Day conference celebrating Glasgow's 850th anniversary. Celebrating with scholarship, and doubling as a commemoration of the work of Norman Shead. Thursday 4 September 2025 -- 10.00 am- 4:30 pm, City Chambers.

Own suggestion from a few years ago, trying to aim at entities ("Home Counties" aside) as analogous to Scotland & Wales as pos., three "legal nations" of England from the 11thc & 12thc ("Mercian law", "Danish law", "West Saxon law") plus Cornwall, Northumbria & East Anglia.

Merry St Ælla's day, the feast of Ælla the blood-eagled, martyr of York, slain by heathens #OTD in 867. My first published article, 10 years old this month, was about the life and afterlife of the king.
www.academia.edu/10247408/%C3...

#OTD in 1229 Pope Gregory IX wrote to 3 Scottish prelates charging them resolve a dispute between Dercongal Abbey in Strathnith & an excommunicated knight named 'F', who had seized abbey land. Gregory notes how he had written already to Alan of Galloway for worldly assistance bringing 'F' to heal.

*Blascona* is what Adam of Bremen names the *civitas* of 11th-cent. Orkney bishops. In my Malcolm book it is suggested that early episcopal organisation in Orkney survived the 'Viking Age'. Also, while doing this research I managed to get Blascona included in the computer game Thrones of Britannia.

Fascinating agreement between Arbroath Abbey & Fergus feuar of Tulloes & Craichie in 1329, whereby Fergus agreeing to respect the abbey's court was allowed to retain 'the court called "couthal" for the men residing within the said land, to deal with the countless acts arising among themselves only'.

Glasgow in the 17th century reconstructed, from a scan of James Bell and James Paton, *Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration* (Glasgow, 1896). 'Egliscemeis' croft is interesting.

In succeeding centuries the location was moved to Alnwick Castle. A story developed that Máel Coluim was offered the castle keys on the end of a lance, but was killed trying to collect. It eventually became an origin story for the Percy family, whose ancestor it was that 'pierced' the king.

#OTD in 1093 Máel Coluim III, aka Malcolm Canmore, was killed by Normans at Alnmouth (Scoticised as *Inveralden*). In a 35-year reign after defeating Macbeth, he led at least 5 invasions of England, married into the displaced West Saxon dynasty & expanded his own dynasty's territory significantly.

Reconstruction of 16th century burgh of Inverness with burgh boundaries depicted, designed for William Mackay's *Life in Inverness in the Sixteenth Century* (Aberdeen, 1911)

My piece 'The Complicated Legacy on an 11th-Century King' with History Scotland a few months back:
www.academia.edu/111415150/M%...

Excited last night to receive the proof for my forthcoming article on the 'end of northern [English] independence', re-assessing kingship & political conflict in 'middle' & northern Britain in the 940s & 950s. Publication to follow in edited volume by Mary Blanchard and Christopher Riedel.

Might as well make my first post here this. One of the earliest 'Scottish' (i.e. issued in the name of a Scottish royal) charters. It's an attempt by Duncan son of Malcolm III to grant Tyninghame in Lothian to Durham. He gets the consent of his brothers to make sure the grant sticks...but it doesn't