History UsefulNotes / Scotland

* William Topaz [=McGonagall=] is notorious as probably the worst-ever poet in British history. The other Wiki has an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGonagall article]].

*** For anyone confused and wondering, Scotland's ''first'' national drink is of course '''Whisky''' of which there are [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_distilleries_in_Scotland huge amounts of types, brands, varieties, labels, and distilleries]][[note]]this is due to something of a renaissance in micro-brewing in the last decade or so. Some of these small operations will only brew one label on a very limited run before closing again, or change varieties and brewing methods with each casking[[/note]]. Tasting them all and debating which is best is the work of a lifetime, so is debating exactly how many there are and which type is which for that matter. One which definitely isn't, is [[SpellMyNameWithAnS whiskey with an "e"]], which is Irish.[[note]]And American, while "whisky" (no "e") is also Canadian. The distinction makes sense: the American frontier distillers who developed American whiskey were historically Ulster Scots--like most distillers in 19th-century Ireland--while Canadian ones were Scots from Scotland. While the American and Canadian styles of whisk(e)y were adapted for new grains in the New World--maize and rye (particularly rye in Canada)--the similarities between Irish and American whiskey and Scottish and Canadian whisky, respectively, remain clear to the attentive drinker. Not to say that any one of these is better than Scotch...[[/note]] Getting that wrong can also be a debate that will last a lifetime, ([[ViolentGlaswegian but also less than half an hour]]) if uttered in the wrong place.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/125px-Flag_of_Scotland_svg_4812.png
[[caption-width:125:The Scottish [[strike:trope]] flag]]

* John "Soap" [=MacTavish=], one of the primary protagonists of the ''ModernWarfare'' series is Scottish. Captain Price's mentor, [=MacMillan=] is also Scottish.

* ''{{Brigadoon}}''

Often in American (and even English!) television, all Scottish people will be wearing the kilt all the time. It also seems to be believed that Scottish people often go without underwear--especially when they compete in the Highland Games or when Highland Dancing. In reality you would almost never see a kilted person walking the streets of a Scottish town, and if you did they were probably on their way to a wedding or similar. Basically, in any situation where an American would wear a tuxedo, a Scotsman would wear a kilt. And underwear is actually required at the Highland Games and in Highland Dancing competitions! It's also a requirement to wear undergarments with rental kilts for far more grave reasons than embarrassment. Although if you own a kilt and are wearing it, it's far more common than is realised to go without underwear.[[hottip:*: Though any American or Sassenach tropers considering wearing a kilt like this should know that Scotland is really, ''really'' cold, so be prepared to have your "equipment"...wither]] It's more of a personal choice thing. You'll occasionally see a kilted person playing the bagpipes on certain high streets for charity or because they are part of an actual bagpiping club, but that's it.

As an interesting bit of trivia, the word "clan" is a transliteration from "children" in Gaelic. For instance the [=McBobs=] would be the "Children of Bob". This is a system of clan/tribal nomenclature that is familiar in several parts of the world including the Middle East as readers of Literature/TheBible (which is largely about the "Children of Israel") will remember.

* '''Haggis''': "Great Chieftain o' the puddin' race", as [[Creator/RobertBurns Robbie Burns]] put it. Probably the most widely recognised form of Scottish cuisine. A [[ForeignQueasine sheep's stomach stuffed with the rest of its innards, suet, and spices]]. Tastes far better than it sounds--the innards, suet, and spices are ground up together before cooking, making it a kind of sausage (at which point sausage-loving foreigners' curiosity is piqued). Also available in dumpling, sandwich, and (this being Scotland) deep-fried forms. God help us all.

* Like many countries Scotland has a base of traditional folklore in poetry and prose as well as more formally noted authors. The historian, soldier, and spy FitzroyMaclean remembered as a youth hearing the Maclean clan bard telling tales of the deeds of his clan that sound from description like they would have satisfied any Klingon for warlikeness and bloodthirst. Other elements include stories of Fair Folk, "second sight", fisherman's tales and the like.

