Laura I. Doak
This project focuses on around 400 depositions taken from rebels captured in southwest Scotland after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge on 22 June 1679. Previously unstudied, these statements offer a unique glimpse into the ideological understanding and engagement of ordinary early modern people. Preserved within the National Records of Scotland’s Justiciary manuscripts, these depositions record each prisoner’s motive for rebellion, as well as key biographical information, such as age, occupation, and parish of residence.
Utilising this unique source material, this project will re-examine conventional interpretations of the Bothwell Rising and contextualise the words recorded by its participants within broader, methodological debates on how we might recover, read, or even ‘re-hear’ past rebel voices in the present.
Categories used most frequently by the blogger:
The Rebel Army: Bothwell Bridge, 22 June 1679
22 June 2021
I couldn’t let 22 June– the anniversary of the Battle of Bothwell Bridge – slip by without a project update and a sneak peek at my findings so far. Given that this Reading Rebel...
26 February 2021
I AM REALLY EXCITED to offer a student workshop as part of the Reading Rebel Voices project, which is open to all University of Glasgow students studying MSc History, Scottish History,...
19 October 2020
ON 28 JUNE 1679, WILLIAM MAXWELL was quizzed by members of the Scottish Privy Council about his role in a recent uprising. Maxwell, a carrier from Kirkcudbright, Galloway, was one of...
19 October 2020
LIKE MOST OTHER THINGS, work on this project is being somewhat delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although I do have some source images to work from, with the National Records of Scotland’s...