A Dictionary of British and Irish History

K

KAILYARD

Scots term, meaning ‘cabbage patch’, which was applied pejoratively in 1895 to a school of Scottish fiction (popular 1880–1914). Kailyard writers typically set stories in idyllic, pre‐industrial Lowland rural communities in which old‐fashioned values prevailed. Events usually had happy endings. Notable Kailyard writers included J.M. Barrie (1860–1937) and S.R. Crockett (1859–1914). Kailyard novels were particularly popular in overseas Scottish communities. See also SCOTS LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.

KATHERINE OF ARAGON

(b. 16 Dec. 1485 at Alcalá de Henares, Castile, Spain; d. 7 Jan. 1536 at Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire, England, aged 50). Originally married in England (14 Nov. 1501) to Prince ARTHUR (d. 1502), Katherine subsequently married his brother King HENRY VIII (11 June 1509). She bore six children (1510–18) but only one, MARY, survived infancy. Failure to produce a male heir caused Henry to seek a divorce (from 1527). Katherine resisted and the couple lived apart (final meeting 11 July 1531). The marriage was pronounced invalid in 1533. See also HENRY VII; MEDINA DEL CAMPO, TREATY OF; GREAT MATTER; HENRY VIII, WIVES OF.

KAY, JOHN

(b. 16 July 1704 at Walmersley, Lancashire, England; d. 1780 or 1781 in France, aged about 76). A maker of reeds (weaving devices), Kay invented the ‘wheel‐shuttle’ (later known as the ‘flying shuttle’). Patented in 1733, it could double a hand weaver’s work rate. It was quickly adopted in the woollen industry, and used in the cotton ...