122-472: Thurso ( pronounced / ˈ θ ɜːr z oʊ / ; Scots : Thursa , Scottish Gaelic : Inbhir Theòrsa [ˈiɲɪɾʲ ˈhjɔːrˠs̪ə] ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland . Situated in the historical County of Caithness , it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal standpoint, Thurso is located further north than
244-521: A burgh of barony dating from 1633 when it was established by Charles I. From 1870, the burgh council was based at Thurso Town Hall . In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , the local government burgh was merged into the Caithness district of the two-tier Highland region . In 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , the district was abolished and
366-581: A roll-on/roll-off ferry operated by Northlink linking the Scottish mainland with Stromness on Orkney. There is also a large fishmart and the local lifeboat is stationed there too. From June 2007, a summer-only weekly ferry service operated by the Faroese company Smyril Line reopened, connecting Scrabster with the Faroe Islands , Iceland and Norway, but has now been discontinued. Thurso has
488-923: A 1996 trial before the Census, by the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO), suggested that there were around 1.5 million speakers of Scots, with 30% of Scots responding "Yes" to the question "Can you speak the Scots language?", but only 17% responding "Aye" to the question "Can you speak Scots?". It was also found that older, working-class people were more likely to answer in the affirmative. The University of Aberdeen Scots Leid Quorum performed its own research in 1995, cautiously suggesting that there were 2.7 million speakers, though with clarification as to why these figures required context. The GRO questions, as freely acknowledged by those who set them, were not as detailed and systematic as those of
610-650: A Scots language listing. The Ferret, a UK -based fact-checking service, wrote an exploratory article in December 2022 to address misconceptions about the Scots language to improve public awareness of its endangered status. In Scotland, Scots is spoken in the Scottish Lowlands , the Northern Isles , Caithness , Arran and Campbeltown . In Ulster , the northern province in Ireland , its area
732-413: A button from his master's coat and firing it from a musket". In 1811, the parish had 592 houses with a population of 3,462. This had decreased to 2,510 people by 1841. Following the passage into law of the 1845 Poor Law Act , a combination poorhouse was constructed; work commenced in 1854 and was completed by 1856. The building, which had a capacity to house 149 inmates, was on a 5-acre (2 ha) site to
854-469: A collection of children's nursery rhymes and poems in Scots. The book contains a five-page glossary of contemporary Scots words and their pronunciations. Alexander Gray 's translations into Scots constitute the greater part of his work, and are the main basis for his reputation. In 1983, William Laughton Lorimer 's translation of the New Testament from the original Greek was published. Scots
976-433: A continuum ranging from traditional broad Scots to Scottish Standard English . Many speakers are diglossic and may be able to code-switch along the continuum depending on the situation. Where on this continuum English-influenced Scots becomes Scots-influenced English is difficult to determine. Because standard English now generally has the role of a Dachsprache ('roofing language'), disputes often arise as to whether
1098-478: A final peace with England. At the time of his death, the Scottish monarchy was stronger and the country was "a free and independent kingdom" according to a reliable source. The royal finances were more prosperous than might have seemed possible. King David II of Scotland married twice and had several mistresses, but none of his relationships produced children: David II died unexpectedly of natural causes at Edinburgh Castle on 22 February 1371, aged forty-six. David
1220-504: A long-distance service to Helmsdale and Inverness . Thurso is twinned with Brilon , Germany. Clive Campbell, Scout Leader at 2nd Thurso met Joachim Brill, Brilon Scout Leader at Gilwell Park in London in 1971. Brill brought his group to Thurso in 1972; a reciprocal visit to Brilon happened in 1973, when Campbell met Hans Witteler, another Brilon Leader with whom he formed a close friendship. Brill moved to Bielefeld shortly afterwards, but
1342-453: A more phonological manner rather than following the pan-dialect conventions of modern literary Scots, especially for the northern and insular dialects of Scots. David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scotland from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce , David succeeded to the throne at the age of five and
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#17327646405731464-696: A name for the Lowland vernacular. The Gaelic of Scotland is now usually called Scottish Gaelic . Northumbrian Old English had been established in what is now southeastern Scotland as far as the River Forth by the seventh century, as the region was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria . By the tenth century, Middle Irish was the language of the Scottish court , and the common use of Old English remained largely confined to this area until
1586-466: A new Royal National Lifeboat Institution boathouse and slipway was inaugurated near Scrabster Harbour. A fire on 10 December 1956 destroyed the building and its 47ft Watson-class lifeboat and a new building and boat was built, launched the following year. A new lifeboat, named "The Three Sisters" was inaugurated in 1971 by the Queen Mother . A major expansion occurred in the mid-20th century when
1708-413: A number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects exist, they often render contradictory results. Broad Scots is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum , with Scottish Standard English at the other. Scots is sometimes regarded as a variety of English, though it has its own distinct dialects; other scholars treat Scots as a distinct Germanic language, in the way that Norwegian
1830-612: A representative sample of Scotland's adult population) claim to speak Scots to varying degrees. The 2011 UK census was the first to ask residents of Scotland about Scots. A campaign called Aye Can was set up to help individuals answer the question. The specific wording used was "Which of these can you do? Tick all that apply" with options for "Understand", "Speak", "Read" and "Write" in three columns: English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots. Of approximately 5.1 million respondents, about 1.2 million (24%) could speak, read and write Scots, 3.2 million (62%) had no skills in Scots and
