Allan Kennedy
Biographic Data
| ID | 3980025 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Allan Kennedy |
| GIVEN NAMES | Allan |
| FAMILY NAME | Kennedy |
| SIGNATURE | KENNEDY A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Dundee |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5354-0495 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 23 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
‘Horrible and Execrable Murthour’
Rooted in close analysis of the manuscript records of the High Court, this article explores and assesses the phenomenon of spouse-killing in seventeenth-century Scotland. It begins by unpicking contemporary understandings of this offence compared to other forms of homicide, before anatomising the crime as it emerges from surviving judicial processes. It finishes with an assessment of what this analysis can tell us about the wider mentalities of e…
Petitioning the Justiciary Court in Restoration Scotland, 1660–88
Prosecuting Rape in Seventeenth-century Scotland
Since at least the 1970s, rape, and male sexual violence against women more generally, has been a recurring focus of feminist historiography. While this body of scholarship has provoked criticism, it has had the profoundly important effect of situating the crime of rape as a feature of, rather than an aberration from, the society that hosts it. Scotland has been substantially overlooked in this discussion. This article explores the ideas, assumpt…
Scotland and the Wider World
Journal Article Scotland and the Wider World: Essays in Honour of Allan I. Macinnes, ed. Neil McIntyre and Alison Cathcart Get access Scotland and the Wider World: Essays in Honour of Allan I. Macinnes, ed. Neil McIntyre and Alison Cathcart (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2022; pp. 236. £70). Allan Kennedy Allan Kennedy University of Dundee, UK [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5354-0495 Search for other works by this author on…
Deviance, marginality and the Highland bandit in seventeenth-century Scotland
Eric Hobsbawm’s thesis of ‘social banditry’ has stimulated a great deal of discussion about the nature of bandit activity. This discussion has shed much light not just upon banditry as a historical problem, but on its capacity to offer wider insights into social structures. This article seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussion by bringing to bear the hitherto largely ignored Scottish evidence. Assessing the origins and nature of Highland ban…
The Trial of Isobel Duff for Witchcraft, Inverness, 1662
The document presented here is the formal proceedings for witchcraft against Isobel Duff, whose trial took place at Inverness on 17 July 1662. The record is preserved in Inverness’s manuscript burgh court books. 1 Duff was tried, as was usual in cases of witchcraft, under commission from the privy council, which had for this purpose appointed a judicial panel composed of local luminaries on 26 June. 2 Most of Scotland’s witch-prosecutions took pl…
Riches and Reform
The Scottish Reformation is often presented primarily as a political story—as a noble-led revolt against the unpopular Francophile regime of the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise—and secondarily as a religious story, focused on the triumph of the supposedly thrusting forces of Protestantism against the allegedly sclerotic ranks of Roman Catholicism. Both these narratives have in common a distinct whiff of teleology, since both of them imply that Cathol…
Highlanders and the City
The study of Scottish migration in the early modern period has experienced extensive growth in recent decades, but has tended to privilege overseas movement over the presence of Scots elsewhere in Britain. This is particularly true of migrants from the Scottish Highlands: much has been written about Highlanders in America or Continental Europe, but almost nothing is known about their experiences in England and Wales, and in particular in London, …
Stewart and Nugent, Union and Revolution
Stewart and Nugent, Union and Revolution: Scotland and Beyond, 1625–1745." Scottish Historical Review, 100(2), pp. 292–293
State Formation, Criminal Prosecution and the Privy Council in Restoration Scotland
Historians have begun to think about the emergence of the early modern ‘state’ in complex and creative ways, far from the conventional focus on overweening central bureaucracies. One component of this discourse is the role of criminal law and criminal prosecution, which, it has been argued (particularly by English scholars), assisted state-forming processes by providing a universal interface between ruler and ruled, and by demarcating common patt…
Becoming English
Migrant assimilation into host societies has been the subject of intense theoretical debate, but the applicability of the resultant modelling to historical data is unclear. This article addresses that lacuna through a case-study of the assimilation trajectory of one Scottish family, the Monros, in England in the century after 1690. The Monro experience suggests that ‘classic’ assimilation modelling remains a useful, if imperfect, conceptual tool.…
Scots and Scabs from North-by-Tweed’
While very prominent in the contemporary world, anxiety about the potentially negative impact that immigrants might have on their host communities has deep historical roots. In a British context, such fears were particularly heightened following the regal union of 1603 when large numbers of Scots began settling in England. This article offers a fresh perspective on these issues by exploring the experiences and reception of poor, deviant or otherw…
Assimilation Aborted
This article deploys micro-historical analysis to understand an example of abortive diaspora among Scots who failed to make it as immigrants in early modern England. Henry Clerk was the son of a middle-ranking Midlothian baronet who made a doomed effort to build a new life for himself in London between 1698 and 1702. A series of dozens of surviving letters between Clerk and his family members in Scotland allow us to trace his migration experience…
