Christopher Thompson: Highland Martial Culture: The Fighting Heritage of Scotland

[sparkchaser]

I picked this book up on a whim and I am glad I did.

Highland Martial Culture: The Fighting Heritage of Scotland isn't a manual on swordsmanship. Instead it is a study of the martial traditions of the Scottish Highlands prior to the 1750s. Heavily annotated, this book gives a detailed picture of life and death (and battles) in the Highlands.

One thing that I found surprising was the importance of the bard within a clan. Bard songs were gospel and if he sang that you were a coward, your reputation was forever ruined and likewise, if he sang you to be brave, your honor and reputation grew.

It was a quick read and chock-full of anecdotes. If you have the slightest interest in what life in the Highlands was like, I highly recommend it.

 

[Meadow337]

This sounds really interesting. Yeah bards were actually really important, they also recorded battles / history / deeds in a kind of oral tradition and also (although I don't know if this applied to the highlands) played a part in battles as well - a rousing battle song got the blood flowing (in more ways than one).

 

[sparkchaser]

Yeah. And they also watched the battle, noting who was brave and who was not. It was a very interesting read.

 

[Meadow337]

I think the pipes also played a really important role in getting the adrenaline up to suitable levels so that men could take a bash at each other.