Poetry

An Comunn Gàidhealach

Items from 1891 onwards published by An Comunn Gàidhealach, which organises the annual Royal National Mòd

Chapbooks printed in Scotland

Small cheap booklets sold on Scotland's streets were essential reading material for the masses in the 18th and 19th centuries

Early manuscripts

Medieval and early modern manuscripts from Scotland and beyond, including rare volumes and items with striking illuminations

Gaelic Bards of Keppoch

Songs written by Gaelic bards Iain Lom and Sìleas na Ceapaich. Available in Gaelic and English. Downloadable PDFs for teachers

Getting started with Shakespeare

Resources to help school pupils understand some of Shakespeare's works by exploring scenes and characters or writing sonnets

Lord Byron

Manuscripts relating to Lord Byron (1788 to 1824), including poems, journals and selected letters

Marjory Fleming

Read the diary, letters and poems of Marjory Fleming, adored in Victorian times, who died aged 8 in 1811

Phoebe Anna Traquair

Examine in detail Traquair's exquisite illuminated manuscript of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 'Sonnets from the Portuguese'

Publications by Scottish clubs

Historical texts from the 12th-19th centuries, edited by Scottish clubs, including manuscripts, church records, diaries, legends and literary texts

Rare items in Gaelic

Books, pamphlets and chapbooks printed in Gaelic between 1631 and 1900. Includes songs, poetry and religious books

The Auchinleck Manuscript

Middle English language and literature as Chaucer would have known it, contained in this rare document, with a full transcription

The Lyon in Mourning

A contemporary account of the Jacobite rising of 1745 to 1746 using eye-witness interviews and letters

The works of Robert Burns

A commonplace book and letters by Robert Burns (1759 to 1796), and the first printed edition of his poems

Wee Windaes

This site charts the continuum of the Scots language in printed form, from the 15th century to the present day

Works by selected Scottish authors

Out-of-copyright Scottish poetry, prose and children’s stories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries