Top 10 Facts About Scotland

The Top Ten
1 The words ‘Scot’ and ‘Scottish’ were originally used, in Old English, to refer to the Gaelic people of medieval Ireland
2 The Scots Gaelic word ‘sgiomlaireachd’ means ‘the habit of dropping in at mealtimes’
3 'Scott' is the ninth most common surname in Scotland. The top three are Smith, Brown and Wilson
4 The only film with ‘Scotland’ in its title to win an Oscar is ‘The Last King of Scotland’ with Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin taking Best Actor
5 The history of Scotland is often taken to begin with the crowning of the semi-mythical Kenneth MacAlpin as the country’s first king around AD843
6 In 1456, King James II of Scotland decreed that “futeball and the golfe be utterly cryit down” as they interfered with yeomen’s archery practice
7 In 1502, James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England signed a ‘Treaty of Perpetual Peace’
8 The treaty was broken in 1513 when James declared war on England
9 Scotland is in Europe

Yes. Aside from the fact that the UK is still a member of the EU as of this moment, the UK was a European nation long before the EU was created and will remain a European nation after they leave the EU. The people's vote did not cause the country to move to a different position on the globe and it did not redefine the area of land we consider to be Europe. Membership in the EU is not what defines a nation as being European.

This item is correct because Europe is a continent, a geographical notion. European Union (EU) is a socio-economic and political union of countries from this continent, Europe. Leaving the EU doesn't mean the UK left Europe and went to Asia. Switzerland has never been a member of the EU but it has always been in Europe. So the item is correct: Scotland IS in Europe (and not in Asia or Africa).

Pretty sure everyone knew that, but still.

10 ‘Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott’ is an anagram of ‘Novel by a Scottish writer’
The Contenders
11 Alba is the name for Scotland in the Scottish Gaelic language.

This name for Scotland is related to the Proto-Celtic word Albi̯iū, which in Latin became Albion or Albania, and Anglicised as Albany.

For the Celtic languages, it is is Alba in Scottish Gaelic, Albain in Irish Gaelic, Nalbin in Manx, and Alban in Welsh, Cornish, and Breton.
The Roman Empire used the word (Albion) to refer to the entire island of what is now called Great Britain. The northern region of Britain (now Scotland) controlled largely by the Picts and Caledonian tribes was called Caledonia by the Romans. The name Caledonia came from the Pictish tribes known as the Caledonii. The Caledonian Canal today connects the Scottish Highlands east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland.

From the 5th to 10th centuries, early Scotland was home to the Picts, the Britons, Angles and the Vikings. The Gaels were known as the Dál Riata. The Romans used the term Scoti to describe the Gaels from the 4th century onward. The Scoti ...more

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