SAVE THE DATE: Rhind Lectures 2026
Martial Fervour: The Representation of Scottish Officers and Highland Regiments During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1793–1815
By Professor Viccy Coltman
When: Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June 2026
Where: Augustine United Church, Edinburgh & Online
These martial decades (1793–1815) have been extensively studied by military historians, and the 2026 Rhind Lectures pursue a complementary trajectory by offering a cultural history.
They consider the mortal wounds sustained on the battlefield by Scottish Commanders-in-Chief, before turning to oil-on-canvas martial portraits and miniatures. They explore the idealised martial body alongside hairstyles that were similarly subject to military regulation and, wherever possible, integrate the first hand experiences of those who bore arms with the broader reception and commemoration of wartime Britain as a nation at arms.
About the Speaker
Viccy Coltman is Professor of Eighteenth-Century History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, where she specialises in material culture – or ‘knick knack’ history – during the second half of the long 18th century in Scotland. Viccy is the author of four academic books and editor of two volumes. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Royal Historical Society; a trustee of the Jacobite Studies Trust, the Runciman Apse Trust and a member of the advisory board of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. She also edits a series with Edinburgh University Press.
About the Rhind Lectures
The Rhind Lectures are a series of six talks delivered annually since 1876 by eminent authorities in their subjects. They commemorate Society Fellow Alexander Henry Rhind of Sibster (1833–63).
In the years since his death, the Society has hosted Rhind Lectures on topics such as medieval Edinburgh, the early art of Scandinavia, 18th-century architecture in Britain, Mayan archaeology, and the archaeology of the African diaspora.
A full list of past Rhind lecture topics is available on Wikipedia and recordings of Rhind Lectures since 2014 are available on our YouTube channel.
How to Book
The Rhind Lectures are free and open to all though registration is required.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON
Image Credit: Major James Macdonell, c. 1804–09, by Henry Raeburn (© Museum of the Isles)
When: Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June 2026
Where: Augustine United Church, Edinburgh & Online
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