Kinship and politics in the art of plaster decoration
KINSHIP AND POLITICS IN THE ART OF PLASTER DECORATION This thesis explores the flowering of decorative plasterwork in late renaissance Scotland, its main focus being what influenced its development, the motivation of its leading patrons, and its role in the culture of Scotland at this time. The thesis begins by assesses why plasterwork has received much less attention in Scotland compared with other building materials, primarily stone, and whether this is as a result of Scotland’s architectural history being misunderstood in its British context. Early seventeenth-century Scotland was experiencing a building boom, its patrons increasingly benefiting from government positions, better education and foreign travel, exposing them to a wide range of influences at a time when houses and estates, (the main signals of status and rank) were being much transformed and domestically improved. This period heralded a burst of decorative plasterwork patronage throughout the country. This thesis analyses the influences which existed in late renaissance interiors in Scotland and whether a native tradition of decorative plasterwork existed in Scotland, and what influence this had on later decorative plasterwork styles. This thesis also gauges the affect that an absent court had on patronage and whether significant cycles of patronage can be interpreted by a study of seventeenth century plasterwork schemes in Scotland, and the role that decoration played in the culture of Scotland at this time. Finally, this research assesses the evolution of plaster throughout the century and why it may have developed differently from English work, and considers the changing role of decorative plasterwork in the late seventeenth century.
The Scottish Progress of James VI, 1617
An excellent insight into the operation of the administration of Scotland during the reign of James VI is given by the arrangements made for his visit to his native land in 1617.1 From Berwick to Aberdeen, from Dunbar to Glasgow and Dumfries, every agency of government, from the Privy Council to the sheriffs and justices of the peace in the parishes, was involved for almost two years in an undertaking of great complexity, which taxed and tested resources and skills in all directions. While the projected 5,000 visitors, with their 5,000 horses, mercifully did not materialise, the government had to prepare for that contingency. Moreover, many people did come with the king, and for their satisfaction essential conditions had to be fulfilled. Food and lodging for man and beast had to be provided, as well as roads, bridges and fords fit to carry the traffic. Entertainment had to be devised and arranged to suit a diversity of tastes and creatures. And, finally, money to meet all the charges had to be forthcoming. Each of these problems contained within itself problems no less difficult of solution. The institution and general direction of the work was, naturally, a task for the lords of the Scottish Privy Council, at His Majesty's instigation, and their orders, acts and missives, eminatory or explanatory, constitute the main touchstone of their wisdom and effectiveness of direction. A manuscript in the Scottish Record Office ? endorsed as 'Acts of counsell anent the Kings home cuming' ? gives, under sixteen heads, the items of business assigned
The incidence of dead and dying fish in the Moray Firth, September 1963
Dead and dying fish were reported from the Moray Firth during a period of 15 days in September 1963. The initial mortalities were in the inner Firth, but they later spread outwards, especially eastwards along the southern shores of the Firth. Mass mortalities of the lugworm (Arenicola marina) also occurred in Scottish waters in 1962 and 1963, and at Balintorein Easter Ross fish and lugworm mortalities were contemporary.