Joshua MacRae (MA (Hons) MSt FSAScot)

Thesis title: The Canmores: A Thematic Study of Dynastic Politics in Scotland and Europe, c.1058-1290

Biography

Background

My fascination with medieval Scotland began in my childhood, when I memorised the names and years (and appreciated the pictures) in books about kings and queens. Soon, I found that the more I read about medieval worlds, the less I understood them. My state education at Inverurie Academy supported me to develop my interest in Robert Bruce and the Scottish Wars of Independence, and allowed me to vent my frustration at the conflation of British and English histories. A resolution to learn where Scotland sits in worlds past and present propelled me beyond the terminus of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route for an undergraduate degree in History and Politics at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a 'character-building' Masters year reading Medieval History at Oxford. Thanks to an AHRC scholarship, I returned north of Hadrian's Wall to begin my doctoral research in Autumn 2025, supervised jointly at the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews. I look forward to testing what I thought I knew about 'the Canmore family' and to renewing my conviction that the study of medieval history can be personally rewarding and socially productive.

Outside of academia, I am a bookseller at Topping and Company Booksellers of Edinburgh, where I have facilitated literary events with leading author-historians, including Professors Peter Frankopan, Judith Green and Clare Jackson, as well as more publicly familiar personalities, such as Alistair Campbell, Kathleen Jamie and David Mitchell. I escape the world of the written word during walks in the Pentlands and when catching up with friends over a peppermint tea or a ginger beer.

I would be glad to hear from those - especially current or prospective students - who share my research interests.

Qualifications

MSt, Medieval History, University of Oxford (2025)

MA (Hons), History and Politics, The University of Edinburgh (2024)

Responsibilities & affiliations

I am a member of the Scottish History Society and Scottish Medievalists, and a Steward at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. 

In 2024, I was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and a Postgraduate Member of the Royal Historical Society. 

Additionally, I am Co-Convener of the History PGR Conference at Edinburgh (12-13 May 2026). 

Research summary

Places:

  • Scotland
  • Britain and Ireland
  • North-West Europe

Themes:

  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Society
  • Religion
  • Gender
  • Global contacts and connections
  • The lifecycle and life course
  • History of emotions

Periods:

  • High Middle Ages (c.1050-c.1350)

Current research interests

My AHRC-funded doctoral research will study the Canmore family as an elite lineage operating in and beyond Scotland. I am interested in problematising the frontier between the public and personal lives of rulers, and the distinctions within and between royal, noble and popular power. Pursuing these interests will allow me to rethink familiar narratives of kingship and polity-formation in Scotland and elsewhere in the Insular and European worlds.

Affiliated research centres

Project activity

The Canmore family and its transnational network and power, c.1034-1292.

Current project grants

SGSAH AHRC DTP2 Scholarship (2025-29)

Organiser

History PGR Conference, University of Edinburgh (12-13 May 2026)

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