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Thanks
Rory for the very informative answer.
Juli
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1746 (Repealed circa 1780 and the instigation of the Highland Society of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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