Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c. 1698–1770), legal name Alexander MacDonald, or, in Gaelic Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish
war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...
, satirist,
lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...
, and memoirist. He was born at Dalilea into the Scottish nobility () and Clan MacDonald of Clanranald () and is believed to have been homeschooled before briefly attending university. MacDhòmhnaill was
multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
and had the rare skill at the time of
literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
in the
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
. MacDhòmhnaill began composing Gaelic poetry while teaching at a Protestant school at
Kilchoan Kilchoan () is a village on the Scotland, Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, Britain, although several tiny ha ...
, run by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge. He published the first secular book in Scottish Gaelic, the glossary ''Leabhar a Theagasc Ainminnin'' (1741). Hearing MacDhòmhnaill's Jacobite poetry read aloud was credited with helping persuade Prince Charles Edward Stuart to sail from France to Scotland and begin the Rising of 1745. MacDhòmhnaill fought as a captain in the Jacobite Army. The Clanranald Bard was chosen to teach Gaelic to the prince. After the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
, Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, his wife, and children remained in hiding until the Act of Indemnity was passed.MacDonald (2011), pp. 125–127. He then servedRobert Forbes (1895), ''The Lyon in Mourning: Or a Collection of Speeches, Letters, Journals Etc., Relative to the Affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Volume I'', Printed at the University Press by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society. Pages 320-321. as a source about the rising and its aftermath for non-juring Episcopal Bishop Robert Forbes' 3 Volume
primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...
collection ''The Lyon in Mourning''. In 1751, MacDhòmhnaill published the second secular book in the Gaelic language, ''Ais-Eiridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich'' (''The
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
of the Old Scottish Language''); a poetry collection. Due to his
Jacobitism Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...
, frank treatment of sexuality, and vocal attacks in verse against the
House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...
and the ideology of the ruling Whig
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
, all known copies were publicly burned at the
Mercat Cross A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...
in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
.Campbell (1971), ''Highland Songs of the Forty-Five'', p. 40. Even so, twelve copies of the first edition still survive. After another two decades of composing Gaelic poetry, Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair died at Arisaig and was buried locally in St
Máel Ruba Máel Ruba ( 642–722) is an Irish saint of the Celtic Church who was active in the Christianisation of the Picts and Gaels of Scotland. Originally a monk from Bangor Abbey, County Down, Gaelic Ireland, he founded the monastic community of A ...
's
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
cemetery in 1770. Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill and 20th-century Symbolist Bard Sorley MacLean are considered the twin pinnacles of Scottish Gaelic literature. 21st-century
Celticist Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history ...
Robert Dunbar called Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, "the greatest poet of the eighteenth century Golden Age of Gaelic poets", and the 1751 publication of ''Ais-eridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich'' inspired, "an increasing number of important collections of Gaelic poetry."Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), ''North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora'', McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 287. Due to the very high praise of literary scholar John Lorne Campbell beginning in the 1930s, the
British folk revival The British folk revival incorporates a number of movements for the collection, preservation and performance of folk music in the United Kingdom and related territories and countries, which had origins as early as the 18th century. It is particu ...
in the 1950s, Scottish devolution in the 1990s, and the growth of Scottish Gaelic-medium education as a tool of
heritage language A heritage language is a minority language (either immigrant or indigenous) learned by its speakers at home as children, and difficult to be fully developed because of insufficient input from the social environment. The speakers grow up with a ...
revival, interest in Alasdair MacDhòmhnuill has also been revived. He has even been promoted as Scotland's other
national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...
and even as a complimentary figure to
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
. After over two centuries of bowdlerisation, the first complete and uncensored collection of MacDhòmhnaill's poetry was published at
West Montrose, Ontario West Montrose is an unincorporated rural community in Woolwich, Ontario, Woolwich Township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. As of the 2016 census, the population of the community was 257. The settlement of West Montro ...
in 2020. Ballachulish-based vocalist Griogair Labhruidh has also recorded Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's ''Ã’ran Eile don Phrionnsa'' ("Another Song to
the Prince ''The Prince'' ( ; ) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and Political philosophy, political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new Prince#Prince as gener ...
"), titled by its first line ''Moch sa Mhadainn 's Mi a' Dùsgadh'', as part of the Soundtrack for the 2nd and 4th Seasons of the TV series '' Outlander''.Outlander star speaks out on 'underrepresented' Gaelic culture: 'A romanticised ideal'
By KATIE PALMER, ''Express'', 15:07, Sun, Mar 13, 2022.


