Edinburgh High School of James VI
To pursue Sir Walter Scott’s stories of the reign of James VI and I – his stories tell more about the stote of the nation than most history books because they deal with people – here is another sample :-
“We have before mentioned, that in those wild days the very children had their deadly feuds, carried weapons, and followed the bloody example of their fathers. … in September 1595. The scholars of the High School of Edinburgh, having a dispute with their masters about the length of their holidays, resolved to stand out for a longer vacation. Accordingly, they took possession of the school in that most mutinous manner, which in England is known as ‘barring out’, and resisted the admission of the masters. Such foolish things have often occurred in public schools elsewhere; but what was peculiar to the High School boys of Edinburgh was, that they defended the school with sword and pistol, and when Bailie MacMorrran, one of the magistrates, gave direction to force the entrance, three of the boys fired, and killed him on the spot.There were none of them punished, because it was alleged that it could not be known which of them did the deed; but rather because two of them were gentleman’s sons.
There’s not much mileage in that for even a short story but using it as background can add authenticity to a longer tale, especially if the magistrates son takes revenge on all three of the shooters and provides a serial killer story. What makes that possible is the detail Scott provides.
The last king of only Scotland