With accommodations befitting a king, and fairytale-worthy dungeons, moats, drawbridges and towers, you'll be feeling like royalty in no time in these ten castle hotels.

By ShermansTravel editorial staff

[Lake Palace, afloat on India's Lake Pichola, in Rajasthan (© Taj Lake Palace)]

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Gone are the days when you needed a royal title to spend the night in a castle. Nowadays, even the masses can stay in a storied, turreted keep, as residences of bygone kings and rulers are converted into premier hotels in Europe and beyond. We've rounded up our top castle hotels in France, the United Kingdom, Africa, India and even the United States (the only one on our list to lack official regal lineage), to help you get the royal treatment, at home and abroad. With accommodations befitting a king, and fairytale-worthy dungeons, moats, drawbridges and towers, you'll be feeling like royalty in no time. The only thing missing will be your own crown and scepter—those, you'll have to bring from home.

1. Amberley Castle, England

England's 900-year-old Amberley Castle has a legendary history, including ownership by Queen Elizabeth I from 1588 to 1603; visits from Charles II; and a bout in the civil war, when Cromwell attacked its walls. Accessed via drawbridge and a magnificent oak portcullis (which is still lowered at night), the castle's 60-foot stone curtain walls are topped by turrets and enclose beautiful rose-filled gardens with resident peacocks. A splendid medieval atmosphere still reigns supreme, with centuries-old suits of armor, intricate tapestries, crossbows and arched stone doorways. The 19 rooms are luxurious and enchanting, boasting elegant four-poster beds, rich wall hangings and carpets, antique frills, and a few modern additions like en-suite jacuzzis, TVs and VCRs.

- Expedia: Visit the castles of your dreams! Fly to Europe from $435+ roundtrip

2. Balfour Castle, Scotland

Nestled on the misty Orkney island of Shapinsay in Scotland, Balfour Castle is the world's most northerly castle, lying at the very edge of Europe, and only reached via 25-minute ferry ride from Kirkwall. Set amid 10 miles of quiet hills and forested grounds, this 1848 baronial fortress is positively Victorian, complete with turrets, a magnificent old library, oil paintings, and even stuffed owls. The six rooms are equally grand, with ornate wood-carved four-poster and canopy beds, oriental rugs and fabulous coastal views (four of the six have en-suite baths). The isolated manor also offers lush grounds, including an original walled garden, as well as two boats for guest to sail off to see the island's spooky sea caves and dramatic cliffs.

3. Castle on the Hudson, New York

Manhattanites sick of cramped quarters, smog and subways can head just 25 miles north, across the Hudson, and don their very own crowns at this US-based castle. It may lack the royal credentials, but the Castle on the Hudson certainly looks the part of a kingly residence, what with towering stone walls, turrets, manicured gardens, and all the palatial trimmings. Built between 1897 to 1910, the hilltop bastion does have one bona fide royal touch: the paneling in the Oak Room comes from the Parisian house given by Louis XIV to James II for use during his years in exile. The five sumptuous rooms and suites are certainly fit for kings, with wood-burning fireplaces, turret alcoves, four-poster beds and opulent furnishings. Best of all, the on-site Equus restaurant offers decadent dining to a backdrop of the New York City skyline and Hudson River.

4. Château de Castel Novel, France

Tucked away in a serene pocket of the French countryside, the elegant Château de Castel-Novel offers its guests not only refined accommodations, but an escape into off-the-beaten path France, where an exquisite combination of history, gastronomy and nature converge. Located in the Limousin region of the country, this 14th-century property was originally designed as a fortified hilltop castle—still evident in its round towers and keep—but remodeling in the 19th centuries brought a soft Renaissance flair to the property; witness the sweeping balconies, terraces and rose gardens. Its residents added their own dose of character, as well. Local legend tells of a star-crossed romance between a troubadour and the lady of the house, while, more recently, the famed French writer Colette found inspiration in its rooms and even penned several novels here (guests can opt to stay in the Louis XVI apartment that served as her chambers). Today, it is a Relais and Château property, with 27 personalized rooms and lavish suites open for public lodging.

5. Chateau de la Bourdaisière, France

If the fairytale castle that played host to Fox's hit 2003 reality show, Joe Millionaire, sets your heart aflutter, you can court and dine your significant other here for as little as €120 a night. Constructed in the 15th century for the royal mistress of King François I, the castle today is a popular honeymoon destination (for officially married couples), but single ladies shouldn't despair, as the Bourdaisière is owned and operated by two brothers, who just happen to be the real-life princes of Broglie. Located less than an hour from Paris, and surrounded by 140 acres of enchanted woodlands, Château de la Bourdaisière lets guests live like royalty, with 11 luxurious rooms (and three apartments), outdoor heated swimming pool, tennis courts and more. Plus, the surrounding Loire Valley offers plenty of treasures of its own, from first-class vineyards to hot-air ballooning.

6. Kasbah du Toubkal, Morocco

While other castle hotels on this list are accessible by chauffeured car or ferry, guests at Morocco's Kasbah du Toubkal usually arrive on the back of a donkey—or on foot. Nestled on a promontory at the base of the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains, about an hour away from Marrakesh (and another hour or so, uphill), this rustic eight-room hotel served as the summer residence (one complete with dungeon) of the local French caid (ruler) from the 1940s until Moroccan independence from France, in 1956. Today, it's an award-winning eco-tourism hotel (that also served as the setting of the Tibetan Monastery of Dungkar in Scorsese's 1997 film, Kundun); it's popular with hikers and those who just want to bask in sweeping views of the Atlas Mountains, abundant fresh air and good food.

7. Lake Palace, India

If you want to feel like a maharajah, there's no better place than the romantic white-marble Lake Palace, afloat on India's Lake Pichola, in Rajasthan. This majestic palace looks so ethereal, you'll be pinching yourself to see if you're dreaming. Built as a summer retreat in the mid-1700s for Maharajah Jagat Singh II, the Lake Palace was intended solely for leisure pursuits—rest assured, the same principles apply to the place now that it's become a grand, 83-room hotel with 17 suites done up in luxurious silks, intricate murals and rich wood furniture. Distinguished guests to its marbled halls have included Queen Elizabeth II, Jackie O., the Shah of Iran and the King of Nepal.

8. Palácio Belmonte, Portugal

Built atop fortified Roman and Moorish walls, the Palácio Belmonte is the oldest building in Lisbon and the oldest palace on our list. Built on foundations dating back to 130 BC, and occupying a hilltop with views of the cobblestone city and the river, the Palacio's incarnation as a hotel is a fairly recent one, thanks to a major multi-million, six-year renovation that restored its regal status. Its last private owners, the Earls of Belmonte (and their descendents), resided here for 500 years; you can spend a night in one of eight palatial suites decorated in colorful silks, with sitting areas and to-die-for terraces with superb views. But that's not all. There's an extravagant black-marble swimming pool on site, a 4000-book library, Roman fountains, African and Japanese artifacts, 7th-century brick ceilings, black-veined marble bathrooms and close to 30,000 18th-century Portuguese tiles that have been combined with imported antiques to create a luxurious and refined air.

9. Palazzo Gritti, Italy

Commissioned in 1525 as the residence of the Doge of Venice, the swank Gritti Palace has hosted a long list of VIPs since, providing luxurious lodging for numerous heads of state, international royalty, literary bigwigs and film and rock stars, including the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Greta Garbo and Winston Churchill. While some claim the place has seen better days (it is, after all, nearly 500 years old), others argue there is no more celebrated and history-rich hotel in Venice. Whichever side you take, there's no disputing the Gritti's prime location: Overlooking the Grand Canal, this palazzo provides unrivaled views of animated, aquatic Venice—vistas best enjoyed from the restaurant terrace. The classy interior is also loaded with antique-filled lounges and over 82 guest rooms and suites adorned with ornate Venetian-style furnishings.

- Expedia: Fly to Europe from $435+ roundtrip

10. Waterford Castle, Ireland

Offering an extraordinary escape from the mundane, the secluded and majestic Waterford Castle Hotel is situated on a sprawling 310-acre island, encircled by the flowing waters of the River Suir, in southern Ireland. Reachable only by the castle's private ferry, there is little distraction at this remote property, other than an 18-hole championship golf course, horseback rides in the surrounding woodlands, or water sports and fishing. The 16th-century stone castle still maintains its original Norman keep and an eye-catching assembly of turrets, towers and gargoyles; the interior houses 19 luxury bedrooms and opulent main rooms decorated with colorful tapestries, antiques and period decor. Owned by the illustrious Fitzgerald family from the 15th through mid-20th centuries, the castle was converted to a luxury hotel in 1988.

This article was compiled by the editorial staff at ShermansTravel, including editorial director Arabella Bowen.

http://miljokes.com/

A

latin phrases

A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi - A precipice in front, wolves behind (between a rock and a hard place)

Ab imo pectore - From the bottom of the chest (from the heart)

Ab/Ex uno disce omnes - From one person, learn all people

Abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit - He has left, absconded, escaped and disappeared

Absit omen may the omen be absent - May this not be an omen

Abusus non tollit usum - Wrong use does not preclude proper use

Abyssus abyssum invocat - Hell calls hell; one mistep leads to another

Accipere quam facere praestat injuriam - It is better to suffer an injustice than to do an injustice

Acta est fabula, plaudite! - The play is over, applaud! (Said to have been emperor Augustus' last words.)

Ad hominem - Appealing to a person's physical and emotional urges, rather than her or his intellect

Ad praesens ova cras pullis sunt meliora - Eggs today are better than chickens tomorrow (a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush)

Adeste Fideles - Be present, faithful ones

Adversus solem ne loquitor - Don't speak against the sun (don't waste your time arguing the obvious)

Aegrescit medendo - The disease worsens with the treatment (the remedy is worse than the disease)

Aegroto, dum anima est, spes esse dicitur - It is said that for a sick man, there is hope as long as there is life

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem - Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even. (Horace)

Aeternum vale - Farewell forever

Age quod agis - Do what you do well, pay attention to what you are doing

Age. Fac ut gaudeam - Go ahead. Make my day!

Alea iacta est - The die has been cast. (Caesar)

Aliena nobis, nostra plus aliis placent - Other people's things are more pleasing to us, and ours to other people. (Publilius Syrus)

Alis volat propriis - He flies by his own wings

Altissima quaeque flumina minimo sono labi - The deepest rivers flow with the least sound (still waters run deep)

Amantes sunt amentes - Lovers are lunatics

Amantium irae amoris integratio est - The quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love. (Terence)

Amat victoria curam - Victory favors those who take pains

Amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore - I hope that the memory of our friendship will be everlasting. (Cicero)

Amicule, deliciae, num is sum qui mentiar tibi? - Baby, sweetheart, would I lie to you?

Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur - A true friend is discerned during an uncertain matter

Amicus verus est rara avis - A true friend is a rare bird

Amor animi arbitrio sumitur, non ponitur - We choose to love, we do not choose to cease loving. (Syrus)

Amor caecus est - Love is blind

Amor est vitae essentia - Love is the essence of life. (Mackay)

Amor ordinem nescit - Love does not know order. (St. Jerome)

Amor platonicus - Platonic love

Amor tussisque non celantur - Love, and a cough, are not concealed. (Ovid)

Amor vincit omnia - Love conquers all. (Virgil)

Amoto quaeramus seria ludo - Joking aside, let us turn to serious matters. (Horace)

An nescis, mi fili, quantilla sapientia mundus regatur? - Don't you know then, my son, how little wisdom rules the world?

Animis opibusque parati - Prepared in minds and resources (ready for anything)

Apudne te vel me? - Your place or mine?

Aquila non captat muscas - The eagle doesn't capture flies (don't sweat the small things)

Arduum sane munus - A truly arduous task

Arguendo - For the sake of argument

Argumentum ad ignorantiam - Arguing from ignorance

Ars gratia artis - Art for the sake of art

Ars sine scienta nihil est - Art without science is nothing (I would also claim that the opposite is true.)

Ascendo tuum - Up yours

Aspice, officio fungeris sine spe honoris amplioris - Face it, you're stuck in a dead end job

Aspirat primo Fortuna labori - Fortune smiles upon our first effort. (Virgil)

Assiduus usus uni rei deditus et ingenium et artem saepe vincit - Constant practice devoted to one subject often outdues both intelligence and skill. (Cicero)

Astra inclinant, non necessitant - The stars incline; they do not determine

Astra non mentiuntur, sed astrologi bene mentiuntur de astris - The stars never lie, but the astrologs lie about the stars

Audentes fortuna juvat - Fortune favors the bold. (Virgil)

Audi et alteram partem - Hear the other side too

Auget largiendo - He increases by giving liberally

Auribus teneo lupum - I hold a wolf by the ears (I am in a dangerous situation and dare not let go.) (Terence)

Aurora Musis amica - Dawn is friend of the muses. (Early bird catches the worm.)

Aut disce aut discede - Either learn or leave

Aut insanit homo, aut versus facit - The fellow is either mad or he is composing verses

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam - I'll either find a way or make one

Avarus animus nullo satiatur lucro - A greedy mind is satisfied with no (amount of) gain

Ave atque vale - Hail and farewell. (Catullus)

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B

latin translation

Bene legere saecla vincere - To read well is to master the ages. (Professor Isaac Flagg)

Bene qui latuit, bene vixit - One who lives well, lives unnoticed. (Ovid)

Beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere - To accept a favour is to sell freedom. (Publilius Syrus)

Bis dat qui cito dat - He gives twice, who gives promptly. (Publilius Syrus)

Bis interimitur qui suis armis perit - He is doubly destroyed who perishes by his own arms. (Syrus)

Bis repetita placent - The things that please are repeated again and again

Bis vincit qui se vincit in victoria - He conquers twice who in the hour of conquest conquers himself. (Syrus)

Bis vivit qui bene vivit - He lives twice who lives well

Bona fide - In good faith

Braccae tuae aperiuntur - Your fly is open

Brevis ipsa vita est sed malis fit longior - Our life is short but is made longer by misfortunes. (Publilius Syrus)

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C

latin language

Caelum videre iussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus - He bid them look at the sky and lift their faces to the stars. (Ovid)

Canis meus id comedit - My dog ate it

Canis timidus vehementius latrat quam mordet - A timid dog barks more violently than it bites. (Curtius Rufus)

Capillamentum? Haudquaquam conieci esse! - A wig? I never would have guessed!

Caro putridas es! - You're dead meat

Carpe diem - Seize the day (opportunity) (Horace)

Cave canem, te necet lingendo - Beware of the dog, he may lick you to death

Cave quid dicis, quando, et cui - Beware what you say, when, and to whom

Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware. (He buys at his own risk.)

Certe, toto, sentio nos in kansate non iam adesse - You know, Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore

Certum est, quia impossibile - It is certain, because it is impossible. (Tertullianus)

Ceteris paribus - All else being equal

Cogita ante salis - Think before you leap (or look before you leap.)

Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur - Nobody should be punished for his thoughts

Cogito, ergo sum - I think, therefore I exist. (René Descartes)

Commodum ex iniuria sua nemo habere debet - No person ought to have advantage from his own wrong

Commune periculum concordiam parit - Common danger brings forth harmony

Communi consilio - By common consent

Coniecturalem artem esse medicinam - Medicine is the art of guessing. (Aulus Cornelius Celsus)

Conlige suspectos semper habitos - Round up the usual suspects

Construimus, Batuimus - We Build, We Fight (US Navy SeaBees motto)

Consuetudinis magna vis est - The force of habit is great. (Cicero)

Contraria contrariis curantur - The opposite is cured with the opposite. (Hippocrates)

Cotidiana vilescunt - Familiarity breeds contempt

Cotidie damnatur qui semper timet - The man who is constantly in fear is every day condemned. (Syrus)

Cras amet qui nunquam amavit; Quique amavit, cras amet - May he love tomorrow who has never loved before

Credidi me felem vidisse! - I tought I taw a puddy tat!

Credite amori vera dicenti - Believe love speaking the truth. (St. Jerome)

Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse - I think we're on the same wavelength

Credo quia absurdum - I believe it because it is absurd (contrary to reason)

Credo ut intelligam - I believe in order that I may understand. (St. Augustine)

Credula vitam spes fovet et melius cras fore semper dicit - Credulous hope supports our life, and always says that tomorrow will be better. (Tibullus)

Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crevit - The love of wealth grows as the wealth itself grew. (Juvenalis)

Crudelius est quam mori semper timere mortem - It is more cruel to always fear death than to die. (Seneca)

Cui peccare licet peccat minus - One who is allowed to sin, sins less. (Ovid)

Culpam poena premit comes - Punishment closely follows crime as its companion. (Horace)

Cum grano salis - With a grain of salt. (Pliny the Elder?)

Cum homine de cane debeo congredi - Excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog

Cum tacent, clamant - When they are silent, they cry out. (Their silence speaks louder than words.) (Cicero)

Cura nihil aliud nisi ut valeas - Pay attention to nothing except that you do well. (Cicero)

Cura posterior - A later concern

Cura ut valeas - Take care

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D

latin to english

Da mihi sis cerevisiam dilutam - I'll have a light beer

Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo - I'll have a pizza with everything on it

Damnant quod non intellegunt - They condemn what they do not understand

De bene esse - It shall be so, as long as it is well

De duobus malis minus est semper eligendum - One must always choose the lesser of two evils. (Thomas a Kempis)

De facto - Something that is automatically accepted

De gustibus non est disputandum - There's no accounting for taste

De nihilo nihil - Nothing comes from nothing. (Lucretius)

Diabolus fecit, ut id facerem! - The devil made me do it!

