Professor Richard Oram

Professor

History Pathfoot Building, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Professor Richard Oram

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About me

About me

MA (Hons) in Mediaeval History with Archaeology, University of St Andrews (1983) and PhD in Mediaeval History, University of St Andrews (1988).  Pursued a non-academic career in commercial property underwriting 1987-91 before setting up a freelance historical research business (Retrospect).  Joined the University of Stirling in September 2002 as Lecturer in Medieval and Environmental History, having previously been an Honorary Lecturer in History at the University of Aberdeen.  Promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2005 and to Professor in 2007.  A former Director of the Centre for Environmental History and Policy, in 2008 I was appointed a member of the Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland, providing advice to Scottish Ministers on aspects of policy and public engagement in the sector. In January 2015 I became Head of the School of Arts and Humanities and from 2016 Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. I stepped down as Dean on 1 October 2021 and resumed my role as Professor of Medieval and Environmental History.

Event / Presentation

Castles, Concept and Contexts: Castle Studies in Scotland in Retrospect and Prospect. Chateau Gaillard 23

A monastery and its landscape : Whithorn and monastic estate management in Galloway (c1250-c1600). 13th Whithorn Lecture

http://www.whithorn.com/whithorn-trust-publications.asp

Castles and colonists in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Scotland: the case of Moray. Chateau Gaillard 22 Chateau et Peuplement


Research (4)

Environmental History of the North Atlantic region, with particular emphasis on climate change and resource use, the resilience of communities in marginal zones, and the impact of non-anthropogenic agency on human social development. Epidemic disease and its associated social impacts in medieval and early modern Scotland. Lordship and landscape in medieval Britain and Ireland, with particular emphasis on 'castle landscapes' and hunting. Monastic landscapes in northern Europe c.1100-c.1350, principally in the broad arc extending from ireland through Scotland and northern England to southern Scandinavia and Poland. The principal focus is on themes of continuity and change and the divergent management strategies of the various religious orders (principlally Cistercians, Tironensians, Augustinians and Premonstratensians). The institutional structures and architectural settings of the Scottish medieval secular church, especially parish and collegiate churches.

Projects

Stirling Castle Palace Project
PI: Professor Richard Oram
Funded by: Historic Scotland

Essay Writing in History and Interdisciplinary studies.
PI: Professor Richard Oram
Funded by: University of Liverpool

Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches
PI: Professor Richard Oram
Funded by: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Welcome to the Sahel.
PI:
Funded by: Higher Education Academy

Outputs (195)

Outputs

Showing 100 of 195 — See all 195 outputs

Book Chapter

Oram R (2023) 'Away was sons of alle and brede': the decline of the medieval climate anomaly and the myth of the Alexandrian Golden Age in Scotland. In: Oram R (ed.) 'With Our Backs to the Ocean': Land, Lordship, Climate and Environmental Change in the North-West European Past. Essays in Memory of Alasdair Ross. 1st ed. Environmental Histories of the North Atlantic World, 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 83-107. https://www.brepols.net/products/IS-9782503596990-1


Book Chapter

Oram R (2023) Introduction: Alasdair Ross and the Environmental History of Medieval and Early Modern Scotland. In: Oram R (ed.) 'With Our Backs to the Ocean': Land, Lordship, Climate and Environmental Change in the North-West European Past. Essays in Memory of Alasdair Ross. 1st ed. Environmental Histories of the North Atlantic World, 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 1-14. https://www.brepols.net/products/IS-9782503596990-1


Book Chapter

Oram R (2022) Dabhach And Ceathramh Names [Dabhach and Ceathramh-Names: Fragments of a Lost Assessment System?]. In: Galloway. The Lost Province of Gaelic Scotland. Glasgow: John Dewar Publishers Ltd.


Book Chapter

Oram R (2021) The Dominicans in Scotland, 1230-1560. In: Giraud EJ & Linde JC (eds.) A Companion to the English Dominican Province: From Its Beginnings to the Reformation. Companions to The Christian Tradition, 97. Leiden: Brill, pp. 112-137. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004446229_005


Conference Proceeding

Oram R (2021) Too much environment and not enough history: the opportunities and challenges in researching medieval seasonal settlement in Atlantic Europe. In: Dixon P & Theune C (eds.) Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside. RURALIA, 13. Ruralia XIII Conference: Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside, Stirling, 09.09.2019-13.09.2019. Leiden, Netherlands: Sidestone Press, pp. 193-201. https://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/seasonal-settlement-in-the-medieval-and-early-modern-countryside-67232.html


Book Chapter

Oram R (2019) Scotland: Environmental Issues 1960-2010. In: Connell-Szasz M (ed.) Nations on the Move: Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Native America since 1960. New York: TBC.