1952-576: A small museum , North Coast Visitor Centre, several hotels and bars, a surf shop/cafe stocking famous brands, and a small skatepark. There is also a sizeable British Telecom call centre and a plant making lithium-ion batteries for the MoD on the west side of the town, which along with the Dounreay Nuclear power plant , provide a high level of employment in Caithness. On 12 January 2010, approval
2074-447: A small harbour. At the 2011 Census, Thurso had a population of 7,933. The population of the larger Thurso civil parish including the town and the surrounding countryside was estimated to be 12,057 in 2021. Thurso functioned as an important Norse port, and later traded with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. A thriving fishing centre, Thurso also had a reputation for its linen-cloth and tanning activities. As of 2015,
2196-568: A successful appeal to the Pope Urban V to reverse the sentence of divorce which had been pronounced against her in Scotland. She was still alive in January 1375, four years after David died. From 1364, David governed actively, dealing firmly with recalcitrant nobles, and a wider baronial revolt, led by his prospective successor, the future Robert II . David continued to pursue the goal of
2318-506: A suitable medium of education or culture". Students reverted to Scots outside the classroom, but the reversion was not complete. What occurred, and has been occurring ever since, is a process of language attrition , whereby successive generations have adopted more and more features from Standard English. This process has accelerated rapidly since widespread access to mass media in English and increased population mobility became available after
2440-420: A vulnerable language by UNESCO . In a Scottish census from 2022, over 1.5 million people in Scotland reported being able to speak Scots. Given that there are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing a language from a dialect , scholars and other interested parties often disagree about the linguistic, historical and social status of Scots, particularly its relationship to English . Although
2562-464: A woman who had a relationship with a Dutch sailor had her head shaved and was publicly shamed, paraded through the town by the local hangman. The current church, St Andrew's and St Peter's , was built in 1832 to a design by William Burn in the Gothic style with buttressed walls and a square tower. The pipe organ was added by Norman & Beard in 1914, and in 1922 Oscar Paterson contributed some of
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#17327646405732684-542: Is a language variety descended from Early Middle English in the West Germanic language family . Most commonly spoken in the Scottish Lowlands , the Northern Isles of Scotland , and northern Ulster in Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots ), it is sometimes called: Lowland Scots , to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic , the Celtic language that was historically restricted to most of
2806-703: Is a notable location for surfing and kayaking , with international surfing championship events having regularly been held in the area. It attracts surfers from all over the world, and both the European Surfing Championships and Scottish Surf Kayaking Championships have been held in Caithness, with Thurso East being the main focus of activity. An annual raft race is organised by the North Coast Branch of Coastguard Association. The football team, Thurso FC (nicknamed "the Vikings"),
2928-591: Is also used, though this is more often taken to mean the Lallans literary form . Scots in Ireland is known in official circles as Ulster-Scots ( Ulstèr-Scotch in revivalist Ulster-Scots) or "Ullans", a recent neologism merging Ulster and Lallans. Scots is a contraction of Scottis , the Older Scots and northern version of late Old English : Scottisc (modern English "Scottish"), which replaced
3050-604: Is closely linked to but distinct from Danish . Native speakers sometimes refer to their vernacular as braid Scots (or "broad Scots" in English) or use a dialect name such as the " Doric " or the " Buchan Claik ". The old-fashioned Scotch , an English loan, occurs occasionally, especially in Ulster. The term Lallans , a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands [ˈlo̜ːlən(d)z, ˈlɑːlənz] ,
3172-562: Is in Scots, for example. Scott introduced vernacular dialogue to his novels. Other well-known authors like Robert Louis Stevenson , William Alexander, George MacDonald , J. M. Barrie and other members of the Kailyard school like Ian Maclaren also wrote in Scots or used it in dialogue. In the Victorian era popular Scottish newspapers regularly included articles and commentary in the vernacular, often of unprecedented proportions. In
3294-726: Is known about the life of the Scottish king in France, except that Château Gaillard was given to him for a residence, and that he was present at the bloodless meeting of the English and French armies in October 1339 at Vironfosse, now known as Buironfosse , in the Arrondissement of Vervins . By 1341, David's representatives had again obtained the upper hand in Scotland. David was able to return to his kingdom, landing at Inverbervie in Kincardineshire on 2 June 1341. He took
3416-463: Is known. Katherine was murdered in 1360 by men hired by the Earl of Angus and other nobles, according to some sources; some accounts say the earl was starved to death, however since his death was not until 1362, two years after the murder, death from the plague or other causes is more likely. She was replaced as mistress by Margaret Drummond . After six years, owing to the poverty of the kingdom, it
3538-767: Is lykest to our language..." ( For though several have written of (the subject) in English, which is the language most similar to ours... ). However, with the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England, most writing in Scotland came to be done in the English fashion. In his first speech to the English Parliament in March 1603, King James VI and I declared, "Hath not God first united these two Kingdomes both in Language, Religion, and similitude of maners?" . Following James VI's move to London,
3660-591: Is sometimes used in contemporary fiction, such as the Edinburgh dialect of Scots in Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (later made into a motion picture of the same name ). But'n'Ben A-Go-Go by Matthew Fitt is a cyberpunk novel written entirely in what Wir Ain Leed ("Our Own Language") calls "General Scots". Like all cyberpunk work, it contains imaginative neologisms . The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
3782-655: Is somewhat smaller than that represented by ward councillors. The ward area also includes parts of other community council areas. Thurso is the most northerly town on the British mainland, situated on the northern coastline overlooking the Orkney Islands . It is situated at the northern terminus of the A9 road , the main road linking Caithness with the south of Scotland, and is 19.5 miles (31.4 km) west of John o' Groats and 20.4 miles (32.8 km) northwest of Wick ,