Family background

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair was born around 1698, into both the Scottish nobility and Clan MacDonald of Clanranald. Through his great-grandmother Màiri, daughter of Angus MacDonald of Islay, he claimed descent from Scottish Kings
Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
and Robert II, the first monarch of the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
,Thomson, Derick S. The Companion to Gaelic Scotland, (Blackwell Reference 1987), page 184, as well as, like the rest of
Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...
, from
Somerled Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...
. Furthermore, Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's paternal great-great-grandfather, ''Raghnall Mac Ailein 'ic Iain'' (Ranald MacDonald of
Benbecula Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...
), the uncle of the then Chief of Clanranald, had acted as a protector to the illegal
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
missionaries dispatched from the underground
Catholic Church in Ireland The Catholic Church in Ireland, or Irish Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See. With 3.5 million members (in the Republic of Ireland), it is the largest Christian church in Ireland. In ...
to the Scottish Gaeldom during the 1620s and '30s. Upon 9 September 1630, Fr. Patrick Hegarty, OFM, was arrested upon
South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...
by priest hunters commanded by John Leslie, the
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
Bishop of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
's Diocese of the Isles. Before Bishop Leslie could deliver Fr. Hegarty for trial, however, Ragnaill mac Ailein intervened and relieved the Bishop and the priest hunters of their captive. The incident enraged King Charles I, who sent a furious letter about it to
Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...
on 10 December 1630. Efforts by Lord Lorne, the infamously
anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...
Sheriff of Argyllshire, to retaliate by summoning Raghnaill mac Ailein to Inverary for criminal prosecution under the
Statutes of Iona The Statutes of Iona, passed in Scotland in 1609, required that Highland Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of ...
were ignored by the Bard's ancestor, who died peacefully upon the Isle of Canna and was buried at Howmore, South Uist in 1636. The Bard's father was Maighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill (Fr. Alexander MacDonald, 1st of Dalilea), who was the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
rector (this was prior to the
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...
splitting from " The Kirk") of Ardnamurchan () and lived as a
tacksman A tacksman (, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a yearly rent for th ...
() at Dalilea () in
Moidart Moidart ( ; ) is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the ...
(). The Bard's father was a native of
South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...
and was the fourth son of Ronald MacDonald, the Tacksman of Milton. Through his oldest brother, Ranald MacDonald, who succeeded their father as Tacksman of Milton and Balivanich, Maighstir Alasdair was the uncle of the famous Flora MacDonald. He was also distantly related to The Captain of Clanranald (). He graduated from the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
in 1674Derek S. Thomson (1983), ''The Companion to Gaelic Scotland'', page 184.John Lorne Campbell, "Canna; Story of a Hebridean Island," p. 98. and shortly afterwards was assigned to the parish in Ardnamurchan. The poet's mother was a Maclachlan from Glencripesdale and the two came to reside at Dalilea at about the end of the 17th century. At the time, the majority of Ardnamurchan was composed of
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
s, and the Episcopalians and Presbyterians who made up Maighstir Alasdair's parishioners were evenly spread over the whole district. The only
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
church was located at
Kilchoan Kilchoan () is a village on the Scotland, Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, Britain, although several tiny ha ...
(), which was nearly thirty miles from the minister's home at Dalilea. According to the local oral tradition, the minister would always leave at an early hour on Sundays, travel the whole distance on foot, and reach Kilchoan at noon. He would then preach, perform divine services for his congregation, and then return home on foot, arriving near midnight. The route taken in his journey is also preserved in the oral tradition. After the overthrow of King James II in 1688, the
Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...
toppled the
High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
Episcopalian leadership of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
and took complete and permanent control over the denomination. As a result,
Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
became the established and only tolerated form of both Sunday service and church government within the
Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...
. Maighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, however, refused to conform. In consequence, he was declared deposed from his parish by the synod. However, the rector was very popular and the presbytery of Lorne never succeeded in establishing a new minister in his place. It is said, however, that Rev. Colin Campbell, the Presbyterian minister of Ardchattan, came to Kilchoan upon the Christian Sabbath wearing a
kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
and armed with a drawn claymore and a cocked pistol. Rev. Campbell then announced the Synod's deposition of Maighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill with his back to the wall. Although both the Protestants and Catholics of the district intensely hated Rev. Campbell for being a ''ministeir na cuigse'',MacDonald (2011), pp. 118–119. or "minister of the Whigs", he was allowed to deliver his message and leave Ardnamurchan none the worse for wear. Maighstir Alasdair accordingly "remained in his parish as a non-Jurant minister after the revolution of 1690." On another occasion, Maighstir Alasdair is said to have brutally flogged a Catholic neighbour, who had repeatedly grazed his cattle herd on the rector's land. The local Catholic population was outraged and vowed to retaliate. A group of Catholic men led by Iain Caol MacDhunnachaidh ("Slender John Robertson") surprised Maighstir Alasdair near Dalilea and beat him so savagely that the Rector of Kilchoan had to be carried home in a blanket. Maighstir Alasdair and his family then fled their home and for a time took refuge on the island of Camas Drollaman in
Loch Shiel :''See Glen Shiel for the much smaller Loch Shiel in Lochalsh.'' Loch Shiel () is a freshwater loch situated west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William in the Highland (council area), Highland subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Scotla ...
. While they were in hiding on the island, ''Iain Caol'' is said to have shot a bird so that it fell at the feet of Maighstir Alasdair's wife. ''Iain Caol'' then told her that he would do the same to her husband if given the chance. Maighstir Alasdair is said to have died in the 1720s. He lies buried next to his wife on Finnan's Island in
Loch Shiel :''See Glen Shiel for the much smaller Loch Shiel in Lochalsh.'' Loch Shiel () is a freshwater loch situated west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William in the Highland (council area), Highland subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Scotla ...
, on the south side of the ruined chapel, underneath a gravestone on which a skeleton has been carved. Maighstir Alasdair was succeeded as
tacksman A tacksman (, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a yearly rent for th ...
of Dalilea by his eldest son, Aonghas Beag MacDhòmhnaill (Angus MacDonald, 2nd of Dalilea), who married Margaret Cameron, a devoutly
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
woman from Achadhuan, in
Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...
(). According to Father Charles MacDonald, "She is represented to have been a lady of singular piety, and of a gentleness of manners which was well-calculated to have had a beneficial effect on the fiery characters surrounding Dalilea. The natives still point out a certain spot on the top of the knoll behind Dalilea House, where this estimable person used to spend many of the summer evenings in reading and in devotional exercises. It was here, too, that she used to withdraw on Sundays to pray, when circumstances prevented her from going to church."MacDonald (2011), p. 127 Under Margaret's influence, Aonghas Beag MacDhòmhnaill converted from the
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...
to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
"many years before the '45". He also served as Captain over the men of Dalilea during the
Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
. He survived the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
and returned to his native district, where he had to remain in hiding for two years and only rarely dared to visit his family. After the act of indemnity was passed, Aonghas Beag MacDhòmhnaill returned to Dalilea, where he finished his days in peace. In 1914, J. Wiseman MacDonald of Dalilea, an American-born descendant of Aonghas Beag and Margaret MacDhòmhnaill, purchased Castle Tioram in Loch Moidart, the traditional home of the Captain and Chief of Clanranald, and had much restoration work done on the ruins during the
Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
.Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair – Alexander Macdonald, The Jacobite Bard of Clanranald
Clan Donald Magazine, No 9 (1981), By Norman H. MacDonald.
The historic
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
parish church at
Kilchoan Kilchoan () is a village on the Scotland, Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, Britain, although several tiny ha ...
, which was dedicated to Saint Comgan, where Maighstir Alasdair served as non-juring rector, and where both Aonghas Beag and the Clanranald Bard were almost certainly baptized, is currently roofless and in ruins. The baptismal font, however, is still pointed out to those who ask.


