The Worm of Linton was a mythical creature in Scotland.

The story of the Worm of Linton takes place in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders region, specifically on the northeast side of Linton Hill. The Worm of Linton was a extraordinarily large serpent which plagued the surrounding countryside by eating crops, animals and people. At one point it was described as "In length three Scots yards and bigger than an ordinary man’s leg - in form and callour to our common muir edders."

The Worm of Linton was said to be immune to typical weaponry. All efforts of locals to rid themselves of the beast proved useless. The myth continues to have James de Somerville arrive in the area and be told of the beast by locals. He devised a plan to destroy the Worm of Linton.

James de Somerville noticed that the Worm of Linton would consume anything smaller than its mouth, but would stand frozen to the spot with its mouth open, when faced with anything bigger than itself. Utilizing this fact, James de Somerville commissioned a iron spear with a tarred spiked ball on its tip. He rode to the beast on a horse, knowing that it would be transfixed by the size. At this point he thrust the burning spear tip into its stomach. The death throes of the Worm of Linton are said to be the cause of curious topography of the surrounding hills.

Each usige is a water spirit seen in Scottish folklore.

Each uisge translates literally to “water horse”, in essence the creature is similar to the Scottish kelpie but is considered to be significantly more dangerous. According to folklore, the each uisge is the most dangerous water-dwelling creature within the British Isles.

The each uisge inhabits the sea, along with both fresh water and sea lochs. By nature it is a shapeshifting creature, the form of a fine horse, an impressive pony or a man of fine appearance. The creature is said to devour both human and animal, and even go so far as to trap humans.

According to folklore, while the each uisge appears as a horse, it will allow itself to be mounted. The rider will be safe for as long as the horse does not see the water from which it came. The moment that sighting is made, the skin of the horse will be come adhesive and the horse will drown the rider in the deepest waters. The human will then be devoured, only liver will be left and allowed to float away. The each usige will appear on dry land as a human. The only discernible sign that it is indeed a each uisge is the sea weed in its hair.

1864-1939

Edward Dwelly was an English born Scottish Gaelic lexicographer, whose work became an authority in the field.

Edward Delly was not a native born Scott, being born in Arundel, England. At an early an age as 17, Edward Dwelly has shown interest in Scottish Gaelic. This was only further encouraged when he was positioned in Scotland whilst in the army and also working with the Ordnance Survey. Edward Dwelly was reputed to have also been a considerable bagpiper.
Edward Dwelly published his first dictionary in 1911, entitled Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan (The Illustrated Gaelic- English Dictionary). He chose to use the name “Eoghann MacDhòmhnaill” for the publication, as he felt that a purely Anglican name would not fare well for such a release as it does not sound authentically Scottish.

The dictionary of Edward Dwelly was said to be a product of his own labors, as its contents, marketing, binding, printing and illustrating was done by him. The dictionary consists of collation from Scottish Gaelic dictionaries that Edward Dwelly was able to attain, along with words that he himself had heard in use in Scotland, and suggestions from his native Gaelic speaking wife.

Edward Dwelly also published the “Compendium of Notes on the Dwelly Family” which was in essence the family’s genealogical history, spanning from 1229 to 1912. This attempted to cover the entire family and even had a section on relatives who had migrated to America.
Edward Dwelly was awarded a Civil List Pension for his work on the Scottish Gaelic dictionary before his work was even published. His work was only digitized and published electronically in January 2009.

Tam Lin is the main character in a Scottish mythology.

Originating in the Scottish Borders region, the story of Tam Lin takes place in the forest of Carterhaugh. The story typically begins with a maiden walking through the forest.

The story of Tam Lin truly begins when the maiden picks a double rose which causes Tam Lin to appear. He asks the maiden why she is in the forest, at which point she typically claims to own the forest through decree of her father. Upon her return home, the young woman would discover that she is pregnant. Eventually she is convinced to seek a certain plant in the same forest, which when consumed is reputed to induce abortions. She picks the herb or flower and Tam Lin once again appears, he discovers her plan and forbids the act, saying that the child must live.

Once Tam Lin and the maiden begin to speak further it is discovered that he was at one point a human who had been injured and rescued by fairies. Further, it came to be known that Tam Lin would soon serve as a tithe sacrifice to the underworld, by the fairies. The maiden and Tam Lin soon hatch a plan where the ceremony of the sacrifice is interrupted. The maiden was instructed to hold Tam Lin, the fairies would transform him into all manners of beasts in order to scare her. Once he is transformed into a chunk of coal, she would throw him into a well whereupon a transformed Tam Lin would climb out and be with the maiden.

The Fiery Cross was the term used for a beacon that was used by Scots for the purpose of war rallies.

As described by Edward Dwelly in his “The Illustrated Gaelic English Dictionary”, the Fiery Cross was “The gathering beam, a signal formally used on occasion of insult or impending danger, to summon a clan to arms. It was a piece of wood, half burnt and dipped in blood, in token of the revenge by fire and sword awaiting those clansmen who did not immediately answer the summons. It was passed from one permanently appointed messenger to another, and in this manner the alarm was spread across the largest districts in an incredibly short time. In 1745 the crann tàra traversed the wide district of Breadalbane, upwards of 30 miles in three hours.” The Fiery Cross is referecnced to repeatedly int he works of Sir Walter Scott.

