Scottish History Trivia

1. Legend has it that before the Stone of Scone made its way to Scotland, it was used by which dreaming Biblical patriarch who as a pillow?

From Quiz Tales of the Stone

Answer: Jacob

The Stone of Scone is also called Jacob's Pillow Stone. According to the book of Genesis, Jacob had tricked his older twin brother, Esau, out of his birthright, and was trying to put some space between himself and his brother. After receiving their father's (Isaac) blessing, Jacob fled and stopped at a place called Luz to rest; he apparently chose a stone there to use for a pillow. As he slept, Jacob had a dream (Genesis 28:12-13) where he saw angels going up and down a ladder stretching from the earth to heaven. In the dream, God promised Jacob that he would give the land to him and his descendants. When he awoke, Jacob took the stone he used as a pillow and poured oil over it. He renamed the town Bethel, and in Genesis 28:22 pledged "this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth". There is a legend that the prophet Jeremiah brought the stone with him to Ireland, and eventually it made its way to Scotland.

From Quiz Seventeenth Century Scottish History

Answer: James VI of Scotland

James VI of Scotland became James I of the England (and Great Britain). He was responsible for commissioning the production of the most famous English translation of the Bible. He also published several books including one attacking the growing use of tobacco and one on witchcraft.

From Quiz History of Edinburgh

Answer: Cramond

Cramond Roman Fort is one of the first buildings in Edinburgh. It was not in use for long, however, only for about thirty years in the mid-2nd century. It was built on the location where the Almond River meets the Firth of Forth. The most famous discovery made at Cramond Roman Fort ruins is the Cramond Lioness, a sculpture of a man being eaten by a lioness, which was found in the Almond River in 1997.

From Quiz The Tay Bridge Disaster

Answer: 1871

The longest reigning British monarch is, of course, the present incumbent, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II whose reign started in 1952. The second longest is Queen Victoria, who ascended the throne in 1837; the bridge was started in 1871. 1794 is 34 years after the start of the reign of the third longest, George III, and is before the railway age. 1867 is 34 years before Queen Victoria's death and is totally irrelevant.

From Quiz Nineteenth Century Scottish History

Answer: Comet

The Comet was a paddle steamer which sailed on the Clyde for several years. After Bell increased its power he offered a service all the way from Glasgow to Fort William using the recently constructed Crinan Canal. Unfortunately, the ship was wrecked in an accident near Oban in 1820.

From Quiz Eighteenth Century Scotland

Answer: Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun

Fletcher and Lockhart were both opponents of the Bill (which of course became the Act of Union once it passed both the Scottish and English Parliaments). Clerk was a supporter of Union and Queensberry was Queen Anne's Commissioner in Scotland responsible for trying to guide the Bill through the Scottish Parliament. Opponents of Union accused those who voted for it of accepting English bribes.

From Quiz The History of Glasgow

Answer: Saint Mungo

In some places, Saint Mungo is also known as Saint Kentigern. He founded a small church on the location that Glasgow Cathedral now stands. According to brief and sometimes unclear written accounts, St. Mungo was born on a wooden boat after his mother was thrown off a cliff by her father for being unwed and pregnant (she had been raped.) There was an anti-Christian sentiment in the region of Scotland where St. Mungo lived. Disgusted, St. Mungo left Strathclyde, maintaining his Christian principles. Unlike other saints, St. Mungo is not a martyr and died a natural death in old age in 614 A.D.

From Quiz A Millenium of Scottish History

Answer: Macbeth

Macbeth, whose full gaelic name was Mac Bethad mac Findlaích, killed Duncan in a battle near Elgin, Morayshire, on August 15th, 1040. His title at the time was High King of Alba. Macbeth himself was killed by the future King Malcolm III in 1057.

From Quiz Scottish Battles

Answer: Bannockburn

At Bannockburn in 1314, Robert the Bruce defeated the army of Edward II of England. Otterburn is a village in the north of England where a battle in 1388 had both armies claiming victory. The Battle of Glenshiel in the Scottish Highlands was a rebellion in 1719 put down by English government forces. The Battle of Holyrood takes place most days between belligerent politicians.