Dic mihi solum facta, domina - Just the facts, ma'am

Dictum sapienti sat est - A word to a wise person is sufficient

Die dulci freure - Have a nice day

Diem perdidi - I have lost a day (another day wasted) (Titus)

Dies felices - Happy Days

Dies irae - The Day of Wrath, or Judgment Day

Difficile est saturam non scribere - It is hard not to write satire. (Juvenalis)

Difficile est tenere quae acceperis nisi exerceas - It is difficult to retain what you may have learned unless you should practice it. (Pliny the Younger)

Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium - Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence. (Seneca)

Dimidium facti qui coepit habet - Half is done when the beginning is done. (Horace)

Dira necessitas - The dire necessity. (Horace)

Divide et impera - Divide and conquer

Do ut des - I give so that you give back

Docendo discitur - It is learned by teaching. (Seneca)

Dominus tecum - May the Lord be with you (Singular)

Dominus vobiscum - May the Lord be with you (Plural)

Donec eris felix, multos numerabis amicos - As long as you are fortunate, you will have many friends (when you are successful, everyone wants to be your friend)

Dulce bellum inexpertis - War is sweet for those who haven't experienced it. (Pindaros)

Dum excusare credis, accusas - When you believe you are excusing yourself, you are accusing yourself. (St. Jerome)

Dum inter homines sumus, colamus humanitatem - As long as we are among humans, let us be humane. (Seneca)

Dum spiro, spero - While I breathe, I hope. (Cicero)

Dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum - While we have the time, let us do good

Dum vita est spes est - While life is, hope is. / While there is life there is hope

Dum vivimus, vivamus - While we live, let us live (Epicurean philosophy)

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E

latin to english translation

Ego spem pretio non emo - I do not purchase hope for a price (I do not buy a pig in a poke.)

Eheu fugaces labuntur anni - Alas, the fleeting years slip by. (Horace)

Eheu, litteras istas reperire non possum - Unfortunately, I can't find those particular documents

Emitte lucem et veritatem - Send out light and truth

Epistula non erubescit - A letter doesn't blush. (Cicero)

Errare humanum est - To err is human. / It is human to err (Seneca)

Esse quam videri - To be rather than to seem

Est autem fides credere quod nondum vides; cuius fidei merces est videre quod credis - Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. (St. Augustine)

Est modus in rebus - There is a medium in things. (Horace)

Est queadam fiere voluptas - There is a certain pleasure in weeping. (Ovid)

Esto Perpetua - Let it be forever

Et tu, Brute - You too, Brutus (Caesar's last words)

Etiam capillus unus habet umbram - Even one hair has a shadow. (Publilius Syrus)

Ex animo - From the heart (sincerely)

Ex cearulo - Out of the blue

Ex gratia - As a favour

Ex mea sententia - In my opinion

Ex nihilo nihil - Out of nothing, nothing comes / is made

Ex uno disce omnes - From one person learn all persons (From one we can judge the rest.)

Exceptio probat regulam de rebus non exceptis - An exception establishes the rule as to things not excepted

Excitabat fluctus in simpulo - He was stirring up billows in a ladle. (He was raising a tempest in a teapot.) (Cicero)

Exitus acta probat - The outcome proves the deeds (the end justifies the means) (Ovid)

Experientia docet - Experience is the best teacher

Experientia docet stultos - Experience teaches fools

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F

latin quotes

Faber est suae quisque fortunae - Every man is the artisan of his own fortune. (Appius Claudius Caecus)

Fac ut gaudeam - Make my day

Fac ut nemo me vocet - Hold my calls

Fac ut vivas - Get a life

Facilius est multa facere quam diu - It is easier to do many things than to do one for a long time. (Quintilianus)

Facilius per partes in cognitionem totius adducimur - We are more easily led part by part to an understanding of the whole. (Seneca)

Facito aliquid operis, ut te semper diabolus inveniat occupatum - Always do something, so that the devil always finds you occupied. (St. Jerome)

Facta, non verba - Deeds, not words (Actions speak louder than words)

Factum est illud, fieri infectum non potest - Done is done, it cannot be made undone. (Plautus)

Fallaces sunt rerum species - The appearances of things are deceptive. (Seneca)

Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus - Untrue in one thing, untrue in everything

Fama crescit eundo - The rumour grows as it goes. (Vergil)

Fama volat - The rumour has wings. (Vergil)

Farrago fatigans! - Thuffering thuccotash!

Fas est et ab hoste doceri - It's proper to learn even from an enemy. (Ovid)

Fax mentis incedium gloriae - The passion of glory is the torch of the mind

Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas - Happy is he who has been able to learn the causes of things. (Vergil)

Feliz ano novo - Happy new year

Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt - Men readily believe what they want to believe. (Caesar)

Festina lente - Make haste slowly

Fiat lux - Let there be light

Fide, non armis - By faith, not arms

Fides quaerens intellectum - Faith seeking understanding

Finis coronat opus - The ending crowns the work. (Ovid)

Flamma fumo est proxima - Flame follows smoke. (Plautus)

Fluctuat nec mergitur - It is tossed by the waves but it does not sink

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit - Perhaps someday we will look back upon these things with joy

Forsan miseros meliora sequentur - For those in misery perhaps better things will follow. (Virgil)

Fortes et Liber - Strong and free. (Alberta)

Fortes fortuna adiuvat - Fortune helps the brave men. (Terence)

Fortiter Fideliter Forsan Feliciter - Bravely, faithfully, perhaps successfully

Fortuna caeca est - Fortune is blind. (Cicero)

Frangar non flectar - I am broken, I am not deflected

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G

latin sayings

Gaudeamus igitur (iuvenes dum sumus) - Therefore, let us rejoice (while we are young)

Gladiator in arena consilium capit - The gladiator is formulating his plan in the arena (i.e., too late) (Seneca)

Gloria virtutis umbra - Glory (is) the shadow of virtue

Gnothe seauton (Greek) - Know thyself

Graeca sunt, non leguntur - It is Greek, you don't read that

Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo - The drop excavates the stone, not with force but by falling often. (Ovid)

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H

latin translation

Helluo librorum - A glutton for books (bookworm)

Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat! - Darn! There goes my beeper!

Heus, hic nos omnes in agmine sunt! - Hey, we're all in line here!

Hinc illae lacrimae - Hence these tears. (Terence)

Hoc est in votis - This is in my prayers

Hoc est verum et nihili nisi verum - This is the truth and nothing but the truth

Hoc tempore obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit - In these days friends are won through flattery, the truth gives birth to hate. (Terence)

Homines libenter quod volunt credunt - Men believe what they want to. (Terentius)

Homines, dum docent, discunt - Men learn while they teach. (Seneca)

Homo vitae commodatus non donatus est - Man has been lent to life, not given. (Pubilius Syrus)

Honores mutant mores - The honours change the customs. (Power corrupts)

Horas non numero nisi serenas - I count only the bright hours. (Inscription on ancient sundials.)

Humum mandere - To bite the dust

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I

latin phrases

Id certum est quod certum reddi potest - That is certain that can be made certain

Id imperfectum manet dum confectum erit - It ain't over until it's over

Id tibi praebet speciem lepidissimam! - It looks great on you!

Ille dolet vere, qui sine teste dolet - He mourns honestly who mourns without witnesses. (Martialis)

Illegitimis nil carborundum - Don't let the bastards grind you down

Illiud Latine dici non potest - You can't say that in Latin

Illius me paenitet, dux - Sorry about that, chief

Imitatores, servum pecus! - Imitators, you slavish crowd! (Horace)

Imperium et libertas - Empire and liberty. (Cicero)

Impossibilium nulla obligatio est - Nobody has any obligation to the impossible. (Corpus Iuris Civilis)

In absentia - In one's absence

In aere aedificare - Build (castles) in the air. (St. Augustine)

In alio pediculum, in te ricinum non vides - You see a louse on someone else, but not a tick on yourself. (Petronius)

In dentibus anticis frustrum magnum spiniciae habes - You have a big piece of spinach in your front teeth

In dubiis non est agendum - In dubious cases, you should not act

In his ordo est ordinem non servare - In this case the only rule is not obeying any rules

In hoc signo vinces - In this sign, you will be victorious. (Eusebios)

In libris libertas - In books (there is) freedom

In magnis et voluisse sat est - To once have wanted is enough in great deeds. (Propertius)

In medio tutissimus ibis - In the middle of things you will go most safe. (Ovid)

In omnia paratus - Prepared for all things

In pari materia - Of like kind

In posterum - Till the next day

In quaestione versare - To be under investigation

In silvam ne ligna feras - Don't carry logs into the forest. (Horace)

In spiritu et veritate - In spirit and truth. (Versio Vulgata)

In vinculis etiam audax - In chains yet still bold (free)

In virtute sunt multi ascensus - In excellence there are many degrees. (Cicero)

Indulgentiam quaeso - I ask your indulgence

infra dignitatem - Undignified (beneath (our) dignity)

Inhumanitas omni aetate molesta est. - Inhumanity is harmful in every age. (Cicero)

Iniqua nunquam regna perpetuo manent - Stern masters do not reign long. (Seneca Philosophus)

Iniuria non excusat iniuriam - One wrong does not justify another

Intellectum valde amat - Love the intellect strongly. (St. Augustine)

Intelligenti pauca - Few words suffice for he who understands

Intelligo me intelligere - I understand that I understand. (St. Augustine)

Inter nos - Between us

Inter vivos - Living

Interfice errorem, diligere errantem - Kill the sin, love the sinner. (St. Augustine)

Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes - Let us improve life through science and art. (Vergil)

Ipsa scientia potestas est - Knowledge itself is power. (Bacon)

Ipse dixit - He himself said it. (Cicero)

Ira furor brevis est - Anger is a brief insanity. (Horace)

Isso fede - This stinks

Ita erat quando hic adveni - It was that way when I got here

Iustita omnibus - Justice for all

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L

latin quotes

Labor omnia vincit - Work conquers all things. (Virgil)

Labra lege - Read my lips

Latet anguis in herba - A snake lies in the grass. (Vergil)

Latine loqui coactus sum - I have this compulsion to speak Latin

Laudant illa, sed ista legunt - Some (writing) is praised, but other is read. (Martialis)

Laudatores temporis acti - Praisers of time past

Lectio brevior lectio potior - The shortest reading is the more probable reading

Lege et lacrima - Read it and weep

Leve fit, quod bene fertur, onus - The burden is made light which is borne well. (Ovid)

Lex malla, lex nulla - A bad law is no law. (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Libenter homines id quod volunt credunt - Men gladly believe that which they wish for. (Caesar)

Liberae sunt nostrae cogitationes - Our thoughts are free. (Cicero)

Liberate Te Ex Inferis - Save yourself from hell

Libertas inaestimabilis res est - Liberty is a thing beyond all price. (Corpus Iuris Civilis)

Liberum arbitrium - Free will

Licentia liquendi - Liberty of speaking

Licentia poetica - Poetic licence. (Seneca)

Litoralis - Beach bum

Locus classicus - The most authoritative source

Locus enim est principum generationis rerum - For place is the origin of things. (Roger Bacon)

Lupus in fabula - The wolf in the tale (i.e. speak of the wolf, and he will come) (Terence)

Lux et veritas - Light and Truth

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M

latin sayings

Magister mundi sum! - I am the master of the universe!

Magna cum laude - With high honor

Magnas inter oper inops - A pauper in the midst of wealth. (Horace)

Male parta male dilabuntur - What has been wrongly gained is wrongly lost. (Ill-gotten gains seldom prosper.) (Cicero)

Malum consilium quod mutari non potest - It's a bad plan that can't be changed. (Publilius Syrus)

Mater artium necessitas - Necessity is the mother of invention

Materiam superabat opus - The workmanship was better than the subject matter. (Ovid)

Me fallit - I do not know

Me iudice - (I being judge) in my judgement

Me transmitte sursum, caledoni! - Beam me up, Scotty!

Mea culpa - My fault

Mea culpa - My mistake

Mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo - My conscience means more to me than all speech. (Cicero)

Medice, cura te ipsum! - Physician, heal thyself! (Versio Vulgata)

Medici graviores morbos asperis remediis curant - Doctors cure the more serious diseases with harsh remedies. (Curtius Rufus)

Medicus curat, natura sanat - The physician treats, nature cures

Medio tutissimus ibis - You will go safest in the middle (Moderation in all things.)(Ovid)

Melius est praevenire quam praeveniri - Better to forestall than to be forestalled

Melius frangi quam flecti - It is better to break than to bend

Melius tarde, quam nunquam - Better late than never

Mellita, domi adsum - Honey, I'm home

Mendacem memorem esse oportet - A liar needs a good memory. (Quintilianus)

Mens agitat molem - The mind moves the matter. (Vergil)

Mens regnum bona possidet - An honest heart is a kingdom in itself. (Seneca)

Mens sana in corpore sano - A sound mind in a sound body. (Juvenalis)

Meum pactum dictum - My word is my bond

Mihi cura futuri - My concern is the future

Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi - Excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog

Minime senuisti! - You haven't aged a bit!

Minus habens - Absentminded

Mirabile dictu - Wonderful to say/relate. (Vergil)

Modus Operandi - Way of operating

Mors ultima linea rerum est - Death is everything's final limit. (Horace)

Multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur - Many fear their reputation, few their conscience. (Pliny)

Multis post annis - Many years later

Multum in parvo - Much in little

Multun, non multa - Much, not many (quality not quantity)

Munit haec et altera vincit - One defends and the other conquers

Mus uni non fidit antro - A mouse does not rely on just one hole. (Plautus)

Musica delenit bestiam feram - Music soothes the savage beast

Mutatis mutandis - What was to be changed having been changed

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N

Nam et ipsa scientia potestas es - Knowledge is power. (Sir Francis Bacon)

Natura nihil fit in frustra - Nature does nothing in vain

Ne auderis delere orbem rigidum meum! - Don't you dare erase my hard disk!

Ne feceris ut rideam - Don't make me laugh

Ne quid nimis - Nothing in excess. (Terence)

Nec possum tecum vivere, nec sine te - I am able to live / I can live neither with you, nor without you. (Martial)

Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus interpres - As a true translator you will take care not to translate word for word. (Horace)

Necessitatis non habet legem - Necessity knows no law

Nemo autem regere potest nisi qui et regi - Moreover, there is no one who can rule unless he can be ruled. (Seneca)

Nemo dat quod non habet - No one gives what he does not have

Nemo hic adest illius nominis - There is no one here by that name

Nemo liber est qui corpori servit - No one is free who is a slave to his body

Nemo nisi mors - Nobody except death (will part us). (Inscription in the wedding ring of the Swedish Queen Katarina Jagellonica.)

Nemo risum praebuit, qui ex se coepit - Nobody is laughed at, who laughs at himself. (Seneca)

Nemo surdior est quam is qui non audiet - No man is more deaf than he who will not hear

Nemo timendo ad summum pervenit locum - No man by fearing reaches the top. (Syrus)

Nervos belli, pecuniam. (Nervus rerum.) - The nerve of war, money. (The nerve of things.) (Cicero)

Nescio quid dicas - I don't know what you're talking about

Neutiquam erro - I am not lost

Nihil agere delectat - It is pleasant to do nothing. (Cicero)

Nihil aliud scit necessitas quam vincere - Necesssity knows nothing else but victory. (Syrus)

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione - I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult

Nihil declaro - I have nothing to declare

Nihil est ab omni parte beatum - Nothing is good in every part. (Horace)

Nihil est incertius volgo - Nothing is more uncertain than the (favour of the) crowd. (Cicero)

Nihil est miserum nisi cum putes - Nothing is unfortunate if you don't consider it unfortunate. (Boethius)

Nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecunia possit - No fort is so strong that it cannot be taken with money. (Cicero)

Nihil est--In vita priore ego imperator romanus fui - That's nothing--in a previous life I was a Roman Emperor

Nil admirari - To admire nothing. (Horace)

Nil agit exemplum, litem quod lite resolvit - Not much worth is an example that solves one quarrel with another. (Horace)

Nil desperandum! - Never despair! (Horace)

Nil homini certum est - Nothing is certain for man. (Ovid)

Nil Sine Numine - Nothing without providence

Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis - Unless you will have believed, you will not understand. (St. Augustine)

Noli equi dentes inspicere donati - Do not look a gift horse in the mouth. (St. Jerome)

Noli me tangere! - Don't touch me! (Versio Vulgata)

Noli me vocate. Ego te vocabo - Don't call me. I'll call you

Noli turbare circulos meos! - Don't upset my calculations! (Archimedes)

Nolite id cogere, cape malleum majorem - Don't force it, get a bigger hammer

Nomina stultorum parietibus haerent - The names of foolish persons adhere to walls (Fools names and fools faces are often seen in public places.)

Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat - It's not the heat, it's the humidity

Non compos mentis - Not in possession of one's senses

Non curo. Si metrum non habet, non est poema - I don't care. If it doesn't rhyme, it isn't a poem

Non erravi perniciose! - I did not commit a fatal error!

Non est ad astra mollis e terris via - There is no easy way from the earth to the stars. (Seneca)

Non est ei similis - There is no one like him

Non est vivere sed valere vita est - Life is not being alive but being well (life is more than just being alive)

Non Gradus Anus Rodentum! - Not Worth A Rats Ass!

Non illigitamus carborundum - Don't let the bastards grind you down

Non mihi, non tibi, sed nobis - Not for you, not for me, but for us

Non mortem timemus, sed cogitationem mortis - We do not fear death, but the thought of death. (Seneca)

Non multa, sed multum - Not many, but much. (Meaning, not quantity but quality.) (Plinius)

Non omne quod licet honestum est - Not everything that is permitted is honest. (Corpus Iuris Civilis)

Non omne quod nitet aurum est - Not all that glitters is gold

Non omnes qui habemt citharam sunt citharoedi - Not all those who own a musical instrument are musicians. (Bacon)

Non omnia possumus omnes - Not all of us are able to do all things (We can't all do everything.) (Virgil)

Non omnis moriar - Not all of me will die. (Horace)

Non scholae sed vitae discimus - We do not learn for school, but for life. (Seneca)

Non semper erit aestas - It will not always be summer (be prepared for hard times)

Non sequitur - It does not follow

Non sibi sed patriae! - Not for self, but country (US Navy Motto)

Non sibi sed suis - Not for one's self but for one's people

Non sum qualis eram - I am not what / of what sort I was (I'm not what I used to be.)

