400th Anniversary Conference

15th and 16th April 2011

A Celebration of the Life and Times of the 17th century laird of Cromarty, civil war soldier, writer and translator of Rabelais.

A two-day conference is scarcely long enough to cover all aspects of the extraordinary career of Sir Thomas Urquhart. An Episcopalian Laird in a Presbyterian community in continual dispute with the local clergy; a Royalist soldier whose military exploits began at the Trot of Turriff and ended at the Battle of Worcester; the would-be inventor of a Universal Language; a writer of unsurpassed verbosity who traced his ancestry back to Adam and Eve; Urquhart was also the finest ever translator of the works of Rabelais.

Cromarty Arts Trust, in partnership with colleagues at the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty with an academic conference in April next year.

We aim to cover all aspects of Sir Thomas’ extraordinary life - his tempestuous relationship with the local clergy and sundry creditors; the travels in France, Italy and Spain; his military involvement with the Royalist cause in the Civil Wars and, of course, the remarkable publications on mathematics, genealogy, a universal language as well as his translation of Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel. Speakers will also set his life in a historical and literary context, offering a uniquely full analysis of Urquhart’s life and times.

Speakers on the programme include the following:

Dr David Alston, Cromarty Courthouse Museum
Professor Allan MacInnes, University of Strathclyde
Dr Barry Robertson, University of Aberdeen                                                                                        Dr Kirsten Mathews, UHI
Professor Steve Murdoch, University of St Andrews
Dr David Worthington, UHI
Ms Laura Hedrick, University of St Andrews
Professor Anne Prescott, Barnard College, New York, USA
Dr Richard Scholar, University of Oxford
Dr Wes Williams, University of Oxford
Dr Stuart Gillespie, University of Glasgow
Andrew Drummond, novelist, author of 'A Handbook of Volapuk'                                                         Professor Rod Lyall, Free University of Amsterdam                                                                             Very Rev. Dr Emsley Nimmo, Dean of Aberdeen and Orkney

Delegate Fees

Full delegate: £35.00 including all meals, £25 for students, unwaged, seniors and members of the Clan Urquhart Society.

Day delegate rates are available. Please see application form

Click hereuserfiles/file/APPLICATION%20FORM(2).pdf  for a pdf of the Conference Application Form
Receipt of this application will be acknowledged and you will also be sent more details prior to the conference in 2011. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the conference, travel directions or accommodation in Cromarty.
You can also provisionally reserve a place at the Conference by emailing info@cromartyartstrust.org.uk