A Scottish sovereign? Image, iconography and Union on Scotland’s coins, medals and seals under the reigns of James VI and I and Charles I, 1603-1642

McMurray, Shane Anthony (2018) A Scottish sovereign? Image, iconography and Union on Scotland’s coins, medals and seals under the reigns of James VI and I and Charles I, 1603-1642. MRes thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The Union of the Crowns was a crucial moment towards parliamentary union and the evolution of the British state. Although much has been written on the subject of union in recent years comparatively little has focused on the topic from a cultural standpoint. The intention is to examine how the concept of magnae britanniae - Great Britain - manifested itself through the coins, medals and seals of the Scottish and English states of the period. Looking beyond a purely economic and numismatic framework, this investigation will consider the artistic, cultural and political value of these items. It will reveal the role these extraordinary objects played in promoting union, consolidating the expression of an enduring British unionist iconography and cultural identity. This study will demonstrate the significance these objects had in shaping conceptions of a unified realm in the contemporary imagination and contribute to the understanding of Anglo-Scottish relations during a crucial period in the development of the British state.

• Item Type: Thesis (MRes)
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Iconography, union, coins, medals, seals, Scotland, England, Britain, image, identity, James VI and I, Charles I, Anglo-Scottish union, heraldry, numismatics, visual culture.
• Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CJ Numismatics; C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CR Heraldry; N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts
• Supervisor's Name: Willsdon, Professor Clare A.P., Bowie, Dr Karin and Pittock, Professor Murray
• Date of Award: 2018
• Depositing User: Mr Shane Anthony McMurray
• Unique ID: glathesis:2018-9038
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 08 May 2018 11:45
• Last Modified: 18 Jun 2018 10:08
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/9038