Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Scotland?

Introduction image courtesy of morgueFile.

Mary Queen of Scots was a fascinating - and tragic - character.

The daughter of King James V of Scotland, she was raised in France by that country's king, Henri II. Here she was betrothed to his son, Francis. They were married in 1558 and when Francis became King Francis II of France in 1559, Mary became Queen Consort of France in addition to being Queen Mary I of Scotland.

However, Francis II died young, and Mary returned to Scotland as a widow in 1561. She married a cousin, Lord Darnley, but he was over-ambitious and the marriage became a liability to Mary. He was assassinated at his Edinburgh home, reputedly by his rival to Mary's affections, the Earl of Bothwell. Mary married Bothwell in 1567.

This was a disastrous move that led to an uprising. Mary was imprisoned on an island in the middle of Loch Leven. Her one-year old son James was made King.

Mary escaped and fled to England, but here she had already made an enemy of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Mary's cause was not helped by a plot to place her on the English throne in the place of Elizabeth.

So it was that Mary Queen of Scots spent the next 18 years of her life imprisoned. Although Elizabeth I had been reluctant to issue the order to have Mary executed, she eventually did so in 1587. Mary Queen of Scots died by the axe. Many viewed this Catholic queen as a martyr.

The Battle of Culloden took place at Culloden Moor in 1746. The battle was fought between the British Government Army (composed of Highland Scots, Lowland Scots and Englishmen, fighting in the name of King George II) and the Jacobites (mainly Highland Scots, backed by the French).

The Jacobites were led by Charles Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, and were fighting to have reinstate the Stuarts as monarchs of Great Britain.

The well-armed and well-trained Government Army crushed the mostly volunteer Highland Clansmen of the Jacobites in a brutal defeat. Bonnie Prince Charlie fled for his life, eventually escaping to Skye disguised as a woman, with the help of Flora Macdonald, and from there back to France - never to return to Scotland.

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The Scottish diet is not known for being the healthiest in the world! Scottish junk food consists of pies and bridies (meat pastries) washed down with a bright orange fizzy drink called Irn Bru (iron brew - 'made in Scotland from girders' as their slogan goes).

However, there are some wonderful traditional Scottish dishes designed to warm your belly in the cold Scottish climate. These include soups with names like Cock-a-leekie (leek and chicken) and Cullen Skink (smoked fish, potato and onion).

With deer abundant in Scotland, venison is often on the menu at fine dining establishments. Roast Aberdeen Angus beef is another favourite meat. Haggis, as you may have learned in the quiz, is made from a sheep's stomach and is traditionally eaten on Burn's Night.

A Scotsman's (and Scotswoman's) breakfast in the winter is often porridge (properly spelled 'porage' here!). The Scottish way to prepare this oatmeal dish is with rolled oats, water and a pinch of salt. However, many prefer it with milk and sugar these days.

For a sweet treat, there are a number of sugary cakes and confectionery treats that include tablet (a brittle, sugary, fudge-like treat), Edinburgh rock (it looks like coloured chalk and is very high in sugar!), and the ever-popular shortbread ('millionaire's shortbread' has a caramel and chocolate topping).

Image by Sheep Purple on flickr, shared under Creative Commons licence

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