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3904-573: Is the most northern station in the United Kingdom. The nearby port of Scrabster provides ferry services to the Orkney Islands ; the NorthLink ferry ( MV Hamnavoe ) operates between Scrabster and Stromness . Originally Thurso was known by the Celtic name of tarvodubron meaning "bull water" or "bull river"; similarly Dunnet Head was tarvedunum standing for "bull fort" and
4026-567: Is used to describe the Scots language after 1700. A seminal study of Scots was undertaken by JAH Murray and published as Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland . Murray's results were given further publicity by being included in Alexander John Ellis 's book On Early English Pronunciation, Part V alongside results from Orkney and Shetland, as well as the whole of England. Murray and Ellis differed slightly on
4148-540: Is usually defined through the works of Robert John Gregg to include the counties of Down , Antrim , Londonderry and Donegal (especially in East Donegal and Inishowen ). More recently, the Fintona -born linguist Warren Maguire has argued that some of the criteria that Gregg used as distinctive of Ulster-Scots are common in south-west Tyrone and were found in other sites across Northern Ireland investigated by
4270-598: The Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333, King David, Queen Joan and the rump of his government were evacuated to France , where he remained in exile until it was safe for him to return to Scotland in 1341. In 1346, David invaded England in support of France during the Hundred Years' War . His army was defeated at the Battle of Neville's Cross and he was captured and held as a prisoner in England for eleven years, while his nephew Robert Stewart governed Scotland. In 1357
4392-500: The Dounreay Nuclear Research Establishment , although mostly decommissioned at the end of the 20th century, employs a significant number of the local population. The Category-A listed ruined Old St Peter's Church (St. Peter's Kirk) is one of the oldest churches in Scotland, dating to at least 1125. The current church, St Andrew's and St Peter's , was built in 1832 to a design by William Burn in
4514-481: The English Dialect Dictionary , edited by Joseph Wright . Wright had great difficulty in recruiting volunteers from Scotland, as many refused to cooperate with a venture that regarded Scots as a dialect of English, and he obtained enough help only through the assistance from a Professor Shearer in Scotland. Wright himself rejected the argument that Scots was a separate language, saying that this
4636-474: The Highland Council 's Caithness ward management area and one of seven within the council's Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross corporate management area . Thurso Community Council was created in 1975 when the burgh was abolished. The community council is not a tier of local government, but it is recognised as a level of statutory representation. The community council represents an area which
4758-775: The Highland Railway Company in the late 19th century before being absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. and it is now part of the Far North Line . The nearby port of Scrabster provides ferry services to the Orkney Islands . The A9 trunk road, which connects Thurso to Inverness , Perth , the M90 motorway and the Central Belt ends at the ferry terminal. Stagecoach run bus services from Thurso to Wick and John o' Groats , and
4880-509: The Linguistic Survey of Scotland . Dialects of Scots include Insular Scots , Northern Scots , Central Scots , Southern Scots and Ulster Scots . It has been difficult to determine the number of speakers of Scots via census, because many respondents might interpret the question "Do you speak Scots?" in different ways. Campaigners for Scots pressed for this question to be included in the 2001 UK National Census . The results from
5002-682: The Protestant Church of Scotland adopted the 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Bible; subsequently, the Acts of Union 1707 led to Scotland joining England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain , having a single Parliament of Great Britain based in London. After the Union and the shift of political power to England, the use of Scots was discouraged by many in authority and education, as
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5124-791: The Romance languages via ecclesiastical and legal Latin , Norman French , and later Parisian French , due to the Auld Alliance . Additionally, there were Dutch and Middle Low German influences due to trade with and immigration from the Low Countries . Scots also includes loan words in the legal and administrative fields resulting from contact with Middle Irish , and reflected in early medieval legal documents. Contemporary Scottish Gaelic loans are mainly for geographical and cultural features, such as cèilidh , loch , whisky , glen and clan . Cumbric and Pictish ,
5246-541: The Scottish Highlands , the Hebrides , and Galloway after the sixteenth century; or Broad Scots , to distinguish it from Scottish Standard English . Modern Scots is a sister language of Modern English , as the two diverged from the same medieval form of English. Scots is recognised as an indigenous language of Scotland by the Scottish government, a regional or minority language of Europe, and
5368-469: The Second World War . It has recently taken on the nature of wholesale language shift , sometimes also termed language change , convergence or merger . By the end of the twentieth century, Scots was at an advanced stage of language death over much of Lowland Scotland . Residual features of Scots are often regarded as slang. A 2010 Scottish Government study of "public attitudes towards
5490-556: The Treaty of Berwick brought the Second War of Independence to an end, the Scots agreed to pay a ransom of 100,000 merks , and David was allowed to return home. Heavy taxation was needed to pay for the ransom, which was to be paid in instalments, and David alienated his subjects by using the money for his own purposes. By 1363 it was found impossible to raise the remaining ransom, and David sought its cancellation by offering to bequeath
5612-753: The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority . Decommissioned at the end of the 20th century, it is estimated the site will not be cleared of all the waste until the 2070s, so will continue to provide employment. Thurso is also the name of the viscountcy held by the Sinclair family in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Thurso hosted the National Mòd in 2010, which was the first time this festival of Gaelic language and culture had been held so far north. Thurso has history as
