Blind Ossian’s Fingal
Fragments and Controversy
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About the Book:
When James Macpherson published his translations of the poetry of Ossian, a third-century Highland Bard, they were an instant success. However, the plaudits soon gave way to controversy. Were the poems part of a great Gaelic oral tradition, or the work of Macpherson's imagination?
About the Author:
JAMES MACPHERSON (1736-1796) was born in Badenoch, Inverness-shire. He studied in Aberdeen and Edinburgh and translated many poems from Gaelic which were allegedly found in different places of the Scottish Highlands, some of them published in 1760 as Fragments of Ancient Poetry Collected in the Highlands of Scotland. Very soon he had detractors who did not believe of the authenticity of the poems but also supporters, among whom Hugh Blair, who helped MacPherson in carrying out his research. Writer, politician and historian, he died in his native Inverness-shire.
ALLAN BURNETT grew up on the Hebridean island of Benbecula. He read Scottish Historical Studies at the University of Edinburgh and also received his MSc from Edinburgh. After an informative career at the Sunday Herald, he is now Deputy Editor of the latest addition to Scotland’s newspapers, the Scottish Standard.
LINDA-ANDSERSON BURNETT was born in Värnamo, Sweden, but now lives in Glasgow with her husband and co-author.
Linda is a historical scholar, who studies at Edinburgh University. Her post-graduate thesis specialised in Ossianic poetry and she is currently completeing her PhD.