Non ut edam vivo, sed vivam edo - I do not live to eat, but eat to live. (Quintilianus)

Non, mihi ignosce, credo me insequentem esse - No, excuse me, I believe I'm next

Nonne de novo eboraco venis? - You're from New York, aren't you?

Nonne macescis? - Have you lost weight?

Nosce te ipsum - Know thyself. (Inscription at the temple of Apollo in Delphi.)

Nulla regula sine exceptione - There is no rule/law without exception

Nulla res carius constat quam quae precibus empta est - Nothing is so expensive as that which you have bought with pleas. (Seneca)

Nulli secundus - Second to none

Nullius in verba - (Rely) on the words on no one (Horace)

Nullo metro compositum est - It doesn't rhyme

Nullum est iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius - Nothing is said that hasn't been said before. (Terence)

Nullum Gratuitum Prandium - There is no free lunch!

Nullum saeculum magnis ingeniis clausum est - No generation is closed to great talents. (Seneca)

Nullus est instar domus - There is no place like home

Nullus est liber tam malus ut non aliqua parte prosit - There is no book so bad that it is not profitable on some part. (Pliny the Younger)

Numquam aliud natura, aliud sapientia dicit - Never does nature say one thing and wisdom say another

Numquam non paratus - Never unprepared

Numquam se minus solum quam cum solus esset - You are never so little alone as when you are alone. (Cicero)

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O

O diem praeclarum! - Oh, what a beautiful day!

O praeclarum custodem ovium lupum! - An excellent protector of sheep, the wolf! (Cicero)

O quam cito transit gloria mundi! - O how quickly passes the glory of the world!

O sancta simplicitas! - Oh, holy simplicity! (Jan Hus)

O tempora, O mores! - O the times, O the customs! (Cicero)

O! Plus! Perge! Aio! Hui! Hem! - Oh! More! Go on! Yes! Ooh! Ummm!

Obesa cantavit - The fat lady has sung

Omne ignotum pro magnifico est - We have great notions of everything unknown. (Tacitus)

Omne initium est difficile - Every beginning is difficult

Omne trium perfectum - Everything that comes in threes is perfect

Omnes aequo animo parent ubi digni imperant - All men cheerfully obey where worthy men rule. (Syrus)

Omnes lagani pistrinae gelate male sapiunt - All frozen pizzas taste lousy

Omnes una manet nox - The same night awaits us all. (Horace)

Omnes vulnerant, ultima necat - All (hours) wound, the last kills. (inscription on solar clocks)

Omnia iam fient quae posse negabam - Everything which I used to say could not happen will happen now. (Ovid)

Omnia mea mecum porto - All that is mine, I carry with me. (Cicero)

Omnia mors aequat - Death equals all things

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit - Everything changes, nothing perishes. (Ovid)

Omnia mutantur nos et mutamur in illis - All things change, and we change with them

Omnia vincit amor; et nos cedamus amori - Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to love. (Vergil)

Omnium rerum principia parva sunt - Everything has a small beginning. (Cicero)

Optimus magister, bonus liber - The best teacher is a good book

Ora et labora - Pray and labor. (St. Benedict)

Osculare pultem meam! - Kiss my grits!

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P

Pace - Be at peace

Pacta sunt servanda - Agreements are to be kept. (Cicero)

Pactum serva - Keep the faith

Palmam qui meruit ferat - Let him who has earned it bear the reward

Pars maior lacrimas ridet et intus habet - You smile at your tears but have them in your heart. (Martialis)

Parva leves capiunt animas - Small things occupy light minds (small things amuse small minds)

Patria est communis omnium parens - Our native land is the common parent of us all. (Cicero)

Pavesco, pavesco - I'm shaking, I'm shaking

Pax et bonum! - Peace and salvation!

Pax tecum - May peace be with you (Singular)

Pax vobiscum - May peace be with you (Plural)

Peccatum tacituritatis - Sin of silence

Pecunia in arbotis non crescit - Money does not grow on trees

Per angusta in augusta - Through difficulties to great things

Per aspera ad astra - Through the thorns to the stars

Per varios usus artem experientia fecit - Through different exercises practice has brought skill. (Manilius)

Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim - Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you. (Ovid)

Periculum in mora - There is danger in delay. (Livy)

Perpetuo vincit qui utitur clementia - He is forever victor who employs clemency. (Syrus)

Perscriptio in manibus tabellariorum est - The check is in the mail

Pessimus inimicorum genus, laudantes - The worst kind of enemies, those who can praise. (Tacitus)

Philosophum non facit barba! - The beard does not define a philosopher

Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate - Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily

Plusque minusque - More or less

Poeta fit, non nascitur - A poet is made, he is not born

Poeta nascitur, non fit - The poet is born, not made

Poli, poli, di umbuendo - Slowly, Slowly we will get there

Pone ubi sol non lucet! - Put it where the sun don't shine!

Possunt quia posse videntur - They can because they think they can

Post tenebras lux - After the darkness, light

Potes currere sed te occulere non potes - You can run, but you can't hide

Potest ex casa magnus vir exire - A great man can come from a hut. (Seneca)

Potius Mori Quam Foedar - Death Before Dishonor (Massachusetts Maritime Academy Honor Guard Motto)

Potius sero quam numquam - It's better late than never. (Livy)

Praemonitus pramunitus - Forewarned, forearmed

Praetio prudentia praestat - Prudence supplies a reward

Prehende uxorem meam, sis! - Take my wife, please!

Pret toujours pret - Ready, Always Ready (304TH Signal Battalion Motto)

Primum non nocere - The first thing is to do no harm (Hippocratic oath)

Primum viveri deinde philosophari - Live before you philosophize, or Leap before you look

Primus inter pares - First among his equals

Pro bono publico - For the public good

Pro di immortales! - Good Heavens!

Pro opportunitate - As circumstances allow

Probae esti in segetem sunt deteriorem datae fruges, tamen ipsae suaptae enitent - A good seed, planted even in poor soil, will bear rich fruit by its own nature. (Accius)

Promoveatur ut amoveatur - Let him be promoted to get him out of the way

Propino fibi salutem! - Cheers!

Proximus sum egomet mihi - I am closest to myself. (Charity begins at home.) (Terence)

Pueri pueri, pueri puerilia tractant - Children are children, (therefore) children do childish things

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum - Garbage in, garbage out

Puris omnia pura - To the pure all things are pure

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Q

Quad nesciunt eos non interficiet - What they don't know won't kill them

Qualis pater talis filius - As is the father, so is the son; like father, like son

Quam bene vivas refert, non quam diu - The important thing isn't how long you live, but how well you live. (Seneca)

Quam se ipse amans-sine rivale! - Himself loving himself so much-without a rival! (Cicero)

Quam terribilis est haec hora - How fearful is this hour

Quemadmodum possums scire utrum vere simus an solum sentiamus nos esse? - How are we to know whether we actually exist or only think we exist?

Qui bene cantat, bis orat - He who sings well, prays twice

Qui dedit benificium taceat; narret qui accepit - Let him who has done a good deed be silent; let him who has received it tell it. (Seneca)

Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum - Let him who wishes for peace prepare for war. (Vegetius)

Qui docet discit - He who teaches learns

Qui dormit, non peccat - One who sleeps doesn't sin

Qui habet aures audiendi audiat - He who has ears, let him understand how to listen

Qui ignorabat, ignorabitur - One who is ignorant will remain unnoticed

Qui nimium probat, nihil probat - One who proves too much, proves nothing

Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit - He who is not prepared today will be less so tomorrow. (Ovid)

Qui omnes insidias timet in nullas incidit - He who fears every ambush falls into none. (Pubilius Syrus)

Qui scribit bis legit - He who writes reads twice

Qui tacet consentire videtur - He that is silent is thought to consent

Qui tacet, consentit - Silence gives consent

Qui vir odiosus! - What a bore!

Qui vivat atque floreat ad plurimos annos - May he live and flourish for many years

Qui vult dare parva non debet magna rogare - He who wishes to give little shouldn't ask for much

Quia natura mutari non potest idcirco verae amicitiae sempiternae sunt - Since nature cannot change, true friendships are eternal. (Horace)

Quid agis, medice? - What's up, Doc?

Quid Novi - What's New?

Quid nunc - What now?! (a nosy busybody)

Quid pro quo - Something for something (tit for tat)

Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur - Anything said in Latin sounds profound

Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur - Why do you laugh? Just change the name and the tale is told of you. (Horace)

Quidvis Recte Factum Quamvis Humile Praeclarum - Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble

Quieta non movere - Not to move (things lying) quiet

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who shall keep watch over the guardians? (Luvenalis)

Quis separabit? - Who shall separate us?

Quis, quid, ubi, quibus auxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando? - Who, what, where, with what, why, how, when?

Quo ad hoc - As much as this (to this extent)

Quo animo? - With what spirit? (or intent?)

Quo fas et gloria docunt - Where right and glory lead

Quo signo nata es? - What's your sign?

Quo vadis? - Where are you going? / Whither goest thou?

Quod bonum, felix faustumque sit! - May it be good, fortunate and prosperous! (Cicero)

Quod erat demonstrandum (QED) - Which was to be shown or demonstrated

Quod erat faciendum - Which was to be done

Quod incepimus conficiemus - What we have begun we shall finish

Quomodo cogis comas tuas sic videri? - How do you get your hair to do that?

Quomodo vales - How are you?

Quos amor verus tenuit, tenebit - True love will hold on to those whom it has held. (Seneca)

Quot homines, tot sententiae - As many men, so many opinions. / There are as many opinions as there are men/people

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R

Radicitus, comes! - Really rad, dude!

Radix lecti - Couch potato

Raptus regaliter - Royally screwed

Rara avis - A rare bird

Ratio et consilium propriae ducis artes - Reason and deliberation are the proper skills of a general

Re vera, cara mea, mea nil refert - Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn

Redde Caesari quae sunt Caesaris - Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's

Regnat non regitur qui nihil nisi quod vult facit - He is a king and not a subject who does only what he wishes. (Syrus)

Relata refero - I tell what I have been told. (Herodotos)

Rem tene, verba sequentur - Keep to the subject and the words will follow. (Cato Senior)

Repetitio est mater memoriae/ studiorum/ - Repetition is the mother of memory/studies

Requiescat in pace - Let him/her rest in peace. (May he/she rest in peace)

Rerum concordia discors - The concord of things through discord. (Horace)

Res firma mitescere nescit - A firm resolve does not know how to weaken

Res severa est verum gaudium - True joy is a serious thing. (Seneca)

Respice post te, mortalem te esse memento - Look around you, remember that you are mortal. (Tertullianus)

Respice, adspice, prospice - Examine the past, examine the present, examine the future (look to the past, the present, the future)

Revelare pecunia! - Show me the money!

Rex regnant sed non gubernat - The king reigns but does not govern

Rident stolidi verba Latina - Fools laugh at the Latin language. (Ovid)

Ridentem dicere verum quid vetat? - What prevents me from speaking the truth with a smile? (Horace)

Risu inepto res ineptior nulla est - There is nothing more foolish than a foolish laugh. (Catullus)

Romani ite domus - Yankee go home! (Monty Phyton's The Life of Brian)

Romani quidem artem amatoriam invenerunt - You know, the Romans invented the art of love

Rumores volant. / Rumor volat - Rumors fly. / Rumor flies

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S

Semper fi, Semper fidelis

Saepe creat molles aspera spina rosas - Often the prickly thorn produces tender roses. (Ovid)

Saepe ne utile quidem est scire quid futurum sit - Often it is not even advantageous to know what will be. (Cicero)

Saepe stilum vertas - May you often turn the stylus (You should make frequent corrections.)

Sane ego te vocavi. Forsitan capedictum tuum desit - I did call. Maybe your answering machine is broken

Sapere aude! - Dare to be wise! (Horace)

Sapiens nihil affirmat quod non probat - A wise man states as true nothing he does not prove (don't swear to anything you don't know firsthand)

Sat sapienti - Enough for a wise man. (Plautus)

Satius est impunitum relinqui facinus nocentis, quam innocentem damnari - It is better that a crime is left unpunished than that an innocent man is punished. (Corpus Iuris Civilis)

Scio cur summae inter se dissentiant! Numeris Romanis utor! - I know why the numbers don't agree! I use Roman numerals!

Scito te ipsum - Know yourself

Scribere est agere - To write is to act

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who watches the watchmen? (Juvenal)

Sedit qui timuit ne non succederet - He who feared he would not succeed sat still. (For fear of failure, he did nothing.) (Horace)

Semper fidelis - Always faithful (US Marines Motto)

Semper Gumby - Always flexible (United States Air Forces, Europe, Contracting squadron motto)

Semper idem - Always the same thing. (Cicero)

Semper Letteris Mandate - Always get it in writing!

Semper paratus - Always ready (US Coast Guard Motto)

Semper Primus - Always first (US Army Pathfinder motto)

Semper ubi sub ubi ubique - Always wear underwear everywhere

Sequens mirabitur aetas - The following age will be amazed

Serva me, servabo te - Save me and I will save you. (Petronius Arbiter)

Si fallatis officium, quaestor infitias eat se quicquam scire de factis vestris - If you fail, the secretary will disavow all knowledge of your activities

Si fecisti nega! - If you did it, deny it (stonewall!)

Si finis bonus est, totum bonum erit - If the end is good, everything will be good (all's well that ends well)

Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere - If it ain't broke, don't fix it

Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes - Essentially it says, 'if you can read this, you're overeducated.'

Si post fata venit gloria non propero - If glory comes after death, I'm not in a hurry (if one must die to be recognised, I can wait)

Si tacuisses, philosophus manisses - If you had kept quiet, you would have remained a philosopher. (Boethius)

Si vis amari, ama - If you wish to be loved, love. (Seneca)

Sic ad nauseam - And so on to the point of causing nausea

Sic faciunt omnes - Everyone is doing it

Sic itur ad astra - Such is the path to the stars (i.e. gain reputation) (Vergil)

Sic volo, sic iubeo - I want this, I order this. (Juvenalis)

Silent enim leges inter arma - Laws are silent in times of war. (Cicero)

Sine die - Without a day (being set)

Sine ira et studio - Without anger or bias. (Tacitus)

Sine nobilitatis - Without nobility (SNOB)

Sit vis nobiscum - May the Force be with you

Sobria inebrietas - Sober intoxication

Sol omnibus lucet - The sun shines upon us all. (Petronius)

Solitudinem fecerunt, pacem appelunt - They made a desert and called it peace. (Tacitus)

Sona si latine loqueris - Honk if you speak Latin

Spectaculorum procedere debet - The show must go on

Spemque metumque inter dubiis - Hover between hope and fear. (Vergil)

Spero nos familiares mansuros - I hope we'll still be friends

Splendor sine occasu - Splendour without end

Stultum est timere quod vitare non potes - It is foolish to fear that which you cannot avoid. (Publilius Syrus)

Sub secreto - In secret

Sub silentio - In silence

Sub sole nihil novi est - There's nothing new under the sun

Subucula tua apparet - Your slip is showing

Suggestio veri, suggestio falsi - An intimation of truth, an intimation of falcity

Sui generis - Of one's own kind

Summa cum laude - With highest honor

Summam scrutemur - Let's look at the bottom line

Summum ius, summa iniuria - The extreme law is the greatest injustice. (Cicero)

Sumptus censum ne superet - Let not your spending exceed your income (live within your means)

Suo jure - In one's rightful place

Suos cuique mos - Everyone has his customs. (Gellius)

Sursum corda - (lift) up (your) hearts

Suum cuique pulchrum est - To each his own is beautiful. (Cicero)

Top

T

Tam diu minime visu! - Long time, no see!

Tamdiu discendum est, quamdiu vivas - We should learn as long as we may live. (We live and learn.) (Seneca Philosophus)

Te capiam, cunicule sceleste! - I'll get you, you wascally wabbit!

Te precor dulcissime supplex! - Pretty please with a cherry on top!

Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis - The times change, and we change with them. (John Owen)

Tempus edax rerum - Time is the devourer of things (time flies)

Tempus neminem manet - Time waits for no one

Tetigisti acu - You have hit the nail on the head. (Plautus)

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas - Thank you for not smoking

Timendi causa est nescire - Ignorance is the cause of fear. (Seneca)

Timor mortis conturbat me - The fear of death confounds me

Tintinnuntius meus sonat! - There goes my beeper!

Tolerabiles ineptiae - Bearable absurdities

Totum dependeat - Let it all hang out

Trahimur omnes laudis studio - We are all led on by our eagerness for praise. (Cicero)

Transit umbra, lux permanet - Shadow passes, light remains (On a sun dial)

Tu, rattus turpis! - You dirty rat!

Tuis pugis pignore! - You bet your bippy!

Top

U

Ubi amor, ibi oculus - Where love is, there is insight

Ubi dubium ibi libertas - Where there is doubt, there is freedom

Ubi fumus, ibi ignis - Where there's smoke, there's fire

Ubi spiritus est cantus est - Where there is spirit there is song

Ubicumque homo est, ibi benefici locus est - Wherever there is a man, there is a place of/for kindness/service

Ultima ratio regum - The final argument of kings. (Inscription on French canons in the times of Louis XIV.)

