The Bagpipes

A Cultural History

Richard McLauchlan author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd

Publishing:24th Apr '25

£20.00

This title is due to be published on 24th April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

The Bagpipes cover

A diverse history of the pipes--from inspiring terror on battlefields to enriching cultures worldwide.

History's first named bagpiper is a man playing a pipe 'with a bag tucked under his armpit' in the first century CE. He was the Roman Emperor Nero. Since then, this improbable conflation of bag and sticks has become the world's most beloved and contested instrument. Another piping emperor, Tsar Peter the Great, decided that his departed pet bear would live on--as a bagpipe.

This vivid history tells the long story of an instrument boasting over 130 varieties, yet commonly associated with just one, from one country: Scotland's Great Highland Bagpipe. In fact, the pipes are played across the globe, illuminating societies in remarkable, unexpected ways. Richard McLauchlan charts the rise of women pipers; investigates class, privilege and capitalism in the piping world; and explores how a 'national instrument' can shift in meaning amidst the currents of identity.

The vibrancy and inventiveness of today's pipers showcase the allure of this fabled, fascinating instrument, to which McLauchlan is our surefooted guide.

ISBN: 9781805262848

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

272 pages