Scotland

Demography of Scotland

Languages of scotland

The demography of Scotland includes all aspects of population, past and present, in the area that is now Scotland. Scotland has a population of 5,424,800 .Covering an area of 78,782 square kilometres , Scotland has a population density of 67.2/km2 . Around 70% of the country's population (3.5 million) live in the Central Belt a region stretching in a northeast-southwest orientation between the major cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and including the major settlements of Paisley, Stirling, Falkirk, Perth and Dundee in the Central Lowlands (80%). Other concentrations of population include the northeast coast of Scotland, principally the regions around the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, and the west coast around the town of Ayr. The Highlands of Scotland and the island group of Eilean Siar have the lowest population densities at 9/km2. Glasgow has the highest population density at 3,289/km2.

The languages of Scotland are the languages spoken or once spoken in Scotland. Each of the numerous languages spoken in Scotland during its recorded linguistic history falls into either the Germanic or Celtic language families. The classification of the Pictish language was once controversial, but it is now generally considered a Celtic language. Today, the main language spoken in Scotland is English, while Scots and Scottish Gaelic are minority languages. The dialect of English spoken in Scotland is referred to as Scottish English. The Celtic languages of Scotland can be divided into two groups: Goidelic&nbsp;and Brittonic. Pictish is usually seen as a Brittonic language but this is not universally accepted. They are known collectively as the Insular Celtic languages.

MYTHS SND LEGENDS OF SCOTTISH CULTURE

The traditional ballad of the&nbsp;Elven Knight Tam Lin, is of Scottish origin and dates back to the late Middle Ages, there are many variations of the name: Tom Line, Tom Linn, Tamlin, Tomaline Tam-line and Tam Lane and many variations in lyrics and melodies. The story is also told as a fairy tale and has kept many references to the most ancient Celtic legends, the currently accredited version is that for children, but the story of Tam Lin is much more complex and obscure. I tried to draw a narrative line by combining similar texts and subdividing all the selected material into some large groups

The protagonists of the story are two: the young noblewoman named&nbsp;Janet or Margaret, who at the arrival of Spring decides to go into the woods to pick some flowers; she becomes pregnant with the elf Tam Lin; Tam Lin the young knight / elf prisoner of the fairies who wants to escape to return to the real world. To read between the lines it seems that the man has been subjected to a kind of magical apprenticeship and that he is living like saying “on probation” in the sacred wood: only after seven years he will belong definitively to the fairy world and lose his humanity&nbsp;

Topography

Scotland contains the most mountainous terrain in Great Britain. Much of the highest uplands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault in the Northwest Highlands and Grampian ranges. The jagged Cuillin, on the Isle of Skye, represents a major mountain range that is not located on the Scottish mainland. Located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains, at an altitude of 1,345 m, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland and Great Britain. Mountains in Scotland are categorised by their height. Peaks over 3,000 ft (914.4 m) are known as Munros. There are 282 Munros in Scotland, all within the Highlands. The west coast in particular is heavily indented, with long promontories separated by fjordlike sea lochs. The east coast is more regular, with a series of large estuarine inlets, or firths, and long sandy beaches, for example at Aberdeen. Much of the Scottish coastline consists of a machair formation, a dune pasture land formed as sea levels subsided.

Scotland has some 790 islands, most of which are located off the northern and western coast of the country. The northern and western islands of Scotland can be found in three main groups: Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides which can be divided into the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides. Shetland and Orkney, together with Fair Isle and Stroma are referred to as the Northern Isles. With a total land area of 860 square miles (2,200 km²) Lewis and Harris (referred to as two islands but actually just one) is the largest Scottish island.

The west coast in particular is heavily indented, with long promontories separated by fjordlike sea lochs. The east coast is more regular, with a series of large estuarine inlets, or firths, and long sandy beaches, for example at Aberdeen. Much of the Scottish coastline consists of a machair formation, a dune pasture land formed as sea levels subsided.

Geology and morphology

The land area of Scotland is around 80,240 km², which is equivalent to 32% of the area of the UK. The mainland of Scotland has 9,910 km of coastline. The morphology of Scotland was formed by the action of tectonic plates, and subsequent erosion arising from glaciation. The major division of Scotland is the Highland Boundary Fault, which separates the land into 'highland' to the north and west, and 'lowland' to the south and east. The oldest rocks of Scotland are the Lewisian gneisses, which were formed in the Precambrian period, up to 3 billion years ago. They are among the oldest rocks in the world.