5734-594: The University of Aberdeen , and only included reared speakers (people raised speaking Scots), not those who had learned the language. Part of the difference resulted from the central question posed by surveys: "Do you speak Scots?". In the Aberdeen University study, the question was augmented with the further clause "... or a dialect of Scots such as Border etc.", which resulted in greater recognition from respondents. The GRO concluded that there simply
5856-465: The 103-room Royal Hotel, Pentland Hotel, Waterside House, Murray House and the Category B listed Forss House Hotel, about 4 miles to the west of Thurso in a Georgian country mansion. At Sir John's Square is an ornamental garden and statue which was donated to the town by Sir Tollemache Sinclair in memory of his grandfather Sir John Sinclair , a prominent local figure responsible for the "compilation of
5978-554: The Crowns in 1603, the Standard English of England came to have an increasing influence on the spelling of Scots through the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England. After the Acts of Union in 1707 the emerging Scottish form of Standard English replaced Scots for most formal writing in Scotland. The eighteenth-century Scots revival saw the introduction of a new literary language descended from
6100-583: The Dounreay nuclear power plant was established at Dounreay in 1955, 9 miles (14 km) to the west of the town. The arrival of workers related to the power station caused a three-fold increase in the population of Thurso; the 1951 census gave a figure of 3,000 but this had swelled to 9,000 by 1971. This led to around 1,700 new houses being built in Thurso and nearby Castletown , a mixture of local authority housing blended with private houses and flats built by
6222-502: The English and his Scots adherents. By December, however, Balliol was forced to flee to England after the Battle of Annan , although he returned the following year as part of an invasion force led by the English king. Following the English victory at the Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333, David and his wife were sent for safety into France, reaching Boulogne on 14 May 1334. They were received very graciously by King Philip VI . Little
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#17327646405736344-450: The First Statistical Account of Scotland and the pioneering of agricultural reforms in Caithness". A Category C listed fountain was built in 1894 by the son of Sir George Sinclair. Also of note is the wellhouse of Meadow Well at the junction of Traill Street and Manson's Lane, which was the primary water supply for Thurso for centuries. The current well, with a conical roof, was completed in 1823. The war memorial in Thurso dates from 1922 and
6466-463: The Gothic style. The town contains the main campus of North Highland College and Thurso High School , the northernmost secondary school on the British mainland, which was established in 1958. Thurso Castle , built in 1872, is in ruins. Thurso is home to the football team Thurso FC , established in 1998, who play in the North Caledonian League , and the rugby teams Caithness Crushers and Caithness RFC . Thurso railway station , opened in 1874,
6588-399: The Kingdom of Great Britain, there is ample evidence that Scots was widely held to be an independent sister language forming a pluricentric diasystem with English. German linguist Heinz Kloss considered Modern Scots a Halbsprache ('half language') in terms of an abstand and ausbau languages framework, although today in Scotland most people's speech is somewhere on
6710-399: The Orkney island of Hoy and the towering Old Man of Hoy (a stack of rock standing out from the main island). Thurso has a cool oceanic climate ( Köppen Cfb ), featuring similar weather to the Scottish Highlands . The highest temperature recorded was 25 °C or 77 °F (July 1995) and the lowest −11 °C or 12.2 °F (December 2010). Although Thurso is mild enough to permit
6832-409: The Philosopher's Stane , a Scots translation of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , was published by Matthew Fitt . The vowel system of Modern Scots: Vowel length is usually conditioned by the Scottish vowel length rule . The orthography of Early Scots had become more or less standardised by the middle to late sixteenth century. After the Union of
6954-480: The Scots language was also featured. It was found that 1,508,540 people reported that they could speak Scots, with 2,444,659 reporting that they could speak, read, write or understand Scots, approximately 45% of Scotland's 2022 population. The Scottish Government set its first Scots Language Policy in 2015, in which it pledged to support its preservation and encourage respect, recognition and use of Scots. The Scottish Parliament website also offers some information on
7076-419: The Scots language" found that 64% of respondents (around 1,000 individuals in a representative sample of Scotland's adult population) "don't really think of Scots as a language", also finding "the most frequent speakers are least likely to agree that it is not a language (58%) and those never speaking Scots most likely to do so (72%)". Before the Treaty of Union 1707 , when Scotland and England joined to form
7198-448: The Scots' regency council, a treaty was signed at Berwick-upon-Tweed under which Scotland's nobility agreed to pay 100,000 marks , at the rate of 10,000 marks per year, as a ransom for their king. This was ratified by the Scottish Parliament at Scone on 6 November 1357. David returned to Scotland accompanied by a large contingent of Scottish nobles and clergy. He also brought his mistress, Katherine (or Catherine) Mortimer, of whom little
7320-512: The Scottish Executive recognises and respects Scots (in all its forms) as a distinct language, and does not consider the use of Scots to be an indication of poor competence in English. Evidence for its existence as a separate language lies in the extensive body of Scots literature, its independent – if somewhat fluid – orthographic conventions , and in its former use as the language of the original Parliament of Scotland . Because Scotland retained distinct political, legal, and religious systems after
7442-505: The Standard English cognate . This Written Scots drew not only on the vernacular, but also on the King James Bible , and was heavily influenced by the norms and conventions of Augustan English poetry . Consequently, this written Scots looked very similar to contemporary Standard English, suggesting a somewhat modified version of that, rather than a distinct speech form with a phonological system which had been developing independently for many centuries. This modern literary dialect, "Scots of