The familiar feudal system which we know from ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' and KingArthur and which comes to mind when we think of the phrase "Middle Ages" was actually far more limited in scope in RealLife history. In any case it only took partial root in Scotland. Instead, especially in the Highlands and border regions, feudalism was rather light and merged with the Celtic Early Medieval pseudofamilial societies that we call TheClan. There were several reasons for this, not least of which is that Scotland was never conquered by the French-influenced Normans and retained much of it's celtic base; such English influence as crept north was as likely to be exiled Saxons as ambitious Normans

The familiar feudal system which we know from ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' and KingArthur and which comes to mind when we think of the phrase "Middle Ages" was actually far more limited in scope in RealLife history. In any case it only took partial root in Scotland. Instead, especially in the Highlands and border regions, feudalism was rather light and merged with the Celtic Early Medieval pseudofamilial societies that we call TheClan. A Scottish clan was a tribal network named after it's first patron. It included the chief, the clan elders and the clansfolk which were often the tenants of the chief as well. Each clan operated like an independent principality. For instance the Macdonalds, who held the title of Lords of the Isles(rulers of Hebrides)were a great sea power in their own right and had history been just a little bit different, they could have been an independent power or been the subjects of the Crown of Norway. Several larger clans could field several thousand warriors. The clan system ingrained itself into Scottish life and was a referent for delicate matters of internal politics. For instance one King of Scots, when deciding how the [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Roma]] should be integrated into the system, simply declared one of them "Chief of the Egyptians"(Gypsies), thus effectively deciding that Roma were another Clan. Another example is the title of the Scottish monarch which is tribal rather then feudal in concept. The proper title is King(or Queen) of Scots. That is the Queen of Scots(known more commonly by her English title Elizabeth II) is not the Lady of a manor named scotLAND of which "scotsfolk" are tenants; she is the chieftainess of a "clan of clans" named ''Scots'' which happens to possess SCOTland as it's Patrimony.

The familiar feudal system which we know from ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' and KingArthur and which comes to mind when we think of the phrase "Middle Ages" was actually far more limited in scope in RealLife history. In any case it only took partial root in Scotland. Instead, especially in the Highlands and border regions, feudalism was rather light and merged with the Celtic Early Medieval pseudofamilial societies that we call TheClan. A Scottish clan was a tribal network named after it's first patron. It included the chief, the clan elders and the clansfolk which were often the tenants of the chief as well. Each clan operated like an independent principality. For instance the Macdonalds, who held the title of Lords of the Isles(rulers of Hebrides)were a great sea power in their own right and had history been just a little bit different, they could have been an independent power or been the subjects of the Crown of Norway. Several larger clans could field several thousand warriors. The clan system ingrained itself into Scottish life and was a referent for delicate matters of internal politics. For instance one King of Scots, when deciding how the [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Roma]] should be integrated into the system, simply declared one of them "Chief of the Egyptians"(Gypsies), thus effectively deciding that Roma were another Clan. Another example is the title of the Scottish monarch which is tribal rather then feudal in concept. The proper title is King(or Queen) of Scots. That is the Queen of Scots(known more commonly by her English title Elizabeth I) is not the Lady of a manor named scotLAND of which "scotsfolk" are tenants; she is the chieftainess of a "clan of clans" named ''Scots'' which happens to possess SCOTland as it's Patrimony.

The familiar feudal system which we know from ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' and KingArthur and which comes to mind when we think of the phrase "Middle Ages" was actually far more limited in scope in RealLife history. In any case it only took partial root in Scotland. Instead, especially in the Highlands and border regions, feudalism was rather light and merged with the Celtic Early Medieval pseudofamilial societies that we call TheClan. A Scottish clan was a tribal network named after it's first patron. It included the chief, the clan elders and the clansfolk which were often the tenants of the chief as well. Each clan operated like an independent principality. For instance the Macdonalds, who held the title of Lords of the Isles(rulers of Hebrides)were a great sea power in their own right and had history been just a little bit different, they could have been an independent power or been the subjects of the Crown of Norway. Several larger clans could field several thousand warriors. The clan system ingrained itself into Scottish life and was a referent for delicate matters of internal politics. For instance one King of Scots, when deciding how the [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Roma]] should be integrated into the system, simply declared one of them "Chief of the Egyptians"(Gypsies), thus effectively deciding that Roma were another Clan. Another example is the title of the Scottish monarch which is tribal rather then feudal in concept. The proper title is King(or queen) of scots. That is the(right now) Queen of Scots is not the Lady of a manor named scotLAND of which "scotsfolk" are tenants; she is the chieftainess of a "clan of clans" named ''Scots'' which happens to possess SCOTland as it's Patrimony.