Article

Oram R (2017) The Making and Breaking of a Comital Family: Malcolm Fleming, First Earl of Wigtown, and Thomas Fleming, Second Earl of Wigtown. Part 1: The Making of an Earl: Malcolm Fleming. International Review of Scottish Studies, 42, pp. 1-35. http://www.irss.uoguelph.ca/index.php/irss/article/view/3558; https://doi.org/10.21083/irss.v42i0.3558


Article

Oram R (2017) The Making and Breaking of a Comital Family: Malcolm Fleming, First Earl of Wigtown, and Thomas Fleming, Second Earl of Wigtown, Part 2: The Breaking of an Earldom: The Decline of Earl Malcolm and Failure of Earl Thomas. International Review of Scottish Studies, 42, pp. 36-58. http://www.irss.uoguelph.ca/index.php/irss/article/view/3559; https://doi.org/10.21083/irss.v42i0.3559


Book Chapter

Oram R (2017) Parishes and Churches. In: Stringer KJ & Winchester AJL (eds.) Northern England and Southern Scotland in the Central Middle Ages. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, pp. 197-218. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781787441521.007


Book Chapter

Oram R (2016) Monasteries and Monastic Schools in Northern England and Eastern Scotland c.950-c.1250. In: Barnwell P (ed.) Places of Worship in Britain and Ireland, 950-1150. Rewley House Studies in the Historic Environment, 5. Donington: Shaun Tyas Publishing, pp. 125-153. https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/rewley-house-studies-in-the-historic-environment#placesofworship


Book Chapter

Oram R (2016) Trackless, Impenetrable and Underdeveloped? Roads, Colonization and Environmental Transformation in the Anglo-Scottish Border Zone, c.1100 to c.1300. In: Allen V & Evans R (eds.) Roadworks: Medieval Britain, medieval roads. Manchester Medieval Literature and Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 303-325. https://doi.org/10.7228/manchester/9780719085062.003.0013


Conference Proceeding

Oram R (2016) The Medieval Church in the Dioceses of Aberdeen and Moray. In: Geddes J (ed.) Medieval Art, Architecture and Archaeology in the Dioceses of Aberdeen and Moray. The British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions, 40. British Archaeological Association Conference of 2014, Aberdeen, 19.07.2014-23.07.2014. Leeds: Routledge, pp. 16-32. https://www.routledge.com/Medieval-Art-Architecture-and-Archaeology-in-the-Dioceses-of-Aberdeen/Geddes/p/book/9781138640689


Book Chapter

Oram R (2015) Epidemic Disease. In: Oram R, Newfield T & Slavin P (eds.) A Handbook of Medieval European Environmental History. Leiden: Brill.


Book Chapter

Oram R (2015) Fuel. In: Oram R, Newfield T & Slavin P (eds.) A Handbook of Medieval European Environmental History. Leiden: Brill.


Book Chapter

Oram R (2014) Leisure, Symbolism and War: Hermitage Castle, Liddesdale and the Anglo-Scottish Border. In: Ettel P, Flambard HA & O'Conor K (eds.) Château et frontière. Actes du colloque international d'Aabenraa (Danemark, 24-31 août 2012). Château Gaillard. Etudes de castellologie médiévale, 26. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, pp. 325-332. http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782841335022-1


Article

Oram R (2014) ‘The Worst Disaster Suffered by the People of Scotland in Recorded History’: Climate Change, Dearth and Pathogens in the Long Fourteenth Century. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 144, pp. 223-244. http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/contents.cfm?vol=144&CFID=2487810&CFTOKEN=E305AFA0-AD87-4D46-942C3C8AE5FD4105


Conference Proceeding

Oram R (2014) From "Golden Age" to Depression: land use and environmental change in the medieval Earldom of Orkney. In: Gullov HC (ed.) Northern Worlds – landscapes, interactions and dynamics: Research at the National Museum of Denmark. Studies in Archaeology & History, 22. Northern Worlds Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, 28.11.2012-30.11.2012. Copenhagen: Publications from the National Museum, pp. 203 - 214.


Authored Book

Oram R, Martin PF, McKean C & Anderson S (2014) Historic Wigtown: archaeology and development. Scottish Burgh Survey. Edinburgh and York: Historic Scotland and Council for British Archaeology. http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/historic-wigtown.html


Edited Book

Oram R (ed.) (2014) The Lordship of the Isles. The Northern World, 68. Leiden: Brill. http://www.brill.com/products/book/lordship-isles


Book Chapter

Oram R (2013) Bishops' tombs in medieval Scotland. In: Penman M (ed.) Monuments and Monumentality Across Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Donington: Shaun Tyas, pp. 171-198.


