John Major

John Major was bom in North Berwick, Scotland in 1469. After receiving an education at Cambridge and Paris he taught philosophy at Glasgow University. As well as writing several books on religion. Major wrote a History of Greater Britain. The book, first published in 1521, concentrates on events in Scotland and provides a detailed account of the military campaigns of William Wallace and Robert Bruce. John Major died in 1550.

Primary Sources

(1) John Major, The History of Greater Britain (1521)

I have observed how it is the custom of the vulgar Scot to say nasty things about the English. Love and hatred have this in common: they tend to blind our intelligent judgement of things... (a historian) needs to rid himself of this habit.

(2) John Major, The History of Greater Britain (1521)

At this time (the reign of Richard the Lionheart) there flourished the most famous robbers Robin Hood and Little John, who lay in wait in the woods, and robbed those that were wealthy... The feats of Robin are told in song all over Britain. He would allow no woman to suffer injustice, nor would he rob the poor, but rather enriched them from the plunder taken from abbots.