New research from the University of Glasgow sheds light on a surprising late medieval view of British identity—one in which Scotland, not England, was seen as the natural centre of Britain. Professor Dauvit Broun, a leading historian of Scottish history, argues that for some medieval Scottish writers, the idea of an independent Scotland ruling over Britain was not only plausible but a natural extension of their national identity.
In an article published in the Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, Professor Broun explores how, during the 1380s and 1520s, some Scottish historians and scholars viewed the Scottish kingdom as synonymous with Britain. While England has long been associated with Britishness, this parallel Scottish tradition of appropriating the British identity has been largely overlooked.
“A close reading of work by medieval Scottish historians and scholars shows they firmly believed that Scottish independence was entirely compatible with British identity,” explains Broun. “In this era, Britain was not seen as an English-dominated kingdom, as is often how it is viewed today, but rather a space that could be ruled by the Scottish monarchy. This idea of Britain as fundamentally Scottish is a surprising and provocative viewpoint in today’s often polarised debates around national identity.”
This alternative vision of Britain is supported by a newly examined early 16th-century manuscript known as the St Andrews Chronicles, now held at the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums. Compiled around 1511, the homemade booklet offers rare insight into how these ideas circulated outside elite scholarly circles. It contains texts on the origins of Scotland and Britain, royal genealogies, and chronicles that suggest a broader Scottish engagement with the idea of a British identity grounded in Scottish royal legitimacy.
St Andrews Chronicles. Credit: The University of St Andrews
According to Professor Broun, the manuscript’s contents and structure suggest it was based on earlier compilations, which themselves drew from still older material. This layered transmission of ideas reveals how medieval Scots developed and sustained a distinctly Scottish interpretation of Britain’s history over generations.
Particularly telling is the focus on Malcolm III and St Margaret—figures who symbolised the union of the Scottish monarchy with Anglo-Saxon England. Their repeated appearance in the booklet highlights how Scottish dynastic claims to Britain were deeply rooted in historical narratives. Professor Broun notes that this emphasis mirrors the vision advanced by John of Fordun in the 1380s, who saw the Scottish royal line as the rightful heirs to a British-wide kingship.
One of the central figures in the study is John Mair, a prominent 16th-century philosopher and theologian often described as the “founding father of Scottish unionism.” Professor Broun’s research shows that Mair’s unionist ideas were actually underpinned by a Scottish-first worldview. While Mair supported a royal marriage to unify England and Scotland, his writings assume a scenario in which the Scottish king would rule a united Britain.
Professor Broun explains, “appropriating Britain as an extension of your country was not, therefore, unique to England: the Scots did it, too.”
Fascinating research from @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Dauvit Broun that Medieval Scots would write as if Britain was Scotland (in a way that England sometimes still does today)
www.thetimes.com/article/b634…
In concluding his article, Professor Broun raises broader questions about national identity, both past and present: “if there is such a thing as a shared Britishness beyond the mere fact of inhabiting the same island: are there only Scottish, English and Welsh British identities, each with their own spectrum which have only occasionally intersected to become a common Britishness?”
The research not only challenges modern assumptions about Britishness but also opens a new perspective on how medieval Scotland imagined its place within the British Isles—an imagination where Scottish independence and British identity were not at odds, but intertwined.
The article, “Scottish Independence and British Identity: An Unusual Late-medieval Perspective,” by Dauvit Broun is published in the Journal of Scottish Historical Studies. Click here to read this article.
New research from the University of Glasgow sheds light on a surprising late medieval view of British identity—one in which Scotland, not England, was seen as the natural centre of Britain. Professor Dauvit Broun, a leading historian of Scottish history, argues that for some medieval Scottish writers, the idea of an independent Scotland ruling over Britain was not only plausible but a natural extension of their national identity.
In an article published in the Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, Professor Broun explores how, during the 1380s and 1520s, some Scottish historians and scholars viewed the Scottish kingdom as synonymous with Britain. While England has long been associated with Britishness, this parallel Scottish tradition of appropriating the British identity has been largely overlooked.
“A close reading of work by medieval Scottish historians and scholars shows they firmly believed that Scottish independence was entirely compatible with British identity,” explains Broun. “In this era, Britain was not seen as an English-dominated kingdom, as is often how it is viewed today, but rather a space that could be ruled by the Scottish monarchy. This idea of Britain as fundamentally Scottish is a surprising and provocative viewpoint in today’s often polarised debates around national identity.”
This alternative vision of Britain is supported by a newly examined early 16th-century manuscript known as the St Andrews Chronicles, now held at the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums. Compiled around 1511, the homemade booklet offers rare insight into how these ideas circulated outside elite scholarly circles. It contains texts on the origins of Scotland and Britain, royal genealogies, and chronicles that suggest a broader Scottish engagement with the idea of a British identity grounded in Scottish royal legitimacy.
According to Professor Broun, the manuscript’s contents and structure suggest it was based on earlier compilations, which themselves drew from still older material. This layered transmission of ideas reveals how medieval Scots developed and sustained a distinctly Scottish interpretation of Britain’s history over generations.
Particularly telling is the focus on Malcolm III and St Margaret—figures who symbolised the union of the Scottish monarchy with Anglo-Saxon England. Their repeated appearance in the booklet highlights how Scottish dynastic claims to Britain were deeply rooted in historical narratives. Professor Broun notes that this emphasis mirrors the vision advanced by John of Fordun in the 1380s, who saw the Scottish royal line as the rightful heirs to a British-wide kingship.
One of the central figures in the study is John Mair, a prominent 16th-century philosopher and theologian often described as the “founding father of Scottish unionism.” Professor Broun’s research shows that Mair’s unionist ideas were actually underpinned by a Scottish-first worldview. While Mair supported a royal marriage to unify England and Scotland, his writings assume a scenario in which the Scottish king would rule a united Britain.
Professor Broun explains, “appropriating Britain as an extension of your country was not, therefore, unique to England: the Scots did it, too.”
In concluding his article, Professor Broun raises broader questions about national identity, both past and present: “if there is such a thing as a shared Britishness beyond the mere fact of inhabiting the same island: are there only Scottish, English and Welsh British identities, each with their own spectrum which have only occasionally intersected to become a common Britishness?”
The research not only challenges modern assumptions about Britishness but also opens a new perspective on how medieval Scotland imagined its place within the British Isles—an imagination where Scottish independence and British identity were not at odds, but intertwined.
The article, “Scottish Independence and British Identity: An Unusual Late-medieval Perspective,” by Dauvit Broun is published in the Journal of Scottish Historical Studies. Click here to read this article.
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