Popular tales of the West Highlands : orally collected . ly manuscripts, and indeed the period whenGaelic can be traced as a written language is comparativelymodern. But the next sentence admits that ancient poems werepreserved in the Highlands of Scotland, and the notesflatly contradict the text. The Bishop of Clonfert andthe report of the Highland Society are quoted. Thediscoveries of the one in 1784 are mentioned above,the other gives an account of many ancient Gaelicmanuscripts which contain poems, including Dean!MacGregors, which is some forty years older than theMS. of George Bannatyne,
Popular tales of the West Highlands : orally collected . ly manuscripts, and indeed the period whenGaelic can be traced as a written language is comparativelymodern. But the next sentence admits that ancient poems werepreserved in the Highlands of Scotland, and the notesflatly contradict the text. The Bishop of Clonfert andthe report of the Highland Society are quoted. Thediscoveries of the one in 1784 are mentioned above,the other gives an account of many ancient Gaelicmanuscripts which contain poems, including Dean!MacGregors, which is some forty years older than theMS. of George Bannatyne, and contains 11,000 linesof poetry, at least as old as 1530. Welsh wiiters who have taken part in the Ossianiccontroversy have generally taken a similar view. And now, ha\àng said this much as to opinionsand arguments from which I differ, let me give thefacts which I have been able to gather during the lasttwo years, and state my own opinions, so that othersmay judge for themselves, and give their verdict. HEROES OF OSSIAN AUTHORITIES. 25 An ancient stand-up dog-flght, from a sculptured cross in Scotland,at Dupplin. Tlie first question for inquiry is, who and whatwere the heroes of Ossian ? According to Professor OCurrys Lectures, the fol-lowing dates rest upon ancient authority*— Finns pedigree begins. Finn son of Oiimhall^-soiiof Trenmoif son of Snaelt, son of Eltan, son of Baiscni,son of Nuada Necht, who was monarch of 110. Finn slain, in the reign of Cairbre Lifeachair. Battle of Gabhra. Death of Oscar and Cairbre(p. 304). • Lectures on the MS. Materials of Ancient Irish History,by Professor OCurry, 8vo, Dublin, 1861. 26 HEROES OF OSSIAX AUTHORITIES. Coming of St. Patrick to Ireland (p. 472), to whomOisin, tlie son of Finn, and Caelte his kinsman andcontemporary, recited poems describing the glories ofthe ancient race, and the localities of famous events. In a matter of such antiquity it is of small im-portance that Oisin, who had a grown up s
Size: 1291px × 1936px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorcampbelljfjohnfrancis, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860
