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Scottish Myths and Ossian Fever.
The Gaels of Scotland are descended from
the Ulster migrants who originally settled in
the Argyll region in the
latter decades of the Roman
Empire. The Irish newcomers took with them
their Gaelic mythology, and also their name, the Scots - a term that was
regularly used to mean "the Irish" until well into the Middle
Ages. The Scots founded a powerful Gaelic kingdom which by A.D.900 had
conquered the neighboring kingdom of the Picts to occupy most of
Britain north of Hadrian's Wall.
Scottish myth and folklore is linked to
that or Ireland in many ways - quite literally in the case of
Fingal's Cave on Staff in the Hebrides, a basalt outcrop which was said to
mark the end of a road built by Finn from the Giant's Cause way 1n
Ulster. As in Ireland, knolls were seen as entrances to an
enchanted Otherworld. The fairy music that was said to emanate from
these mounds formed a category of traditional Scottish song. Trees,
particularly yew trees, were an important feature of the mythological
topography. Animals too,
held significance - a deer on arable land, for example, was seen as
an omen of war, swans were enchanted princesses.
Shape-shifting features prominently in
Scottish folklore, often in association with Witches or hags, the
greatest of whom lived in a corrie of perpetual snow on Ben
Nevis. And like other Celtic communities, the
Gaels of Scotland preserved a belief that one day a hero would
return to restore them to their rightful position.
When Prince Charles Edward Stuart,
"Bonnie Prince Charlie", led the abortive uprising that
ended at Culloden, he was widely seen as that deliverer. Just as Geoffrey
of Monmouth set Europe ablaze with stories of King Arthur, it was a single
author who aroused the world's interest in the myths of the Gaels. James MacPherson
(1736-1796),a Gaelic speaker, became convinced that the Gaels must have
had a great legendary bard whose long lost works were waiting to be discovered
in the remote Gaelic speaking areas of Scotland. With the support of influential
backers, MacPherson set off on a research tour. He found many poems and
songs, some clearly based on old Celtic myth, but no bard. He was determined
not to disappoint his backers however, or to lose the fee they had promised.
With some literary skill, he put together what he claimed were
translations of epic poems by Ossian, son of Fingal, a third
century warrior and bard. Ossian and Fingal were the names he gave
to the Irish Oisin and Finn. The so-called translations that
appeared from 1760 to 1765 were based partly on genuine
Gaelic myth and legend, but sprang in the
main from Macpherson's own imagination. Ossian was an instant hit,
but suspicions were aroused when Macpherson proved unable to
produce his originals. Many people denounced it as a hoax.
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