HIT TV series Outlander is part of a new online course on the Jacobites run by the National Museums Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.
Beginning today, the free course aims to bring the era to life and will feature Sir Walter Scott’s 19th-century novels as well as Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander.
Battles, rebellion and exile will be the focus of the three-week course covering James II’s flight to France in 1688 through to Culloden in 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie – the grandson of James II – was defeated.
Paintings and objects associated with politicians, nobility and royalty of the era will be part of the Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites course, which will also look at the cultural legacy of the Jacobite risings.
The Massive Open-access Online Course (MOOC) has been inspired by the current Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It has been developed by senior museum curators and art historians.
“You don’t need any prior knowledge to sign up,” said the course’s academic lead, professor Viccy Coltman.
“The course promises a fascinating mix of academic research and curatorial expertise. By teaching the history of the Jacobites through a rich array of objects from the period, we hope to bring this fascinating era to life.”
David Forsyth, curator of the exhibition, added: “One of the key aims of our exhibition is very much to encourage and inspire people to explore further for themselves this fascinating and complex period in Scottish, British and European history.
“We’re delighted to be working with the University of Edinburgh to develop this resource, which will both enable that and also let people from all over the world who are unable to see the exhibition in person view and appreciate some of the wonderful objects and the insights they can reveal.”
The Jacobite exhibition ran into controversy before it opened, with demonstrators protesting that Gaelic had been sidelined.
The National Museum of Scotland was accused of minimising the role of the language in the exhibition and failing to provide Gaelic translations.
However the museum’s director Dr Gordon Rintoul said the protests were based on a “misunderstanding”.
“It’s not an exhibition that focuses on the Highlands or the Jacobite risings,” he said.
“It’s an exhibition that covers a huge sweep of European history over 200 years. We are telling a broad story of the attempts by the Jacobites to restore the Stuart dynasty.
“It’s not a Scottish story, or a narrow Gaelic-related story. There is a misunderstanding or assumption of what the exhibition might be about.”
Campaign group Misneachd maintained it was a “cultural appropriation and English-language colonisation of our history”.
“The museum is attempting to make money and raise its profile internationally from a history completely interlinked with the language of the Highlands,” said the group.
“One of the main difficulties faced by Gaelic speakers is their compatriots’ lack of understanding of how strong the link is between Gaelic and the important events in our history.
“If we present our history without any reference to the important part Gaelic played in it, it is little wonder some Scots still don’t understand that Gaelic has relevance in Scotland today.”
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