Early life

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, the second son of the Rector of Kilchoan, was born at Dalilea at the beginning of the 18th century.MacDonald (2011), p. 128. The old part of Dalilea House, which is believed to date from the 15th century and where the Bard was born, is still extant. So, in fact, is an
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
which the Bard is said to have planted in his youth. There were no schools in the area and so it is thought that the younger Alasdair was educated by his father throughout his early years. The Bard is said to have enjoyed a fine grounding in the ancient ''corra litir'' (
insular script Insular script is a Middle Ages, medieval script (styles of handwriting), script system originating in Ireland that spread to England and continental Europe under the influence of Hiberno-Scottish mission, Irish Christianity. Irish missionaries ...
) of the Clanranald bards, and in the classics (this is borne out by the references in his poetry to
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
and Roman literature). For example, his elegy upon a dove is believed to have been heavily influenced by
Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes. Life ...
' similar poem upon the death of Lesbia's sparrow. There may, however, have been another source for the Bard's education. Furthermore, Bishop Robert Forbes later wrote of the Bard, "He is a very smart, acute man, remarkably well skilled in the Erse, for he can both read and write the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
in its original character, a piece of knowledge almost quite lost in the
Highlands of Scotland The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlan ...
, there being exceedingly few that have any skill at all in that way. For the Captain told me that he did not know another person (old Clanranald excepted) that knew anything of the first tongue in its original character... Several of the Captain's acquaintances have told me that he is by far the best Erse poet in all Scotland, and that he has written many songs in the pure Irish." According to John Lorne Campbell, there are no poems by the Bard in Classical Irish that are known to have survived. Campbell adds that the last Scottish Bard to have extant poetry in the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
is Niall MacMhuirich, who died in 1722. The Bard and his brother would also have been taught how to live off the land, how to withstand cold and other hardships, and how to follow the code of honour demanded of
Scottish clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...
s and in Gaelic warfare. In his biography of Rob Roy MacGregor, W.H. Murray described the code of honour as follows, "The abiding principle is cast up from the records of detail: that right must be seen to be done, no man left destitute, the given word honoured, the strictest honour observed to all who have given implicit trust, and that a guest's confidence in his safety must never be betrayed by his host, or '' vice versa''. There was more of like kind, and each held as its kernel the simple ideal of trust honoured... Breaches of it were abhorred and damned... The ideal was applied 'with discretion'. Its interpretation went deeply into domestic life, but stayed shallow for war and politics." In 1714, the Protestant Elector of Hanover mounted the British and Irish thrones as King George I and, with his assistance, the ascendent Whig political party seized absolute power and launched a
purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an ...
of all Tories from the Government, the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, the legal profession, and local politics. Great Britain and Ireland became de facto single party states and were to remain so until King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
was crowned in 1760 and allowed the Tories back into the Government. Even so, some modern historians now call the period between 1714 and 1783 the, "age of the Whig
oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...
." Meanwhile, at his residence and
government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...
at the Palazzo Muti in Rome, Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, whom Whigs termed "The Old Pretender" and whom Jacobites termed "The King over the Water", had developed a
political ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
and a series of planned governmental reforms that have had an enormous influence upon what is now called
traditionalist conservatism Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political philosophy, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain posited natural laws t ...
and which gave the prospect of a second Stuart Restoration a very wide public appeal, even among the many Protestants of the
British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
. These promised reforms included
linguistic rights Linguistic rights are the human rights, human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere. Other parameters for analyzing linguistic right ...
for
minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...
s instead of
coercive Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to in ...
Anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
,
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
and full rights under the law to everyone who chose to worship outside of the Established Churches instead of the Whig Party's ongoing
religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...
of them, and the return to
devolved government Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
instead of the centralization of government power in London. According to Derrick S. Thomson, Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill is "almost certainly" the author of the ''Journall and Memoirs of P- C- Expedition into Scotland, etc. 1745–46'', which was later published in volume 2 of the Lockhart Papers. Even though he would have been only a teenager at the time, according to Derrick S. Thomson, "from one or two references there it could be thought that he", had also taken part in the
Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...
. If so, both Alasdair and his brother Aonghas Beag would have been fighting on the right wing of the Jacobite Army during the
Battle of Sherrifmuir The Battle of Sheriffmuir (, ) was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rising in Scotland. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Sc ...
and witnessed when Ailean Dearg, the Chief of their clan, fell mortally wounded, "killed, it was popularly said, by a
silver bullet Silver Bullet(s) or The Silver Bullet may refer to: * Silver bullet, in folklore, a weapon against supernatural creatures; metaphorically, a simple, effective solution to a problem Film and television * The Silver Bullet (1935 film), ''The Silve ...
that negatived the charm he used to wear". They also would have heard Alasdair Dubh, 11th Chief of
Clan MacDonald of Glengarry Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry () is a Highland Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from River Garry, Inverness-shire, River Garry where the river Garry ...
rally the faltering warriors of
Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...
by throwing up his blue bonnet and crying ''Buillean an-diugh, tuiream a-màireach!'' ("Blows today, mourning tomorrow!").


