Scottish Libraries

Scottish Libraries chronicles an impressive collection of books and pamphlets in Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and English, providing fascinating insight into the reading, both cultural and political, available to the Queen. The medieval institutions considered here range from abbeys, priories, and cathedral churches to the universities of Aberdeen, Glasgow, and St. Andrew’s—as well as Edinburgh castle and the royal palace of Holyroodhouse. Spanning an epic period beginning in the mid-twelfth century and continuing to a list of books formerly owned by Mary Queen of Scots, Scottish Libraries is a work of primary importance for the history of the book in Scotland.

John Higgitt (1947-2006) taught in the Department of Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh and was the author of numerous volumes, including The Murthy Hours: Devotion, Literacy and Luxury in Paris, England and the Gaelic West, also published by the British Library.

Prefatory Note