Dated approaches to history

Once upon a time, history was mostly about dates. It was felt that all school children needed to be able to reel off a list of “Important Events” and when they happened. More recently, historians have taken a different view, with the emphasis shifting towards trying to teach a greater understanding of the past.

And that should be welcomed. However, it’s just possible things may have gone a bit too far away from the good/bad old days if the dates are wrong even in exam papers.

Killing off Mary, Queen of Scots – John Knox’s “wicked woman”, see above – 20 years too early in 1567 may have been a simple mistake. Mary’s reign as queen came to an end in that year so a quick glance at a biography might lead to it being conflated with her execution 20 years later in England. It may have simply been a typo, a persistent scourge of good writing that newspapers know only too well.

But surely someone with a good knowledge of Scottish history should have been proof-checking the National 5 exam paper in question? After all, Mary was just 25 in 1567.