From Quiz Scots Who Invented The Modern World

Answer: John Knox

John Knox (ca 1514-1572) hated Papal authority and devoted his life to removing all vestiges of the Catholic Church from his homeland. While in exile in Switzerland, he met John Calvin and inspired by his teachings, he brought a variation of Calvinism to Scotland in the early 1560s and very soon it became the Church of Scotland or Presbyterianism. In doing so, he was able to thwart Anglicanism, the Church of England, from gaining a foothold in Scotland. To Herman, this was important for a couple of reasons. Catholicism and Anglicanism were linear religions, governed from the top down. Presbyterianism was a lateral religion where everyone had the same access to God, a religion of the masses. Unless you were Anglican (and rich), access to quality universities such as Oxford and Cambridge was impossible. But in Scotland, students of all stripes could attend St. Andrews, Edinburgh or Glasgow University. This created a positive climate for a culture of knowledge and learning that became the envy of Europe. The results would soon be evident.

From Quiz Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Jacobites and Culloden

Answer: James VII of Scotland and II of England

James VI of Scotland became James I of England after Queen Elizabeth died. Charles I also lost the crown (as well as his head) in 1649, and after 11 years of republic, his son was invited to become Charles II. When Charles II died, his younger brother James became James VII & II (Scotland was still a separate country). After only three years he was deposed for being too pro-Catholic and too autocratic. James' Protestant daughters, Mary (jointly with William of Orange) and then Anne succeeded him, but his son James remained unwelcome, and George of Hanover was invited to become King George I in 1714. The Jacobites looked for an opportunity to overthrow the Hanoverians and restore what to them was the rightful king.

From Quiz The Battle of Culloden

Answer: 1746

The battle was the last in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-46 and ended with a devastating defeat for the rebels.

From Quiz Dundee - City and People

Answer: William I the Lion

David, Earl of Huntingdon and brother of King William the Lion of Scotland, prayed to St Mary for mercy as a violent storm threatened to swamp his ship and change his return from the crusades to tragedy. Legend states that his prayers were answered and he was washed up on the shores of a humble fishing village called Dundee. On the Earl's recomendation the King made Dundee a royal burgh raising its status, and establishing Dundee as one of Scotland's foremost administrative and trading centres.

From Quiz Perth - The Fair City

Answer: The Almond

The other three rivers flow close to Perth, but the Almond actually passes through the city as part of the Town Lade.

From Quiz Important Dates in Scottish History

Answer: 1314

The Battle of Bannockburn took place in 1314. It was a battle between Scotland and England, and was won by Scotland. In theory the English should have won this battle as they had more men than the Scottish army, but the English were badly led in battle by their leader Edward II who made a fatal mistake in his choice of battlefield.

From Quiz St Kilda, a Vanished Way of Life

Answer: British Isles

The archipelago of St Kilda lies 66km west of Benbecula in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, making it the most remote of the British Isles. It is a very isolated place, a long way from the Scottish mainland. Interestingly, no information regarding the saint after whom the island was named has survived to the present day.

From Quiz Fun Facts on Scottish History

Answer: St. Ninian

St Ninian (known also as Ninius or Ninus) lived in 3rd/4th century. He was born in Galloway and educated in Rome. He spent some time in France, but after the death of St Martin of Tours in 397 he went to Scotland to build St Martin's church there and spread the word of Christ among southern Picts. The church he built is said to have been the first stone church in Britain and because of its whitewashed walls was called Candida Casa - the White House. St Ninian, who was well known for his miracles, is buried in the church at Whithorn in Wigtownshire.

From Quiz Scottish History

Answer: Douglas and Percy

In the Borders, the war between the Scots and English turned into a personal feud between the families of Douglas, from Scotland and Percy, from England. This battle became famous because it was won by a dead man. When Douglas, the Scottish leader, became mortally wounded he was worried that his death would encourage the English so he ordered his men to hide his body beneath a bush so no one could see it. The Scots won the battle and captured the English leader Henry(Hotspur) Percy. He was directed to the bush where Douglas was lying and surrendered.

