Scottish Arts & Music
A look at the traditional arts and music of Scotland.
Traditional Arts of Scotland
Scotland’s first artists left only monuments behind to mark their existence. Like other prehistoric European cultures, they carved massive standing stones and tombs with spiral patterns. When the Celtic ancestors of the Picts, Scots, Angles, and Britons settled in Northern Britain, they brought with them a culture of metalworking and more advanced stone-carving. The Picts in particular erected hundreds of inscribed Pictish stones across the Highlands. These likely served as a record of lineage, used to mark the passing of kings and other nobles. Insular Celtic styles, characterized by elaborate interlace, grew more common in Scotland through contact with the Christian Irish. Both Scottish and Irish monks flocked to island monasteries like Iona. There, they produced illuminated manuscripts, brooches, chalices, and other religious objects showing the same interlacing symbols.
Religion dominated Scottish arts through the Middle Ages, including its music and literature. Court poets, or bards, sang and told stories to the tunes of flutes, harps, and lyres. Church music was accompanied by chorus or the pipe organ. During the Reformation, however, instrumental music was generally discouraged by Calvinist theologies.
Modern Arts of Scotland
The Industrial era saw a golden age in Scottish arts. In the 16th century, closer ties between the Scottish monarchy and Continental Europe brought new musical styles and instruments to its people. The Great Highland Bagpipe and fiddle grew popular at this time. The bagpipe in particular is a Scottish national symbol associated with military service. Musical traditions, often passed down through families, flourished into the modern era.
Scotland has also been home to a number of notable writers, including Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Painters like Henry Raeburn, James Guthrie, and David Wilkie earned particular public esteem.
Modern Scottish artists explore a variety of subjects across all media, including painting, cinema, sculpture, poetry, and literature. The nation is home to a thriving music scene, with pop, rock, and classical music most popular.
Learn More About Scottish Culture
Cultural Overview | Geography | History | Daily Life | Society | Economy | Beliefs | Arts & Music
References
Foyster, Elizabeth ed. History of Everyday Life in Scotland, 1600 to 1800. Edinburgh University Press. 2010.
Hill, Roland. Scotland: Land of Lochs and Glens. I.B. Tauris. 2002.
Lang, Andrew. A Short History of Scotland. Dodd, Mead, and Co. 1912.
Sanderson, William. Scottish Life and Character. MacMillan Co. 1904.
“The World Factbook: United Kingdom.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 4 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html.
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