts at restoration followed, ending with the defeat of the pretender Charles Edward at Culloden Moor (1746). The Act of Union of 1707 made no provision for changes in the Presbyterian Church; but when dissenters were authorized to use the Anglican liturgy and the popular election of ministers was abolished, a first secession took place (1733). About a century later (1843), after the right of heads of families to reject a minister had been annulled, a schism occurred, and half the clergy formed the new Free Church of Scotland. At the end of the nineteenth century, however, the two Presbyterian Churches were reunited. The Episcopal Church, with seven dioceses, nevertheless remained distinct. The Catholic Church had lost property and organization through the “Reformation”; from that time Scotland once again became mission territory and consequently came under the authority of Propaganda Fide. Leo XII reorganized its ecclesiastical jurisdiction in 1827, dividing it into three areas: northern, eastern, and western. In 1878 Leo XIII, by the bull Ex supremo Apostolatus apice, reconstituted the Scottish Catholic hierarchy, restoring the archbishopric of St. Andrews and Edinburgh with four suffragans, and the archbishopric of Glasgow under the direct authority of the Holy See. - Vedi tav. VI.