From Quiz Ten Scottish Battles

Answer: Caledonii v Romans

The Caledonian Chief, Calgacus, was slain in the battle, won by the Romans under Julius Agricola. The Caledonii were a Pictish tribe, and were probably in alliance with the Vacomagi and Taexali. The location of the battle is unknown, possibly near the Iron age fort of Bennachie, with a Roman marching camp of Durno nearby.

From Quiz Scottish History after the Union

Answer: 1707

King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England in 1603 and often styled himself King of Great Britain (on coins for example), but the title had no legal status until the Union of the Parliaments in 1707 during the reign of James's great-granddaughter, Queen Anne. In 1801 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created by uniting the Parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland.

From Quiz Scottish History before the Union

Answer: Kenneth mac Alpin

Kenneth was king of the western Scottish kingdom of Dalriada, in c.843. He became king of the Picts too, uniting the two kingdoms as Scotia. Donald was his brother and immediate successor. Robert the Bruce was Scotland's hero-king who won Scotland's independence back from the occupying English. James was the first Scottish king to rule England also, he was James VI of Scotland before ascending the English throne.

From Quiz Some Scottish History Facts

Answer: 3500 BC

The Skara Brae Neolithic village was discovered in the middle of the last century after a terrible storm shifted huge quantities of sand from the well preserved stone age village.

From Quiz Seventeenth Century Scottish History

Answer: John Napier

All of these were seventeenth century Scottish mathematicians. James Gregory was also an astronomer, inventing a reflecting telescope. His nephew David became a professor of mathematics at Edinburgh and of astronomy at Oxford. In addition to his work on logarithms, Napier also invented aids to computation known as Napier's Bones, which were a predecessor of the slide rule.

From Quiz The Tay Bridge Disaster

Answer: Sir Thomas Bouch

Thomas Bouch was born near Carlisle and spent his working life in the north of England and Scotland. He was responsible for the world's first roll-on roll-off train ferry, across the River Forth. He was knighted after the opening of the Tay Bridge, and died within a year of its destruction. Robert Stephenson, the son of George Stephenson, was a railway engineer who designed and built many early locomotives. He helped his father design the famous "Rocket", and latterly was responsible for many miles of track and bridges. His most famous work is probably the Britannia tubular bridge across the Menai Straits. He is one of the very few railway engineers to be made an FRS. Arrol was a civil engineer who was responsible for the construction of the replacement Tay Bridge, the Forth Bridge and Tower Bridge in London. Mrs Sarah Guppy lived slightly earlier and, although not a qualified engineer (the professions were closed to women in that benighted era), offered technical advice concerning railways and nautical matters. She also produced a number of inventions, the most delightful of which was a tea urn which would also cook eggs and had a gadget for keeping toast warm.

From Quiz The History of Glasgow

Answer: Somerled

David I of Scotland had died and was succeeded by his grandson Malcolm IV, who was not even a teenager. The line of succession was not completely clear at the time and Somerled believed that he had a claim to the throne through some obscure lineage and his relationship with David's oldest brother. He sacked the city during the power struggle as soon as Malcolm IV, who was inexperienced, came to power.

From Quiz A Millenium of Scottish History

Answer: Treaty of Durham

The Treaty of Durham was signed by King Stephen of England and King David I of Scotland. The peace didn't last long though, and David invaded England once more in January, 1138.

From Quiz Scottish Battles

Answer: Killiecrankie

In 1689, Highlanders opposing the rule of William III engaged English government forces at Killiecrankie. The Soldier's Leap is part of the Pass of Killiecrankie and it attracts thousands of tourist visitors each year.

From Quiz Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Jacobites and Culloden

Answer: 1746

Although the rising started in 1745, it wasn't until April 16th, 1746 that the decisive battle was fought. The Jacobite army invaded England and travelled as far south as Derby before withdrawing to the Highlands.

From Quiz The Battle of Culloden

Answer: George II

Prince Charles was the leader of the Highland Army, the Army that the Royal Troops were fighting against. He was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart, who was the son of James II. Charles's opponents referred to him at the time as 'the young pretender'. Prince Charles supported his father (James Francis Edward Stuart) and he was trying to remove George II from the throne. In 1766, on the death of his father, he did in fact become the 'Young Pretender'. In the 19th century he was romanticized as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'.

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