Alleged university education and marriage

Alasdair followed in the footsteps of his father and attended the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
, and the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, at a time when Scottish songs were gaining huge popularity. He is said to have left without receiving a degree. He is known, however, to have later set several of his poems to the airs played upon the Steeple of the Glasgow Tolbooth, near the Old College. Derick Thomson suggests that the Bard's departure may have been due to his having married Jane MacDonald of Dalness (Sine Nic Dhòmhnaill). Derick S. Thomson writes that Jane's family, the MacDonalds of Dalness, "had strong literary interests". Her father had composed a verse dialogue between Queen Anne and the Chief of Clan Stewart of Appin. Furthermore, the Gaelic song ''Tha mise seo 'm laighe'' is attributed to Jane's brother. Alasdair later wrote the poem ''Òran d'a chéile nuadh-phósda'' in praise of his bride and referred to his father in law as, "The Rhymer". According to Fr. Charles MacDonald, however, who interviewed the Bard's surviving relatives about their family's
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
, Alasdair left the university because his family could not afford the price of attending. According to John Lorne Campbell, "In any case, Glasgow University has no record of Alexander MacDonald, son of 'Maighstir Alasdair', as a student." Alasdair was described as a fine singer, of tall height and broad chest, handsome in feature and fair in hair. Among his attributes were sincerity, honesty, loyalty to his friends and to his own convictions.


Protestant missioner

In 1729 Alasdair was appointed to a school at Finnan Island, at the head of
Loch Shiel :''See Glen Shiel for the much smaller Loch Shiel in Lochalsh.'' Loch Shiel () is a freshwater loch situated west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William in the Highland (council area), Highland subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Scotla ...
and only a few miles from Alasdair's ancestral home at Dalilea, as a teacher by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge. He was the
catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...
of the same parish under the Royal Bounty Committee of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
; his position required him to teach at various locations throughout Moidart. According to Marcus Tanner, the S.P.C.K. had been incorporated under Queen Anne in 1709 and was building both schools and libraries in the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
with a twofold purpose. The first purpose was to prevent the
Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...
from returning to the strictly illegal and underground
Catholic Church in Scotland The Catholic Church in Scotland, overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. Christianity first arrived in Roman Britain and was strengthened by the conversion of the Picts thr ...
. The second was to ensure, "that in process of time Britons from North to South may speak the same language". For this reason, Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill would have been under orders to teach his students only in English and to subject any student who spoke Gaelic inside the school or on the playground to
corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...
. According to John Lorne Campbell, "Objections were indeed made against the banning of Gaelic in these SSPCK Schools by sensible ministers and schoolmaster on the spot in the Highlands, but they were brushed aside in the Edinburgh offices of the Society." Also according to John Lorne Campbell, "Too often Scottish writers, and particularly writers on the history of the Scottish Highlands, have confused 'education' with '
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
indoctrination Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an ideology, often avoiding critical analysis. It can refer to a general process of socialization. The term often implies forms of brainwas ...
', such as was given in the S.P.C.K. schools in the Scottish
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
, where the ''
Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...
'', the '' Shorter Catechism'', '' Vincent's Catechism'', the '' Protestant's Resolutions'', '' Pool's Dialogues'', and '' Guthrie's Trials'', all in English, formed the bulk of an unattractive list of school books." Lastly, what the unpublished early minutes of the S.P.C.K. in Scotland reveals about its ideology and policies shows that Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill's employment from 1729 to 1745 as one of their schoolmasters was a violation of his natural loyalties as a member of the Clan MacDonald of Clanranald. Therefore, Campbell postulates that Alasdair must have had a dispute with Ranald (1692–1766), the 17th Chief of his Clan, and that this caused him to seek employment with the SSPK. From 1738 to 1744, Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill taught at the school attached to his father's former parish church at
Kilchoan Kilchoan () is a village on the Scotland, Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, Britain, although several tiny ha ...
. He also supplemented his salary of £16 a year by renting the farm at Allt Coire Mhuilinn, about which he later composed one of his most famous poems: ''Allt an t-Siùcar'' (''The Sugar Brook''), which remains, according to Scottish nationalist literary scholar Cailean Gallagher, "a favourite at Mòds and ceilidhs to this day." In 1741, the Bard compiled a 200-page Gaelic-English vocabulary at the request of the Society, which published it with a dedication to the Marquess of Lothian. As source material and a model for his spelling, Alasdair used the existing
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
translations of the "
Confession of Faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds: ...
", the
Westminster Shorter Catechism The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a catechism written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scot ...
, and the
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...
.Campbell (1971), ''Highland Songs of the Forty-Five'', pp. 33–34. In his dedication to the volume, the Bard wrote, "It seems to have been reserved for you to be the happy instruments of bringing about the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
of the Highlands and
Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...
of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, diverse places of which are remote from the means of obtaining instruction; and indeed when we consider the situation of the inhabitants, their ignorance, their inclinations to follow the customs, fashions, and superstitions of their forefathers, the number of Popish Emissaries in many places of these countries; and add to that their way of life, the unfrequented passes and the distance of their houses from one another, one would not think, but that an attempt to reform them would be a very arduous task to be brought about, even by the most desirable means." According to John Lorne Campbell, "His ''Galick and English Vocabulary'' was commissioned by the S.P.C.K. for use in their schools in furthering their policy of replacing Gaelic by English as the
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
of the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
... No doubt the reading MacDonald did in preparing this translation, for which he was ultimately paid the princely sum of £10, helped to develop his powerful command of the resources of the
Gaelic language The Goidelic ( ) or Gaelic languages (; ; ) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle o ...
." The vocabulary was the first secular book to be printed in
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
. In a 2016 article, Alan Riach expressed the belief that compiling the first Gaelic dictionary convinced Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair that the Gaelic language deserved preservation and that this new belief caused him to turn against the S.S.P.K. and everything it stood for.Not Burns – Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair!
by Alan Riach, ''The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland'', 11, February 2016.
According to Campbell, "Meanwhile, MacDonald's official salary as an SPCK schoolmaster and catechist has been reduced from £18 to £15 in 1738, to £14 in 1740, and to £12 in 1743."John Lorne Campbell, "Canna; Story of a Hebridean Island," p. 99. Even so, there was a proposal in 1742 to send him as a Protestant missionary to the overwhelmingly
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
island of
South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...
.John Lorne Campbell, "Canna; Story of a Hebridean Island," p. 97. Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill's whereabouts during the year of 1744, however, are unknown. The SSPK believed him to have "deserted his post to help rally the Jacobite clans" and their suspicions are confirmed by the flyting poem between the Clanranald Bard and "the Mull Satirist". In the same minute, the SSPK criticized Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill for assigning his sixteen-year-old son Raonuill Dubh MacDhòmhnaillDachaigh airson Stòras na Gàidhlig
Mu Chomh-chruinneachidh Orannaigh Gaidhealch
/ref> to cover his teaching duties. In June 1745, the minutes of S.S.P.K. reported, "It's represented that Alexr. MacDonald schoolmaster at Ardnamurchan is an offense to all sober well-inclin'd persons as he wanders thro' the country composing Galick songs stuffed with obscene language." The Committee recommended that the Synod of Glenelg be asked to look into the matter. According to John Lorne Campbell, "Probably this refers to his Rabelaisian song on the subject of the libidinous behaviour of two old fellows in Ardnamurchan; his political satires were composed later." The Synod's investigation found the allegations credible and the Bard was summoned to
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
by the Royal Bounty Committee to answer the charge that he was composing erotic poetry in Gaelic. He ignored the summons. The SSPK finally dismissed Alasdair, who they were told had again abandoned his teaching duties at Coire Mhuilinn, in a minute dated 4 July 1745. In reality, on 15 May 1745, according to historian John Watts, Alasdair MacDonald had already preempted his dismissal by resigning his post. At the time, like many other Gaels, whether Protestant or Catholic, he was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.


