This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on William Forbes Skene is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
William Forbes Skene (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), Scottish historian and antiquary, was the second son of Sir Walter Scott's friend, James Skene (1775–1864), of Rubislaw, near Aberdeen.
He was educated at Edinburgh Academy in Edinburgh and at the University of St Andrews, taking an especial interest in the study of Celtic philology and literature. In 1832, he became a writer to the signet (WS), and shortly afterwards obtained an official appointment in the bill department of the Court of Session, which he held until 1865. His early interest in the history and antiquities of the Scottish Highlands bore its first fruit in 1837, when he published The Highlanders of Scotland, their Origin, History and Antiquities.
In 1847, during the Highland Potato Famine, he was appointed Secretary to the Central Board for Highland Relief. In this position he worked closely with Sir Charles Trevelyan, Assistant Secretary to the Treasury.
His chief work, however, is his Celtic Scotland, a History of Ancient Alban (5 vols., Edinburgh, 1876-1880), perhaps the most important contribution to Scottish history written during the 19th century. In 1879 he was made a Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) of the University of Oxford, and in 1881 Historiographer Royal for Scotland. He died in Edinburgh on August 29, 1892.
The most important of Skene's other works are: editions of John of Fordun's Chronica genus Scotorum (Edinburgh, 1871–1872); of the Four Ancient Books of Wales (Edinburgh, 1868); of the Chronicles of the Picts and Scots (Edinburgh, 1867); and of Adomnán's Vita S. Columbae (Edinburgh, 1874); an Essay on the Coronation Stone of Scone (Edinburgh, 1869); and Memorials of the Family of Skene of Skene (Aberdeen, 1887).
References
- "Skene, William Forbes." British Authors of the Nineteenth Century H. W. Wilson Company, New York, 1936.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
- Skene, William Forbes (1837), Macbain, Alexander, ed., The Highlanders of Scotland, Stirling: Eneas Mackay, 1902, http://books.google.com/books?id=zUkNAAAAIAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes, ed. (1847), Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis, Consisting of Original Papers and Documents Relating to the History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Edinburgh: Thomas G. Stevenson, http://books.google.com/books?id=U1cJAAAAIAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1862), "Introduction and Additional Notes", in M'Lauchlan, Thomas, The Dean of Lismore's Book: A Selection of Ancient Gaelic Poetry, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, pp. i-xc, 137–152, http://books.google.com/books?id=k9D_sCG3t1cC
- Skene, William Forbes, ed. (1867), Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and Other Early Memorials of Scottish History, Edinburgh: Edinburgh General Register House, http://books.google.com/books?id=4DoUAAAAYAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1868), The Four Ancient Books of Wales, I, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, http://books.google.com/books?id=xeEIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover
- Skene, William Forbes (1868), The Four Ancient Books of Wales, II, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, http://books.google.com/books?id=7uEIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover
- Skene, William Forbes (1869), The Coronation Stone, Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas, http://books.google.com/books?id=JvwHAAAAQAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1869), The Gododdin Poems, Forgotten Books (published 2007), ISBN 1605061670, http://books.google.com/books/p/pub-4297897631756504?id=bZ6ytxW0EwwC
- Skene, Felix James Henry; Skene, William Forbes (1872), John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, http://www.archive.org/details/johnoffordunschr00fordrich
- Skene, William Forbes (1884), The Gospel history for the young, being lessons on the life of Christ adapted for use in families and in Sunday Schools, I, Edinburgh: Douglas, http://www.archive.org/details/thegospelhistory01skenuoft
- Skene, William Forbes (1884), The Gospel history for the young, being lessons on the life of Christ adapted for use in families and in Sunday Schools, II, Edinburgh: Douglas, http://www.archive.org/details/thegospelhistory02skenuoft
- Skene, William Forbes (1884), The Gospel history for the young, being lessons on the life of Christ adapted for use in families and in Sunday Schools, III, Edinburgh: Douglas, http://www.archive.org/details/thegospelhistory03skenuoft
- Skene, William Forbes, ed. (1887), Memorials of the Family of Skene of Skene, Aberdeen: New Spalding Club, http://books.google.com/books?id=XbUEAAAAIAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1886), Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban (History and Ethnology), I (2nd ed.), Edinburgh: David Douglas, http://books.google.com/books?id=_kcNAAAAIAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1887), Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban (Church and Culture), II, Edinburgh: David Douglas, http://books.google.com/books?id=oJoQAAAAYAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1890), Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban (Land and People), III (2nd ed.), Edinburgh: David Douglas, http://books.google.com/books?id=tDsUAAAAYAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1891), The Lord's Supper and The Passover Ritual; Being a Translation of the Substance of Professor Bickell's Work Termed "Messe Und Pasha.", Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, http://books.google.com/books?id=ZAIUAAAAYAAJ
- Skene, William Forbes (1905), East Neuk Chronicles, Aberdeen: "Aberdeen Journal" and "Evening Express", http://books.google.com/books?id=5JALAAAAYAAJ
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 14 October 2008, at 05:19.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "William Forbes Skene".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.