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Skara Brae

(Encyclopedia)Skara Brae skârˈə brā [key], Stone Age village, on Mainland in the Orkney Islands, N Scotland. Dating from c.3200 to 2200 b.c., the village was preserved under a sand dune until uncovered by a sto...

Stranraer

(Encyclopedia)Stranraer strənrärˈ, străn– [key], town (1991 pop. 10,766), Dumfries and Galloway, SW Scotland, at the head of Loch Ryan. A fishing port, it has a prosperous trade with Northern Ireland. Food pr...

Staffa

(Encyclopedia)Staffa stăfˈə [key], uninhabited island, 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km) long and 1⁄4 mi (.4 km) wide, Argyll and Bute, NW Scotland, one of the Inner Hebrides, near Mull. Famous for Fingal's Cave, Staffa has n...

Agricola

(Encyclopedia)Agricola (Cneius Julius Agricola) nēˈəs, əgrĭkˈələ [key], c.a.d. 40–a.d. 93, Roman general, conqueror of Britain. After a distinguished military and political career (partly in Britain), he ...

Bruce, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Edward, d. 1318, Scottish king of Ireland, brother of Robert I of Scotland. He aided his brother in the war for independence from England and in 1315 was declared heir to Robert's throne. With ...

bleaching powder

(Encyclopedia)bleaching powder, white or nearly white powder that is usually a mixture of calcium chloride hypochlorite, CaCl(OCl); calcium hypochlorite, Ca(OCl)2; and calcium chloride, CaCl2. Sometimes called chlo...

Orkney Islands

(Encyclopedia)Orkney Islands, archipelago and council area (1991 pop. 19,650), 376 sq mi (974 sq km), N Scotland, consisting of about 70 islands in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, N of Scottish mainland acros...

Mary Queen of Scots

(Encyclopedia)Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart), 1542–87, only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Through her grandmother Margaret Tudor, Mary had the strongest claim to the throne of England after t...

Kenneth II

(Encyclopedia)Kenneth II, d. 995, Scottish king (971–995). The son of Malcolm I (reigned 943–54), he became king of the united Picts and Scots in 971 and immediately led a savage raid on the British in Northumb...

Lang, Cosmo Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Lang, Cosmo Gordon, 1864–1945, English churchman, archbishop of York (1908–28), archbishop of Canterbury (1928–42), b. Aberdeen, Scotland. From 1901 to 1908, while suffragan bishop of Stepney, L...

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