‘People of Medieval Scotland’ database launched

[William Douglas]

The ‘People of Medieval Scotland’ is a database of the 21,000+ people mentioned in the 8500+ documents from Scotland that survive between 1093 and 1314. It has been designed to cater for beginners as well as experts. Learners can explore and discover this pivotal period of Scotland’s past on their own terms. Experts can conduct research in days and hours that would once have taken them months. The database also offers learners and experts a new experience of engaging with the past, allowing thousands of individuals and hundreds of places to take centre stage. It is left to the user to decide what is interesting and important.

Special features include:

• A ‘lab’ space for quick and thought-provoking ways to explore the database
• Gaelic names are identified in their medieval and modern forms
• A multi-faceted search facility
• For experts: special attention to the form of documents

Amongst those listed are James Douglas, a valet in 1306, and Henry Douglas, a clerk in the early 13th century. Who the Douglases were wi.l take some sorting out.

www.poms.ac.uk