User:Morsekode/James Macpherson and Fingal

James Macpherson
(October 26,1736 - February 17, 1796)

James Macpherson and Fingal

Summary of the Chapter

James Macpherson was a Scottish Gaelic Poet and is most famously known for the translator of the Ossian cycle poems (belong to a circle of Irish Gaelic poems originally composed in Leinster in the Later Middle Ages). Born in the Highlands of Scotland at Ruthven in the parish of Kingussie, Inverness-shire, in the valley of the river Spey . He was also a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and later in life a politician in Parliament.

In the year of 1971 he stated that he had found the whole epic in the highlands and islands of Scotland and insisted he published them. In December of 1761 he published “Fingal," an epic poem in six books, composed of Ossian the son of Fingal. The whole works were translated from Gaelic and today are totally unreadable .

Doubts circulated in London and scholars soon after would demand to see the Gaelic text, to examine the manuscripts, to cross examine the living sources from whom Macpherson had collected both oral and written evidence . In France there was an article published a long series of articles showing that “both Scots and their Celtic poetry were originally Irish, and that Macpherson had falsified the early history of Scotland in order to credit the Scots with a romance which he himself had composed out of later Irish material” . There were many others challenging and also defending the works. He left the defense of his work entirely to others.

However, with all this uproar in the works for Macpherson and Fingal, this subject had put Macpherson in the public eye, Fingal had made him, it brought him into the notice of the prime minister and allowed him to climb to the public stage. Thereafter though, after another fiasco with the publishing of a translation of Homer’s Iliad into the same biblical prose which had made Ossian poems famous, and to show the similarities of the two ancient epics. There was once again a fail for Macpherson, making him give up both poetry and Scottish history.

This gave him the chance to start a new life having nothing to do with the literary world. In 1766 he met a man that would play many important parts in Macphersons life thereafter, John Macpherson. He entered parliament in 1780, as Member of Parliament for Camelford and continued to sit for the remainder of his life. He died in February of 1796.

Reaction to Fingal

Strong Scottish Support

Amid the various critics of Macpherson’s translation there were some Scottish supporters of the piece. Two supporters of note were Professor Blair and Reverend John Macpherson. Blair published a piece entitled Critical Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian in 1763 . He also spoke out in support of the translation on many occasions and became the principle defender of the piece since Macpherson largely refused to respond to any critics. Professor Blair was the one who answered the challenge by David Hume to produce evidence of the poems’ authenticity that would convince the Irish and the English. At Hume’s urging, Blair wrote to clergy and gentry for testimonies about Macpherson’s process of finding the poems as well as asking about the manuscripts that Macpherson claimed to have used to create his translations. For the most part the responses were affirmative but somewhat vague. Within the responses there was a general feeling of contempt regarding the English critics led by Reverend John Macpherson. One response, from the Strathmashie laird, Lachlan Macpherson, deviated from the general vagueness. Lachlan had traveled with James Macpherson and helped James collect the poems and manuscripts. He strongly attested to the age of the manuscripts and the accuracy of the translations. There was also an incident in which, with the help of Adam Ferguson and another John Macpherson (the son of the reverend), Blair temporarily convinced one Thomas Percy of the poems’ authenticity by having John sing a Gaelic ballad that was reminiscent of part of Fingal. Reverend John Macpherson also contributed a writing to support James’ translation. The reverend’s piece was called Critical Dissertations on the Origin and Antiquities of the Caledonians and was published, shortly after Reverend John died, in 1768. His work switched the roles that Scotland and Ireland had previously played in history, claiming that the Celtic people had migrated from Scotland to Ireland. Reverend John’s explanation for this unprecedented history was that during a period of weakness, the Irish stole Scotland’s history and culture, assuming it as their own. The reverend also addressed many other criticisms of James’ work within his history.

Critics of Fingal

After Macpherson first published Fingal, several notable professors and historians began to express their skepticism about the legitimacy of the text. For a variety of reasons, they perceived the text as unlikely and too good to be true.

Style

The style of the Ossian poems mirrored contemporary style or writing more than the ‘primitive’ writing that would have occurred in a sparsely literate 3rd century Scotland. Additionally, the stories had several passages that vaguely alluded to texts such as Milton or the Bible and other literary works that should not have had influence over storytellers of the ancient Highlands. These, and several other stylistic characteristics made it seem unlikely that Fingal was written in the period that Macpherson claimed it to be from.

