medieval-atlas/introduction/xiv

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distribution of Pictish names. On the other hand, Introduction some maps are inventory maps, such as the map This atlas appears under the joint names of the Scottish Medievalists and the Department of Geography of the University of Edinburgh. The atlas replaces an earlier atlas, entitled An Historical Atlas ofScotland c. 400 to c. 1600. It was published in 1975. The present atlas has been about fifteen years in the making. An account of the making of Atlas 1I would amount to a substantial monograph: I propose to limit myself here to indicating what I have attempted to achieve in this atlas. I hope that the final maps have, within the limits of black and white, done justice to the draft maps which the various experts had submitted. The earlier atlas was in two parts: one part contained the texts and the other the maps; and each part had a separate editor. In the present atlas, the texts and maps have been kept together, and, because of their greater bulk, the topics in the atlas have been divided into nine sections, according to subject, with the load being spread between each of the sectional editors, but with an overall general editor who was the liaison between the sectional editors and the cartographer. The first section is an introductory one which, among other things, sets the physical and geographical basis of the maps which follow in the succeeding sections. The next three sections are chronological, covering the period from the beginning to 1707. The remaining five sections deal with important aspects of Scottish history. The classification is not wholly satisfactory and there is an element of cross-reference. The names of the editors appear in the list of over 80 contributors (there were 30 or so contributors in the earlier atlas). As before, the elaboration of the maps is governed by the absence of colour and the need to keep the cost of production down to be within the purse of students. The present atlas has about four or five times more maps than were in the first atlas. Also, the structure of the two atlases is different. The fairly substantial texts of the first atlas together with the linking passages amounted to a short history of Scotland for the period covered by the maps; whereas the present atlas has concentrated on the maps: it was the agreed policy that the associated texts would be briefer and have a different function. The texts are intended to indicate the principle on which the map or diagram is constructed and the lessons which can be drawn from it. As a result, most maps together with their texts make a self-contained unit of one or more pages. Where possible, the atlas attempts to have one map for one idea: this is the case in the distribution maps, such as the map showing the of Lowland schools, where listing of the schools by name is as important as their distribution. I have tried for a degree of consistency in lay-out of each page or fascicle of pages. In most cases I have used the same map of Scotland so as to make it easier to compare like with like; and in most of the maps of Scotland, I have inserted in a light stipple the 800' (about 244 m) contour layer: most items ofmappable interest appear below that height. Throughout, where weights and measures are mentioned, I have shown imperial and metric equivalents. Most of the readers of the atlas will no longer understand the former imperial coinage: accordingly I have made a table of imperial and metrical equivalents. I have standardised the use of different type faces and type sizes to represent different features on the maps: these are shown in the general key. The spelling of British place-names generally follows that shown in the 1 :50,000 ordnance survey maps; and for foreign names, I have followed the spelling in The Times Atlas of the World As general editor, I wish to acknowledge the forbearance of the atlas trustees, the contributors and the sectional editors during the delays which were never anticipated by me -or anyone else. Special mention must be made of the indispensable work of Professor D ER Watt. Professor Watt has been our business manager and convenor of the atlas trustees. As with the first atlas, so with this one, he was the driving force in the planning of the undertaking; he husbanded the resources created by the sales ofthe first atlas and acquired further large resources in cash and in kind from a variety of benefactors; and he has dealt with every aspect of the commercial production of the atlas. As a result, in the words of the preface to the first atlas, he has been able 'to keep the selling price to as low a figure as possible so that virtually no-one who has an interest in Scottish history may be debarred from obtaining a copy'. I also wish to acknowledge the help and assistance which I have received in a variety of ways from Mr Douglas Watt, the staffs of the National Library of Scotland (including the Map Building), Historic Scotland and the Scottish Record Office. Thanks are especially due to the academic and technical staff of the Department ofGeography ofthe University of Edinburgh who undertook the cartographic work, including Mr Ray Harris, Dr David Munro, Dr David A Gray and Anona Lyons. Over the years, there have been different hands involved on the cartographic side; but by far the largest part has been the work of xiv

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