Conversion to Catholicism

Like his brother Aonghas Beag, the Bard converted during this period from
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
to the still illegal and underground
Catholic Church in Scotland The Catholic Church in Scotland, overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. Christianity first arrived in Roman Britain and was strengthened by the conversion of the Picts thr ...
. According to Father Charles MacDonald, who interviewed Alasdair's surviving relatives, the Bard's conversion was due to the example and influence of Margaret Cameron MacDonald, his devoutly Roman Catholic sister-in-law.MacDonald (2011), p. 132. Historian John Watts, however, believes that their close kinsman from Morar, Bishop Hugh MacDonald, the underground Catholic Vicar General of the Highland District, also played a highly significant role in the conversions of Aonghas Beag and Alasdair MacDonald. Although the exact date of the bard's reception into the Catholic Church remains unknown, Watts believes that he was received in secret, in order to safeguard his job, at least by 1744, when suspicion of his religious sympathies began to cause problems related to his employment as a Church of Scotland schoolmaster and catechist. According to a letter by
Lord Lovat Lord Lovat () is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred to simply as Lo ...
quoted by historian Odo Blundell of Fort Augustus Abbey, Bishop MacDonald was well known at the time throughout the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
for his ability to persuade Protestant
Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...
, despite the enormous risks they faced under the
religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...
of the era, to convert to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Also according to Watts, the Clanranald Bard helped Bishop MacDonald in late 1743 by drafting a detailed report to the Presbytery of Mull, which explained why the faculties of Fr Francis MacDonnell, a recent Protestant convert, anti-Catholic
polemicist Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...
, and
Church of Scotland minister A Church of Scotland congregation is led by its minister and elders. Both of these terms are also used in other Christian denominations: see Minister (Christianity) and Elder (Christianity). This article discusses the specific understanding of ...
, had been revoked, prompting his conversion to
Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
. The reported accused Rev. MacDonnell of violating priestly celibacy,
incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
with his own sister, two counts of
infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
after twice getting his sister into trouble, and bribing another man to falsely claim paternity. The Synod of Argyll investigated, found the accusations in the report credible, and MacDonnell was quietly transferred to the Church of Scotland parish of Duirinish, in the
Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...
, where he died thirty-seven years later. The report written by the Bard, titled, "Reasons for Laying on and continuing Mr Francis McDonnells suspension, and why they are published", survives in the Scottish Mission Papers, Scottish Catholic Archives. The Bard, who "was first an Episcopalian, then a Presbyterian, and finally a Catholic", was mocked and reviled while engaging in Flyting, or the exchange of insults in verse, with a fellow
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
poet called "The Mull Satirist." Even though the Mull Satirist accused Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill of becoming a Catholic solely out of political
careerism Careerism is the propensity to pursue career advancement, power, and prestige outside of work performance. Cultural environment Cultural factors influence how careerists view their occupational goals. How an individual interprets the term "care ...
and a desire to curry the favour of the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
Government in Exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...
at the Palazzo Muti in the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
, according to Charles MacDonald, "The best answer to this is, that MacDonald continued a Catholic when it might have been to his temporal advantage to have gone back to either of the former denominations... His children and their descendants were noted for being staunch Catholics."


