Myths and Misconceptions of Scotland

Thursday was a bit of an easier day, thank goodness.  Neither I nor my classmates were operating at full capacity.  I know I wasn’t, but I can’t really speak for all of them.

The morning began with trying to locate the definition of “chooch”, which turns out to be something entirely different than anticipated.  I’ll leave you to look up the meaning yourselves and suffice it to say that it caused no end of nonsense and will end up becoming one of “those” words.



John Knox - View of Glencoe

After settling down and in for our guest speaker of the morning, who happens to be one of my favourite instructors, I learned about the myths and misconceptions of Scotland.  Sir Walter Scott, beloved son of Scotland is largely responsible for the way Scotland is perceived by those outside the country.  He portrayed it in an idealized, romantic way that ignored the realities of tenant farmers being evicted from their homes and “encouraged” to leave the country, as well as many of the other hardships and wrongs inflicted upon its people.  Under his influence, several of the noted artists of the time, including John Knox, painted in the same idealized manner.

Another form of media that has influenced the way people look at Scotland’s history is as a result of the movie Braveheart.  While one never expects that a movie will allow reality to interfere with commercial appeal, the misconceptions created do have an effect on those who have no other knowledge.  We are told that the Scots themselves tend to be a little put out that one of the heroes of their country is portrayed by an Australian/American and one who has turned out to have some less than desirable biases.   Far from the truth or not, Braveheart will remain one of favourite movies and as the one who gave me knowledge and pride in my heritage.