About this item
There are millions of people whose ancestors originated in the Scottish Highlands, but few reliable guides about the daily lives of the people of this region, their vibrant culture, and their storied history during the era of the clan system.This book by award-winning scholar Dr. Michael Newton provides keys that unlock the mysteries of Scottish Highland heritage, answering such basic questions as: How did the division between the Highlands and Lowlands emerge in Scotland? Where do Highland surnames come from? What stories did people tell about the origins of clans and how should we interpret them today? How did the clan system really work? How did Highlanders provide food, shelter, and clothing for themselves? What did Highlanders do to commemorate birth, marriage, and death?These questions and others are answered for a general readership, especially by providing primary sources written by Highlanders themselves that open a window into their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
About the Author
Dr Michael Newton earned a Ph.D. in Celtic Studies from the University of Edinburgh in 1998 and was an Assistant Professor in the Celtic Studies department of St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia 2008-2013. He has written a multitude of books and articles about Gaelic culture and history and is a leading authority on Scottish Gaelic heritage in North America. He was the editor of Dùthchas nan Gaidheal: Selected Essays of John MacInnes, which won the Saltire Society's Research Book award of 2006, and the author of Warriors of the Word: The World of the Scottish Highlanders, which was nominated for the 2009 Katharine Briggs Award for folklore research. In 2014 he was given the inaugural Saltire Award by the St. Andrews University Scottish Heritage Center (of Laurinburg, North Carolina) for his "outstanding contributions to the preservation and interpretation of Scottish history and culture." His 2015 publication Seanchaidh na Coille / Memory-Keeper of the Forest: Anthology of Scottish Gaelic Literature of Canada, the first extensive collection of Gaelic-Canadian literature and analysis of it, was nominated for the Scholarly Writing category of the Atlantic Book Prize. In 2018 he was recognized with the International award at the annual Scottish Gaelic awards in Glasgow, Scotland.