Book Chapter

Oram R (2013) Arrested Development? Energy Crises, Fuel Supplies, and the Slow March to Modernity in Scotland, 1450-1850. In: Unger R (ed.) Energy Transitions in History: Global Cases of Continuity and Change. Rachel Carson Centre Perspectives, 2. Munich: Rachel Carson Centre, pp. 17-24. http://www.carsoncenter.uni-muenchen.de/download/publications/perspectives/2013_perspectives/1302_energy_web_color1.pdf


Book Chapter

Oram R (2013) Estuarine Environments and Resource Exploitation in Eastern Scotland circa 1125 to circa 1400: A Comparative Study of the Forth and Tay Estuaries. In: Thoen E, Borger G, de Kraker A, Soens T, Tys D, Vervaert L & Weerts H (eds.) Landscapes or Seascapes? The history of the coastal environment in the North Sea area reconsidered. Comparative Rural History of the North Sea Area (CORN), 13. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers. http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503540580-1


Authored Book

Oram R (2012) Alexander II, King of Scots 1214-1249. Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd. http://www.birlinn.co.uk/Alexander-II-King-of-Scots-1214-1249-9781904607922.html


Book Chapter

Oram R (2012) Breaking new ground: the monastic orders and economic development along the Northern European periphery c.1070 to c.1300. In: Ammannati & F (eds.) Religion and Religious Institutions in the European Economy 1000-1800 Religione E Istituzioni Religiose Nell'Economia Europea 1000-1800. Serie II - Atti delle 'Settimane di Studi' e altri Convegni, 43. Florence, Italy: Firenze University Press, pp. 331-343. http://digital.casalini.it/9788866551263


Book Chapter

Oram R (2012) Why Medieval History Matters. In: Cowan E (ed.) Why Scottish History Still Matters. Edinburgh: Saltire Society. http://w.saltiresociety.org.uk/newt2.htm


Book Chapter

Oram R (2011) Disease, Death and the Hereafter in Medieval Scotland. In: Cowan E & Henderson L (eds.) A History of Everyday Life in Medieval Scotland, 1000 to 1600. A History of Everyday Life in Scotland, 1. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 196-225. http://www.euppublishing.com/book/9780748621576


Book Chapter

Oram R (2011) Perth in the Middle Ages: An Environmental History. In: Strachan D (ed.) Perth: A Place in History. Perth: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust. http://www.pkht.org.uk/Exploring-Perthshires-Past/Publications/145/


Book Chapter

Oram R (2011) Ouncelands, Quarterlands and Pennylands in the Western Isles, Man and Galloway: Tribute Payments and Military Levies in the Norse West. In: Imsen S (ed.) Taxes, Tributes and Tributary Lands in the Making of the Scandinavian Kingdoms in the Middle Ages. 'Norgesveldet', Occasional Papers, 2. Trondheim: Tapir Academic Press. http://www.isbs.com/partnumber.asp?mid=992&cid=&pnid=384539


Authored Book

Oram R (2011) Domination and Lordship: Scotland 1070-1230. New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. http://www.euppublishing.com/book/9780748614974


Book Review

Oram R (2011) Land, Law, and People in Medieval Scotland. Review of: Land, Law, and People in Medieval Scotland. By Cynthia J. Neville. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, UK. 240pp. ISBN: 978-0748639588. Journal of British Studies, 50 (3), pp. 740-741. https://doi.org/10.1086/659796


Book Review

Oram R (2011) Exploring Environmental History: Selected Essays. Review of: Exploring Environmental History: Selected Essays. By T. C. Smout, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009, Pp. 248. ISBN: 9780748635139.. Scottish Historical Review, 90 (1), pp. 172-173. https://doi.org/10.3366/shr.2011.0028


Book Chapter

Oram R & Adderley WP (2010) Re Innse Gall: A Norse Colony in the Irish Sea and Hebrides?. In: Imsen S (ed.) The Norwegian Domination and the Norse World c.1100-c.1400. Trondheim: Tapir Academic Press, pp. 125-49. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EIr7s7SLit0C&pg=PA13&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false


Book Chapter

Oram R (2010) Medieval Scottish Castles: Some Insights, Images and Perceptions from Archaeological and Historical Investigation. In: Ettel P, Flambard HA & McNeil T (eds.) Château et représentations: Actes du Colloque International de Stirling (Ecosse) 2008. Chateau Gaillard, 24. Caen, France: Presses Universitaires de Caen. http://www.unicaen.fr/crahm/publications/spip.php?article265


Authored Book

Oram R, Martin PF, McKean C & Neighbour T (2010) Historic Whithorn: Archaeology and Development. Scottish Burgh Survey. York: Council of British Archaeology. http://www.britarch.ac.uk/books/Whithorn2010


Authored Book

Oram R, Martin PF, McKean C, Cathcart A & Neighbour T (2010) Historic Fraserburgh: Archaeology and Development. Scottish Burgh Survey. York: Council of British Archaeology. http://www.britarch.ac.uk/books/fraserburgh2010


Book Review

Oram R (2010) The Medieval Park: New Perspectives. Review of: The Medieval Park: New Perspectives. By Robert Liddiard. Windgather Press, UK, 2007. 256pp. ISBN: 978-1905119165. Medieval Archaeology, 54 (1), pp. 478-479.