Ultra posse nemo obligatur - No one is obligated beyond what he is able to do

Un idea perplexi na - The idea is strange to us

Una voce - With one voice, unanimously

Unitam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant - May faulty logic undermine your entire philosophy

Unitas mirabile vinculum - The wonderful bond of unity

Uno Ab Alto - One over all (US Air Force Motto)

Unum necessarium - The one necessary

Unus multorum - One of many. (Horace)

Urbanus et instructus - A gentleman and a scholar

Ut desint vires, tamen est laudanda voluntas - Although the power is lacking, the will is commendable. (Ovid)

Ut humiliter opinor - In my humble opinion

Ut incepit fidelis sic permanet - As loyal as she began, so she remains

Ut sementem feceris, ita metes - As you sow, so shall you reap. (Cicero)

Uti, non abuti - To use, not abuse

Utile et dulce - Useful and pleasant

Top

V

Vacca foeda - Stupid cow

Vade in pace - Go in peace (Roman way of saying goodbye)

Vae victis! - Woe to the conquered! (vanquished) (Livy)

Vagans - Cruising

Vale, lacerte! - See you later, alligator!

Variatio delectat - There's nothing like change! (Cicero)

Velle est posse - To be willing is to be able

Veni vidi vici - I came, I saw, I conquered. (Julius Caesar)

Veni, Vidi, volo in domum redire - I came, I saw, I want to go home

Venienti occurrite morbo - Meet the misfortune as it comes. (Persius)

Ventis secundis, tene cursum - Go with the flow

Ventis secundis, tene/tenete cursum - The winds being favorable, hold the course

Verba de futuro - Words about the future

Verba volant, (littera) scripta manet - Words fly away, the written (letter) remains

Verbum sapienti sat est - A word to the wise is sufficient

Veritas vincit - Truth conquers

Veritas vos liberabit - The truth shall make you free

Verveces tui similes pro ientaculo mihi appositi sunt - I have jerks like you for breakfast

Vescere bracis meis - Eat my shorts

Vestigia terrent - The footprints frighten me. (Horace)

Vestis virum reddit - The clothes make the man. (Quintilianus)

Veto - I forbid

Via media - A middle way or course

Vice versa - In reverse

Victis honor - Honour to the vanquished

Victoria, non praeda - Victory, not loot

Victurus te saluto - He who is about to win salutes you

Vide et credere - See and believe

Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor - I see the better way and approve it, but I follow the worse way

Vidistine nuper imagines moventes bonas? - Seen any good movies lately?

Vigilando, agendo, bene consulendo, prospera omnia cedunt - By watching, by doing, by counsulting well, these things yield all things prosperous. (Sallust)

Vincit omnia amor - Love conquers all

Vincit omnia veritas - Truth conquers all

Vincit qui se vincit - He conquers who conquers himself

Vinculum unitatis - The bond of unity

Vinum bellum iucunumque est, sed animo corporeque caret - It's a nice little wine, but it lacks character and depth

Vinum et musica laetificant cor - Wine and music gladden the heart

Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit - A wise man does not urinate against the wind

Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur - That man is wise who talks little (know when to hold your tongue)

Vires acquirit eundo - It gains strength by going / as it goes. (Virgil)

Virtus in medio stat - Virtue stands in the middle

Virtute et armis - By courage and by arms

Virus - Poison or slime

Vis comica - Sense of humour

Vis medicatrix naturae - The healing power of nature

Visa - Things seen

Vita brevis, ars lunga - Life is short, art is long

Vita luna! - Crazy life!

Vita non est vivere sed valere vita est - Life is more than merely staying alive

Vita sine libris mors est - Life without books is death

Vitam impendere vero - To risk one's life for the truth

Vitanda est improba siren desidia - One must steer clear of the wicked temptress, Laziness. (Horace)

Vitiis nemo sine nascitur - No-one is born without faults. (Horace)

Vivos voco, mortuos plango - I call the living, I mourn the dead (on a church bell)

Volo, non valeo - I am willing but unable

Vos vestros servate, meos mihi linquite mores - You cling to your own ways and leave mine to me. (Petrarch)

Vultus est index animi - The face is the index of the soul/mind

Mice Infected With Bubonic Plague Missing

Thu Sep 15, 1:04 PM ET

NEWARK, N.J. - Three mice infected with the bacteria responsible for bubonic plague apparently disappeared from a laboratory about two weeks ago, and authorities launched a search though health experts said there was scant public risk.

The mice were unaccounted-for at the Public Health Research Institute, which is on the campus of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and conducts bioterrorism research for the federal government.

Federal official said the mice may never be accounted for. Among other things, the rodents may have been stolen, eaten by other lab animals or just misplaced in a paperwork error.

If the mice got outside the lab, they would have already died from the disease, state Health Commissioner Fred Jacobs said.

The possibility of theft prompted the institute to interrogate two dozen of its employees and conduct lie detector tests, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Thursday.

The FBI said it was investigating. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also investigating, the newspaper reported.

University officials did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday morning.

The mice were injected as part of an inoculation and vaccination experiment, investigators said.

Health officials say 10 to 20 people in the United States contract plague each year, usually through infected fleas or rodents. It can be treated with antibiotics, but about one in seven U.S. cases is fatal. Bubonic plague is not contagious, but left untreated it can transform into pneumonic plague, which can be spread from person to person.

The incident came as federal authorities investigate possible corruption in the school's finances. The FBI is reviewing political donations and millions of dollars in no-bid contracts awarded to politically connected firms.

by CHRIS TABRAHAM

HUMANS have lived in Scotland for 11,000 years. For the first 8,000 years, they seemed able to live mostly in peace. Then the climate cooled, and men were forced to fight over the fast-diminishing good ground for their survival. They littered the Highland glens and Lowland valleys with huge hillforts. In the far north and west, they built towering stone structures we call brochs.

Then came the Roman legionaries around AD78. They built forts and marching camps - and the Antonine Wall, between the Forth and the Clyde, Imperial Rome’s most northerly frontier. No sooner had they gone than new invaders appeared - Gaels from Ireland, Angles from England, Vikings from Norway. Strong defences remained a priority, and places with dun fort (Dunkeld, "fort of the Caledonians") are reminders of those Dark Ages.

But none of these peoples built castles.

The castle emerged around 1000 with the rise of the Normans on the continent of Europe. Their owners ruled by giving vassals land in return for military service – feudalism. The castle was the fortified residence of a feudal baron.

Norman mercenaries fought for King Macbeth at Dunsinnan in 1054, but they didn’t settle. In 1072, William the Conqueror invaded Scotland but had to return south to quell revolts in his new conquest, England. It wasn't until early in the following century that the Normans returned, this time by invitation, and brought with them the castle.

Feudal Scotland (12th century)

In 1093, King Malcolm III was killed fighting the Normans in England. He was the last great Celtic king of Scotland. His youngest son, David I, became brother-in-law of Henry I, the conqueror’s son, and over the course of the 12th century, he and his successors transformed Scotland into a feudal kingdom.

Many Norman knights settled in Scotland and brought with them motte-and-bailey castles – timber structures built on a mound of earth and surrounded by formidable ditches, sometimes water-filled moats. The motte itself was a high mound on which the lord of the castle had his residence; it was also the place of last resort in time of siege. Beside the mound was the bailey, or service court, housing ancillary buildings such as the great hall, chapel, kitchens and stables. There are over 300 of these known in Scotland.

Not all castles were built on new sites. Some important royal castles, including Edinburgh, were built on formidable rock outcrops inhabited since the Bronze Age 2000 years earlier.

Fast Fact:

In 1098, Alexander I, the elder brother of David I, ceded the Northern and Western Isles and vast swathes of the north and west mainland to Norway. The Norsemen also built castles in Scotland.

12th-century castles worth a visit

• Castle Sween, Argyll (Historic Scotland) - Sven the Red's castle, built circa 1200, is Scotland’s oldest standing castle.

• Cubbie Roo's Castle, Orkney (HS) - Scotland's oldest dateable stone castle, built circa 1145 by Kolbein Hruga ("Cubbie Roo"), a Norseman.

• Duffus Castle, Moray (HS) - the best preserved motte-and-bailey castle in northern Scotland, built by the founder of the House of Moray.

• Edinburgh Castle (HS) - 1000 years of Scottish military history are encapsulated in this spectacular location at the heart of Scotland’s capital.

• Mote of Urr, Galloway (Privately owned) - the best preserved motte-and-bailey castle in all Scotland, built by Walter de Berkeley, David I's chamberlain, circa 1150.

• Roxburgh Castle, Scottish Borders (P) - this mighty castle, built to protect Scotland’s second most important town after Berwick, was probably the most fought over by Scots and English.

• Stirling Castle (HS) - simply awesome, and overlooking Scotland’s most famous battlegrounds, Stirling Bridge (1297) and Bannockburn (1314).

Scotland's Golden Age (13th century)

In the 13th century, Scotland and England generally lived in peace with each other, leaving the Scots free to reclaim the lands in the west lost to Norway. The nation prospered under the long reigns of Alexander II and Alexander III, and the landed aristocracy marked that prosperity by replacing the old timber castles with new and expensive stone versions.

Mighty nobles like Walter de Moray, Lord of Bothwell, had huge households numbering 200 or more that needed large castles to accommodate them. They built impressive curtain-walled castles, so-called because their encircling walls were drawn around the castle complex like curtains. Lofty towers, housing the principal apartments, projected out from, and rose high above, the curtain wall.

Fast Fact:

Not every mighty baron felt compelled to build a great stone castle. King Robert I (Robert the Bruce) spent his last four years beside the River Clyde, not at the awesome fortress on Dumbarton Rock but in a modest timber-built manor house on the opposite bank of the River Leven.

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Caerlaverock: besieged in 1300

John Balliol

The king nicknamed "toom tabard" (empty jacket) for being a puppet of Edward I of England.

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Robert I

While William Wallace kept the hopes of Scotland's independence alive, Robert the Bruce won the final victory.

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The Douglases

The Black Douglas was a key ally of Robert the Bruce

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13th-century castles worth a visit

• Balvenie Castle, Moray (HS) - awesome Highland stronghold, associated with three powerful dynasties: Comyns, Black Douglases and Stewarts.

• Bothwell Castle, Lanarkshire (HS) - the greatest castle the Middle Ages has bequeathed to Scotland, despite countless bloody sieges.

• Caerlaverock Castle, Dumfries and Galloway (HS) - formidable Maxwell stronghold famously besieged by Edward I of England in 1300.

• Dirleton Castle, East Lothian (HS) - a wonderful castle, inspired by mighty Coucy-le-Chateau in northern France.

• Drum Castle, Aberdeenshire (National Trust for Scotland) - one of Scotland’s oldest surviving square keeps.

• Dunstaffnage Castle, Argyll (HS) - this MacDougall stronghold is typical of the castles built by the sons of mighty Somerled, so-called King of the Isles.

• Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire (HS) - this imposing castle sheltered Robert Bruce’s queen and daughter, before enduring a great siege in 1306 in which his brother was captured.

• Rothesay Castle, Isle of Bute (HS) - Scotland’s only circular castle, built by the Stewarts but fought over by Scots and Norsemen alike.

The Wars of Independence (14th century)

The invasion by Edward I of England into Scotland in 1296 heralded a century of warfare and bloodshed. Castles passed between the warring parties like a bone between two dogs. Many structures, including Bothwell Castle, were severely damaged and had to be almost entirely rebuilt. Others (such as Lanark Castle) were intentionally destroyed on orders of Robert the Bruce so that they could no longer be occupied by the enemy.

The conflict also saw the political map of Scotland comprehensively redrawn. Established dynasties (the Balliols and the Comyns, for example) were ousted by families loyal to Bruce (including the Campbells and the Douglases). These new lords rejected the great curtain-walled castles, with the sole exception of the Earl of Douglas at Tantallon. Instead, they introduced the tower-house castle, centred on a lofty stone tower. These had massively thick walls, could be the equivalent in height of a 10-storey block of flats and were usually rectangular on plan.

Fast Fact:

Many tower-house castles survive today as tower houses only (Threave Castle for one). Don’t be fooled into thinking that the tower was all there was. Many other buildings – the great hall and kitchens - were of wood and have long disappeared. Only at a very few (such as Doune Castle) can the full extent of these tower-house castles be appreciated.

14th-century castles worth a visit

• Cawdor Castle, Nairn (HS) - simply one of the most magnificent strongholds in all Scotland, dripping with history.

• Doune Castle, Stirling (HS) - built by the Duke of Albany, known as Scotland's "uncrowned king" because he effectively ruled the country from 1386 to 1420, and looking every inch a magnificent royal palace.

Hermitage Castle was a fortress of the Black Douglases

• Hermitage Castle, Scottish Borders (HS) - a bleak Border fortress of the Black Douglases located in Liddesdale, "the bloodiest valley in Britain".

• Lochleven Castle, Perth and Kinross (HS) - island fastness which was Mary Queen of Scots’ prison in 1566-67, and from whence she escaped.

• Neidpath Castle, Scottish Borders (P) - an eye-catching lofty L-plan tower house gracing the banks of the River Tweed.

• Spynie Palace, Moray (HS) - the best-preserved medieval bishop’s palace in Scotland has the country’s largest tower house looming over all.

• Tantallon Castle, East Lothian (HS) - last of the great curtain-walled castles built in Scotland and absolutely awesome in its cliff-top setting.

• Threave Castle, Dumfries and Galloway (HS) - forbidding fastness of Archibald "the Grim", where the final act in the fall of the mighty Black Douglases took place in 1455.

Castles and Cannons (15th century)

Throughout the 15th century more and more landowners (lairds) were able to afford to build a stone castle. The overthrow of the over-mighty Black Douglases in 1455, for example, resulted in many lesser lairds rising up the property-owning ladder. Generally, they built tower houses, not as big as the earlier ones, and with thinner walls. A few of these structures sprouted wings, called jambs, to house the main stair mostly (Kilchurn Castle is a good example).

During the century, guns began to rival more traditional weapons like the trebuchet - generally used to break down walls - and crossbow. Mons Meg, Europe's best-preserved medieval siege gun - still proudly on display in Edinburgh Castle - arrived in Scotland in 1457. Castle builders had increasingly to take their greater destructive power more fully into account - generally by inserting gunholes in walls.

Fast Fact:

There are probably quite a few more 14th- and 15th-century tower houses in existence than we realise, but they lie hidden behind the grand extensions built by later owners. Blair Castle and Glamis (pronounced Glams) Castle are two examples.

15th-century castles worth a visit

• Alloa Tower, Clackmannanshire (P) - ancient residence of the Erskine earls of Mar, with two stone vaults and walls three metres thick.

• Borthwick Castle, Midlothian (P) - perhaps Scotland’s most impressive tower house, with a superb great hall and many masons’ marks.

• Castle Campbell, Clackmannanshire (HS) - this Lowland seat of the Campbells of Argyll is dramatically sited between the burns of Care and Sorrow.

Craigmillar Castle in Edinburgh

• Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh (HS) - a fascinating complex of nooks and crannies, where Lord Darnley’s murderers plotted his end.

• Crichton Castle, Midlothian (HS) - worth a visit just for the north range’s diamond-faceted Italianate facade, but there’s so much more besides.

• Dean Castle, Ayrshire (Local Authority) - well restored tower-house castle, now holding a remarkable collection of armour and musical instruments.

• Huntly Castle, Aberdeenshire (HS) - hugely impressive castle of the Gordons, with a grim pit-prison beneath graceful lordly apartments.

• Kilchurn Castle, Argyll (HS) - this Campbell stronghold is one of Scotland’s most photographed castles thanks to its dramatic setting.

• Orchardton Tower, Dumfries and Galloway (HS) - Scotland’s only circular tower house, and so very prettily set.

• Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders (HS) - a prominent Border landmark, where Walter Scott spent his childhood and fired his imagination.

Garrisons and Private Homes (16th & 17th century)

This was the time of the Protestant Reformation (1560), when many former tenants of the Church became landowners in their own right. They took the dour Scottish tower house to new heights of planning and design. They built not only L-shaped ones, but E, T and Z-shaped structures too. They considerably improved the interiors and exercised remarkable ingenuity in their external appearance.

This was also the period in which the gun achieved outright superiority as the weapon of war. Castles were simply unable to respond, and a new form of defence – the artillery fort (Eyemouth Castle) – was conceived to garrison troops and defend the realm. By the end of the 16th century, the medieval castle had become little more than a private home.

Fast Fact:

Tower houses of the later 16th century were fundamentally different from their predecessors. Most were built by small-time lairds with few feudal obligations, small estates and even smaller households. No need for them to build large castles; a simple tower housing most of their requirements - kitchen, public room, private apartment - sufficed.

16th and 17th-century castles worth a visit

• Brodie Castle, Moray (NTS) - a fine Z-plan tower house lurks behind the alterations and extensions of later times.

• Carnasserie Castle, Argyll (HS) - an excellent example of an integrated great hall and tower, and so beautifully executed.

• Castle Fraser, Aberdeenshire (NTS) - the finest 17th-century castle in Scotland’s castle country, with a wonderfully bold round tower.

• Castle Menzies, Perth and Kinross (P) - an arresting sight by the Tay, this fine Z-plan castle, with a later addition, is now Clan Menzies’ home.

• Craigievar Castle, Aberdeenshire (NTS) - one of Scotland’s finest tower houses, with an amazing wallhead and sumptuous great hall within.

• Craignethan Castle, South Lanarkshire (HS) - the last great private fastness built in Scotland (circa 1540), with elaborate and unusual artillery defences.

• Crathes Castle, Aberdeenshire (NTS) - a wonderful survival, with fine interiors - including fascinating ceilings - to match a beguiling exterior.

• Earl's Palace, Kirkwall , Orkney (HS) - a stunning work of architecture, built by the tyrant Earl Patrick Stewart, executed with his son in 1615.