Land of Opportunity? The Assimilation of Scottish Migrants in England, 1603–ca. 1762
Immigration and its consequences is one of the most contentious issues in the contemporary world, and historians are engaged in this debate by offering a longer-term perspective. In recent years, research on the United Kingdom's population has placed greater emphasis on population movement in shaping Britain's story, identifying waves of migrants from elsewhere alongside migration within Britain. One neglected aspect of this narrative, however, i…
Their Maxim is Vestigia Nulla Restrorsum”
The return of migrants to their places of origin has been subject to significant theoretical enquiry in recent decades, but testing the resulting modelling against historical data has so far been limited and reliant mainly on nineteenth- and twentieth-century evidence. This article builds upon these foundations by offering detailed analysis of the process of return migration as it affected Scottish migrants to England in the seventeenth and early…
Managing the Early Modern Periphery
Current understanding of Williamite Scotland tends to emphasise a few familiar themes, especially Jacobitism, famine and the Darien scheme. This provides an opaque and arguably skewed view of the period and nowhere is that clearer than in Highland policy, where historiographical focus on the Jacobite rising and the massacre of Glencoe has come at the expense of a fuller understanding of how William's government responded to the perennial ‘Highlan…
Rebellion, Government and the Scottish Response to Argyll's Rising of 1685
The short and militarily inglorious rebellion launched in May 1685 by Archibald Campbell, 9 th earl of Argyll against the regime of James VII and II is often overlooked, partly on account of its rapid disintegration and partly because outside events – not least the much more famous Monmouth rebellion in south-eastern England – tend to draw attention away from it. Yet in ignoring the rising, historians risk missing its value as a tool for understa…
Representing the periphery
While a significant amount of work has recently been conducted on the procedure and practices of the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament, remarkably little is known about the nature of local representation within the chamber. This article seeks partially to address that gap through detailed analysis of the elected representation of one region – the Scottish Highlands – within the seventeenth-century Parliament. Considering attendance rates, the identity…
Defending the Revolution
Journal Article Defending the Revolution: The Church of Scotland, 1689–1716, by Jeffrey Stephen Get access Defending the Revolution: The Church of Scotland, 1689–1716, by Jeffrey Stephen (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013; pp. 348. £70). Allan Kennedy Allan Kennedy University of Manchester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The English Historical Review, Volume 130, Issue 546, October 2015, Pages 1251–1253, https://doi.…
The Urban Community in Restoration Scotland
into the four (inherently atypical) big towns which would later evolve into Scotland's major cities, namely Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. 4The present article therefore seeks to build upon the existing framework through a detailed analysis of one town, Inverness, during the Restoration.By adding data drawn from a mid-sized burgh, such a study will help test both of the dominant paradigms, not least because, as the only major town in th…
The Condition of the Restoration Church of Scotland in the Highlands
Despite the prominence of religious issues in the historiography of Restoration Scotland, understanding of the position of the Kirk in the Highlands remains sparse. This article seeks to address this lacuna through analysis of two related themes. Firstly, it looks at provision, discussing the Kirk's financial, material and manpower resources, as well as the challenge posed by Gaelic. Secondly, it traces the extent of Nonconformity, both Presbyter…
Reducing That Barbarous Country
Despite a recent expansion of interest in the history of Restoration Scotland, historiographical engagement with the place of the Highlands in the Restoration state continues to be relatively limited. Building upon recent research into the political culture of the later seventeenth century, this article offers a new conceptualization of the relationship between the center and the Highland periphery. It argues that the region was heavily integrate…
A Heavy Yock Uppon Their Necks’
The development of 'states' has long been a dominant theme in the historiography of seventeenth-century Europe, and in recent years, the relationship between central government and peripheral regions has emerged as one of the most significant components of the discourse.The resultant historiography is highly complex, not least because the details of centre-locality relations naturally differed between states, but two general theoretical models ca…
Scots and Scabs from North-by-Tweed’
While very prominent in the contemporary world, anxiety about the potentially negative impact that immigrants might have on their host communities has deep historical roots. In a British context, such fears were particularly heightened following the regal union of 1603 when large numbers of Scots began settling in England. This article offers a fresh perspective on these issues by exploring the experiences and reception of poor, deviant or otherw…
State Formation, Criminal Prosecution and the Privy Council in Restoration Scotland
Historians have begun to think about the emergence of the early modern ‘state’ in complex and creative ways, far from the conventional focus on overweening central bureaucracies. One component of this discourse is the role of criminal law and criminal prosecution, which, it has been argued (particularly by English scholars), assisted state-forming processes by providing a universal interface between ruler and ruled, and by demarcating common patt…
