Scot or Sassenach?

Sassenach or Scot?

It's St Andrew's Day on Sunday - when the Scots celebrate their Scottishness. So why don't the English celebrate St George's Day in the same way? Test your knowledge of Scots and Sassenachs with the Today quiz.

1.) Sassenach or Scot?

When was the 'British National Anthem' first sung?

1. 1745
   
2. 1795
   
3. 1845
   

2.) Sassenach or Scot?

When was the Bank of England established?

1. 1694
   
2. 1794
   
3. 1874
   

3.) Sassenach or Scot?

What place did Winston Churchill call a city of "bestial drunkenness"?

1. Edinburgh
   
2. Glasgow
   
3. Dundee
   

4.) Sassenach or Scot?

Who described the politicians who signed the Act of Union as a "parcel of rogues"?

1. King James VI
   
2. Robert Burns
   
3. Duke of Queensbury
   

5.) Sassenach or Scot?

At which battle in 1297 did William Wallace beat the English?

1. Culloden
   
2. Flodden
   
3. Stirling Bridge
   

Answers

1. Composed by Thomas Augustine Arne, the anthem was first sung at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1745 during the Jacobite invasion of England, after Bonnie Prince Charlie defeated George II's army at Prestonpans. It is the oldest national anthem in the world.
2. Due to the expensive national debt built up by the wars of William III, the Bank of England was established by a Scotsman William Paterson to help the country manage its debt. It began to issue banknotes in 1694.
3. Due to its problem with drink, Dundee had a strong anti-alcohol lobby and in 1922 the city elected Edwin Scrymgeour, founder of the Prohibition Party, instead of his opponent Conservative candidate Winston Churchill.
4. When the weakened Scottish Parliament dissolved itself in the Act of Union of 1707, Robert Burns thought its members had sold out to the English. "We're bought and sold for English gold/Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!" he wrote.
5. In September 1297, the English army were defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge by William Wallace and Sir Andrew Murray. The Scottish victory was shortlived - a year later they were defeated by Edward I's army at the Battle of Falkirk.

Your Score

0 - 1 : Tartan trouble

2 - 3 : Highland fling

4 - 5 : Whisky galore