• Edzell Castle, Angus (HS) - the highlight of the “Lichtsome Lindsays” castle is its wonderful walled garden and summer house, built in 1604.

• Eyemouth Fort, Berwickshire (LA) - the first artillery fort built in Britain (1547), and forerunner of the magnificent Elizabethan walls of Berwick.

• Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire (NTS) - the highlight of this splendid castle is the monumental entrance facade, built by King James VI’s chancellor.

• Kellie Castle , Fife (NTS) - painted and ornamental plaster ceilings grace the interior of this fine E-plan tower house.

• MacLellan's Castle, Dumfries and Galloway (HS) - a huge town house for a humble provost of Kirkcudbright, with more than 15 private rooms.

• Noltland Castle, Orkney (HS) - described as looking like “some antique man o’ war” because it bristles with gunholes, 70 in all.

• Tolquhon Castle, Aberdeenshire (HS) - William Forbes’s 1580s residence is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s prettiest castles.

Romantic Castles (18th - 21st centuries)

Scots have never ceased their love affair with the castle. Despite the passing of the medieval age, these ancient seats of lordship have remained objects of compelling interest in the dramatic Scottish landscape. This "romantic" perception even led to quite a few being restored, and an architectural style was evolved - Scots Baronial - whose debt to the masons of medieval times is self-evident.

Today, Scotland's castles – whether ruined or restored – are hugely popular, and rightly so. To visit a Scottish castle is to come face-to-face with the country’s turbulent past.

Fast Fact:

Quite a few of our medieval castles are hidden behind castellated (or turreted) architecture of a post-medieval age (think Dunvegan Castle), and some of our best-loved medieval castles aren't really castles at all but great country seats (Culzean, for example). One or two have been so comprehensively restored (Eilean Donan) that hardly anything ancient survives at all.

Romantic castles worth a visit

• Blair Castle, Perth and Kinross (P) - the last castle in Britain to be besieged (1746) is a splendid example of the Scots Baronial style.

Robert Adam's Culzean Castle

• Brodick Castle, Isle of Arran (NTS) - a medieval seat of the Hamiltons, wonderfully refashioned in Victorian times.

• Culzean Castle, Ayrshire (NTS) - a handsome country seat created by Robert Adam (house) and Alexander Nasmyth (landscape) 200 years ago.

• Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye (P) - this Macleod seat, the oldest inhabited castle in Scotland, is largely a creation of the Victorian age.

• Eilean Donan Castle, Highland (P) - the most photographed castle in Scotland is largely a restoration of the early 20th century.

• Glamis Castle, Angus (P) - the fictional home of Macbeth, but the real home of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother - a joy to behold.

There are countless numbers of ruins, fortifications, towers and walled structures that comprise the broad definition of a castle. They are all different in size, scope and style – but they all share one common element. The castles are about people who lived there, who sometimes fought, and often died, there. They are the very buidlings that housed the living, breathing and dying of Scots people.

In many ways, Scottish castles are a living musuem – an archive – of this country's history and heritage and should be explored from top to bottom and coast to coast.

Chris Tabraham is Principal Inspector of Ancient Monuments with Historic Scotland, the government agency responsible for the built heritage in Scotland. An archaeologist by profession, during his 35-year career he has excavated widely throughout Scotland - mostly on castle sites - and published extensively. His most recent works include The Illustrated History of Scotland (Lomond Books, 2003), Scotland's Kings & Queens (Colin Baxter, 2004), Edinburgh Castle:Prisons of War (Historic Scotland, 2004) and Scotland's Castles (Batsford Books, 2nd edition 2005).

a wee meenit: a short time

aback: behind; at rear of

able: astute; clever

ableize: ablaze

ablow: below; under

abstraklous: bad tempered; obstreperous

abune: above; over

acquant: acquaint

adae: difficulty: fuss; ceremony

aefauldlie: best wishes

aff-luif: extempore

aff-pit: excuse

affrontit: ashamed

affstaunin: aloof

aft/aften: often

agate: abroad; on the road

agee ( ajee ): askew ; ajar

agin: against

agley: awry

agrun: aground

aheid: ahead

ahin/ahint: behind

ahin-haun: late

Aiberdeen: Aberdeen

aiblins: perhaps

aik: oak

ain: own; private; privilege

aince: once

aipple: apple

airm: arm

aistlin: easterly

aither: either

aits: oats

aix: axe

alane: alone

amna: am not

Andermas: St Andrew's Day, 30th November

anerlie: only; solely

anither: another

Anster: Anstruther

antrin: chance ; rare ; occasional

apairt: apart

Aprile: April

argie-bargie: dispute

arles: payment, of arle-penny, on engagement of service; foretaste

arra: arrow

ashet: large meat plate

aside: beside

aspar: astride

asteir: abroad; astir; in a commotion; up and about

athort: across

athout: without

atween: between

atweill: assuredly; indeed

auld: old

Auld Cloutie: the devil

auld-faither: grandfather

auld-mither: grandmother

aumrie: cabinet; chest; cupboard; pantry

ava: at all

awa: away

awa wi it: done for

ay: yes

aye: always

ayebydan: everlasting

ayont: beyond

B

babby: baby

back-haun: overdue

back-yett: private gate

backdoor-trot: diarrhoea

backjaw: impudence

backlins: backwards

backspeir: question; interrogate; cross examine

baffies: slippers

bahookie: posterior; bottom

bailie / beylie: magistrate, equivalent of English alderman; farm steward

baird: beard

bairn: make pregnant; child

bairnskip: childhood

bairn's bairn: grandchild

baists: animals (Brock: badger; Cauf: calf; Maukin: hare; Mowie / modiewort: mole; Pownie: pony; Rattan: rat; Tod : fox)

baith: both

ballant/ballat: ballad; song

baloo: sing a lullaby; lullaby

bane: bone

banefire: bonefire

bap: roll, small loaf

bard: minstrel, poet

barelies: hardly; scarcely

bate: beat

bauchle: to shuffle; worn-out shoe; old, feeble person

baudrons: cat

baurley: barley

baurley: breathing space; respite; truce

baurley-bree: whisky

bawbees: money

bawd: hare

bawsent: brindled; white-streaked, of animal's face

baxter: baker

bedfast: bedridden

beglaumer: bewitch; enchant

begoud: begin; start

begrutten: stained with tears

begunk: betray; deceive; betrayal; deceit

behauden: indebted; obliged

beil: fester; festering sore

beild: shelter

beld: bald

bellythrawe: stomach-ache

belyve: presently; soon; by and by

ben: mountain

ben: inner part of house; in; inside; into; through; within

benmaist: furthest in; innermost

besides: compared with

besom: broom; brush

Bethankit: grace after meal

better: healed; recovered from illness

bicker: beaker; drinking bowl; tankard

bienness: affluence; prosperity

big: build

big-coat: greatcoat

billie: brother; companion; fellow

bing: heap

binna: except, unless

birk: birch

birkie: alert; animated; smart youth

birl: rotate; cause to rotate; dance; spin; whirl

birse: bristle; fit of bad temper

bittie/bittock: little bit; short time/distance

blashie: wet and windy

blate: diffident; shy; timid

blaud: sample; selection of verse

bleize: blaze

bleert: dim, of eyes; stained with weeping

blellum: silly talkative person

blethers: chatter; nonsense

bletherskite: silly talker

blinn: blind

bluffart: blast of wind; squall; a blow

bodach: old man

boddom: bottom

bonalie: farewell drink

bonnie fechter: douchty/good fighter

borestane: flagstaff stone

bourach: heap; confused heap

bogshaivelt: knocked out of shape; distorted

bonnie: beautiful; considerable

boss: devoid; empty; hollow

bou-backit: hump-backed

bowlie-leggit: bandy-legged

bowster-cup: nightcap

box-bed: wall bed

brae: hill; river bank; steep road

braeheid: hilltop

brainch: branch

braisant: bold; insolent

brats: clothing

braw: comely; excellent; considerable; very good; splendid

braws: best clothes

breeks: trousers

breinge: push forward impetuously; a violent rush forward

brent new: brand new

bricht: bright

brig: bridge

brisken up: feshen; stimulate; titillate

brither: find an equal; match; brother; equal

brocht: brought

brod/buird-claith: table-cloth

brose: porridge made with meal, water, salt and butter

brosie: coarse in manner; stout

brosie-faced: fat faced

brou: brow; brim; overhanging bank

broukit: tear-stained

broun: brown

brulzie/ brulyie: brawl; commotion; fight

bubbly-jock: turkey ( male )

bucker: delay: fuss; move or work aimlessly, yet fussily; hinder

Buckhyne: Buckhaven

buckie: perverse, obstinate person

bucksturdie: obstinate

buik / beuk: book

bumbaleerie: posterior; bottom

bumbaze: abash; amaze; bewilder

bumphlie: rumpled

bunemaist: highest; topmaist

bunker: chest; seat

burth-brief: birth certificate

busk: dress; adorn

bygane: past and gone

bylins: by and by; soon

byne: washing tub

byornar: extraordinary

byre: cattle-shed; cow-house

C

cadger: peddlar; hawker; tinker

caird: card; chart

cairn: heap of stones; monument

cairt: cart

caist-out: disagree

callan: boy; lad

caller: cool; fresh; refreshing

camsteerie: giddy ; unruly ; wild

cankert: irritable

canna: cannot

cantie: cheerful; contented; comfortable; bouyant; cordial; merry

capernoitit: perverse; sour-tempered

carline: old woman

carnaptious: crabbed; bad-tempered

carritch: the catechism

cast up: accuse; recall spitefully

caudron: cauldron

cauf kintra: birth-place; native district

caurrie-haundit: left handed

certes: assuredly; certainly

chaft: cheek; jaw

chairge: charge; cost; expense

chantie: chamberpot

chap: hammer; knock; stroke of clock or bell

chicken-hertit: cowardly; timid

chitterie / chitterin piece / bite: food taken after bathing

chow: chew

christmas: Christmas present

clabber: mud; clay; mire

clachan: hamlet; village

claes: clothes; garb

claes-raip: clothes-rope

claes-screen: clothes-horse

claivers: chatter; tittle-tattle

clanjamfrie : a crowd ; a rabble

clappit: shrunken; thin

clapshot: potatoes and turnips mashed together

clartie: dirty

clean: absolute; complete; completely

cleck: babble; talk idly; claptrap; insolence

cleik: clutch; seize; gaff salmon; walk arm in arm; crook; hook; salmon gaff

cless: class

clishmaclaver: gossip ; long discourse

clocker: broody hen

clype: blab; tell tales

cockabendie / cockie-dandie: small, lively person

cockle-heidit: scattered-brained

coff: buy

cog/ coggie: bowl; wooden dish

collieshangie: brawl; dispute; uproar; dogfight

come on: improve

confab: chat

connach: mar; spoil

contermacious: perverse; self willed; obstinate

contrair: contrary ; diametrically opposed

convene: gathering; meeting

convoy: accompany; transport; escort

corbie: raven; rook

corbie steps: steps on house gable-end

cornkister: farmworkers' song

coronach: dirge; lament

corp: corpse

corp-lifter: body-snatcher

corrieneuchin: chatting intimately

cou: cow

cour: cower; squat; submit; protect

courie-doun: snuggle; nestle

couthy: congenial; cosy; pleasant

cowp: capsize; tilt; tumble; upset; rubbish dump

crabbit: bad-tempered

crambo-clink: doggeral

crammasie : crimson

cranreuch: hoarfrost

crap: crop

craw: crow; boast

craw-road: direct road

crib: curb; kerb

croun: crown; first furrow in ploughing

cruzie: oil lamp

cry: call

cry doun: disparage

cry in: visit in passing

cryned: grown small through age; shrivelled

curfuffle: disarray; disagreement; disorder; excitement

curmurrin: murmer; stomach rumble

curriehunker: squat on hams

cuttie-stuil: stool of repentance

D

dab-haun: expert

dad: bang; beat; drive of wind; hit; slam; jolt; knock; thud

daft: foolish

daicent: decent

daimen: occasional; rare

daith: death

dams: draughts, the game

dander: anger

dander/dauner: stroll; wander; leisurely walk

darg: labour; day's labour

daur: abash; dare; intimidate

daurna: dare not

deid: dead

deid mirk: pitch black

denner: dinner

denner-piece: packed lunch

deoch-an-dorus: stirrup cup; parting drink

depairt: depart; leave

dern: darn

deval: cease; quit; cessation; stop

dicht: clean; wipe; wash superficially

dichtin: drubbing

dink/dinkie: neat; dandified

dirl : clatter; pierce; reverberate; throb; blow; vibration

dirl-aff: reel off

dirl by: pass swiftly, of time

dirlie-bane: funny bone

disjaskit: wearied; downcast

disna: does not

divert : diversion; entertainment

dizzen: dozen

dochter: daughter

dochtie: brave; powerful

dock: backside; buttocks

doitit: absent-minded; crazed; stupified

dominie: schoolmaster

donnert: stupefied: stupid

douk : bathe; dip

doun: down

dounheid: dislike

dour: grim

dove / dover: doze ; drowze

dover owre: dose off

dowie: ailing; dejected; mournful

dozent: bewildered; stupefies; impotent

dram: glass of spirits ( usually whisky )

drap: drop

draw ti: take a seat at the table

dreel: drill, in all senses; line; row

dreich: dull; monotonous; tardy; desolate; dreary

dreip : drip; drizzling rain; soft, spiritless person

drieshach: glowing fire

droukit: drenched ; soaked

droun: drown

drucken: drunken

drummure: earnest; sad-looking

dub: bog; pool; stagnant pool

dub-skelper: reckless person

dule: grief; distress

dumfouner: amaze; stun

dumfounert: amazed; stunned

dunch: bump; butt; jolt; push (with elbow)

dunt: blow ; bump ; knock

durkie: thick set

dwall: dwell

dwam: faint become sick

E

eastie-wastie: person of no firm conviction

ee: eye

eeran: errand; shop purchase

ee-sicht: eyesight

efter: after

eftername: surname

eident: busy; diligent; industrious

elba/elbuck: elbow

eldritch: unearthly, of sound; fearful; frightful; hideous

Embro: Edinburgh

emerant: green; verdant

emmertins: ants

emmlinns: giblets; leftovers

en: end

eneuch: enough

ensenyie: motto; slogan; watch word-word

etin: giant

ettercap: spider

etterie: bad-tempered

ettle: intend; conjecture; expect; attempt

ettle at: aim at

ettle efter: hanker for; long for

eytment: ointment

fail: decline in health

fain: glad; fond; willing; gladly

fair: stop raining; dry, of weather; complete; quite

fairfurth: explicit; honest; outspoken

fairin: gift bought at fair ; deserts

fairn-yeir: last year

faither: father

fankle: entanle; ravel; trap; fumble; muddle; tangle

fantoosh: pretentious; showy

fareweill: farewell

farin: food

farl: oatcake; flour scone

farrach: knack; flaw

fash: trouble; bother

fashious: annoying; fractious

Fastern's Een: Shrove Tuesday

fauchentuilie: squabble

faur: far

faur ben: very friendly

faur-kent: famous

faur-seen: skilled

faur-throu: dangerously ill

fause: false

Fawkirk: Falkirk

feart: afraid

fecht: battle; fight; struggle

feckless: footling; incompetent; spiritless; weakly; worthless

fell: extremely; greatly; very

ferlie: marvel; novelty; wonderful; strange

fernie-tickles: freckles

fest: fast

fettle: strenghth ; state of mind

fidgin-fain: anxiously eager

flaunter: blench; waver; veer erratically; equivocate

fleer: sneer

fleg: scare

flittin: house removal

flouer: flower

flumgummerie: tomfoolery

flyte: scold

foggie; old, out-of-date person

forder: thrive ; promote

forefowk: ancestors

forenent: facing; in front of; opposite

forenicht: early evening

forestair: open outside stair

forfend: prevent

forfochen: exhausted

forjeskit: exhausted

found: lay the foundation of; foundation; reserve of money

fouter: botch; fuss with little effect; potter about; bungler; muddle

fouth: plenty

fower: four

fower-weys: crossroad

frae: from

freestane: easily worked sandstone

frien: friend; relative

fremmit: alien; foreign; strange

fudder: blast of wind

fulyerie: foliage

funder: founder

furr up: earth up, potatoes etc

furth o: beyond the boundaries of

fush: fish

fykemaleeries: empty ritual

fykie: exacting; fussy; fastidious about trifles

fyle: befoul; deface; make dirty

gae: go; walk

gae thegither: amalgamate

gain road: direct road

gallivant: gad about; flirt

gallowses: trouser braces

gallus: daring; rash; wild

gangrel body: vagrant

gant: yawn

gar: cause; compel; constrain

garron: sturdy hill horse

gash-gabbit: glib-tongued

gate: road; street; journey

gauger: an exciseman

gawp: gape; yawn

geal: coagulate; freeze; ice; gelatine

gemme: game

gemmie: gamekeeper

gemm-leggit: lame

gether: gather; save money

geylies: rather

geylike: strange

ghaist: ghost

gie: give

gie nae inklin: give no sign/hint

gie owre: abandon; stop; quit

gin: before; by, of time; if; whether; by the time that

girn: complain; fret; snarl; grumbler

girnie: peevish

girse : grass

gitter: gobble; jabber; silly talker

glabber: mud; clay; mire

glaiber: talk incessantly or idly; babble

glaikerie: silly conduct

glaikit: foolish

glamourie: enchantment

glaur: mud, slime

gleg: alert; nimble; dextorous; intelligent; sharp; smooth

gleg-luggit: sharp-eared

gleg-shair: positive

Glesca: Glasgow

gless: glass

glibbie/glib-gabbit: glib-tongued; eloquence

glisk: glance; glimpse; flash; peep

gloamin: dusk

glowre: frown; stare, darkly; gleam, of stars

glunch: frown; sulk; sulky look

gob/gab/gub: mouth

gomeril: stupid person

gormaw: cormorant; greedy person

goun: gown

gowan : daisy

gowden: golden

gowf: golf

gowk: play the fool; cuckoo; dunce; fool

gowk-storm: spring storm

grannie: grandmother

graunfaither: grandfather

grauvit: scarf

greet: weep, sob, cry

greetin-faced: sour-faced

greitin sauch: weeping willow

grippie: tight-fisted; avaricious; greedy; mean; miserly

grozet: gooseberry

grue: shiver from aversion; creep of flesh; grimace; shiver

guddle: grope with hands for fish ; do dirty work; meddle

guid-brither: brother-in-law

guid-gaun: in good working order

guid-leevin: pious

gulliegaw: gash; deep cut

gurly: inclement

gutties: gym shoes

gype: stupid person

gyte: crazed; mad with desire

haar: sea fog

habble: limp; perplex; confusion; difficult

haddie: haddock

haddin: abode; estate; property

hae: have

hale an fier: strong and well

haet: iota: particle: whit

haffers: half-shares

haffits: temples

hairse: hoarse

hairst: harvest

haivers: talk nonsense: speak foolishly

hale: heal; healthy; whole; sound; completely

halewatter: torrent

hallirackit: a frolicking boisterous person esp girls or young women

hame: home

hame-drauchtit: home-sick; fond of, or drawn, to home

hamelie: domestic; simple

hantle: great deal; handful; a number/ quantity/ volume of

hap: cover; wrap; blanket; shawl; screen

harns: brains; intelligence

hashie: rough; untidy; stormy

haud: hold

haud at: persist

haud awa frae: go away from

hauf: half

haun: hand

haunle: handle

haun-clout: hand towel

haunless: handless; incompetent

hause-bane: neck bone

heid: head

heidstane: gravestone

heid bummer: boss; manager; prominent or important person

herbour: harbour ; shelter

hereawa: hereabouts; hither

herrie: harry; plunder; rob; ruin

hership: famine; ruin

hert: heart

hert-sair: heart sore

het: hot

hicht: height

hidie-hole: hiding place

hing: hang; knack; burden

hing in: persevere

hinmaist: final; hindmost; ultimate.