Book Chapter

Oram R (2009) The Medieval Bishops of Whithorn, Their Cathedral and Their Tombs. In: Lowe C (ed.) "Clothing for the Soul Divine": Burials at the Tomb of St Ninian: Excavations at Whithorn Priory, 1957-67. Historic Scotland Archaeology Report, 3. Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, pp. 131-166. http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/publications


Authored Book

Oram R, Martin PF, McKean C, Cathcart A & Neighbour T (2009) Historic Tain: Archaeology and Development. Scottish Burgh Survey. York: Council of British Archaeology. http://www.britarch.ac.uk/books/Tain2009


Book Review

Oram R (2009) Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration: Five Case Studies from the United States. Review of: Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration: Five Case Studies from the United States. Edited by Mary Doyle and Cynthia A. Drew. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2008. xiv + 325 pp. Maps, figures, tables, and index. ISBN: 978-1597260251. Environmental History, 14 (4), pp. 759-760. https://doi.org/10.1093/envhis/14.4.759


Research Report

Galbraith N, McAllister E, Johnson I, Leven D, Norris L, Hopton M, McLean C, Oram R, Stewart D, McLaren J & Cavanagh L (2009) Report and Recommendations on the Economic Impact of the Historic Environment in Scotland. Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland. Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland. http://www.heacs.org.uk/documents/2009/economicimpact.pdf


Book Chapter

Oram R (2008) Medieval Inchmarnock to c.1600. In: C L (ed.) Inchmarnock: An Early Historic Island Monastery and its Archaeological Landscape. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, pp. 35-52. http://www.socantscot.org/partnumber.asp?pnid=223292


Book Chapter

Oram R (2008) A Fit and Ample Endowment? The Balmerino Estate, 1228-1603. In: Oram R, Hammond M, Kerr J, Fawcett R, Markus G & Dixon P P (eds.) Life on the Edge: the Cistercian Abbey of Balmerino, Fife (Scotland). Citeaux - Comentarii Cisterciensis, 59, part 1-2. Pontigny, Belgium: Citeaux, pp. 61-80. http://www.citeaux.org/en/naviga1en.htm


Book Chapter

Oram R (2008) Castles, Concepts and Contexts: Castle Studies in Scotland in Retrospect and Prospect [Châteaux, concepts et contextes : castellologie en Écosse, rétrospective et perspectives]. In: Ettel P, Flambard HA & McNeill T (eds.) Château Gaillard: études de castellologie médiévale. Bilan des recherches en castellologie : actes du colloque international de Houffalize (Belgique), 4-10 septembre 2006. Château Gaillard. Etudes de castellologie médiévale, 23. Caen, France: CRAHM, University of Caen, pp. 349-359. http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782902685622-1


Book Review

Oram R (2008) St Margaret's Gospel-book: The Favourite Book of an Eleventh-Century Queen of Scots. Review of: St Margaret's Gospel-book: The Favourite Book of an Eleventh-Century Queen of Scots. By Rebecca Rushforth. [Treasures from the Bodleian Library.] (Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2007. Pp. 114; 60 color illustrations. ISBN 978-1-851-24370-9.). Catholic Historical Review, 94 (4), pp. 794-795. https://doi.org/10.1353/cat.0.0249


Book Review

Oram R (2008) Scottish independence and the idea of Britain: From the picts to Alexander III. Review of: Scottish Independence and the Idea of Britain: From the Picts to Alexander III, Dauvit Broun, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2007, 256 pp. 978-0748623600. American Historical Review, 113 (1), pp. 241-241. https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.113.1.241


Book Chapter

Oram R (2007) Capital Tales or Burghead Bull?. In: Arbuthnot S & Hollo K (eds.) Fil súil nglais, A Grey Eye Looks Back: a Festschrift in Honour of Colm Ó Baoill. Ceann Drochaid: Clann Tuirc, pp. 241-262.


Book Review

Oram R (2007) Carmel in Britain: Studies in the Early History of the Carmelite Order, iii, The Hermits from Mount Carmel. Review of: Carmel in Britain: Studies in the Early History of the Carmelite Order, iii, The Hermits from Mount Carmel. By Richard Copsey. Carmelite Friars, Saint Albert's Press, 2004, Pp.xii + 514. ISBN 0 904849 23 6. Scottish Historical Review, 86 (2), pp. 331-332. https://doi.org/10.1353/shr.2007.0061


Book Chapter

Oram R (2007) Douglas, Margaret. In: Ewan E, Innes S, Reynolds S & Pipes R (eds.) The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 101-101. http://www.euppublishing.com/book/9780748632930


See all 195 outputs