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The work examines the actions taken by the Scottish Church during the First War of Scottish Independence (1296– 1328), as well as the preliminary period starting from 1286. The main objectives are to determine the direct role of the Scottish clergy in diplomatic and political activities, to assess the impact on the national liberation movement, as well as to study the position of the Scottish Church in the Christian world at the end of the First War of Independence. Great attention is given to the propaganda activities of the bishops, as well as the relationship of the secular and spiritual authorities with the Roman Church before and after 1302. The transformation of the position and structure of the Scottish Church in relation to the Roman See and the entire Christian world, both legally and spiritually, is analyzed.

The film is a hymn to freedom, the freedom of individuals and entire peoples. It narrates the life of the Scots hero, William Wallace, who lived during the last decades of the 13th century and the first years of the 14th century. These were turbulent times in the history of Scotland, which was subject to the power of the King of England, its neighbour, who governed with an iron hand while the members of the Scots nobility competed and fought for the succession to the throne of Scotland, which had been left vacant.

As the largest stretch of inland water within Britain, Loch Lomond has always held a special significance both locally and, increasingly, within the national consciousness. As a pass to the Highlands from Glasgow, it represented both access and vulnerability, while being hemmed in both east and west by mountains made it as dangerous as it was romantic. For the fleeing Scots, lured by the opportunities to disappear into the islands of the loch, it represented, in Geoffrey of Monmouth's rather fanciful account, a sure haven, but, as the narrative continues, "it proved of little advantage to them. For Arthur, having got together a fleet, sailed round the rivers, and besieged the enemy fifteen days together, by which they were so straitened with hunger, that they died by thousands." This paper explores the historical and cultural development of Loch Lomond and its immediate neighbourhood. This includes its role as a place of retreat and concealment as well as its significance as a means of access and thoroughfare, both roles facilitated by the structure and resilience of the landscape. It pays particular attention to the part it played during the tourism boom of the eighteenth century, when Defoe, Boswell and Johnson, the fictional Matthew Bramble, and the real William Wordsworth visited or passed through. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An estimate of someone''s IQ is a potentially informative personal datum. This study examines the association between external skull measurements and IQ scores, and uses the resulting regression equation to provide an estimate of the IQ of King Robert I of Scotland (Robert Bruce, 1274–1329). Participants were 48 relatively healthy Caucasian men (age 71–76 years) resident in Scotland. Using magnetic resonance imaging data, intracranial volume estimated from external skull length and width correlated greater than .5 (p < .001) with measured intracranial area, which correlates very highly with brain volume. IQ scores estimated from the National Adult Reading Test (NART) correlated .56 (p < .001) with measured intracranial area, and .49 (p < .01) with estimated intracranial volume based on external skull width and length. The partial correlation coefficient of this latter association was .25 (p = .09) after adjustment for measured intracranial area. Thus, actual intracranial area accounts for about 74% of the variance shared by NART and estimated intracranial volume. A cast of the skull of Robert Bruce was measured and its intracranial volume estimated. A regression equation between IQ and estimated intracranial volume, based on data from the 48 subjects, estimated the IQ of Robert Bruce at about 128 (95% confidence interval 106 to ≫130), i.e. almost two standard deviations above the mean. NART scores show a ceiling effect, so this estimated IQ might be an underestimate. Robert Bruce''s estimated high IQ is congruent with his military, political and other intellectual achievements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]