Background
He was born in Cromarty, graduated Master of Arts at Edinburgh University and taught at Glasgow Academy between 1896 and 1912.
He was born in Cromarty, graduated Master of Arts at Edinburgh University and taught at Glasgow Academy between 1896 and 1912.
He also had a Doctor of Letters .
In 1925-1926 he was Rhind lecturer in Archaeology at Edinburgh University and during the Second World War acted as head of the department of Ancient Scottish History. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (Federal Security Agency) and was made an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1949 at Edinburgh. As well as writing on medieval history, he published a major edition of Dunbar"s poems.
A portrait of Mackenzie by David Foggie, painted in 1914, is held by the National Gallery of Scotland but is rarely displayed.
In 1942 he was appointed to be a member of the Commission where he had formerly been Secretary.