During the Precambrian, the Torridonian sandstones and the Moine were also laid down. Further sedimentary deposits were formed through the Cambrian period, some of which metamorphosed into the Dalradian series. The area which would become Scotland was at this time close to the south pole. Scotland's wildlife is typical of the north-west of Europe, although several of the larger mammals such as the lynx, brown bear, wolf, elk and walrus were hunted to extinction in historic times. There are important populations of seals and internationally significant nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds such as gannets. The golden eagle is something of a national icon.

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Climate

Political Geography

Average temperatures are lower than in the rest of Great Britain. Western coastal areas of Scotland are warmer than the east and inland areas, due to the influence of the Atlantic currents, and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea; however, during rare hot spells, the west is cooler than the east. The highest temperature recorded was 32.9 °C at Greycrook in the Scottish Borders on 9 August 2003. Areas such as Inverewe Garden in the northwest and the Logan Botanic Garden in the southwest have warm enough microclimates to support palm trees. Rainfall totals vary widely across Scotland. Due to the mountainous topography of the western Highlands, this type of precipitation is orographic in nature, with the warm, wet air forced to rise on contact with the mountainous coast, where it consequently, cools and condenses, forming clouds.

The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Exceptions include: the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom, the acquisition of Orkney and Shetland from Norway in 1472, and the permanent recovery of Berwick by England in 1482. Originally an independent country, Scotland joined with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 with the Acts of Union. Between 1889 and 1975 Scotland was divided into burghs and counties, which were replaced by regions and districts. Since 1996, for the purposes of local government, Scotland has been divided into 32 council areas.

Rockall, a small and uninhabitable rocky islet in the North Atlantic, was annexed by the UK in 1955 and later declared part of Scotland by the Island of Rockall Act 1972. However, the legality of this claim is disputed by the Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Iceland and it is probably unenforceable in international law.

Folklore Several geographical features of Ireland have been attributed to Fionn. According to legend, he built the Giant's Causeway, a formation made of basaltic columns that would have connected Ireland and Scotland. According to another legend, Fionn once raised a "piece" of Ireland to throw it to his Scottish rival, but he missed the target and the bulk of land fell in the middle of the Irish Sea: the block became the Isle of Man, the cobblestone part became Rockall and the remaining empty part became Lough Neagh. In Scotland there is a cave named after Fionn, Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa, and has the same hexagonal basaltic columns as the Giant's Causeway. On the island of Newfoundland and in some parts of Nova Scotia, the "Fingal uprising" is spoken of almost patriotically thanks to popular songs.

In the traditions of the Isle of Man Fionn is a giant known as Finn MacCooill. Legend has it that once settled on the island, a spiteful goblin went to challenge him in a duel. Wanting to avoid the strong ways, Finn hid in a cradle while his wife entertained the goblin, trying to pass her husband off as a child and frighten the visitor. He gave the goblin a pancake that contained a piece of iron inside. Obviously the visitor was unable to eat it and Finn's wife replied that her husband always ate sweets like that. Then he gave Finn a second pancake disguised as an infant, who devoured it in no time. Seeing that his son was also so strong, the elf thought it was better to avoid the duel and went away. Later the two met and challenged each other in the battle of Kirk Christ Rushen. Finn's feet created the canal between the islets of Calf of Man and Kitterland and the canal between Kitterland and the Isle of Man.

Cu Chulainn is one of the most famous Irish mythological heroes. He appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, and Scottish and Manx folklore. He was said to be the son of Deichtine and the god Lugh, and the nephew of Conchobar mac Nessa, the King of Ulster. His given name at birth was Setanta but he gained the name Cu Chulainn, meaning ‘Culann’s Hound’ after he killed a ferocious guard dog belonging to a smith named Culann. Cu Chulainn offered to take the place of the guard dog until a replacement could be reared.

The stories of Cu Chulainn’s childhood, which date back to the 9&nbsp;th&nbsp;century, are many. It is said that as a small child, he had asked incessantly to be allowed to join the boy-troop at Emain Macha. According to the legend, he sets out on his own, and eventually runs onto the playing field at Emain, unaware of the custom of asking for protection. The other boys see this as a challenge, and attack Setanta, but he beats them all single-handedly as he carries the trait of ‘ríastrad’, in which he undergoes a sort of distortion, becoming an unrecognizable monster who knows neither friend nor foe. King Conchobar put a stop to the fight. In the next part of the story, Culann the smith invites Conchobar to his home for a feast. At this point, Conchobar is so impressed by Setanta that he asks him to join the dinner. Setanta is unable to attend right away, but promises to join them at Culann’s house later. However, Conchobar forgets, and Culann lets loose his ferocious hound to protect his house. On arrival at their house, Setanta is forced to kill the guard dog in self-defense. Culann is devastated at the loss of his guard dog and Setanta feels so bad that he offers to rear a new one, and to guard Culann’s house until the new dog is ready to do so.

described as complicated and hostile. Fionn asked Tadg for compensation for his father's death, threatening to challenge him to a duel or to provoke a war if he refused. Tadg offered him his home and the hill of Alan and Fionn accepted the gifts.