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#17327646405737564-497: The Union, many Scots terms passed into Scottish English. During the 2010s, increased interest was expressed in the language. The status of the language was raised in Scottish schools, with Scots being included in the new national school curriculum . Previously in Scotland's schools there had been little education taking place through the medium of Scots, although it may have been covered superficially in English lessons, which could entail reading some Scots literature and observing
7686-467: The activities of those such as Thomas Sheridan , who in 1761 gave a series of lectures on English elocution . Charging a guinea at a time (about £200 in today's money ), they were attended by over 300 men, and he was made a freeman of the City of Edinburgh . Following this, some of the city's intellectuals formed the Select Society for Promoting the Reading and Speaking of the English Language in Scotland. These eighteenth-century activities would lead to
7808-521: The book" or Standard Scots, once again gave Scots an orthography of its own, lacking neither "authority nor author". This literary language used throughout Lowland Scotland and Ulster, embodied by writers such as Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Murray , David Herbison , James Orr, James Hogg and William Laidlaw among others, is well described in the 1921 Manual of Modern Scots . Other authors developed dialect writing, preferring to represent their own speech in
7930-435: The border between English and Scots dialects. Scots was studied alongside English and Scots Gaelic in the Linguistic Survey of Scotland at the University of Edinburgh , which began in 1949 and began to publish results in the 1970s. Also beginning in the 1970s, the Atlas Linguarum Europae studied the Scots language used at 15 sites in Scotland, each with its own dialect. From the mid-sixteenth century, written Scots
8052-413: The close friendship between the Campbell and Witteler families as well as their respective Scout Groups continued, and in 1979 the towns were formally twinned. Scouts from Thurso and Brilon continue to meet regularly, and 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the formal twinning with 60 German Scouts and 12 civic guests from Brilon visiting Thurso to mark the occasion. Notes Scots language Scots
8174-424: The closest town. Thurso railway station is the most northerly location served by Britain's rail network , which links the town directly with Wick, the county town of Caithness, and with Inverness. Thurso is bordered by the parishes of Olrig and Bower to the east, Halkirk to the south, and Reay to the west, and stretches from Holborn Head and Crosskirk Bay in the west to Dunnet Head and Dunnet Bay in
8296-508: The complementary decline of French made Scots the prestige dialect of most of eastern Scotland. By the sixteenth century, Middle Scots had established orthographic and literary norms largely independent of those developing in England. From 1610 to the 1690s during the Plantation of Ulster , some 200,000 Scots-speaking Lowlanders settled as colonists in Ulster in Ireland. In the core areas of Scots settlement, Scots outnumbered English settlers by five or six to one. The name Modern Scots
8418-403: The creation of Scottish Standard English . Scots remained the vernacular of many rural communities and the growing number of urban working-class Scots. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the use of Scots as a literary language was revived by several prominent Scotsmen such as Robert Burns . Such writers established a new cross-dialect literary norm. Scots terms were included in
8540-440: The decree of King David II of Scotland, a measure of the town's economic importance. Old St Peter's Kirk is said to date from circa 1220 and the time of Caithness Bishop Gilbert Murray, who died in 1245. In 1649, Gaels from Ireland, led by Donald Macalister Mullach, attacked Thurso and were chased off by the residents, headed by Sir James Sinclair. One of the locals, a servant of Sinclair was said to have killed Mullach by "cutting
8662-434: The earlier i-mutated version Scyttisc . Before the end of the fifteenth century, English speech in Scotland was known as "English" (written Ynglis or Inglis at the time), whereas "Scottish" ( Scottis ) referred to Gaelic . By the beginning of the fifteenth century, the English language used in Scotland had arguably become a distinct language, albeit one lacking a name which clearly distinguished it from all
8784-749: The early twentieth century, a renaissance in the use of Scots occurred, its most vocal figure being Hugh MacDiarmid whose benchmark poem " A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle " (1926) did much to demonstrate the power of Scots as a modern idiom. Other contemporaries were Douglas Young , John Buchan , Sydney Goodsir Smith , Robert Garioch , Edith Anne Robertson and Robert McLellan . The revival extended to verse and other literature. In 1955, three Ayrshire men – Sandy MacMillan, an English teacher at Ayr Academy ; Thomas Limond, noted town chamberlain of Ayr ; and A. L. "Ross" Taylor, rector of Cumnock Academy – collaborated to write Bairnsangs ("Child Songs"),
8906-652: The east. It lies slightly further north than the Alaskan capital of Juneau , and slightly further south than the Swedish capital of Stockholm . The 34-mile (55 km) River Thurso , reputable for its salmon fishing, flows through the town and into Thurso Bay and the Pentland Firth . The river estuary serves as a small harbour. Thurso has a fine harbour and beach and looks out over the Pentland Firth to
9028-428: The era of Norse Orcadian rule in Caithness , which ended conclusively in 1266. Neolithic horned cairns found on nearby Shebster Hill, which were used for burials and rituals, date back about 5,000 years. The town was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. In 1330 Scotland's standard unit of weight was brought in line with that of Thurso at
9150-594: The face and was captured and taken prisoner by Sir John de Coupland . The king was taken to Wark on Tweed , and then to Bamburgh Castle , where barber-surgeons from York were brought to treat his serious injuries. David II was transferred to London , where he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in January 1347. David was transferred to Windsor Castle in Berkshire upon the return of Edward III from France. The depiction of David being presented to King Edward III in
9272-516: The fifteenth century, much literature based on the Royal Court in Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews was produced by writers such as Robert Henryson , William Dunbar , Gavin Douglas and David Lyndsay . The Complaynt of Scotland was an early printed work in Scots. The Eneados is a Middle Scots translation of Virgil 's Aeneid , completed by Gavin Douglas in 1513. After