hinner: hinder

hinner-end: very end; last few

hinnie: honey; darling

hinniesickle: honeysuckle

hird: herd

hirple: hobble

his-sel: himself

hither an yont: backwards and forwards

hoast: cough

hochle: walk clumsily

hogmanay: New Year's Eve

hotter: totter; walk unsteadily; boil steadily; seethe; crowd together; swarm

hum an hae: prevaricate

hummle-doddies: fingerless mittens

hunder/ hunner: hundred

hurdies: haunches; buttocks

hurl: to bowl along ; to wheel ; a vehicle ride

hurl-barra: a wheelbarrow

hush-mush: rumour

hutcheon: hedgehog

hyster: stumble; totter

hyter: stumble; totter; trip

ile: oil

ilka: each, every

ill-trickit: mischievous

inby: indoors; inside; within

indwaller: inhabitant; resident

ingan: onion

ingate: access

ingether: collect

ingle: room fire

inklin: illusion; hint; rumour

inpit: give occupancy to tenant; insert; contribution

insteid; instead

intimmers: internal organs; stomach and bowels; internal workings; mechanism

inver: river mouth

ither: other

jaggie: prickly

jaikit: jacket

jalouse: conjecture; imagine; suspect

Janwar: January

jaur: jar

jeelie: jelly; jam

jimp: shorter; close fitting; short; slender; neat

joco: jovial; merry; cheerful; pleased with oneself

johnnie-aw-thing: small general merchant

jorum: a generous quantity of liquid, usually alcoholic

joug: jug; mug

jouk: to duck; elude; side step; swerve

joukerie-pawkerie: roguery; trickery

juist: just

juist that: precisely; quite so

jurmummle: mix up

jyle: jail; prison

kail: soup

kail-pat: soup pot

kaim: comb

kebbuck : cheese

keckle: cackle; giggle; titter

keckle-up: perk up

keek : to glance ; to peep

keek-o-day: dawn

keekin-gless: mirror

kelpie: a water demon, usually in the form of a horse which is said to haunt rivers and fords, and lure the unwary to their deaths

ken: know; recognise

kenspeckle: easily recognizable; conspicuous, familiar

Killie: Killmarnock Football Club

kiltie: wearer of the kilt

kinch: loop; noose; problem

kinrick: kingdom; realm

kintra: country; district; region

kirk: church

Kirkcaddie: Kirkcaldy

kirsten: christen

kist: box; coffin; corn bin; the thorax

kist o drawers: chest of drawers

kithend: generation

kittlie: easily tickled

kittlin: kitten

knappie: lumpy; bumpy

kyte: abdomen; stomach

laddie: boy

lae/lat alane: leave undisturbed

laft: attic

laich: low

lair-stane: tombstone

lairge: large; lavish; numerous; plentiful

laldie: a beating; a drubbing; a thrashing; punishment

Lammas: Term starting on 1st August

lan: land; tenement building

lang: long; tall

lang-nebbit: nosy

lang oor: midnight

langsyne: days of long ago; long ago

lappert: curdled

larick: larch

lat: let

lat flee: hurl

lave: rest; remainder

lawin: bill; reckoning; retribution

lealtie: loyalty

learn: instruct; teach

lee-lang: livelong

leerie: lamplighter

len: loan

lether: ladder

licks: thrash; defeat; surpass; corporal punishment; chastisement

lift: sky

link at: act energetically towards

links: sandy, bent-covered shore; sausages tied together

linn: cliff over which water falls; waterfall

lintie: linnet

lippen fou: full to the brim

loch: lake

lown: calm; peace

lowp: leap; start; throb

lowpin-on-stane: stone block to assist riders

lowsin tyme: end of day's work

lum: chimney

lunt: kindle; blaze; smoke a pipe

lyart: grizzled; grey

ma: my

mae: more; extra

maik: halfpenny

mair: extra; more

maist: most

mait: meat; food

makar: poet

mask: brew ; infuse

maskin-pat: teapot

mauna: may not

meedies: meadow; piece of marshy grassland

meenit: minute

mell: mallet

mennen: minnow

mense: commonsence; courtesy; respect; propriety

mercat: market; market transaction

merle: blackbird

messages: shop purchases

micht : might; power

mim/mim-moud: prim; affected in speech

mingin: having a bad smell; stinking; very drunk

minnie: mother

mirk: darken; blur; darkness; dark

mirkness: darkness

misert: miser; miserly

misgate: wrong course of action

mish-mash: mix-up

mishanter: accident ; calamity ; mischance

misken: misunderstand; spurn

mislippen: mistrust: overlook; betray

mither: mother

mither-leid: native tongue

moanin-minnie: complainer

moch: moth

mochie: clammy; rotting

moggan: stocking

mools: earth; grave

mou: mouth

muckle: a great deal; big; much

mune : moon

munelich : moonlight

musardrie: poetry

mutch: woman's cap

naither: neither

nane : none

near-haun: close at hand

neb: beak; nose; tip; prow

nebbie: inquisitive

neibour: to be situated near; neighbour

neipheid: stupid person

neuk: a corner; a recess; an alcove

nicht: night

nickum: scamp; rogue; mischievous boy

nieve: clench fist; fist

niffer: bargain; exchange; trade

nipscart: miser

nirlin: keen; nipping

nizzart: sharp-faced person

no weill: ill

nocht: nothing

norlan: northern

nou: now

nummer: number

nurl: become lumpy

nurlie: lumpy; uneven

nyaff: contemptible person ; trifle

oncost: outlay

on-ding: downpour ; onset ( of rain )

onie: any

oniething: anything

oniewhaur: anywhere

ontakkin: undertaking

onwart: orward

oo: wool

oo-mull: tweed mill

oorlich: raw, of weather

ooze: fluff

ordinar/ornar: ordinary

orp: fret, grumble, complain in a peevish way

orra: abnormal; peculiar; occasional; miscellaneous; shabby; vagrant

orra man: odd job man

ouk: week

out-the-road: remote

outbrak: outburst; eruption

outin: excursion; jaunt

outpit: expenditure

owrance: supremacy

owre: over

owreset: translate

owrethraw: overthrow

oxter: take by the arm; elbow; embrace; armpit

painch: paunch; stomach

Paip: Pope

pairt: part; share

paiter: chatter; indulge in monologue; chatter on endlessly

palin: fence

palin stab: fence post

parkie: public park attendant

parritch: porridge

partan: crab

pat: pot

pawkie : astute; guileful

peakit: gaunt; thin

pease - brose: porridge of ground pea flour

pech: gasp; pant; puff

Pecht: Pict

pee-the-bed: dandelion

peelie / peelie-wallie: delicate; sickly.

peenge: whine; complain; whimper

peenie: pinafore

peerie: spinning top

peesie/peesweep: peewit; lapwing

peevers : hopscotch

pendicler: the tennant of a Pendicle; a smallholder

penny wheep: weak ale

pent: paint

perjink : nicety; fastidious person; fastidious; precise; prim

philabeg: kilt

pickle: indefinate amount; a little

piece: a snack

pig: stone hot water bottle

pinkie: little finger

pirn: bobbin; reel; spool; top made with a bobbin; cotton reel

pirn-taed: pigeon toed

pit: put

pit-by: hoard; tide-over; expedient; light meal

pit-on: pretend; pretence

plackless: pennieless

plattit: pleated; woven

pliskie: prank; trick; wild idea

plot: sweat; swelter

plottin het: scaulding hot

plouk: pimple; postule; blotch

ploukie: pimply

ploy: escapade; joke; undertaking; social gathering

plunk: be absent

plunk the schuil: be absent from school without leave; play truant

poke: bag

polis: police

pow: head; scalp

pownie: pony

powter: work aimlessly

pouch: pocket

pouther: powder

precentor: conductor of singing

preen: pin

preses: chairman ; president

prig: beg; bargain contentiously; entreat; insist

primsie: demure; priggish; strait-laced

puggy: monkey

puggy-nit: peanut

puir: poor

puirtith: poverty

pynt: point

quaich: a drinking cup

quakin-quaw: quagmire

quall: quell; be quelled

quattin-tyme: end of day's work

quean: girl

raip : rope

rair: roar

ramgunshoch: bluff in manner; boorish

rammy: disturbance; free-for-all; violent disturbance; scuffle; uproar

ramstam: rush headlong; headstrong person; headstrong; rash

ravel: tangle; outwit; ramble in speech; confused in speech

rax: extend; stretch by pulling; sprain; wrench

rax for: reach for

redd: clean up; set in order; disentangle.

reglar: regular; regularly

reid: red

reik: smoke; vapour

reiver: robber; cattle raider

rejyce: rejoyce ; triumph

remeid: redress; remedy

resurrector: body-snatcher

reteir: retire; withdraw

retour: return; return journey

richt: right

richtfu: rightfull

rigbane: backbone

rin: run

rive: rend; rip; wrench; burst; grapple; tear; split

road: direction; route; method

roch: rough

rouser: watering can

rowan: mountain ash

rowe: enfold; roll; twine

rowp: auction

rowth: abundance; abundant

rug: drag; tug; twinge

rummle-gumption: understanding; common-sense; level-headedness

rug at the hert: touch the heart

sab: sob; weep; drip; seep

saft: soft

saicont: second

sair: sore; dire; severe; grief-stricken

sair trachle: laborious work

sait: chair; seat

sang: song

sangschaw: music festival

saum: a psalm

saumon: salmon

saut: salt

sax: six

scabbert: scabbard

scad: burn; scauld; scorch

scaffie: dustman; road sweeper

scaurie: young gull with brown speckled feathers

scheme: estate ( of housing )

schuil: school

sclim: climb

scowder: thin covering of snow

scowth: room; scope; freedom

scrape o the pen: letter

scrieve : write

scrimpit: frugal; undersized

scug: hide; lurk; skulk; shelter; shield; protect

scunner: cause/ get feeling of aversion; surfeit; aversion; loathing; nausea; nuisance

scutter: work dirtily; dirty, slovenly work; dawdle; waste time

seck: dismiss from job; sack

seelfu: sweet

semmit: vest

shae: shoe

shae-spune: shoehorn

shairp: sharp; frosty

shak: shake

shalla: shallow

shammie-leggit: bandy-legged

shargar: a puny, weakly person; the weakest of a brood or litter

shauchle: shuffle; shambe; tumbledown object

shed: divide; part hair; slice; parting of hair

sheen: gleam; glitter; shine

sheugh: trench; ditch; gutter

shewster: seamstress

shilfa: chaffinch

shooglie: shaky; unsteady

shouder/shouther: shoulder

shouer: shower

shilpit: emaciated; puny; shrunken

sib: kin; akin; related

siccar: fix firmly; sure; staunch; true; loyal; resolute

sicht: sight

siller: silver; money

simmer: summer

size: chives

skail : disperse; scatter; spill

skaillie-brod: writing slate

skailin time: time for closing; shutting time

skair: share

skeilie: capable; shrewd; skilful

skeldock: wild mustard

skelf: a sliver; splinter

skellum: rogue; worthless fellow

skiffie: give a clue; indication of direction

skirlie / skirlie-i-the-pan: oatmeal and onions fried in suet or dripping

skirps: splashes or drip marks

skitie: slippery

skoosh: (cause to) gush in spurts or splashes; squirt; (of solid objects) dart; glide or move rapidly with a swishing sound; a splash; spurt; jet (of water); lemonade or other aerated water

slaister: bedaub; do messy work; work done dirtily

slaiver: dribble; slobber; talk nonsense; saliva

slap: gap in wall; pass between hills; gate

slauchter: slaughter

slocken: quench

slorach: beslobber; behave sentimentally; slopy mess

smeddum: pith; vigour; animation; drive; spirit

smirr: drizzle

snash: insult; sneer; speak impertinently; abuse; impertinence

snaw: snow

snaw-bree: slush

sned: chop off; prune; castrate

snell: cold; biting, of wind; sharp

snell-gabbit: sharp-tongued

snell-nebbit: astute

sodger: soldier

souk: suck; dry up; lap; quagmire; whirlpool; sychophant

sour douk: sour milk

soutar: cobbler; shoemaker

spail: splinter; shaving

specks: spectacles

speir: ask; investigate; ask in marriage; inquiry; investigation

speldrin: gutted, split and dried (or smoked) fish

speug: sparrow

spital: hospice; hospital

spleuchan: purse; tobacco pouch

splore: frolic; carouse; prank; exploit; outing

spring: cheerful tune; reel

spurtle: porridge stick

stap: stop; step

starn: star; pupil of eye

staun : stand; last; afford; goods stall

staw: dislike; disgust

stell: still for distillation

stell-net: salmon net on stakes

stert: start

stey: steep

stick in: persist

stirup-dram: parting drink

stoit/stoiter: reel; stagger

stop: dwell; remain; lodge

stotter: move unsteadily

stoun: ache; throb

stour: dust

stourie: dusty; stormy

stowlins: secretly; staethily

strae: straw

stramash: smash; fuss; squabble; brawl

strang: strong

streitch: stretch; distance; extent; spell; turn

stushie: squabble; tumult

styte: balderdash; nonsence

subscribent: subscriber

Suddron/ Suthron: the English language; English; southern

suithfast: true; faithful

swalla/swallie: swallow, the bird

swythe : speedy; speedily

sybie: a spring onion

syke: ditch; gutter; stream that drys up in the summer

syne: rinse ; wash superficially

syne doun: wash down food with drink

sypit: soaked

syver: a drain; a gutter; a sink

tae: toe; tine

taigle: delay; detain; harass; hinder; entangle

tairt: tart

tak: take

tak lowe: catch fire

tap: top

tappit-hen: whisky decanter topped with a hen's comb

tapsalteerie: topsy-turvey ; chaotic

tash: soil; fray; stain

tassie: cup; goblet

tattie: potato

tattie-beetil: potato masher

tawse: fibrous root; strap

teet-meet: a low muttered conversation; a whispering together

tellt: told

tent: listen to; notice; care for; attention

tentless: careless; inattentive; thoughtless

teuch: tough

The Bairns: Falkirk Football Club; the inhabitants of Falkirk

The Blue Brazil: Cowdenbeath Football Club

The Buddies: St Mirren Football Club

The Bully Wee: Clyde Football Club

the day: today

The Dons: Aberdeen Football Club

The Fife/Fifers: East Fife Football Club

The Gable Endies: Montrose Football Club

The Gers: Rangers Football Club

the lenth o: as far as

the nou: just now

The Pars: Dunfermline Football Club

The Shire: East Stirlingshire Football Club

the wale o: the pick of

The Well: Motherwell Football Club

theevil: porridge stick

thesaurer: treasurer

thirl: bind; enslave

thole: endure; undergo; permit

thoum: thumb

thrawn: stubborn; surly; disobedient; adverse

threip: assert dogmatically; complain; harp; assertion; argument

thrissle: thistle

thunner: thunder

thunner-plump: sudden downpour

tint: lost

tirran: tyrant; cantankerous, awkward, or obstinate person; tearaway

tirrivee: bustle; tantrum; rage

toorie: woollen bonnet

toun: town; farm; hamlet

tow: hemp fibre; string; rope

towmond: year

tozie: muddles; half-drunk; tipsy; drowsily warm/snug

trews: close fitting tartan trousers

trig: tidy up; neat; smart; attractive

trowe: roll; spin/cause to spin; trundle

tummle: tumble

tung-tackit: tongue-tied

twa: two

twa-thrie: a few

tyauve: struggle

tyauve-throu: survive

tyke: dog; cur; mongrel; rustic fellow

tyne: lose; miss a target; forfeit; perish

unce: ounce

unkent: unfamiliar

unnerstaun: understand

unsiccar: unsafe; undependable

unsocht: uninvited

unwycelike: indiscreet

unyirdlie: unearthly; supernatural

upby: up the road; up yonder

uptak: preoccupy; understand; intelligence

usquebae: whisky

vacancy : holiday

vauntie: conceited; jaunty; showy

veesion: vision

veesit: visit

vennel: passage/ lane between houses

verra: very

virr: energy; force; industry; vigour

vizzy-hole: peep-hole

vocable: word

vogie: boastful; elated; imposing

vratch: wretch

vrocht: worked hard

wabbit: exhausted

wabsteid: website

wabster: weaver

wae: woe

waefu/ waesome: woeful

wag-at-the-wa / waggettie-wa: wall-clock (with uncased pendulum)

