'Away was sons of alle and brede': the decline of the medieval climate anomaly and the myth of the Alexandrian Golden Age in Scotland

Citation

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

Abstract
Since the 14th century, the reign of King Alexander III of Scotland (1249-1286) has been regarded as representing the 'Golden Age' of the medieval kingdom, characterised by peace, stability and economic prosperity. More recently, that positive image has been challenged and advances in environmental history have called the traditional depiction into doubt. This paper reviews the historical record evidence and the climate proxy data for the era and suggests that as the Medieval Climate Anomaly started to decline in the mid-13th century Scotland began to experience more regular crop failures, livestock disease and poorer environmental conditions than had prevailed since the tenth century. It concludes with an assessment of the 'Golden Age' notion as a constructed ideal projected back onto Alexander's reign from the politically unstable, war-torn and disease- and climate-ravaged post-Wars of Independence period.

Keywords
Scotland, medieval; climate change; weather; harvest; Alexander III; Golden Age; famine

People

Professor Richard Oram

Professor, History