9394-425: The growth of trees, the windswept surroundings mostly consist of grasslands resembling the offshore northern archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland . The sea remains chilly also in summer and offshore sea surface temperatures do not fluctuate much throughout the year. Historically, Thurso was known for its production of linen cloth and had a thriving tanning business. Fishing has always been of major significance in
9516-622: The language in Scots. In September 2024, experts of the Council of Europe called on the UK Government to "boost support for regional and minority languages", including the Scots Language. The serious use of the Scots language for news, encyclopaediae, documentaries, etc., remains rare. It is reportedly reserved for niches where it is deemed acceptable, e.g. comedy, Burns Night or traditions' representations. Since 2016,
9638-574: The language used in different situations. Such an approach would be inappropriate for a Census." Thus, although it was acknowledged that the "inclusion of such a Census question would undoubtedly raise the profile of Scots", no question about Scots was, in the end, included in the 2001 Census. The Scottish Government's Pupils in Scotland Census 2008 found that 306 pupils spoke Scots as their main home language. A Scottish Government study in 2010 found that 85% of around 1000 respondents (being
9760-531: The language. A Gaelic language nursery school, Cròileagan Inbhir Theòrsa, was created in the town in 1996. North Coast Visitor Centre is a small museum that opened in 2021, following the closure of Caithness Horizons in 2019. The museum continues to host panels from the control room at the Dounreay Materials Testing Reactor (DMTR), which in 1958 had become Scotland's first operation nuclear reactor. With its powerful swells, Thurso
9882-599: The largest swimming club in the Highland area, Thurso Amateur Swimming Club (TASC), with over 250 members. Thurso Bowling Club is next door to the Tesco supermarket. Also of note is Caithness Motocross Club, which stages races fortnightly during the summer on tracks around the county. Thurso railway station opened in 1874. It was the most northern station on the Sutherland and Caithness Railway . The station became part of
10004-571: The local dialect. Much of the material used was often Standard English disguised as Scots, which caused upset among proponents of Standard English and proponents of Scots alike. One example of the educational establishment's approach to Scots is, "Write a poem in Scots. (It is important not to be worried about spelling in this – write as you hear the sounds in your head.)", whereas guidelines for English require teaching pupils to be "writing fluently and legibly with accurate spelling and punctuation". A course in Scots language and culture delivered through
10126-493: The medieval Brittonic languages of Northern England and Scotland, are the suspected source of a small number of Scots words, such as lum (derived from Cumbric) meaning "chimney". From the thirteenth century, the Early Scots language spread further into Scotland via the burghs , which were proto-urban institutions first established by King David I . In fourteenth-century Scotland, the growth in prestige of Early Scots and
10248-614: The medium of Standard English and produced by the Open University (OU) in Scotland, the Open University's School of Languages and Applied Linguistics as well as Education Scotland became available online for the first time in December 2019. In the 2011 Scottish census , a question on Scots language ability was featured In the 2022 census conducted by the Scottish Government , a question in relation to
10370-437: The most northerly secondary school on the British mainland, established in 1958. The town also has three primary schools, Pennyland, Miller Academy Primary and Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant Primary School has a Scottish Gaelic medium unit, part of a revival of the language in Caithness. According to the 2011 census, 110 residents of the town age three and over (1.43%) speak Gaelic while 181 overall (2.35%) have some facility with
10492-526: The name of the town name may have its roots there. Norse influence translated its name to Thjorsá , then altered it to Thorsá , based on the deity of Thor and translating as (the place on) Thor's River. The local Scots name, Thursa , derives from the Norse, as does the modern Scottish Gaelic Inbhir Theòrsa . Inbhir means a river mouth, and is generally found as Inver in many anglicised names. Thurso's history stretches back to at least
10614-402: The new ward, named Thurso and Northwest Caithness , was contested for the first time in the Highland Council election of 2017 . The incumbent councillors are Cllr Matthew Reiss (Independent), Provost Struan Mackie ( Scottish Conservative ), Cllr Ron Gunn ( Scottish Liberal Democrats ) and Cllr Karl Rosie ( Scottish National Party ). Electing four members to the new ward, it is one of two within
10736-420: The newspaper The National has regularly published articles in the language. The 2010s also saw an increasing number of English books translated in Scots and becoming widely available, particularly those in popular children's fiction series such as The Gruffalo , Harry Potter , Diary of a Wimpy Kid , and several by Roald Dahl and David Walliams . In 2021, the music streaming service Spotify created
10858-574: The next king. Over the next few years, David strung out secret negotiations with Edward III, which apparently appeased the matter. His wife, Queen Joan, died on 7 September 1362 (aged 41) at Hertford Castle , Hertfordshire , possibly a victim of the Black Death . He remarried, on about 20 February 1364, to Margaret Drummond , widow of Sir John Logie, and daughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond. He divorced her on about 20 March 1370. They had no children. Margaret, however, travelled to Avignon , and made
10980-401: The old court Scots, but with an orthography that had abandoned some of the more distinctive old Scots spellings and adopted many standard English spellings. Despite the updated spelling, however, the rhymes make it clear that a Scots pronunciation was intended. These writings also introduced what came to be known as the apologetic apostrophe , generally occurring where a consonant exists in
11102-458: The other English variants and dialects spoken in Britain. From 1495, the term Scottis was increasingly used to refer to the Lowland vernacular and Erse , meaning "Irish", was used as a name for Gaelic. For example, towards the end of the fifteenth century, William Dunbar was using Erse to refer to Gaelic and, in the early sixteenth century, Gavin Douglas was using Scottis as