wale: choose; select

wallie-dug: china dog

wanchancie: ill-fated ; risky

wanhope: dispair

wanluck: misfortune

wanpeace: strife

warld: world

warld's gear: wordly wealth

warsle throu: overcome adversity

watergaw: indistinct rainbow

wather: weather

wauchle: shamble; stagger; tire; perplex; laborious effort

wauken: arose; awake

waukrife: sleepless; vigilent

waur: defeat; worst; parry

wean: child; infant

weary on: desire; long for

wee: small; young; mean

wee-yin: child

wee pickle: small amount

weem: cave; tunnel

weill: well

weill-hertit: good hearted; optimistic

weir: war

weir: wear

weird-fu: fateful

weir-hairness: armour

weit: wet, irrigate; moisture

weive; knit

Wensday: Wednesday

wersh: ( of food and drink ) tasteless; insipid; unpalatable

wey: way

wheemer: mutter

wheesht: hush

whit: what

whusk: whisk

whyles: now and then; sometimes

widdershins: anticlockwise ; backwards

wik: week

willie-waucht: large draught of liquor

winna: shall not; won't

winnock bunker: window seat

wittinsblad : newspaper

wrack-wuid: drift-wood

wraith: wreath

wrang: injure; error; wrong

wricht : carpenter; joiner

wunner: wonder

wynd: lane between houses

wyte: blame; impute blame or guilt to ( a person or thing ); accuse a ( person ) of responsibility for something

wyteless: blameless; innocent

wyver: spider

yaised tae: inured to

yak: ache

yallochie: yellowish

yammer: fret; complain; outcry; whine; whimper; lamentation; grouse

yatter: chatter

yavil: second; field under oats for second year

yella/yalla: yellow

yella yite: yellow hammer

yersel: yourself

yestreen: yesterday evening

yett: gate

yeukie-bane: funny bone

yill: ale

yince: once

yird/yirth: earth

yirk: jerk

yokie: itchy

yondmaist: furthes

yorlin: yellow hammer

yowdendrift: snow driven by wind

yowie: fir cone

yow-trummle: cold weather after sheep shearing

yule: Christmas

yule E'en: Christmas Eve

Bernicia

Deheubarth

Deira

East Anglia

Essex

Glywysing

Gwynedd

Hwicce

King of the Isles (North)

Kent

Lindsey

Magonset

English Kings of Man

Norse Kings of Man

Mercia

Morgannwg

Northumbria

Kings of the Picts

Powys

Kings of Scots

South Gyrwe

Strathclyde

Surrey

Sussex

Wessex

Kings of York

House of Wessex

Egbert (802-39)

Aethelwulf (839-55)

Aethelbald (855-60)

Aethelbert (860-6)

Aethelred (866-71)

Alfred, the Great (871-99)

Edward, the Elder (899-925)

Athelstan (925-40)

Edmund, the Magnificent (940-6)

Eadred (946-55)

Eadwig (Edwy), All-Fair (955-59)

Edgar, the Peaceable (959-75)

Edward, the Martyr (975-78)

Aethelred, the Unready (978-1016)

Edmund, Ironside (1016)

Danish Line

Svein, Forkbeard (1014)

Canute, the Great (1016-35)

Harald, Harefoot (1035-40)

Hardicanute (1040-42)

House of Wessex, Restored

Edward, the Confessor (1042-66)

Harold II (1066)

Norman Line

William I, the Conqueror (1066-87)

William II, Rufus (1087-1100)

Henry I, Beauclerc (1100-35)

Stephen (1135-54)

Empress Matilda (1141)

Plantagenet, Angevin Line

Henry II, Curtmantle (1154-89)

Richard I the Lionheart (1189-99)

John, Lackland (1199-1216)

Henry III (1216-72)

Edward I, Longshanks (1272-1307)

Edward II (1307-27)

Edward III (1327-77)

Richard II (1377-99)

Plantagenet, Lancastrian Line

Henry IV, Bolingbroke (1399-1413)

Henry V (1413-22)

Henry VI (1422-61, 1470-1)

Plantagenet, Yorkist Line

Edward IV (1461-70, 1471-83)

Edward V (1483)

Richard III, Crookback (1483-85)

House of Tudor

Henry VII, Tudor (1485-1509)

Henry VIII (1509-47)

Edward VI (1547-53)

Lady Jane Grey (1553)

Mary I, Tudor (1553-58)

Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

House of Stuart

James I (1603-25)

Charles I (1625-49)

The Commonwealth

Oliver Cromwell (1649-58)

House of Stuart, Restored

Charles II (1660-85)

James II (1685-88)

House of Orange and Stuart

William III, Mary II (1689-1702)

House of Stuart

Anne (1702-14)

House of Brunswick, Hanover Line

George I (1714-27)

George II (1727-60)

George III (1760-1820)

George IV (1820-30)

William IV (1830-37)

Victoria (1837-1901)

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Edward VII (1901-10)

House of Windsor

George V (1910-36)

Edward VIII (1936)

George VI (1936-52)

Elizabeth II (1952-present)

Arthurian Time Line

410 - Emperor Honorius of Rome tells Britain to attend to its own affairs. Zosmius reports Roman officials expelled and native government establishes "independence".

c.410 - Governor Owain Finddu of Glywysing is assassinated in Gwynedd. Irish incursions into Gwynedd, Powys, Garth Madrun, Dyfed & the Gower Peninsula.

411 - Capture, at Arles, of Constatine, last Emperor of Britain. He was executed at Ravenna soon afterward.

413 - Pelagian heresy said to have begun, by Prosper (Tiro) of Aquitaine in his "Chronicle".

420 - Pelagian heresy outlawed in Rome (418) but, in Britain, supposedly enjoys much support from "pro-Celtic" faction. Traditionalists (pro-Romans) support Roman church. During this time, according to Prosper, Britain is ruled by petty "tyrants".

c.420 - Death of Coel Hen, probably the last Roman Dux Brittanniarum. The lands of his office in Northern Britain are divided between his descendants and become petty kingdoms of the "Gwyr y Gogledd".

421 - Supposed death of King Gradlon Mawr of Brittany. Probable division of Brittany into sub-kingdoms of Cornouaille and Domnonée.

c.423 - Birth of St. Patrick in Banna Venta Burniae, thought to be near Birdoswald.

425 - Vortigern usurps Imperial power in Britain, possibly as High-King.

c.425 - Cunedda Wledig and his retinue are moved south from Manau Gododdin to Gwynedd in order to expel the invading Irish.

c.425-50 - King Conomor flourishes in Dumnonia, probably from his capital at Castle Dore.

428 - Vortigern invites a number of Germanic warriors to aid him in consolidating his position in Britain according to the Historia Brittonum. This appears to have been an early use of German mercenaries, who probably settled in the Dorchester-upon-Thames area.

429 - At the request of Palladius, a British deacon, Pope Celestine I dispatches Bishops Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes to Britain to combat Pelagian heresy. While in Britain, Germanus, a former military man, leads Britons to "Hallelujah" victory on the Welsh border. St. Cadfan founds the Monastery of Barsdey.

c.434 - St. Patrick is captured by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave.

435 - Tibatto leads Armorican movement for independence from Roman Gaul.

c.435 - War breaks out between the Irish settlers in Garth Madrun and Powys. King Anlach of Garth Madrun is defeated and forced to send his son, Brychan, as a hostage to the Powysian Court.

437 - Ambrosius Aurelianus appears as leader of the Pro-Roman faction in Britain (traditionally returning from exile in Brittany). Vortigern's apparent relative, Vitalinus (Guitolinus), fights against Ambrosius at the Battle of Wallop. The latter is probably victorious and is "given all the kingdoms of the western side of Britain".

c.437 - The Irish chieftain, Triffyn Farfog takes the Kingdom of Dyfed by marrying the daughter of King Clotri.

c.440 - St. Patrick escapes from his captors and returns to Britain.

c.440-50 - Period of Civil War and famine in Britain, caused by ruling council's weakness and inability to deal with Pictish invasions; situation aggravated by tensions between Pelagian/Roman factions. Vacated towns and cities in ruin. Migration of pro-Roman citizens toward west. Country beginning to be divided, geographically, along factional lines. King Glywys of Glywysing flourishes in Glywysing.

c.440-90 - King Brychan flourishes in Brycheiniog. His three wives give birth to many saintly children who evangelize Dumnonia.

c.441 - Gallic Chronicle records, prematurely, that "Britain, abandoned by the Romans, passed into the power of the Saxons."

443 - Death of King Constantine Corneu of Dumnonia. His kingdom was divided between his two sons as Dumnonia and Cerniw.

446 - Britons (probably the pro-Roman party) appeal to Aetius, Roman governor of Gaul, for military assistance in their struggle against the Picts and the Irish/Scots. No help could be sent, at this time, as Aetius had his hands full with Attila the Hun.

c.446 - Vortigern authorizes the use of Saxon mercenaries, known as foederati, for the defence of the northern parts against barbarian attack and to guard against further Irish incursions. The Saxons are given a little land in Lincolnshire.

447 - Second visit of St. Germanus (this time accompanied by Severus, Bishop of Trier) to Britain. Was this visit spiritually motivated, to combat a revived Pelagian threat or was Germanus sent in Aetius' stead, to do whatever he could to help the desperate Britons? Vortigern is accused of incest. Battle of Aylesford (Kent) in which the rebellious sons of Vortigern, Vortimer and Cadeyrn, defeat Hengest for the first time. Cadeyrn is killed in the fighting. Germanus expells the Irish from Powys and restores Cadeyrn's son, Cadell Ddernllwg, to the throne.

c.447 - Britons, aroused to heroic effort, "inflicted a massacre" on their enemies, the Picts and Irish, and were left in peace, for a brief time. Could this heroic effort have been led, again, by St. Germanus?

c.448 - Civil war and plague ravage Britain.

c.450 - In the first year of Marcian and Valentinian, Hengest arrives on shores of Britain with "3 keels" of warriors, and are welcomed by Vortigern. This event is known in Latin as the "Adventus Saxonum," the coming of the Saxons.

c.452 - Increasing Saxon settlement in Britain. Vortigern marries Hengest's daughter, Rowenna, and supposedly offers the Jutish leader the kingdom of Kent. Hengest invites his son, Octha, from Germany with "16 keels" of warriors, who occupy the northern lands, to defend against the Picts. Picts never heard from, again.

c.453 - Raids on British towns and cities becoming more frequent. Increasing Saxon unrest.

455 - Prince Vortimer apparently rebels against the pro-Saxon policies of his father, Vortigern, and fights Hengest at the Battle of Crayford. Hengest is victorious and the British army flees back to London.

456 - The indecisve Battle of Aylesford between Hengest's Saxons and the British under Prince Vortimer. Prince Cadeyrn of Britain and King Horsa of Kent are killed in the fighting.

c.456 - St. Patrick leaves Britain once more to evangelise Ireland. Geoffrey of Monmouth tells us of a probably fictitious, but entirely believable, event in which Saxons massacre 300 leading British noblemen at a phony "peace" conference.

c.458 - Saxon uprising in full-swing. Hengest finally conquers Kent, in south-eastern Britain.

c.458-60 - Full-scale migration of British aristocrats and city-dwellers across the English Channel to Armorica, in north-western Gaul (the "second migration"). British contingent led by Riothamus (perhaps a title, not a name).

c.459 - Vortigern is burnt to death while being besieged by Ambrosius Aurelianus at Ganarew.

c.460-70 - Ambrosius Aurelianus of pro-Roman faction takes full control of Britain; leads Britons in years of back-and-forth fighting with Saxons. British strategy seems to have been to allow Saxon landings and to then contain them there.

464 - Supposed death of the legendary King Aldrien of Brittany.

465 - Battle of Wippedsfleet (or Richborough), in which the Britons defeat the Saxons, but with great slaughter on both sides. The latter are confined to the Isle of Thanet and there is a respite from fighting "for a long time."

c.465 - 'King' Arthur probably born around this time. Birth of St. Dyfrig also.

c.466-73 - Period of minimal Saxon activity. Re-fortification of ancient hillforts and construction of the Wansdyke possibly takes place during this time.

c.469 - Roman emperor, Anthemius, appeals to Britons for military help against the Visigoths. Reliable accounts by Sidonius Apolonaris and Jordanes name the leader of the 12,000 man Breton force, Riothamus. The bulk of the British force was wiped out in battle against Euric, the Visigothic king, and the survivors, including Riothamus, vanished and were never heard from, again.

c.471 - The army of King Ceretic of Strathclyde raids the Irish Coast and carries off some of St. Patrick's new flock and sells them into slavery. The king receives a written repremand from the Irish Evangelist.

473 - Men of Kent, under Hengest, move westward, driving Britons back before them "as one flees fire."

477 - Saxon chieftain, Aelle, lands on Sussex coast with his sons. Britons engage him upon landing but his superior force besieges them at Pevensey and drives them into the Weald. Over next nine years, Saxon coastal holdings are gradually expanded in Sussex.

c.480 - King Erbin of Dumnonia abdicates in favour of his son, King Gerren Llygesoc. Death of King Glywys of Glywysing. His kingdom is divided into Gwynllwg, Penychen, Gorfynedd, Edeligion and others.

c.485 - Birth of St. Samson.

c.485-96 - Period of Arthur's "twelve battles" during which he gains reputation for invincibility.

486 - Aelle and his sons overreach their normal territory and are engaged by Britons at battle of Mercredesburne. Battle is bloody, but indecisive, and ends with both sides pledging friendship.

c.487 - Birth of St. David.

c.490 - Hengest dies. His son, Aesc, takes over and rules for 34 years. Death of Einion Yrth of Gwynedd. His kingdom is divided into Gwynedd and Rhos. St. Cybi Felyn is born in Callington in Cerniw.

493 - Death of St. Patrick, in Glastonbury according to local legend. Down Patrick seems more likely.

c.495 - The Germanic King Cerdic and his son, Cynric, land somewhere on the south coast, probably near the Hampshire-Dorset border. Their followers establish the beginnings of the Kingdom of Wessex. King Gwynllyw of Gwynllwg carries off Princess Gwladys of Brycheiniog. War between the two kingdoms narrowly avoided by the intercession of the legendary Arthur. The couple marry.

c.496 - The Siege of Mount Badon. Britons, under the command of the "war leader" Arthur, defeat the Saxons, under King Esla of Bernicia and possibly Cerdic of Wessex.

c.496-550 - Following the victory at Mt. Badon, the Saxon advance is halted with the invaders returning to their own enclaves. A generation of peace ensues. Corrupt leadership, more civil turmoil, public forgetfulness and individual apathy further erode Romano-British culture over next fifty years, making Britain ripe for final Saxon "picking."

497 - Birth of St. Cadog. Death of King Erbin of Dumnonia.

c.500-17 - King Cadwallon Lawhir expels the Irish from Anglesey.

c.505 - Death of St. Paulinus.

508 - King Cerdic of Wessex begins to move inland and defeats British king, Nudd-Lludd (Natanleod), at the Battle of Netley.

c.510 - The Battle of Llongborth (possibly Langport or Portsmouth), where King Gerren Llyngesoc of Dumnonia, was killed. Prince Rivod of Brittany murders his brother, King Maeliaw, and usurps the Breton throne. Many of the Breton Royal family flee to Britain, including Prince Budic who seeks refuge at the court of King Aircol Lawhir in Dyfed.

c.515 - Death of Aelle. Kingdom of Sussex passed to his son, Cissa and his descendents, but over time, diminished into insignificance.

517 - Death of King Cadwallon Lawhir of Gwynedd. His son, Maelgwn takes the throne, murders his uncle, probably King Owain Danwyn of Rhos, and re-unites the two kingdoms.

517-49 - King Maelgwn flourishes in Gwynedd. Invades Dyfed and generally tries to assert himself as High-King of Britain.

519 - Kingdom of the West Saxons (Wessex) founded with Cerdic its first ruler.

c.520 - King Pabo Post Prydain of the Pennines abdictaes his throne and divides the kingdom between his two sons. He retires, as a hermit, to Anglesey. Death of King Riwal Mawr Marchou of Domnonée. King Budic II of Brittany returns to Cornouaille to claim the Breton throne.

521 - St. Samson is consecrated a bishop by St. Dyfrig, Archbishop of Glywysing & Gwent.

523 - Death of King Gwynllyw of Gwynllwg. Gwnllywg and Penychen united under his son, St. Cadog

c.525 - St. Samson founds the Monastery of Dol and becomes its first Abbot.

c.528 - King & Saint Cadog of Glywysing abdicates in favour of King Meurig of Gwent, who is joined in marriage to Cadog's aunt. Banishment of Princess Thaney of Gododdin. Birth of her son, St. Kentigern.

530 - Saint Pabo Post Prydain, ex-King of the Pennines dies at Llanbabo. The British of the Isle of Wight are defeated by King Cerdic of Wessex at the Battle of Carisbrooke.

c.535 - Kings Sawyl Penuchel of the Southern Pennines is expelled from his kingdom (enemy uncertain) and flees to Powys. Death of King Meirchion Gul of Rheged. The kingdom is divided into North and South. Death of St. Illtud, Abbot of Llanilltud Fawr.

