Scottish Blog

The prestigious city of Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, and one of the most honored and beautiful cities today, with some even calling it the “Modern Athens”. Edinburgh, like many other Scottish cities has a long history, with traces of every clan being found there.

The earliest signs of settlement in Edinburgh come from 850BC, it is thought that the natural defenses provided by the hills of the area is what attracted early settlers to what is now Edinburgh. Around the 7th century Northumbrian Angles from the Northeast of England arrived in the area and constructed a fortress on a hill, marking the original root of Edinburgh. And although the fortress was destroyed seven times by the English, Edinburgh survived and grew, becoming a well established and prosperous city by the 11th century.

Around this time King Malcolm III built a castle in Edinburgh. Upon his succession to the throne, his son David I, built an abbey one mile east of the castle. The road between the two structures became busy with settlements abundant in merchants, travelers and the clergy. The road side activity then became permanent and Edinburgh was born in a precursor to its current form.

At this time Edinburgh was a also strategically important town, and in 1335 was captured by English. The city was quickly taken back, and sprung into a new period of development. With the strategic importance placed on the city and its new developments it came to establish itself as one of the most important cities in Europe by 1500 Edinburgh was the capital of Scotland. The growth of the city attracted people from around the Scotland, but unlike most cities of the time, Edinburgh did not spread outward to cater for the inhabitants, but upwards. The surviving early buildings are now part of the incredible appeal of Edinburgh today.

Edinburgh continued to grow much like the rest of Scotland, and like the rest of Scotland faced the same recessions. A period of relatively uneventful growth began and continued until 1448 when there was a respite in the threat of invasion from the English. This provided a perfect opportunity for Edinburgh to expand beyond what it had before. Amongst other things the defending city walls were improved, allowing future city resources to be devoted to the city itself, instead of it’s defenses.

With the newly available resources the Edinburgh was able to expand itself, not in size but in stature and culture. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was developed in 1684, preceding the original Guild of Chirurgeon Barbers. The first printing press in Scotland was also established in 1507.

Unfortunately this peaceful period came to a tragic end, in 1544 the Earl of Hertford attacked the city, almost destroying the Holyrood abbey. His attack was stopped before he reached the castle. He then returned in 1547, and destroyed what remained of the abbey.

If I attempt to continue and tell you about Edinburgh’s history in this article you will end up reading something the size of an essay. So I decided to leave the second half of this account for a later date. Next time you will hear about the further cultural rise of Edinburgh, its role in the Reformation and of Edinburgh in the present day.

--

Read Edinburgh - part two.