May 2 in Scottish History

Today in 1779, John Galt, Scottish novelist, was born. As well as writing the first biography of his acquaintance, Lord Byron, Galt's main achievement lies in his thirteen innovative and entertaining novels. A group of them, which Galt called Tales of the West, is set mainly in the Scotland of his youth, and they give a complete picture of Scottish life from about 1760 to 1820. Galt spoke of the Scottish people as "Possessing the whole range of the English language as well as their own, by which they enjoy an uncommonly rich vocabulary", and indeed he used the Scots tongue for dialogue and sometimes narrative.

On this day in 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, escaped from Loch Leven castle and revoked her abdication. She soon gathered an army and moved towards Dumbarton castle.

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