History

Minor facts within the tales of Fingal did not match up historically. “Macpherson’s Fingal was represented as king of ‘Morven’ in Caledonia in the third century AD, and Osian, his son, sang his exploits in the ‘Erse’ language in the same century. But what were the Scots, and the ‘Erse’ or Irish language, doing in Caledonia so early? Historically, they only arrived there in the sixth century AD.”

After these concerns arose, scholars asked Macphearson to present his sources, and act which he continually evaded.

Foreign Support

Despite the criticisms of the Irish and English, Ossian’s poems were quite popular throughout Europe. In Italy, abbé Cesarotti not only translated the poems, but also created a group of “Ossianic adepts” around him . In Germany the poems were translated by Klopstock and praised by Herder, Goethe, and J. H. Voss as well as being compared to both Shakespeare and Homer. Madame de Staël in Switzerland also compared Ossian to Homer. The poems became a favorite of Napoleon and were carried to Sweden by his Marshal Bernadotte. Danish and French painters found inspiration in Ossian’s poems . Ossian himself even appeared in a painting in London by Irish painter James Barry alongside other historical figures .

Irish Roots of Fingal

While British scholars seriously doubted the legitimacy of Macpherson’s Fingal as a genuine text, it was soon acknowledged that they were not trained, and did not have firsthand experience, in Celtic studies. They lacked direct experience with the culture and language and so it was determined that Celtic scholars had to be the ones who determine the authenticity of the text.

As it turns out, “The genuine Ossianic poems belong to a cycle of Irish Gaelic poems originally composed in Leinster in the later Middle Ages.” While the poems have definitive roots in Ireland, at the time of Fingal’s publication Ireland still lacked tangible sources proving them as such. As a result Many Irish people and scholars began to speak out actively against Macpherson and his tactics.

Fernando Warner, for example, found Fingal to be an outrage:

He read it, and was astonished. Here were the legendary Irish heroes with whom he had become familiar, from widely separated centuries, mixed up together and placed in a Scottish context. In order to clear the way for his own Irish history, Warner decided to dispose of this fashionable nonsense. He therefore wrote a scholarly pamphlet refuting Macpherson’s work and censuring him for having distorted the whole early Irish History by his usurpation.

Despite the fact that the Ossian poems originated in Ireland, it is still possible, and even probable that they would have migrated at some point in their history to the Highlands of Scotland in the later Middle Ages.

Repercussions for Macpherson

Political Benefits

In the late 1760s James Macpherson turned his attention to a political career. Being the translator of Fingal had brought James to the attention of politically powerful men and he used these connections to build a second career for himself. Along with the younger John Macpherson, who had made friends with an Indian prince, James worked for the prime minister. In thanks for their service, James was awarded a yearly pension and John was given a post at the East India Company at Madras . This arrangement worked well for the pair. James would find Highlanders that were willing to go to India, John would work for the benefit of himself and the men James sent out, and James would invest the pair’s money and ensure they kept their political support. When a scandal in 1776 sent John back to England, he entered Parliament and, along with James, curried favor with Lord North . By this time, James was running a newspaper in London and has also entered Parliament. In 1781, John was able to return to India and the pair was able to take full advantage of the “Macpherson mafia ” they had created. James supported a group that helped him maintain his position of power and influence, and John looked after the Macphersons James send to India. After a few years, the pair had built up enough clout to have John replace the current governor-general of India. However, John’s unscrupulous conduct had the English government bringing him back to England after about a year and a half and ensured his return to Parliament was brief. Meanwhile, James had entered into a partnership with a London Scotch merchant and was encouraging his friends in India to invest in it. In 1788, James decided to leave the partnership and had his cousin Allan Macpherson take over his share. His departure was well timed since, when the merchant died a few years later and the debt he had hidden ruined Allan Macpherson, James was able to buy Allan’s land. James subsequently left London and built himself a mansion on his new property, ending his career as anything but a lair.

Importance of 'Folk'

It's unknown what Macpherson's motives were for writing and publishing Fingal, and it is still considered indeterminable whether the text is forged or not. However, the reception of the text, both in Scotland and abroad, demonstrates the importance of the concept of folk tale and verse to Scottish culture and identity. The vast majority of scholars and citizens of Scotland accepted Fingal unquestioningly as a piece of their history and society. Even for to the more critical, global audience, Fingal received a great deal of positive feedback and reenforced the role of folklore as a defining characteristic of Scotland.