537 - Battle of Camlann, according to Annales Cambriae. Fought between the forces of Arthur and Mordred. Death (or unspecified other demise) of Arthur (according to Geoffrey of Monmouth). Saint and King Constantine ruling in Dumnonia.

c.538 - King Cynlas Goch of Rhos abandons his wife in favour of his sister-in-law, a nun who he drags from her convent. Civil War between Cynlas and his cousin, King Maelgwn of Gwynedd. Maelgwn enters a monastery, but soon returns to secular life and murders his nephew in order to marry his widow! Civil War also in Powys due to the tyranny of King Cyngen Glodrydd.

540 - King Jonas of Domnonée is murdered by King Cono-Mark of Cerniw and Poher. Cono-Mark marries Jonas' widow and rules Domnonée.

c.540 - Probable writing of Gildas' "De Excidio Britanniae." King Caradog Freichfras of Gwent gives Caerwent to St. Tathyw and moves the Royal court to Portskewett

545 - Death of the joint-Kings Budic II and his son Hoel I Mawr of Brittany. King Tewdwr Mawr succeeds to the throne, but is quickly ousted from Cornouaille by King Macliau of the Vannetais. Tewdwr flees to Cerniw and sets himself up as King of the Penwith region.

c.545 - The Synod of Brefi is held at Llandewi Brefi to condemn the Pelagian heresy. St. Dyfrig, Archbishop of South Wales resigns his position in favour of St. David. David moves the Archdiocese from Caerleon to St. Davids. Death of St. Dyfrig. He is succeeded as Bishop of Glywysing & Gwent by St. Teilo. Prince Judwal of Domnonée flees from his murderous step-father to the court of King Childebert of the Franks.

546 - St. Gildas returns to Brittany with St. Cadog.

547 - The King of Bryneich is expelled from his fortress of Bamburgh by King Ida of Bernicia. Apparent death of the, probably joint-king, Hoel II Fychan of Brittany.

c.548 - King Cono-Mark of Cerniw, Poher and Domnonée marries Princess Triphine of Broërec.

549 - "Yellow" Plague hits British territories, causing many deaths, including King Maelgwn of Gwynedd. Ireland also affected. Saxons, for whatever reason, are unaffected by it.

c.550 - Death of St. Ninian, Bishop of Whithorn. Birth of St. Tremeur. Murder of his mother, Triphine, by his father, King Cono-Mark of Cerniw, Poher and Domnonée. Prince Judwal of Domnonée retakes his throne. Cono-Mark flees to Cornwall. The semi-legendary Kingdom of Lyonesse possibly inundated by the sea.

552 - King Cynric of Wessex lays siege to the British at Old Sarum and put them to flight.

555 - St. Cybi Felyn, Abbot of Holyhead, dies at his monastery. Murder of St. Tremeur. Death of his father, King Cono-Mark of Cerniw and Poher.

c.555 - Death of King Erb of Gwent. The kingdom is divided into Gwent and Ergyng.

556 - King Cynric of Wessex lays siege to the British at Barbury Castle and is victorious.

558 - Broërec is attacked by King Childebert of the Franks. King Canao II leads resistance.

c.560 - Prince Elidyr of Strathclyde invades Gwynedd in right of his wife. He tries to expel his brother-in-law, King Rhun Hir of Gwynedd, at the Battle of the Cadnant Brook, but is killed in the process.

564 - Death of St. Tugdual, Bishop of Tréguier.

c.564 - St. Cadog settles in Weedon in Calchfynedd and is made Bishop there. St. Samson attends the Council of Paris and witnesses several Royal decrees.

c.565 - King Riderch Hael of Strathclyde mounts an unsuccessful revenge attack on King Rhun Hir of Gwynedd. Rhun marches on Strathclyde and reinforces the armies of his half-brother, Brudei, in Pictland. Death of St. Samson.

569 - St. David holds the Synod of Victoria to denounce the Pelagian heresy once more.

570 - Death of St. Gildas.

c.570-75 - The Northern British Alliance is forged between the kingdoms of North Rheged, Strathclyde, Bryneich and Elmet. They fight the Northumbrians at the Battles of Gwen Ystrad and the Cells of Berwyn

571 - King Cuthwulf of Wessex invades Midland Britain and defeats the British, probably under the King of Calchfynedd, at the Battle of Bedford.

573 - Kings Peredyr and Gwrgi of Ebrauc ally themselves with Kings Dunaut Bwr of the Northern Pennines and Riderch Hael of Strathclyde. They march north to claim the fort at Caerlaverock from King Gwendoleu of Caer-Gwendoleu. The latter was killed in the Battle of Arthuret and his bard, Myrddin, is forced to flee into the Caledonian Forest.

575 - Prince Owein of North Rheged kills King Theodoric of Bernicia at the Battle of Leeming Lane.

577 - Wessex invades the lower Severn Valley. Kings Ffernfael of Caer-Baddan, Cyndyddam of Caer-Ceri and Cynfael of Caer-Gloui are killed at the Battle of Dyrham. Wessex overuns the Cirencester area. King Tewdwr Mawr of Brittany returns to Cornouaille, reclaims his throne and kills King Macliau of the Vannetais in battle.

580 - The army of Kings Peredyr and Gwrgi of Ebrauc march north to fight the Anglians of Bernicia. Both are killed by King Adda's forces at Caer Greu. The Deirans rise up, under King Aelle, and move on the City of Ebrauc. King Peredyr's son is forced to flee the Kingdom. St. Cadog is martyred in Calchfynedd by invading Mercians.

584 - Death of St. Deiniol Gwyn, Bishop of Bangor Fawr. The British are victorious over King Ceawlin of Wessex at the Battle of Fethanleigh and kill his brother, Cuthwine. Ceawlin ravages the surrounding countryside in revenge.

585 - Death of King Alain I of Brittany.

586 - Death of King Rhun Hir of Gwynedd. Death of King Judwal of Domnonée.

588 - King Edwin of Deira is ousted from his Kingdom by the Bernicians and seeks refuge at the court of King Iago of Gwynedd.

589 - Death of Saint and King Constantine of Dumnonia. Death of St. David, Archbishop of St. Davids.

590 - The Siege of Lindisfarne. The Northern British Alliance (North Rheged, Strathclyde, Bryneich and Elmet) lays siege to King Hussa of Bernicia and almost exterminates the Northumbrians from Northern Britain. King Urien of North Rheged is assassinated at the behest of his jealous ally King Morcant Bulc of Bryneich. The Northumbrians recover while internal squabbles tear the British Alliance apart.

c.591 - King Dunaut Bwr of the Northern Pennines mounts an invasion of North Rheged, but is repulsed by its King, Owein, and his brother, Prince Pasgen. Prince Elffin of North Rheged is simultaneously attacked by King Gwallawc Marchawc Trin of Elmet.

c.593 - King Morcant Bulc of Bryneich invades North Rheged and kills King Owein in battle. Prince Pasgen of North Rheged flees to the Gower Peninsula. A greatly diminished North Rheged probably continues under the rule of their brother, Rhun.

595 - The aging King Dunaut Bwr of the Northern Pennines dies fighting off a Bernician invasion. His kingdom is overrun and his family flee to join his grandson in Gwynedd.

598 - Kings Mynyddog Mwynfawr of Din-Eidyn & Cynan of Gododdin ride south to fight Saxon Bernicia against enormous odds at the Battle of Catterick. The British are victorious, though King Gerren of Dumnonia is killed in the fighting. He is buried at Dingerein. Probable expansion of North Rheged to fill the vacuum left in North Yorkshire.

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8000 BC

Neolithic people were mining bloodstone on the Isle of Rum in the Hebrides, some of which was traded as far away as Nice in the south of France.

3000 BC

A people known as the Iberians introduced bronze to Scotland and built imposing stone circles in Orkney and Lewis, possibly for religious and astronomical purposes.

2000 BC

The Beaker people, so-called because of their beaker pots settled on the Scottish east coast in the Aberdeen area. The "Prospectors" arrived from the Mediterranean, probably in search of gold, copper and river pearls.

1000 BC

Scotland was now trading with the Mediterranean. A gold route from Ireland to the Baltic crossed from Galloway to the Forth, possibly for resale to Egypt.

900 BC

Tall, blonde Goedelic Celts appeared in Scotland from the Alps, speaking an Ayran language mixed with the Berber-like language of the Iberians they conquered, which developed into Old Gaelic. "Alba", the Gaelic name for Scotland, believed to have meant "high mountain pasture" is derived from the Alps, and the surname MacAlpine is directly related. Many Celtic remains have been found in the Alpine area, as well as in Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia.

500 BC

Short, dark Brythonic Celts called the Cymry (Welsh) settled in Scotland as far north as the line between the Forth and the Clyde. Some of the earliest sagas date from this settlement and give detailed accounts of battles and momentous events.

80 AD

Julius Agricola advanced across the River Clyde fighting off bands of warring Celts.

84 AD

The Celtic tribes united under Calgacus, but he was killed (along with 10000 men) when he met the Roman army at Ardoch.

296 AD

The Pictish people were first mentioned in Roman literature. The name "Pict" is said to have come either from a Latin word meaning "painted ones" or another meaning "fighter". Both of these accurately depicted the Pictish people.

360 AD

Roman literature described the warring tribe based in Ireland as the "Scots".

368 AD

Pict, Scot and Saxon tribes attacked the Romans in London, plundering their treasures.

503 AD

The Scots left Ireland to found the kingdom of Dalriada in Argyll on the Scottish west coast.

597 AD

St. Columba, who introduced Christianity to Scotland from Ireland, died.

843 AD

Kenneth MacAlpin united the Scots and Picts as one nation. This was the first step in creating a united Scotland, a process not completed until at least 1034.

1005 AD

Malcolm II killed Kenneth III and became King.

1018 AD

Malcolm II gained Lothian after defeating the Saxons at the Battle of Carham. Death of Owen-the-Bald, King of Strathclyde.

1034 AD

Duncan, already ruler of Strathclyde, killed his grandfather Malcolm II and became King of a (largely) united Scotland.

1040 AD

MacBeth killed Duncan and became King.

1057 AD

Malcolm III (or Malcolm Canmore) killed MacBeth and became King.

1107 AD

On the death of Edgar, Scotland became disunited. Alexander I became King of Scots, but David I became King in Lothian and Strathclyde.

1124 AD

Unity was restored when, on Alexander's death, David became King of Scots. His reign was one of the most important in Scotland's history, extending Scottish borders to the River Tees, including all of Northumberland.

1295 AD

Signing of the "Auld Alliance" between Scotland and France - one of the world's oldest mutual defence treaties.

1296 AD

Annexation of Scotland by England. Scotland's Coronation Stone - the "Stone of Destiny" or "Stone of Scone" - was removed to Westminster Abbey (in London) by the English King Edward I. The stone briefly returned to Scotland in 1950 and permanently returned in 1996.

1314 AD

Battle of Bannockburn (Scots under Robert the Bruce routed the English led by Edward II) resulting in Scottish independence.

1320 AD

The Declaration of Arbroath was drawn up to urge the Pope to recognise Scottish independence from England. The Pope accepted the Declaration.

1411 AD

University of St. Andrews founded.

1451 AD

University of Glasgow founded.

1460 AD

King James II was killed by an exploding cannon during the siege of Roxburgh.

1488 AD

King James III was murdered after being accused of surrounding himself with evil advisors who encouraged him to bring Englishmen into Scottish affairs.

1494 AD

University of Aberdeen founded.

1497 AD

Declaration of the Education Act, introducing compulsory schooling for all Scottish children.

1502 AD

King Henry VII of England gave his daughter in marriage to James IV of Scotland. This gave rise to the Union of the Crowns in 1603.

1512 AD

Under the terms of a treaty with France (the "Auld Alliance") all Scottish citizens became French and vice versa.

1559 AD

John Knox's sermon at Perth - regarded as the start of the Reformation in Scotland.

1582 AD

University of Edinburgh founded.

1600 AD

Scotland adopted Gregorian Calendar.

1603 AD

James VI of Scotland became James I of England bringing about the Union of the Crowns.

1617 AD

James (on his only return to Scotland) tactlessly lectured his countrymen on the "superiority of English civilisation".

1618 AD

James imposed Bishops on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland in an attempt to integrate it with the Church of England. This move was deeply unpopular with the Scots.

1625 AD

Charles I became King on the death of his father. Although born in Scotland, Charles had no interest in the country and dealt with Scottish affairs with even less tact than his father, causing discontent.

1637 AD

Charles attempted to further anglicise the Church of Scotland by introducing a new prayerbook, which caused riots at St. Giles in Edinburgh. Jenny Geddes threw a stool in St. Giles in protest.

1638 AD

Charles regarded protests against the prayerbook as treason, forcing Scots to choose between their church and the King. A "Covenant", swearing to resist these changes to the death, was signed in Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh. The covenant was accepted by hundreds of thousands of Scots.

1639 AD

Charles called a General Assembly, effectively abolishing the unpopular Scottish Bishops. Agreement was reached through the "Treaty of Berwick".

1640 AD

Charles' peace collapsed; a Scots army marched on Newcastle.

1641 AD

With no realistic chance of opposing the Scots, Charles negotiated a truce at Ripon.

1642 AD

Civil war broke out in England. The Scottish Covenanters sided with the English rebels who took power. As the Earl of Montrose had sided with the King, civil strife spilled into Scotland.

1682 AD

The National Library of Scotland, one of the UK's four copyright deposit libraries was founded.

1692 AD

Clan Campbell, siding with the King, murdered members of Clan McDonald at Glencoe.

1695 AD

Bank of Scotland founded (still operating to this day).

1707 AD

Act of Union was passed despite riots in Edinburgh; Scotland formally united with England to form Great Britain.

1715 AD

First Jacobite rebellion; Jacobites defeated at the Battle of Sheriffmuir.

1744 AD

The world's first Golf Club (the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers) was founded.

1745 AD

Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) returned to Scotland; Second Jacobite rebellion began; Scottish victory at the Battle of Prestonpans; Jacobite Scottish army advanced as far south as Derby but then retreated.

1746 AD

Battle of Culloden (Jacobite Scots routed by the Government troops); Charles escaped to France; the wearing of the kilt was prohibited.

1768 AD

First edition of the "Encylopaedia Britannica" published in Edinburgh by William Smellie.

1770 AD

The Clyde Trust was created to convert the River Clyde, which was at that time an insignificant river, into a major thoroughfare for maritime communications. This required a major programme of excavation and dredging.

1826 AD

Scotland's first commercial railway was opened between Edinburgh and Dalkeith.

1843 AD

Disruption of the Church of Scotland. 474 ministers signed the Deed of Demission and formed the Free Church of Scotland (the "Wee Free").

1846 AD

Famine swept the Highlands with many deaths and 300,000 people on the verge of starvation. The Clearances reached their peak; thousands of evicted Highlanders emigrated to Canada.

1860 AD

Scotland hosted the first Open Golf Championship.

1870 AD

The first Rugby International was played between Scotland and England.

1872 AD

The Scottish Football Association and Rangers Football Club were founded.

1879 AD

Tay Bridge Disaster (the bridge collapsed in a storm taking a train with it - the enquiry revealed that corners had been cut during construction to reduce costs).

1888 AD

Celtic Football Club was founded.

1890 AD

Forth Rail Bridge opened. It took six years to build.

1896 AD

Opening of the Underground Railway (the "shooglie") in Glasgow. It remains the only underground in Scotland.

1915 AD

Britain's worst train disaster took place near Gretna Green, south of Dumfries, killing 227.

1937 AD

The largest ocean liner ever built, the Queen Elisabeth, was launched in Clydebank.

1941 AD

Hitler's Deputy Rudolf Hess parachuted from a plane just south of Glasgow.

1943 AD

More than 1000 people were killed over two days in Clydebank and Southern Glasgow during the only sustained German Luftwaffe attack on Scotland during the Second World War.

1950 AD

Scottish Nationalists stole the "Stone of Destiny" from Westminster Abbey. This was Scotland's Coronation Stone, taken by the English in 1296. By tradition all British Monarchs have to be crowned while sitting on it. It was eventually recovered from Arbroath Abbey, although some claim this was a copy, and the original remains in Scotland.

1959 AD

Scotland's first nuclear power station was opened at Chapelcross in Dumfriesshire.

1964 AD

Forth Road Bridge, longest suspension bridge in Europe, opened by Queen Elisabeth.

1965 AD

Tay Road Bridge opened - briefly the longest bridge in the world at just over one mile.

1967 AD

The Queen Elisabeth II (QE2) was launched in Clydebank. It was the last of the great Clyde-built passenger liners.

1971 AD

66 people were killed in Scotland's worst football disaster, when part of the stadium collapsed at Ranger's ground in Glasgow after a match with Celtic.

1975 AD

The first oil was piped ashore from the North Sea at Peterhead.

1988 AD

Scotland's worst terrorist incident occurred when a bomb exploded on board a Boeing 747 air liner on course from Frankfurt to New York. It crashed on the village of Lockerbie in Dumfriesshire, killing all on board, a total of 275 people, and a number on the ground.

1990 AD

Scotland defeated England to win the Rugby "Grand Slam".

1996 AD

A gunman killed 16 five-year-old children, their teacher and himself in the Primary School at Dunblane in Perthshire. This was the worst tragedy of its type in the U.K.

The "Stone of Destiny", Scotland's Coronation Stone, was returned from London to Edinburgh Castle, 700 years after being stolen by Edward I.

1997 AD

The Scottish people voted overwhelmingly to restore the Scottish Parliament. Many Scots believed this to be the first step towards the break-up of the United Kingdom and the establishment of an independent Scottish state.