Land of Opportunity? The Assimilation of Scottish Migrants in England, 1603–ca. 1762
Immigration and its consequences is one of the most contentious issues in the contemporary world, and historians are engaged in this debate by offering a longer-term perspective. In recent years, research on the United Kingdom's population has placed greater emphasis on population movement in shaping Britain's story, identifying waves of migrants from elsewhere alongside migration within Britain. One neglected aspect of this narrative, however, i…
The Condition of the Restoration Church of Scotland in the Highlands
Despite the prominence of religious issues in the historiography of Restoration Scotland, understanding of the position of the Kirk in the Highlands remains sparse. This article seeks to address this lacuna through analysis of two related themes. Firstly, it looks at provision, discussing the Kirk's financial, material and manpower resources, as well as the challenge posed by Gaelic. Secondly, it traces the extent of Nonconformity, both Presbyter…
A Heavy Yock Uppon Their Necks’
The development of 'states' has long been a dominant theme in the historiography of seventeenth-century Europe, and in recent years, the relationship between central government and peripheral regions has emerged as one of the most significant components of the discourse.The resultant historiography is highly complex, not least because the details of centre-locality relations naturally differed between states, but two general theoretical models ca…
Reducing That Barbarous Country
Despite a recent expansion of interest in the history of Restoration Scotland, historiographical engagement with the place of the Highlands in the Restoration state continues to be relatively limited. Building upon recent research into the political culture of the later seventeenth century, this article offers a new conceptualization of the relationship between the center and the Highland periphery. It argues that the region was heavily integrate…
The Urban Community in Restoration Scotland
into the four (inherently atypical) big towns which would later evolve into Scotland's major cities, namely Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. 4The present article therefore seeks to build upon the existing framework through a detailed analysis of one town, Inverness, during the Restoration.By adding data drawn from a mid-sized burgh, such a study will help test both of the dominant paradigms, not least because, as the only major town in th…
The Condition of the Restoration Church of Scotland in the Highlands
Despite the prominence of religious issues in the historiography of Restoration Scotland, understanding of the position of the Kirk in the Highlands remains sparse. This article seeks to address this lacuna through analysis of two related themes. Firstly, it looks at provision, discussing the Kirk's financial, material and manpower resources, as well as the challenge posed by Gaelic. Secondly, it traces the extent of Nonconformity, both Presbyter…
Defending the Revolution
Journal Article Defending the Revolution: The Church of Scotland, 1689–1716, by Jeffrey Stephen Get access Defending the Revolution: The Church of Scotland, 1689–1716, by Jeffrey Stephen (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013; pp. 348. £70). Allan Kennedy Allan Kennedy University of Manchester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The English Historical Review, Volume 130, Issue 546, October 2015, Pages 1251–1253, https://doi.…
Rebellion, Government and the Scottish Response to Argyll's Rising of 1685
The short and militarily inglorious rebellion launched in May 1685 by Archibald Campbell, 9 th earl of Argyll against the regime of James VII and II is often overlooked, partly on account of its rapid disintegration and partly because outside events – not least the much more famous Monmouth rebellion in south-eastern England – tend to draw attention away from it. Yet in ignoring the rising, historians risk missing its value as a tool for understa…
Representing the periphery
While a significant amount of work has recently been conducted on the procedure and practices of the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament, remarkably little is known about the nature of local representation within the chamber. This article seeks partially to address that gap through detailed analysis of the elected representation of one region – the Scottish Highlands – within the seventeenth-century Parliament. Considering attendance rates, the identity…
Managing the Early Modern Periphery
Current understanding of Williamite Scotland tends to emphasise a few familiar themes, especially Jacobitism, famine and the Darien scheme. This provides an opaque and arguably skewed view of the period and nowhere is that clearer than in Highland policy, where historiographical focus on the Jacobite rising and the massacre of Glencoe has come at the expense of a fuller understanding of how William's government responded to the perennial ‘Highlan…
Assimilation Aborted
This article deploys micro-historical analysis to understand an example of abortive diaspora among Scots who failed to make it as immigrants in early modern England. Henry Clerk was the son of a middle-ranking Midlothian baronet who made a doomed effort to build a new life for himself in London between 1698 and 1702. A series of dozens of surviving letters between Clerk and his family members in Scotland allow us to trace his migration experience…
Land of Opportunity? The Assimilation of Scottish Migrants in England, 1603–ca. 1762
Immigration and its consequences is one of the most contentious issues in the contemporary world, and historians are engaged in this debate by offering a longer-term perspective. In recent years, research on the United Kingdom's population has placed greater emphasis on population movement in shaping Britain's story, identifying waves of migrants from elsewhere alongside migration within Britain. One neglected aspect of this narrative, however, i…