Jacobite officer and war poet

In the introduction to his groundbreaking
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
volume ''Highland Songs of the Forty-Five'', John Lorne Campbell explained that, contrary to widely held beliefs, the Scottish Gàidhealtachd during the 18th-century was far from isolated from the literature and culture of the outside world. For example, Campbell explained, the Jacobite war poetry of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair shows a very clear understanding of the religious, political, and dynastic issues at stake and abounds with learned allusions to figures from
Classical mythology Classical mythology, also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology, is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology, along with philosophy and political thought, is one of the m ...
, the
Christian Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
, and from both the
Mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
and
Fenian Cycle The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle () is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Kóryos, warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the ...
s of
Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...
. Jacobite songs penned by Alasdair such as: ''Òran Nuadh'' — "A New Song", ''Òran nam Fineachan Gaidhealach'' — "The Song of the Highland Clans" and ''Òran do'n Phrionnsa'' — "A Song to the Prince," serve as testament to the Bard's own passion for the Jacobite cause and for the reforms promised by "The King over the Water." According to literary historian John MacKenzie, these poems were sent to Aeneas MacDonald, the brother of the Clanranald
tacksman A tacksman (, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a yearly rent for th ...
of Kinlochmoidart, who was a banker in Paris. Aeneas read the poems aloud to Prince
Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
in English translation and the poems played a major role in convincing the Prince to come to Scotland and to initiate the
Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
. Furthermore, as Charles MacDonald wrote during the early 1880s, the Jacobite war poems of Alasdair, "are sung at almost every fireside in the Jacobite districts to this day." On 25 July 1745, the Prince arrived at Loch nan Uamh from Eriskay aboard the French
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
'' Du Teillay''. The Bard was one of the first to go aboard. According to Bishop Robert Forbes, "He did not then know that the Prince was among the passengers, who being in very plain dress, Captain MacDonald made up to him without any manner of ceremony, and conversed with him in a very familiar way, sitting close by the Prince and drinking a glass with him, till one of the name of MacDonald made him such a look that immediately he began to suspect he was using too much freedom with one above his own rank. Upon this he soon withdrew, but was still in the dark about what particular person the young gentleman he had been conversing with might be."Robert Forbes (1895), ''The Lyon in Mourning: Or a Collection of Speeches, Letters, Journals Etc., Relative to the Affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Volume I'', Printed at the University Press by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society. Page 352. According to the local oral tradition, the Prince is said to have called upon the Bard's family at Dalilea House, during his journey up
Loch Shiel :''See Glen Shiel for the much smaller Loch Shiel in Lochalsh.'' Loch Shiel () is a freshwater loch situated west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William in the Highland (council area), Highland subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Scotla ...
on the way to the raising of his Standard. According to Bishop Forbes, "Captain MacDonald said it was most certain that if Keppoch, Lochiel, and young Clanranald had not joined the Prince, he would have been forced to shift for himself in the best manner he could."Robert Forbes (1895), ''The Lyon in Mourning: Or a Collection of Speeches, Letters, Journals Etc., Relative to the Affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Volume I'', Printed at the University Press by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society. Page 353. Even though he later told Bishop Forbes that most of the other Clanranald men were busy rowing the luggage, baggage, and supplies brought aboard the ''Du Teillay'' down the length of Loch Shiel and were unable to join the Jacobite Army until four days later, on 19 August 1745, Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill is believed to have witnessed as the Prince's Standard was unfurled by the Marquess of Tullibardine, blessed by a reluctant Bishop Hugh MacDonald, and raised at
Glenfinnan Glenfinnan ( ) is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising of 1745, Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his House of Stuart ...
(), which signalled the beginning of the
Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
. Alasdair is also said on this occasion to have personally sung his song of welcome: ''Teàrlach Mac Sheumais''. Afterwards he became the "
Tyrtaeus Tyrtaeus (; ''Tyrtaios''; fl. mid-7th century BC) was a Greek elegiac poet from Sparta whose works were speculated to fill five books. His works survive from quotations and papyri, and include 250 lines or parts of lines. He wrote at a time of t ...
of the Highland Army" and "the most persuasive of recruiting sergeants". Many of his surviving poems and songs openly glorify the Jacobite cause and satirise and revile those, like
Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...
, who sided with the
House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...
. Alasdair's name appears upon a "Roll of Men upon Clanranald's Mainland Estates, with their arms, made up in 1745", with a gun and pistol. His first commission was as a captain in the Clan Ranald Regiment where he was placed in command of 50 "cliver fellows" whom he personally recruited in Ardnamurchan.Campbell (1972), ''Highland Songs of the Forty-Five'', p. 36. Among his other responsibilities, the Bard was appointed to teach
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
to the Prince due to his "skill in the Highland Language." Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair fought alongside the Clanranald men for the duration of the campaign which ended with the crushing defeat and the
no quarter No quarter, during War, military conflict or piracy, implies that combatants would not be taken Prisoner of war, prisoner, but executed. Since the Hague Convention of 1899, it is considered a war crime; it is also prohibited in customary interna ...
given to the Jacobite Army at the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
.