11224-497: The past (e.g. Corby or the former mining areas of Kent ). In the 2022 census conducted by the Scottish Government , it was found that 1,508,540 people reported that they could speak Scots, with 2,444,659 reporting that they could speak, read, write or understand Scots, approximately 45% of Scotland's 2022 population. Among the earliest Scots literature is John Barbour's Brus (fourteenth century), Wyntoun 's Cronykil and Blind Harry 's The Wallace (fifteenth century). From
11346-561: The play The Raigne of King Edward the Third is fictitious. David and his household were later moved to Odiham Castle in Hampshire . His imprisonment was not reputed to be a rigorous one as was typical of most royal prisoners. However, the fact that from 1355 he was denied contact with any of his subjects may indicate otherwise. He remained captive in England for eleven years. On 3 October 1357, after several protracted negotiations with
11468-487: The region became a unitary council area . From 1996 until 2007, the town of Thurso was covered by two or three wards , each electing one councillor by the first-past-the-post system of election. In 2007, a single Thurso ward was created to elect three councillors by the single transferable vote system. In 2017 the Thurso ward was absorbed into a new multi member ward along with the Western portion of Landward Caithness,
11590-476: The reins of government into his own hands, at the age of 17. In 1346, under the terms of the Auld Alliance , David invaded England to try to draw King Edward away from the French, who had been invaded by the English and badly defeated at the battle of Crécy . After initial success at Hexham, David's army was soundly defeated at the battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346. David suffered two arrow wounds to
11712-413: The remainder had some degree of skill, such as understanding Scots (0.27 million, 5.2%) or being able to speak it but not read or write it (0.18 million, 3.5%). There were also small numbers of Scots speakers recorded in England and Wales on the 2011 Census, with the largest numbers being either in bordering areas (e.g. Carlisle ) or in areas that had recruited large numbers of Scottish workers in
11834-458: The royal government of King Robert remained largely in place from 1329 to 1332. After Moray's death, on 20 July 1332, he was replaced by Donald, Earl of Mar , elected by an assembly of the magnates of Scotland at Perth , 2 August 1332. Ten days later, Mar fell at the Battle of Dupplin Moor . Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell, who was married to Christian (or Christina) , the sister of King Robert I ,
11956-601: The running of the local economy, and the Thurso Shipowner's Association oversaw much of the shipping activity. The port of Scrabster lies about 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km) to the west of the estuary of the River Thurso, and plays a significant role in the white fish industry in Scotland. Scrabster has deep water in the shelter of Holborn Head. The harbour includes a berth for the MV Hamnavoe ,
12078-521: The seventeenth century, anglicisation increased. At the time, many of the oral ballads from the borders and the North East were written down. Writers of the period were Robert Sempill , Robert Sempill the younger , Francis Sempill , Lady Wardlaw and Lady Grizel Baillie . In the eighteenth century, writers such as Allan Ramsay , Robert Burns , James Orr , Robert Fergusson and Walter Scott continued to use Scots – Burns's " Auld Lang Syne "
12200-404: The southernmost point of Norway and in addition lies more than 500 miles (800 km) north of London . It lies at the junction of the north–south A9 road and the west–east A836 road , connected to Bridge of Forss in the west and Castletown in the east. The 34-mile (55 km) River Thurso flows through the town and into Thurso Bay and the Pentland Firth . The river estuary serves as
12322-460: The stained glass windows such as 'The Sower'. In 2013 gravestones were vandalised in the graveyard. Holburn Head Lighthouse , within the parish territory, was completed in 1862 to a design by David & Thomas Stevenson and has since achieved Category B listed status. The Swanson Gallery of Thurso hosts exhibitions throughout the year, and showcases glass art by Ian Pearson. The North Coast Visitor Centre also hosts exhibitions. Hotels of note include
12444-517: The succession to the Scottish throne to Edward III or one of his sons. In 1364, the parliament of Scotland rejected David's proposal to make Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence , the next king. Despising his nephew, David sought to prevent him succeeding to his throne by marrying his mistress Margaret Drummond and producing an alternative heir. When his second wife failed to do so, David unsuccessfully attempted to divorce her. Although David spent long periods in exile or captivity, he managed to ensure
12566-524: The survival of his kingdom, reformed the machinery of government, and left the Scottish monarchy in a strong position. The last male of the House of Bruce , he died childless in 1371 after a reign of 41 years and was succeeded by his nephew Robert II. David II was born on 5 March 1324 at Dunfermline Abbey in Fife , one of twin sons born to King Robert the Bruce , and Elizabeth de Burgh . Soon after his birth he
12688-536: The thirteenth century. The succeeding variety of Northern Early Middle English spoken in southeastern Scotland is also known as Early Scots . It began to further diverge from the Middle English of Northumbria due to twelfth- and thirteenth-century immigration of Scandinavian-influenced Middle English–speakers from the North and Midlands of England . Later influences on the development of Scots came from
12810-820: The twentieth-century biographer of James Boswell (1740–1795), described James's view of the use of Scots by his father Alexander Boswell (1706–1782) in the eighteenth century while serving as a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland : He scorned modern literature, spoke broad Scots from the bench, and even in writing took no pains to avoid the Scotticisms which most of his colleagues were coming to regard as vulgar. However, others did scorn Scots, such as Scottish Enlightenment intellectuals David Hume and Adam Smith , who went to great lengths to get rid of every Scotticism from their writings. Following such examples, many well-off Scots took to learning English through
12932-542: The uncertainty of the Anglo-Scottish peace meant he was not moved from Turnberry to Scone for his coronation for two-and-a-half years. The seven-year-old king and his wife were crowned at Scone Abbey on 24 November 1331, with David becoming the first Scottish monarch to be anointed at their coronation. Upon David's accession, Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray was appointed as Guardian under Robert I's orders, to govern Scotland until David reached adulthood, and