The familiar feudal system which we know from ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' and KingArthur and which comes to mind when we think of the phrase "Middle Ages" was actually far more limited in scope in RealLife history. In any case it only took partial root in Scotland. Instead, especially in the Highlands and border regions, feudalism was rather light and merged with the Celtic Early Medieval pseudofamilial societies that we call TheClan. A Scottish clan was a tribal network named after it's first patron. It included the chief, the clan elders and the clansfolk which were often the tenants of the chief as well. Each clan operated like an independent principality. For instance the Macdonalds, who held the title of Lords of the Isles(rulers of Hebrides)were a great sea power in their own right and had history been just a little bit different, they could have been an independent power or been the subjects of the Crown of Norway. Several larger clans could field several thousand warriors. The clan system ingrained itself into Scottish life and was a referent for delicate matters of internal politics. For instance one King of Scots, when deciding how the [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Roma]] should be integrated into the system, simply declared one of them "Chief of the Egyptians"(Gypsies), thus effectively deciding that Roma were another Clan.

** Doohan said he picked a Scottish accent because Scotland is known for (besides whiskey) its great engineers and innovators. The television, refrigerator, and flush toilet (among many, many, many others) were all invented by Scots.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had an episode where the PlanetOfHats people were supposed to be descend from Scots. Needless to say not a single one of the accents involved would be recognised as Scottish by anyone from Scotland.

Often in American (and even English!) television, all Scottish people will be wearing the kilt all the time. It also seems to be believed that Scottish people often go without underwear--especially when they compete in the Highland Games or when Highland Dancing. In reality you would almost never see a kilted person walking the streets of a Scottish town, and if you did they were probably on their way to a wedding or similar. Basically, in any situation where an American would wear a tuxedo, a Scotsman would wear a kilt. And underwear is actually required at the Highland Games and in Highland Dancing competitions! It's also a requirement to wear undergarments with rental kilts for far more grave reasons than embarrassment. Although if you own a kilt and are wearing it, it's far more common than is realised to go without underwear. It's more of a personal choice thing. You'll occasionally see a kilted person playing the bagpipes on certain high streets for charity or because they are part of an actual bagpiping club, but that's it.

The stereotypical "kilts, bagpipes, thistles, Highland cows" view of Scotland is often referred to as "the shortbread-tin version", after the packaging in which shortbread biscuits/cookies are marketed to tourists.

Scotland does have the dubious distinction of eating even ''less'' healthily than America. Scots will [[DeepFriedWhatever deep-fry anything that will stand still long enough]][[note]]In fact, it's likely that the American obsession with deep-frying came from Scottish and Ulster Scottish immigrants to the South.[[/note]], so it's not surprising that Scotland has some of the worst rates of heart disease and bowel cancer in the Western world.

* '''Irn Bru''': Pronounced "Iron Brew". Scotland's ''other'' national drink. Radioactive orange in color; alleged to have energy-giving properties, and to be made from girders. Believed to be a good cure for hangovers, which may explain its popularity.

The West of Scotland is also notorious for the sectarian feud between Catholics and Protestants, typically made manifest in the Old Firm - Celtic and Rangers, Glasgow's most widely recognised football teams--Catholics for the most part allying themselves to Celtic and Protestants to Rangers--and the question "What team are you?" being used to ascertain your religious denomination. Note that this question is also used by those of a less than social disposition as an indicator of whether or not you're allowed to live another day, and is always rhetorical - the correct answer is whichever team the asker supports, and wrong answers or attempts to TakeAThirdOption often end in violence. A safe answer for those who are unsure is "Queen's Park"--since, despite being one of the country's worst teams, their home ground is the national stadium and should instill enough patriotism in the attacker to allow you to escape to safer ground, or at least change the subject. Although present in other parts of Scotland such as Edinburgh and Dundee, nowhere else is the conflict so aggravated. It's also (far more prominently and scarily) present in Northern and even the Republic of Ireland.

Glasgow has its own subway system, albeit much smaller than UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground. It's nicknamed the Clockwork Orange for its colour. It's one big circle, with two lines running in opposite directions.

** Doohan said he picked a Scottish accent because Scotland is known for (besides whiskey) its great engineers and innovators.

-->--'''{{Cracked}}'''

* Much of GeorgeMacDonaldFraser's work; particularly his history of the Border Reivers and the McAuslan stories about his time with the Gordon Highlanders.

* ''ScoobyDooAndTheLochNessMonster''. Oh, god... Kilts, bagpipes, haggis, Nessie, horrible horrible accents... it just doesn't end!

* Ironically, ''[[LaurelAndHardy Bonnie Scotland]]'' only has a short bit in Scotland before taking off for India for the rest of the film.

!!Examples

* Tintin - ''[[{{Tintin}} The Black Island]]''
* Destro, weapons supplier of the evil Cobra organisation in GIJoe, is the scottish James Mc Cullen XXIV, and some battles have even happened in his family castle.