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Hi Juli:
Yes I have read some of
MacPherson's Ossianic verse. It is actually not bad at getting the flavour
of "the idea whose time had come" . He felt compelled to say it
was the remnants of the bard Ossian I guess partly because he felt the need as
did so many others, of some form of legitimizing the yearning for the authentic
Highland culture which was patently no more but was in the grasp of living
memory. I compare the Disarming Act of 1746 (Repealed circa 1780 and the
instigation of the Highland Society of London inter alia) to the Babylonian
Captivity. Both lasted about 40 years, both involved a deep cultural loss
and both cultures responded with a resurgence in spades. The Jews
now saw that their oral culture could not be taken for granted and there was a
concerted effort to write and codify the law --- the result was the
collating of the Torah and the composition of the the
commentary: the Talmud. In the Scottish case, we see a number of
attempts to resurrect the old culture, Ossian being one of them. It had an
interesting impact on the literati of the day in Scotland and there was a huge
division of scholars and other folk of importance as to whether they believed
the authenticity of the poetry or that it was spurious. Sir John Sinclair
was a believer; Walter Scott was not and that is only two examples.
Walter Scott's not believing in Ossian did in no way stop him
from participating in so many other endeavours in the revival of the
Highland Culture. His historical novels were enormously popular not just
in Scotland but throughout Europe. He orchestrated the visit of George IV
to Edinburgh (1822?) at which all events family tartan was expected to be
worn. This was quite interesting because family tartans had not existed
previously. Take a look at the famous painting by David Morier of
combatants at the Battle of Culloden --- of the eight or so Highlanders shown,
they together are wearing 23 tartans and Morier painted these men from life ---
they were being held in jail for treason in Edinbrugh when he painted
them. Highlanders of that time wore tartan because they liked the patterns
and (evidently) the more mixed the better.
But having said that, it is my opinion that this fact does not
in anyway detract from ours and our ancestors' needs to know from whence we and
they came. Just as it would be wrong to say that the Talmud is invalid because
it is a later invention, it would be wrong to say that the effort to retrieve
Highland Culture is invalid because family tartans were a later invention.
Sometimes the story is bigger than the mere facts.
Ossian touched many people --- I am glad to know that it is
MacPherson's work but I am also glad to know that there was a need for an
Ossian. It speaks to a very deep longing that we, especially on this web
site, will understand because it is the rootsiness that turns our cranks whether
in be the seaarch for the "genealogical smoking gun" in Argyll, or
wearing the kilt for the first time, or silly ones like me trying to recreate
music that was composed 500 years ago.
Yours
Aye
Rory
Hi
Rory, Laurel and all -
Probably a bit off topic but I can't quite remember what the topic
was that started this all!
Has anybody read James MacPherson's controversial work and
collections of what is supposed to be fragments of the Celtic Bard Ossian's
poetry? Many believe that MacPherson's dark, gloomy descriptions of
the Highlands was a catalyst for the romantic image Sir Walter Scott was to
cast of the Highlands.
Juli
Hi Juli:
Thanks for some
further references; FYI. Roslind Michison wrote the
difinitive work on Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster "Agricultural Sir
John" (Geoffrey Bles, 1962). It was done with the complete
cooperation of the late Robin Sinclair, 2nd Viscount Thurso of Ulbster
and a direct descendant of Sir John. It is an honest,
warts-and-all piece. Nice to see a concatenation of scholars (is
that like a pride of lions, warren of rabbits, slime of lawyers etc)
focussed on our two interests. Rory
For a well written, concise education on the evolution of
Clanship in Argyll I highly recommend Eric Cregeen's (late Reader in
Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh) article 'The
Changing Role of the House of Argyll' in the book Scotland in the
Age of Improvement edited by N.T. Phillipson (Reader in History
at the University of Edinburgh) and Rosalind Mitchison (Emeritus
Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of
Edinburgh). (pgs 5-23) Mr.. Cregeen covers the political
situation in the highlands, the traditional clan structure and
land-tenure, the cultural influence of the south and the economic
conditions among other areas.
Great reading as are other articles in the book such as 'Law
and Society in Eighteenth-Century Scottish Though' by Peter Stein,
'The Government and the Highlands, 1707-1766' by John M. Simpson and
'Education and Society in the Eighteenth Century' by Donald J.
Withrington.
Each article lists notes with the reference material for
further investigation should you wish to understand
more.
Juli Anderson
Princeton, NJ USA
But Always Argyll
Argyll is a Sinclair homeland unique in its beauty and
profound in its mysteries.
I was going to add a bit of electronic applause
to Karen, Juli and Rebecca, who are three of the finest
researchers I have has occasion to every know and work with. The
material on Argyll is accurate from the perspective of first
language, secondly geography, and then from known genealogy and
in the context of an appreciation of social history. Members
should be cautious not to draw conclusions which are simply
conjecture from the evidence. There are unanswered questions
and mysteries. Also the original material we
have from Argyll is also limited in the sense that it is not
always complete, there are gaps and there is a period beyond
which it is hard to conclude there will be any original
evidence, mostly because it never existed in the first place and
many questions and mysteries will continue.
The Argyll Sinclair history and genealogy is
unique and singular back to the mid 1600's. Many of the early
Sinclairs were descended from the McKokairds in the mid Argyll
region around the head of Loch Fyne. There is no evidence at all
to suggest that they were or were not connected to the clan in
Caithness at the time and if so, exactly how they were. The is
solid evidence to being connected by name in any event. Members
need to be cautious as to just how the clan system worked and
much of the current appreciation and conceptions does come, (as
Karen astutely points out), from the romantic revival of the
clans in the 1800's which reinvented the clans from a system
that had been made unlawful.
Many Sinclairs originally from Argyll do have
their roots directly from the McKokairds, but some others which
have been located in Argyll in the early 1700's may, or may not,
have been directly related to the earliest McKokairds. Like
Sinclairs of today, the Sinclairs of 1600-1700 moved around and
were not staying neatly within the borders of Caithness. Those
with applied mechanical skills or crafts were more mobile. By
mid 1700 to 1900 there was a further influx into Argyll of many
clan members, (Sinclairs among many others) including both Scots
and English names in response to migrations departing from
Argyll opening up new economic opportunities within the county.
Argyll is in the Highlands NW of Glasgow, and the Sinclairs can
take pride in the contribution they made through their talents
and their hard work to Argyll to this very day.
Forever Argyll, yours aye;
Neil Sinclair, Toronto, P.E.I.,
Argyll
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