If not perhaps the most popular Highland clan, the Campbells are undoubtedly one of the most successful. The Campbell earls of Argyll have traditionally enjoyed a rather unsavoury historical reputation, viewed by their rivals with a mixture of fear, envy and respect. The spectacular advance of Campbell power in the medieval Scottish kingdom has normally been explained in terms of the family's ruthless and duplicitous suppression of their fellow-Gaels in Argyll and the Hebrides at the behest of the Scottish crown. In particular, Clan Campbell's success is seen to be built on the destruction of older and more prestigious regional lordships in the west, such as those of the MacDougall lords of Argyll and the MacDonald lords of the Isles. This book reassesses these negative images and interpretations of the growth of Campbell authority from the thirteenth century and the opening of the Wars of Independence through to the death of Archibald, 2nd earl of Argyll, at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. The lords who dominated the medieval Clan Campbell emerge more as individuals enjoying complex and ambiguous relationships with the Scottish crown and the culture and politics of Gaelic-speaking Scotland, rather than as unquestioning agents of the Stewart monarchy and committed converts to the aristocratic culture of lowland Scotland.

"The first authorized biography of a great American novelist"--

The Field of Public Economics has been changing rapidly in recent years, and the sixteen chapters contained in this Handbook survey many of the new developments. As a field, Public Economics is defined by its objectives rather than its techniques and much of what is new is the application of modern methods of economic theory and econometrics to problems that have been addressed by economists for over two hundred years. More generally, the discussion of public finance issues also involves elements of political science, finance and philosophy. These connections are evidence in several of the chapters that follow. Public Economics is the positive and normative study of government's effect on the economy. We attempt to explain why government behaves as it does, how its behavior influences the behavior of private firms and households, and what the welfare effects of such changes in behavior are. Following Musgrave (1959) one may imagine three purposes for government intervention in the economy: allocation, when market failure causes the private outcome to be Pareto inefficient, distribution, when the private market outcome leaves some individuals with unacceptably low shares in the fruits of the economy, and stabilization, when the private market outcome leaves some of the economy's resources underutilized. The recent trend in economic research has tended to emphasize the character of stabilization problems as problems of allocation in the labor market. The effects that government intervention can have on the allocation and distribution of an economy's resources are described in terms of efficiency and incidence effects. These are the primary measures used to evaluate the welfare effects of government policy.

The Battle of Bannockburn has long been recognized as one of the most influential moments in Scottish history. The fighting that took place on 23rd and 24th June 1314 is frequently presented as a stirring tale of how a small but committed and well-organised militia army can overcome a larger, better-resourced foe, as well as a crucial early turning point in the long, bitter, and destructive conflicts between Scotland and in England in the late medieval and early modern period. This book offers an in-depth study of the immediate context of the battle, looking in detail at the preparations that both sides undertook in the months leading up to the conflict, and the reactions of the two sides to the outcome following months, aspects which have been overlooked in previous studies. Dr Callum Watson considers the state of affairs in Scotland in the autumn of 1313 and how this influenced Edward II's decision to invade Scotland in 1314. He explores the possibility that King Robert was unwell during this period and considers the influence this had on the outlook and activities of both sides leading up to the battle. He reconstructs the initial Scottish response to this threat, while examining the preparations made by the English crown for the proposed campaign and tracking these alongside Scottish military activities. Detailed consideration is given to what we know about the siege of Stirling and the resultant deal made between the Scots and the Stirling garrison, highlighting how this development fundamentally altered the expectations of both armies and placed them inexorably on the path to direct confrontation at Bannockburn. The battle itself is closely examined, taking into account how Bruce's preparations in the weeks before the event and his inventive use of the landscape secured victory for the Scots. The immediate fall-out of the battle is also discussed, covering efforts by the English crown to consolidate the defenses of northern England against renewed Scottish raiding, the experience of English widows created by the battle to secure their rights, and the cautious attempts at diplomacy – including arrangements made for the exchange of prisoners – undertaken in the months that followed. Finally, Bruce's parliament at Cambuskenneth Abbey in November 1314 is discussed alongside how the gradual redistribution of lands that this facilitated shaped the history of Scotland for the remainder of the fourteenth-century.

Full-length study of the warfare between England and Scotland in the mid fourteenth century. The Second Scottish War of Independence began in 1332, only four years after the previous conflict had ended. Fought once more for the continued freedom of Scotland from English conquest, the war also witnessed a revival of Scottish civil conflict as the Bruce-Balliol fight for the Scottish crown recommenced once more. Breaking out sporadically until peace was agreed in 1357, the Second Scottish War is a conflict that resides still in the shadow of that which preceded it: compared to the wars of William Wallace and Robert Bruce, Edward I and Edward II, this second phase of Anglo-Scottish warfare is neither well-known nor well-understood. This book sets out to examine in detail the military campaigns of this period, to uncover the histories of those who fought in the war, and to analyse the behaviour of combatants from both sides during ongoing periods of both civil war and Anglo-Scottish conflict.It analyses contemporary records and literary evidence in order to reconstruct the history of this conflict and reconsiders current debates regarding: the capabilities of the Scottish military; the nature of contemporary combat; the ambitions and abilities of fourteenth-century military leaders; and the place of chivalry on the medieval battlefield. Dr Iain A. MacInnes is a Lecturer and Programme Leader in Scottish History at the UHI Centre forHistory, University of the Highlands and Islands.