Lady Literate in Mathematics
Did you know that the University of St Andrews created one of the world’s first higher educational qualifications for women, allowing them to study university-level mathematics long before they were admitted onto…
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Anatomy of an enquiry, part 2: historical firsts
This is the second part of a blog series about Special Collections’ remote enquiry service, and the types of questions we answer using collections material. Enquiries about historical alumni are one of the most popular…
Getting muddy with manuscripts
Heather Curtis, a first-year PhD student at the University of St Andrews, has won the Scottish Records Association’s Tunnock Prize – an award for an essay utilising archival research to expand our knowledge of Scottish…
In-person teaching continues
Special Collections is delighted to have resumed in-person small group teaching from the start of this semester, in line with government guidance. We have worked very hard to provide a Covid-safe environment, following…
Holinshed’s Chronicles: A Window into the 16th Century Discussion of Scottish History
‘Still it cried ‘Sleep no more!’ to all the house: ‘Glamis hath murder’d sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no more.’’ Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2 Whilst the story of Macbeth conjures up…
Mary Queen of Scots and literary propaganda
In this the fourth of our mini-series of blogs by students who have studied Mary Queen of Scots with Dr Amy Blakeway in 2019/20, we learn from Katie about the literary propaganda campaign against Mary Queen of Scots.…
Mary Queen of Scots and her antagonists
In this the third of our mini-series of blogs by students who have studied Mary Queen of Scots with Dr Amy Blakeway in 2019/20, we learn from Emily about a work by an eminent former student of the University. George…
Mary Queen of Scots and her ‘Lawis’: a powerful expression of royal authority
In the second of our short series of student posts, one of this year’s graduates reflects on a book she encountered in Special Collections. Mary Queen of Scots was a competent monarch who understood her Scottish…
Encountering Mary Queen of Scots
Students on Dr Amy Blakeway’s Mary Queen of Scots, France, England and Ireland module (MO4807) this year have been encountering Mary Queen of Scots through books printed during her lifetime. In the first of a short…
Souvenir Tapes of Graduation
As a living collection, the muniments (the University’s own archive) continue to grow with regular transfers of historical records from across the University’s departments and units. One of the more recent transfers…