Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland is a reference work published by HarperCollins, edited by the husband and wife team, John and Julia Keay.
Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland is a reference work published by HarperCollins, edited by the husband and wife team, John and Julia Keay.
Scots had provided the impetus for a number of well-known references works, Chambers Dictionary and Encyclopædia Britannica [1] [2] amongst them (the latter still uses a Scottish thistle as a logo), but hitherto there had been no general purpose Scottish encyclopaedia.
The encyclopaedia took seven years to compile and has appeared in two editions. The first edition, published in 1994, contained about a million words, nearly five hundred illustrations, and had 126 contributors, ranging from Derick Thomson to David Steel, from Alan Bold to Neil MacCormick and from Joy Hendry to Sir William Macpherson of Cluny. It has four thousand individual entries, and an index indicating further references in other articles. [3]
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In the original edition, the first entry is Aaron Scotus, and the last on the marquisate of Zetland (the only Z entry).
The aim seems to have been to have reasonably brief entries on most topics, but subjects that get lengthier ones, include Scotland's major cities (including the traditional city of Perth), association football and rugby in Scotland, the Scottish Gaelic language, Scots law etc. A wide variety of topics are dealt with, including figures from science, literature, philosophy, sport and history.
Less "obvious" topics which have entries include the Roman general Agricola (who tried to invade Scotland), the hooded crow, Berwick-upon-Tweed (which has a stormy past, lying right on the Anglo-Scottish Border) and medicinal plants.
Several appendices cover the schisms (and mergers) of Scottish Presbyterian factions from 1700 to the date of publication, and also the Scottish royal line.
The second edition in 2000 contained over a hundred new articles, [4] amongst them, ones on Billy Bremner the footballer, Dolly the Sheep, the Scottish Parliament and the politician John Smith.
An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by article name or by thematic categories, or else are hyperlinked and searchable. Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries. Generally speaking, encyclopedia articles focus on factual information concerning the subject named in the article's title; this is unlike dictionary entries, which focus on linguistic information about words, such as their etymology, meaning, pronunciation, use, and grammatical forms.
The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general knowledge English-language encyclopædia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various times throughout the centuries. The encyclopædia is maintained by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 contributors. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages, was the last printed edition. Since 2016, it has been published exclusively as an online encyclopaedia.
The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time. This edition of the encyclopaedia, containing 40,000 entries, has entered the public domain and is easily available on the Internet. Its use in modern scholarship and as a reliable source has been deemed problematic due to the outdated nature of some of its content. Modern scholars have deemed some articles as cultural artifacts of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Rees's Cyclopædia, in full The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature was an important 19th-century British encyclopaedia edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743–1825), a Presbyterian minister and scholar who had edited previous editions of Chambers's Cyclopædia.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. is a British-American company known for publishing the Encyclopædia Britannica, the world's oldest continuously published encyclopaedia, as well as extensive digital efforts—including text and audiovisual—that are aimed at educational tools for primary and secondary schools, and for everyday learners accessing information through online search.
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William Smellie (1740–1795) was a Scottish printer who edited the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He was also a naturalist and antiquary. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, co-founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and a friend of Robert Burns.
An encyclopedic dictionary typically includes many short listings, arranged alphabetically, and discussing a wide range of topics. Encyclopedic dictionaries can be general, containing articles on topics in many different fields; or they can specialize in a particular field, such as art, biography, law, medicine, or philosophy. They may also be organized around a particular academic, cultural, ethnic, or national perspective.
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The Encyclopædia Britannica has been published continuously since 1768, appearing in fifteen official editions. Several editions have been amended with multi-volume "supplements", consisted of previous editions with added supplements or gone drastic re-organizations (15th). In recent years, digital versions of the Britannica have been developed, both online and on optical media. Since the early 1930s, the Britannica has developed several "spin-off" products to leverage its reputation as a reliable reference work and educational tool.
MicrosoftEncarta is a discontinued digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft from 1993 to 2009. Originally sold on CD-ROM or DVD, it was also available online via annual subscription, although later articles could also be viewed for free online with advertisements. By 2008, the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive content, timelines, maps, atlases and homework tools.
The Encyclopædia Britannica Third Edition (1797) is an 18-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopedia's earliest period as a two-man operation initiated by Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Most of the editing was done by Macfarquhar, and all the copperplates were created by Bell.
The Encyclopædia Britannica First Edition (1768–1771) is a 3-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's earliest period as a two-man operation founded by Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was sold unbound in subscription format over a period of 3 years. Most of the articles were written by William Smellie and edited by Macfarquhar, who printed the pages. All copperplates were created by Bell.
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The Curse of Scotland is a nickname used for the nine of diamonds playing card. The expression has been used at least since the early 18th century, and many putative explanations have been given for the origin of this nickname for the card.
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