SKENE, William F.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban. First edition of Skene's magnum opus "for which he had prepared all his life". Telling the story of Scottish history up to 1286, "Skene accomplished more for the annals of his native country than any other contemporary writer. He effectively opened out to view a period of more than five centuries, from the reign of Malcolm Canmore back to the time of St Columba" (ODNB).William Forbes Skene (1809-1892) was a Scottish lawyer and antiquary. In 1847, during the Highland Potato Famine, he was appointed secretary to the Central Board for Highland Relief. In 1881, he was appointed historiographer royal for Scotland. In 1981, Gordon Donaldson, a later holder of the same position, noted that Celtic Scotland had not been superseded. Only in the 1990s was Skene's account of the era gradually improved upon.

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