Scottish History Society 2026 Conference, Presidential Lecture & AGM

SCOTTISH HISTORY SOCIETY

Conference, Presidential Lecture & Annual General Meeting 2026

28 March 2026

‘The Sources of Scottish History’

University of Edinburgh

28 March 2026

All events will take place in the University of Edinburgh’s Old College (South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL)

9.00-9.15am Welcome and Introductory Remarks (McLaren Stuart Room, G.159)

9.15-10.45am Panels 1A and 1B

Panel 1A (McLaren Stuart Room, G.159)
The Challenges and Opportunities of Non-Textual Sources
Chair:

Catriona MacLeod, “Plotting Points, Plotting Stories: Student‑Led Mapping from Eighteenth-Century Sources”

Rachel Eger, “Forgotten in the Archives: Shedding Light on Hannah Robertson”

Barbara Bell, “The Genii in the Bottle: AI, ChatGPT and the relationship between textual and non-textual sources in a digital age”

Panel 1B (Teaching Room 07)
Re-assessing Sources and Challenging Narratives
Chair: Kelsey Jackson Williams 

Nicole Maceira Cumming, “‘A Harvest Song of God’s goodnesse’: the sermons of Zachary Boyd and the post-Reformation Scottish environment”

David McVey, “Traveller, Diplomat, Physician – Documenting John Bell of Antermony”

Tom, Knight, “‘Ancient Scottish Melodies’? The Skene Mandore Manuscript re-evaluated”

10.45-11.15am Refreshment Break

11.15-12.45pm Panels 2A and 2B

Panel 2A (McLaren Stuart Room, G.159)

Reading The Past: Libraries, Collections and Collectors
Chair: Clare Loughlin 

Michelle Craig,  "Mapping book collecting in the eighteenth-century: Robert and Andrew Foulis, and William Hunter"

Josh Smith, “‘Manadging Bishop Lightouns Library’: The Minute Book of the Leighton Library, Dunblane, 1734-1822”

Kelsey Jackson Williams, “The Library of the Edinburgh Dominicans: New Light on Some Old Books”

Panel 2B (Teaching Room 07)
Engaging with Scottish History: Approaches and Attitudes
Chair:

Eddi Reader, “A living diary of Scottish revolutionary events”

Tony Lewis, “The development and use of Glasgow Life’s museum collection: Scottish history from the 1870s to the present”

David Archibald, “The Tenementals: What would History look, sound and feel like if it were created by a rock band?”

12.45-14.15pm AGM and Lunch (McLaren Stuart Room, G.159)

Conference attendees are welcome to join the AGM (McLaren Stuart Room, G.159) before exploring the many lunch options in Edinburgh.

14.15-15.15pm Panels 3A and 3B

Panel 3A (McLaren Stuart Room, G.159)
Recovering Political Agency
Chair: Jade Scott 

Sonya Cronin, “Networking Scottish Women Poets in the 1650s: Miscellany NLS. Adv. 19.3.4”

Olivia Dunderdale, “The Accounts of the Common Good of Elgin, 1570-1620: Parliamentary Participation and the Utility of Urban Archives in Early Modern Scotland”

Panel 3B (Teaching Room 07)
Interrogating Medieval Manuscripts
Chair:

Fergus Holmes-Stanley, “The Pictish origin legends in the Great Book of Lecan: A scribe-centric analysis”

Dauvit Broun, “The kingdom’s history for carrying in a satchel of pocket: the first item in University of St. Andrews Libraries and Museums MS.39180 and comparable compendia”

15.15-15:30 Refreshment Break

15.30-16.30pm Presidential Lecture (McLaren Stuart Room, G.159)

James Robertson, ‘Writing fiction and writing history: some differences and some similarities’

SCOTTISH HISTORY SOCIETY

PRESIDENTIAL LECTURE 2026

James Robertson

Writing fiction and writing history: some differences and some similarities

Writing a history of Scotland is of course completely unlike writing a novel set in Scotland. Or is it? This lecture explores some of the restraints that apply to the historian's task and some of the liberties that are open to the novelist and suggests that the processes may not be as different as might be assumed.

The Presidential Lecture will be held on Saturday 28 March 2026 from 15.30 – 16.30pm in the McLaren Stuart Room, Old College, University of Edinburgh (South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL).

The Presidential Lecture will be recorded and will be available to members and registered guests via the Scottish History Society website after the event.

Tickets are free for SHS members and £6 for non-members.