This is an older article, published in the Scotsman January 31st 20113

Edinburgh-Glasgow rivalry may have began over a loaf of bread.

IT is one of the world’s most historic rivalries which has seen the inhabitants of Scotland’s two largest cities attempt to get a rise out of one another for as long as anyone can remember.

Now, an academic has sliced through the enmity between Edinburgh and Glasgow to reveal it may all have flared up courtesy of a row over bread.

Robert Crawford from the University of St Andrews has pinpointed a 17th-century row amongst bakers as one of the first documented altercations which pitted the great cities against one other.

The professor of modern Scottish literature discovered historic accounts of the half-baked rammy while researching his new book On Glasgow and Edinburgh.

it goes on ….

He said: “The famous, often misunderstood, rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh began over 300 years ago. One of the first recorded flare-ups happened in 1656, when the town council of Glasgow expressed concern at the bad quality of bread the local bakers were producing. Two bakers from Edinburgh offered an easy solution and also managed to one-up Glasgow – they would happily bake Glaswegians bread that met higher quality, Edinburgh standards. The gloves were off and the jousting between Edinburgh and Glasgow had begun.”

Full Article here
Scotsman January 31 2013