Aftermath of Culloden

In the aftermath of the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
, it is believed that the Bard remained with the Prince for at least part of the latter's flight, about which he later helped write a detailed account. John Lorne Campbell believes that the Bard may have been one of the survivors of the Clanranald Regiment who joined the Prince at Glenbiastill in Arisaig (), four or five days after the disaster of Culloden. Due to the "arbitrary and malicious violence" that Hanoverian Redcoats inflicted, the aftermath of Culloden is still referred to in the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
as ''Bliadhna nan Creach'' ("The Year of the Pillaging"). What is worse, according to John Lorne Campbell, "
Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...
suffered more from Hanoverian reprisals and plundering than any other part of the Highlands." After the Prince escaped to France, both the Bard and his elder brother Aonghas Beag were fugitives in their own country; both Alasdair's house and his brother's mansion at Dalilea were plundered by Hanoverian redcoats. Non-juring Episcopal Bishop Robert Forbes first met and interviewed "Captain Alexander MacDonald, brother german of Æneas or Angus MacDonald of Dalely ( sic) in
Moidart Moidart ( ; ) is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the ...
, of the family of Clanranald, and full cousin-german to Miss Flora MacDonald", between 28 & 29 December 1747 about the Rising and its aftermath for the highly important
primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...
''The Lyon in Mourning''. According to Bishop Forbes, during "the Year of the Pillaging", "Captain MacDonald had all his effects plundered and pillaged. After everything was destroyed or carried off, the party happened to spy a living cat, immediately killed the poor harmless puss, and threw it out of the way, lest the poor mother and her children should have eaten the dead cat in their necessity. For
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
and his army were exceedingly desirous that the young and old (women and infants not excepted) they did not murder might be starved to death, which was the fate of too many, and their endeavours were fully equal to their desires. Captain MacDonald and his wife and children wandered through hills and mountains until the act of indemnity appeared, and in the time of their skulking from place to place his poor wife fell ill with child, which happened to be a daughter, and is still alive." During a visit to the Bishop, after listening to the detailed journal of the rising and its aftermath by Captain of the French Royal Army's Irish Brigade being read aloud, the Clanranald Bard described the diary as accurate for the most part. When he was then asked who had betrayed Captain O'Neille to the notorious
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
Captain John Fergussone of ''H.M.S. Furnace'' while the Irish Jacobite was hiding inside a lake-side cave upon
Benbecula Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...
. The Bard responded that the Captain O'Neille believed the informer to be "Ranald MacDonald of Torulum in Benbecula", but he explained that the Clan MacDonald of Clanranald had already conducted its own investigation. Torulum had been subjected to a harsh and grueling interrogation by the Chief, but had vowed that he deserved to die if he had done such a dishonourable thing and was ultimately ruled out as a suspect. About the alleged violation of the given word of honour and theft under cover of authority of Captain O'Neille's finances, consisting of 450
guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
s, and his gold watch by General John Campbell and other senior officers of the Campbell of Argyll Militia, according to the Bishop, "Captain MacDonald declared to me he did not in the least doubt the truth of that, for this simple reason, because all the Campbells, from the head to the foot of them, had discovered a most avaricious, greedy temper in the matter of pillaging and plundering their native country." At their second meeting, on the evening of Wednesday 28 December 1748, the Bard gave Bishop Forbes two pieces of the eight-oared boat in which the Prince had sailed from Borodale to
Benbecula Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...
in the aftermath of Culloden. The Bishop always treasured them afterwards as a relic. On 22 April 1751, the Bard met again with Bishop Forbes at
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
and provided the latter with a detailed account of the violations of the laws and customs of war committed by both the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and Hanoverian redcoats on the islands of Canna and
Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
. In addition to looting and
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
of the islands' women, all 38 surviving islanders who had served in the Jacobite Army were arrested by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
Captain John Fergussone of
Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and River Don, Aberdeenshire, Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography ...
(), boarded '' H.M.S. Furnace'', and remained on board when it became a prison hulk anchored in the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
off
Gravesend, Kent Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
. Although many died aboard the ''Furnace'' from torture, disease, or starvation, the remaining 16 were eventually
transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she ...
to the Colony of Barbados and the
Colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...
, to work as slave labor on sugar cane plantations.


''Ais-Eiridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich''

