Medieval scholars believed Scottish independence was entirely compatible with being British
Published: 4 June 2025
New research by a leading historian from the University of Glasgow shows a surprising historical perspective on being British.
New research by a leading historian shows a surprising historical perspective on being British.
In late medieval Scotland the island of Britain was sometimes seen as fundamentally Scottish. This challenges our modern understanding of British identity and the research suggests that Scottish independence can be entirely compatible with being British. It also questions whether, rather than a shared Britishness, there have for centuries been distinct Scottish, English and Welsh versions of being British.
The research by the University of Glasgow’s Professor Dauvit Broun reveals that Scottish historians and writers in the 1380s and 1520s (for example) regarded the Scottish kingdom as equivalent to Britain. This was not as common as the tendency to refer to Britain as England, but it was similar in effect.
This new perspective is linked to a recently discovered booklet from the early 16th century which helps to reveal this unexpected relationship between Scottish independence and British identity that has been overlooked until now.
While England’s identification with Britain has existed for over a millennium, Professor Broun has discovered a parallel tradition where Scots envisioned Britain as an extension of Scotland.
According to Professor Broun, writing in the Journal of Scottish Historical Studies which is published today (Wednesday 4 June 2025), these Scottish writers articulated a vision where Britain could be a kingdom ruled by the Scottish monarchy – effectively a Scottish kingdom expanded to island-wide scale.
Professor Broun, Professor of Scottish History, said: “A close reading of work by medieval Scottish historians and scholars shows they firmly believed that Scottish independence was entirely compatible with British identity. In this era, Britain was not seen as an English-dominated kingdom, as is often how it is viewed today, but rather a space that could be ruled by the Scottish monarchy. This idea of Britain as fundamentally Scottish is a surprising and provocative viewpoint in today’s often polarised debates around national identity.”
A key figure in Professor Broun’s analysis is John Mair, the so-called “founding father of Scottish unionism”.
Professor Broun demonstrates in his new research paper – “Scottish independence and British identity: An unusual late-medieval perspective” – that Mair’s vision was essentially a Scottish kingdom expanded to include England. While advocating for a marriage-based union between Scottish and English royal houses, Professor Broun argues that Mair envisioned this primarily from a Scottish perspective with the assumption that a Scottish king would rule Britain.
Professor Broun’s analysis includes a previously unpublished manuscript booklet –St Andrews Chronicles – (now held at the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums) from around 1511 providing rare insight into how ordinary educated Scots engaged with these ideas.
This homemade booklet contains a collection of historical texts about Scottish and British origins, king-lists and chronicles suggesting these British-Scottish connections were of interest beyond elite scholarly circles.
The physical characteristics of the booklet suggest it was created for personal use indicating a practical interest in these historical connections.
The booklet appears to have copied an earlier compilation which itself may have expanded upon an even earlier collection of texts – says Professor Broun this suggests that these British Scottish historical perspectives were being transmitted and expanded by ordinary educated Scots over time.
The arrangement of historical material in the booklet combines Scottish royal dynasty and events with outlines of Britain as a kingdom from ancient times similar to Mair's approach but predating his work.
The manuscript’s significant focus on Malcolm III and St Margaret – appearing twice in different sections – mirrors the view that the Scottish royal line’s connection to Anglo-Saxon royalty gave Scottish kings a claim to Britain as a whole. This reinforces the distinctly Scottish-centric view of British history articulated particularly by the Scottish historian John of Fordun in the 1380s.
Writing in the journal Professor Broun says that “appropriating Britain as an extension of your country was not, therefore, unique to England: the Scots did it, too”.
Professor Broun finishes by asking “if there is such a thing as a shared Britishness beyond the mere fact of inhabiting the same island: are there only Scottish, English and Welsh British identities, each with their own spectrum which have only occasionally intersected to become a common Britishness?”
Link to the full paper - Scottish independence and British identity: An unusual late-medieval perspective
Read more about the discovery of the St Andrews Chronicles by Professor Dauvit Broun – https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/arts/aboutus/news/headline_1134225_en.html
View the St Andrews Chronicles manuscript here - https://collections.st-andrews.ac.uk/item/the-st-andrews-chronicles/882268
First published: 4 June 2025