Their Maxim is Vestigia Nulla Restrorsum”
The return of migrants to their places of origin has been subject to significant theoretical enquiry in recent decades, but testing the resulting modelling against historical data has so far been limited and reliant mainly on nineteenth- and twentieth-century evidence. This article builds upon these foundations by offering detailed analysis of the process of return migration as it affected Scottish migrants to England in the seventeenth and early…
Becoming English
Migrant assimilation into host societies has been the subject of intense theoretical debate, but the applicability of the resultant modelling to historical data is unclear. This article addresses that lacuna through a case-study of the assimilation trajectory of one Scottish family, the Monros, in England in the century after 1690. The Monro experience suggests that ‘classic’ assimilation modelling remains a useful, if imperfect, conceptual tool.…
Scots and Scabs from North-by-Tweed’
While very prominent in the contemporary world, anxiety about the potentially negative impact that immigrants might have on their host communities has deep historical roots. In a British context, such fears were particularly heightened following the regal union of 1603 when large numbers of Scots began settling in England. This article offers a fresh perspective on these issues by exploring the experiences and reception of poor, deviant or otherw…
State Formation, Criminal Prosecution and the Privy Council in Restoration Scotland
Historians have begun to think about the emergence of the early modern ‘state’ in complex and creative ways, far from the conventional focus on overweening central bureaucracies. One component of this discourse is the role of criminal law and criminal prosecution, which, it has been argued (particularly by English scholars), assisted state-forming processes by providing a universal interface between ruler and ruled, and by demarcating common patt…
Highlanders and the City
The study of Scottish migration in the early modern period has experienced extensive growth in recent decades, but has tended to privilege overseas movement over the presence of Scots elsewhere in Britain. This is particularly true of migrants from the Scottish Highlands: much has been written about Highlanders in America or Continental Europe, but almost nothing is known about their experiences in England and Wales, and in particular in London, …
Stewart and Nugent, Union and Revolution
Stewart and Nugent, Union and Revolution: Scotland and Beyond, 1625–1745." Scottish Historical Review, 100(2), pp. 292–293
Deviance, marginality and the Highland bandit in seventeenth-century Scotland
Eric Hobsbawm’s thesis of ‘social banditry’ has stimulated a great deal of discussion about the nature of bandit activity. This discussion has shed much light not just upon banditry as a historical problem, but on its capacity to offer wider insights into social structures. This article seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussion by bringing to bear the hitherto largely ignored Scottish evidence. Assessing the origins and nature of Highland ban…
The Trial of Isobel Duff for Witchcraft, Inverness, 1662
The document presented here is the formal proceedings for witchcraft against Isobel Duff, whose trial took place at Inverness on 17 July 1662. The record is preserved in Inverness’s manuscript burgh court books. 1 Duff was tried, as was usual in cases of witchcraft, under commission from the privy council, which had for this purpose appointed a judicial panel composed of local luminaries on 26 June. 2 Most of Scotland’s witch-prosecutions took pl…
Riches and Reform
The Scottish Reformation is often presented primarily as a political story—as a noble-led revolt against the unpopular Francophile regime of the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise—and secondarily as a religious story, focused on the triumph of the supposedly thrusting forces of Protestantism against the allegedly sclerotic ranks of Roman Catholicism. Both these narratives have in common a distinct whiff of teleology, since both of them imply that Cathol…
Scotland and the Wider World
Journal Article Scotland and the Wider World: Essays in Honour of Allan I. Macinnes, ed. Neil McIntyre and Alison Cathcart Get access Scotland and the Wider World: Essays in Honour of Allan I. Macinnes, ed. Neil McIntyre and Alison Cathcart (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2022; pp. 236. £70). Allan Kennedy Allan Kennedy University of Dundee, UK [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5354-0495 Search for other works by this author on…
Petitioning the Justiciary Court in Restoration Scotland, 1660–88
Prosecuting Rape in Seventeenth-century Scotland
Since at least the 1970s, rape, and male sexual violence against women more generally, has been a recurring focus of feminist historiography. While this body of scholarship has provoked criticism, it has had the profoundly important effect of situating the crime of rape as a feature of, rather than an aberration from, the society that hosts it. Scotland has been substantially overlooked in this discussion. This article explores the ideas, assumpt…
‘Horrible and Execrable Murthour’
Rooted in close analysis of the manuscript records of the High Court, this article explores and assesses the phenomenon of spouse-killing in seventeenth-century Scotland. It begins by unpicking contemporary understandings of this offence compared to other forms of homicide, before anatomising the crime as it emerges from surviving judicial processes. It finishes with an assessment of what this analysis can tell us about the wider mentalities of e…
Scottish History and National Identity (20 works) · Historical Studies of British Isles (18 works) · History (17 works) · History (16 works) · Political science (14 works) · Law (12 works) · Law (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Historical Economic and Social Studies (11 works) · Archaeology (7 works)