Death There are several versions of Fionn's death: according to the most famous, Fionn is not dead at all but sleeps in a mine under Dublin, ready to wake up and defend Ireland in times of need. A legend of the X-XI century narrates instead of Mongán (died in 625 BC), son according to some of Fiachnae mac Báetáin and according to others of Manannán mac Lir, and describes him as the reincarnation of Fionn.

Geography of Scotland

The geography of Scotland is varied, from rural lowlands to unspoilt uplands, and from large cities to sparsely inhabited islands. Located in Northern Europe, Scotland comprises the northern one third of the island of Great Britain as well as 790 surrounding islands encompassing the major archipelagos of the Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Inner and Outer Hebrides.

Scotland contains the majority of mountainous terrain in the UK. The topography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault, a geological rock fracture, &nbsp;which traverses the Scottish mainland from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. The faultline separates two distinctively different physiographic regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west and the Lowlands to the south and east. The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous terrain, including the highest peak, Ben Nevis.

From youth Muirne entrusted his son to the care of Bodhmall and the warrior Liath Luachra. They raised him in secret in the forest of Sliabh Bladma, teaching him the techniques of war and hunting. Once he grew up, he went incognito to serve some local kings. But when they recognized him as Cumhall's son, they chased him out of fear of not being able to protect him from his enemies. Young Fionn met his teacher, the elf druid and poet Finnegas, near the Boyne River and became his pupil. Finnegas had spent seven years trying to catch the salmon of wisdom in the waters of a Boyne pond: anyone who ate salmon would have acquired all the knowledge imaginable. Finally he managed to catch it and asked the boy to cook it for him. Fionn burned his thumb while he was cooking the fish and instinctively put his finger in his mouth to relieve the pain, inadvertently swallowing a piece of salmon skin. In this way, Fionn acquired the wisdom of salmon and understood how to take revenge on Goll.

In later stories, we learn how Fionn harnesses the wisdom of salmon by sucking his thumb when needed.

From adulthood Every year for twenty-three years, on the occasion of the Samhain (spring solstice), Aillén mac Midgna, a supernatural being called The Incendiary, burned Tara with his breath of fire after having made all its inhabitants fall asleep playing celestial music. The Fianna, led by Goll mac Morna, could do nothing to avoid the disaster. Fionn arrived in Tara with the bag that belonged to his father, covered with crane skin and containing his magical weapons. He kept awake by pricking himself with the tip of his spear and then used it to kill Aillen. After this, Fionn was recognized as the son of Cumhall and was put in charge of the Fianna: Goll stepped aside on his own will and became a faithful follower of Fionn. However, in many stories their alliance is

Goidelic languages: The Goidelic language currently spoken in Scotland is Scottish Gaelic. It is widely spoken in the Outer Hebrides, and also in parts of the Inner Hebrides and Scottish Highlands, and by some people in other areas of&nbsp;Scotland. Brittonic languages:&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; None of the Brittonic languages of Scotland survive to the modern day, though they have been reconstructed to a degree.The ancestral Common Brittonic language was probably spoken in southern Scotland in Roman times and earlier.

Pictish language: The Pictish language is generally understood to be an Insular Celtic language. At its height, it may have been spoken from Shetland down to Fife, but it was pushed back as Scots, and Anglo-Saxons invaded Northern Britain, each with their own language. Pritennic may have been a precursor of Pictish.

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Fionn Mac Cumhaill was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, son of Cumhall, also present in Scottish mythology and in the Isle of Man. The story of Fionn and his followers, the Fianna, form the Phoenician cycle (Fiannaidheacht), large part of which is supposedly narrated by the son of Fionn and the poet Sadbh, the poet Oisín. This is the longest legend of Scotland

Fionn's early adventures are contained in the collection The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn. Son of Cumhall, chief of the Fianna, and Muirne, daughter of the druid Tadg mac Nuadat who lived on the hill of Almu in County Kildare. Cumhall kidnapped Muirne because the druid opposed their union. Tadg appealed to the Supreme King of Ireland Conn of the Hundred Battles, who declared Cumhall outlawed. Conn and Cumhall clashed in the Battle of Cnucha. Cumhall was killed by Goll mac Morna, who led the Phoenicians. Muirne became pregnant. Her father repudiated her and ordered that she be burned, but Conn did not allow it and placed her under the protection of Fiacal mac Conchinn and his wife, Druid Bodhmall, Cumhall's sister. In the house of Fiacal he gave birth to a son whom he called Deimne.

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