‘A Centre … of Politeness and Refinement’: Edinburgh’s Augustan Age

Abstract

By the 1750s ‘enlightened’ ideas provided the framework for a period of intense intellectual activity; over the following thirty years, most of the greatest works of the Scottish Enlightenment, by Smith, Hume, Robertson, Kames, Ferguson and Millar, were published. The common concerns, associates, and activities of these writers helped to unify their approach. In this period Edinburgh’s social dominance was unchallenged; the city was an outstanding magnet for lawyers, gentry, and landowners. The self-confidence of the Town Council after 1767 bore fruit in the plans for the New Town. It would be possible also to trace the character of the Enlightenment in Glasgow and Aberdeen; yet Edinburgh was undoubtedly the focus of activity, and in this chapter the role of ‘enlightened’ leaders in the Church, in the clubs, and in the University, in Edinburgh will be considered.