The Fiery Cross, which is the English translation for "Crann Tara", is simply a symbol for a war cry or a gathering call for Scotsmen. The last recorded usage for the Fiery Cross was in 1820 by Clan Grant. During a conflict, the Chief of Clan grant was trapped in is residence in Elgin, Scotland. Upon receiving note of this, the men of Strathspey used a Fiery Cross and gathered over 800 men and marched upon Elgin to the rescue of the Grant Chief.

The Scotland Act of 1978 was an initial, but failed, legislative attempt for Scottish devolution.

Had it been passed, the Scotland Act 1978 would have created a Scottish Assembly. The creation of the Scotland Act 1978 was a result of the Labour Party created Royal Commission on the Constitution’s (also referred to as the Kilbrandon Comission) report. As a response to a growing demand for Scottish Independence in government and recommendation of the committee, the Scotland Act was introduced and received Royal Assent on the 31st July 1978.

The Scotland Act 1978 possessed within it an inherent condition that upon passing a referendum vote must be held to gauge Scottish opinion of it. The results of the referendum would be used to ultimately either pass or dismiss the act, a total approval of 40% of the voting population was required. While the Scotland Act 1978 did receive a 51.6% approval, this only represented 32.9% of the registered electorate. With this inadequate percentage, the Scotland Act 1978 did not pass and called upon its provision of a Statutory Instrument repealing the Act.

The Scotland Act 1978 is said to have suffered such little support due primarily to the powers it vested the Scottish Assembly and those that it left to the British Parliament. The Scotland Act 1978 prescribed a specific set of abilities to the newly formed Scottish Assembly, leaving all that is unmentioned to Westminster. The successful Scotland Act 1998 was created in the opposite direction, with only mentioned powers being left to England, and all else being devolved to Scotland.

The Scottish Constitutional Convention was a group of significant Scottish personages, whose collective aim was to see the devolution of Scotland.

The work of the Scottish Constitutional Convention is widely credited as paving the way for establishment of the Scottish Parliament. As its most prominent achievement, the Scottish Constitutional Convention published “Scotland's Parliament, Scotland's Right” on the 30th of November 1995. This document came to serve as the functional blueprint for the establishment of Scotland’s Parliament in 1999.

The Scottish Constitutional Convention consisted of the Labour Party of the time, the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Green Party, Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Small Business Federation and for a short time the Scottish National Party. Although, the former eventually disengaged from the Scottish Constitutional Convention after a disagreement regarding the idea of Scottish devolution and Scottish independence.

Ultimately, the Scottish Constitutional Convention grew out of the groundwork of the Scottish Assembly. The successor to the Scottish Assembly was the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly. In 1988, the next group to take up the cause was the Constitutional Convention, who created and signed the Claim of Right, declaring Scotland to be a nation and deserving of appropriate rights. The ultimately successful Scottish Constitutional Convention succeeded in the place of the Constitutional Convention.

The Scottish Assembly a proposition which would have seen a pre-set list of powers devolved, allowing Scotland some degree of autonomous rule.

The Scottish Assembly and the innate independence that comes with it is a relatively old concept for Scotland, both before and after the Act of Union. In regards to political power, it was not until 1853 that a Scottish Assembly became a conceivable idea. Though, legislature in 1979 was the closest of all attempts to form a Scottish Assembly.

Scottish Assembly was called for in a roundabout way by the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights in 1853. In this circumstance the call came from a Conservative Party concerned with attention received by Scotland from a Liberal Party. No real result came from these actions.

With an increasing amount of attention, Scottish Assembly came closer to reality. In 1885 the position of Secretary of Scotland was instated. In 1886 the Scottish Home Rule Association was created. Results began to emerge by 1913 with the Scottish Home Rule Bill in Westminster, but the Parliamentary process by which it could come to pass was interrupted by World War I.

No headway towards a Scottish Assembly was made until 1978 when the Scotland Act came to pass. Scottish Assembly was written into the act, and only needed the referendum vote of the Scottish people to come into effect. The required 40% approval vote was not met, and the act did not pass.

Scottish Assembly never came to be a reality, though a devolved Scottish parliament was eventually established.

The Treason Act 1708 was an act passed by the kingdoms of Scotland and England, in regards to act of treason in Scotland.

The Treason Act 1708 came into necessity after the passing of the Act of Union 1707, upon the harmonization of the kingdoms of Scotland and England. The purpose of the Treason Act 1708 was to create a set of laws that dealt with act of high treason within the newly combined nation. The laws came into effect on the 1st of July 1709, sections of the act are still in effect in modern Scotland.

The Treason Act 1707 clarified the definitions of high treason. Previous to the act, high treason in Scotland had been defined as "theft in landed men, murder under trust, wilful fire-raising, firing coalheughs, and assassination”. This was replaced with the English definitions of high treason. Other acts of treason were added, like counterfeiting of the Great Seal of Scotland or the slaying of the Lord of Sessions or Lord of Justiciary.

Several sections of the original Treason Act 1708 are still in force. The sections dictating that Scottish high treason laws and their subsequent punishments are in line with English laws are still in force. The murder of Scottish high judges and the counterfeiting of the Great Seal of Scotland are also considered to be high treason.