13054-673: The varieties of Scots are dialects of Scottish English or constitute a separate language in their own right. The UK government now accepts Scots as a regional language and has recognised it as such under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . Notwithstanding the UK government's and the Scottish Executive's obligations under part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,
13176-414: The west of Thurso Road and provided poor relief for Thurso and the parishes of Bower , Canisbay , Dunnet , Halkirk , Olrig , Reay and Watten . Many of the poorhouses in Scotland were under used, and by 1924 the building had been unoccupied for several years so was sold; it was later utilised as housing but by 2001 was again abandoned. Much of the town is a planned 19th-century development. In 1906,
13298-466: Was wet nursed at the Bishop of St Andrews ' manor at Inchmurdoch in Fife . David was created Earl of Carrick by his father in 1326, and an official household was established for the prince at Turnberry Castle . Very little is known of his youth, though it is recorded that King Robert paid for Dominican friars to educate David, and also purchased books for him. David's mother died in 1327, when he
13420-489: Was a "quite modern mistake". During the first half of the twentieth century, knowledge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literary norms waned, and as of 2006 , there is no institutionalised standard literary form. By the 1940s, the Scottish Education Department 's language policy was that Scots had no value: "it is not the language of 'educated' people anywhere, and could not be described as
13542-519: Was chosen as the new Guardian. The English took him prisoner at Roxburgh in April 1333 and was accordingly replaced as Guardian by Archibald Douglas (the Tyneman) , who fell at the Battle of Halidon Hill that July. Meanwhile, on 24 September 1332, following the Scots' defeat at Dupplin, Edward Balliol , a protégé of Edward III of England , and a pretender to the throne of Scotland, was crowned by
13664-513: Was crowned at Scone in November 1331, becoming the first Scottish monarch to be anointed at his coronation. During his childhood, David was governed by a series of guardians , and Edward III of England sought to take advantage of David's minority by supporting an invasion of Scotland by Edward Balliol , beginning the Second War of Scottish Independence . Following the English victory at
13786-517: Was designed by Percy Portsmouth . The main campus of North Highland College , formerly Thurso College, is one of several partner colleges which constitute the University of the Highlands & Islands . It offers several certificate, diploma and degree courses from subjects as diverse as Nuclear Decommissioning, Hairdressing, Gamekeeping and Golf Management. Adjacent to the UHI is Thurso High School ,
13908-645: Was established in 1998 and plays in the North Caledonian League . Caithness Crushers are a rugby league club playing in the Scotland Rugby League Conference Division 1, while Caithness RFC are a rugby union club that participate in the Caledonia One . The local athletics club is Caithness Amateur Athletics Club (C.A.A.C.); hurdler Moira Mcbeath was a 1986 Commonwealth Games athlete. Thurso has
14030-446: Was found impossible to raise the ransom instalment of 1363. David then made for London and sought to get rid of the liability by offering to bequeath Scotland to Edward III, or one of his sons, in return for a cancellation of the ransom. David did this with the full awareness that the Scots would never accept such an arrangement. In 1364, the Scottish parliament indignantly rejected a proposal to make Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence ,
14152-596: Was granted for the Baillie wind farm near Thurso which will feature 21 turbines and supply 52.5 MW, enough for 25,000 homes. The Category A listed ruined Old St Peter's Church (St. Peter's Kirk) is one of the older churches in Scotland, dated to at least 1125, and at one time it was the principal church for the county, administered by the Bishops of Caithness. The church held hearings against criminal activity and determined how those caught should be punished. In 1701,
14274-659: Was increasingly influenced by the developing Standard English of Southern England due to developments in royal and political interactions with England. When William Flower , an English herald , spoke with Mary of Guise and her councillors in 1560, they first used the "Scottyshe toung" . As he found this hard to understand, they switched into her native French. King James VI , who in 1603 became James I of England , observed in his work Some Reulis and Cautelis to Be Observit and Eschewit in Scottis Poesie that "For albeit sindrie hes written of it in English, quhilk
14396-423: Was not buried – as he had previously planned – beside his parents at Dunfermline Abbey , but before the high altar of Holyrood Abbey . This choice may have been made because Holyrood was the closest church to hand, only a mile away from Edinburgh Castle, and because David's successor wished to quickly draw a line under the previous reign. The funeral was overseen by Abbot Thomas. As David II left no children, he
14518-415: Was not enough linguistic self-awareness amongst the Scottish populace, with people still thinking of themselves as speaking badly pronounced, grammatically inferior English rather than Scots, for an accurate census to be taken. The GRO research concluded that "[a] more precise estimate of genuine Scots language ability would require a more in-depth interview survey and may involve asking various questions about
14640-432: Was the notion of "Scottishness" itself. Many leading Scots of the period, such as David Hume , defined themselves as Northern British rather than Scottish. They attempted to rid themselves of their Scots in a bid to establish standard English as the official language of the newly formed union. Nevertheless, Scots was still spoken across a wide range of domains until the end of the eighteenth century. Frederick Pottle ,
14762-503: Was three years old. In accordance with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton 's terms, on 17 July 1328, when he was four years old, David was married to seven-year-old Joan , the daughter of Edward II of England and Isabella of France , at Berwick Castle . The young earl of Carrick received a visit from his ailing father at Turnberry in February 1329. David became king upon the death of his father on 7 June 1329. David II's youth and
14884-497: Was translated into Scots by Rab Wilson and published in 2004. Alexander Hutchison has translated the poetry of Catullus into Scots, and in the 1980s, Liz Lochhead produced a Scots translation of Tartuffe by Molière . J. K. Annand translated poetry and fiction from German and Medieval Latin into Scots. The strip cartoons Oor Wullie and The Broons in the Sunday Post use some Scots. In 2018, Harry Potter and
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