Alasdair then travelled to
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
with the purpose of publishing his volume of poems entitled: ''Ais-Eiridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich'' — (''The
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
of the Old Scottish Language''). In the title page to this volume, the Bard described himself as "the Bailie of Canna". Writing in 1933, John Lorne Campbell commented, "It is difficult to account for this appointment, as Canna was part of the Clanranald estates, which were attainder, forfeited, and the Government was certainly not in the habit of appointing Jacobites to administer the forfeited properties. He does not seem to have occupied the position very long." Other sources, as Campbell learned through his research over later decades, reveal that the lands of Clanranald barely escaped forfeiture through a minor legal technicality. Campbell further wrote in 1981, "A note in bundle 117 of the Dunvegan Papers proves that Alexander MacDonald, 'the Famous Composer of Morack', (i.e. the well-known poem in praise of Mórag) was installed on Canna by 10 April 1750." The title poem in the collection is in praise of the Gaelic language and a call for language revival, which, according to Campbell, was mimesis, modeled after the similar praise poem which Presbyterian minister Rev. John MacLean of Kilninian on the Isle of Mull, had composed in honor of pioneering Welsh people, Welsh Linguist and Celtic studies, Celticist Edward Lhuyd. In other poems, the Clanranald Bard irately denounced the
House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...
for having, "deprived the Highlanders of their natural garb and of the guns they used to hunt the deer, executed some of their natural leaders, and imprisoned and banished others". In one such poem, which is preserved elsewhere in manuscript, the Bard drew upon a Gaelic proverb by saying that the love of George II of Great Britain, King George II for the
Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...
was, "but the love of the raven for its bone." It has been written by Fr. Charles MacDonald that, "It is very characteristic of his reckless courage that he published these poems, breathing rebellion in every line, and pouring the vials of his wrath upon the whole race of the Georges, five years after the battle at Culloden."


''An Airce''

''Ais-Eiridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich'' included the poem, ''An Airce'' ("The Ark"), a biting satire aimed at the British Whig Party, Whigs of
Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...
. Like the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
Bard Brian Merriman, Alasdair begins by parodying the conventions of the Aisling, a Jacobite verse form based on both Medieval Dream vision poetry and an early 17th-century convention invented by Fr. Geoffrey Keating in which a Tuatha Dé Danann, former deity from Irish mythology is seen weeping for a recently fallen hero. According to Daniel Corkery (author), Daniel Corkery, "The Aisling proper is Jacobite poetry; and a typical example would run something like this: The poet, weak with thinking of the woe that has overtaken the Gaels, Gael, falls into a deep slumber. In his dreaming a figure of radiant beauty draws near. She is so bright, so stately, the poet imagines her one of the immortals. Is she Deirdre? Is she Gobnait, Gearnait? Or is she Helen of Troy, Helen? Or Venus (mythology), Venus? He questions her, and learns that she is Erin; and her sorrow, he is told, is for her true mate who is in exile beyond the seas. This true mate is, according to the date of the composition, either the Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, Old or Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Young Pretender; and the poem ends with a promise of speedy redemption on the return of the King's son." In Alasdair's hands, the conventions of the Aisling were given a cynical and comedic twist. Instead of a woman, the Bard describes a meeting with the ghost of a Campbell who was beheaded for supporting the Stuart claim to the throne. The ghost then tells the Bard that the Campbells will soon be punished for committing high treason against their lawful King, first being visited by the Ten Plagues of Egypt and then by another Great Flood upon their lands. The Bard is instructed to emulate Noah by building an Noah's Ark, Ark for carefully selected Campbells. Some, including the Campbell Tacksmen of Inverawe, Carwhin, Airds, Scotland, Airds, and Lochnell, are to be welcomed aboard the Ark and embraced as true Jacobites, which has led John Lorne Campbell to comment, "It is very evident that the Clan Campbell was not the monolithic Whig organization in 1745 that it is sometimes described as being."John Lorne Campbell, "Canna; Story of a Hebridean Island," p. 104. The moderate Campbells will be welcomed aboard the Ark's decks after being purged of their Whiggism, Whiggery by swallowing a heavy dose of seawater. Red coat (British army), Redcoats from the Campbell of Argyll Militia, on the other hand, are to be tied with millstones and thrown overboard. A female poet of the clan who had mocked Prince Charles and accused him of illegitimacy was to be treated to a fitting punishment before being delivered right into the Bard's hands. Also, Appin Murder, Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure, who has been appointed as the Crown's Factor (agent), Factor on the forfeited lands of Clan Stewart of Appin and Chiefs of Clan Cameron, Clan Cameron of Lochiel, Scotland, Lochiel, is one of the few Whigs for whom the ghost confesses a certain respect:


Reaction and aftermath

According to Father Charles MacDonald, "In other passages he prays that Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, the Butcher may have a rope tied around his neck and may be made to swing from it., – a blessing to which, if it could do any good, many a Highlander today would respond with a hearty amen. His choicest of offering to the King is the Scottish Maiden – i.e. the Guillotine – and so on. But these extravagant forms of ''lese majeste'', and of course not at all to be approved of, even in a poet." Revealing that he saw the Jacobite risings as the continuation of the war his ancestors had waged against Oliver Cromwell, the
Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...
, and the Rump Parliament, Alasdair's book included English-Gaelic literary translations of three poems by Cavalier poet and Cavalier, Royalist General James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, which expressed his loyalty to King Charles I and to the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
during the English Civil War. According to Hamish MacPherson, "One of the many contradictions about Alasdair was that he was a fine writer about love, but also wrote some very bawdy work – he wrote ''Praise of Morag'' about his wife which is full of sensual double entendres but also wrote ''Dispraise of Morag'' which is out-and-out obscene."A great Scot, too aft forgot: Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair
by Hamish MacPherson, ''The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland'', 13 January 2020.
According to a 2017 article by Peter Mackay, the two poems that Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair wrote about his wife are both based on the rhythms of Great Highland bagpipe, bagpipe music. In ''Praise of Morag'' the Bard likens his wife's breasts to ''geal criostal'' ("white crystal") and the lily of the valley, while comparing her skin to bog cotton and her kisses to cinnamon. In ''Dispraise of Morag'', which was composed after his wife discovered her husband's infidelity, Morag NicDhòmhnaill was dubbed, ''A bhan-pheacach sin gun loinn, Làn de dh’fhòtas innt'' ("A graceless sinful girl, full of stinking pus").Willies, ghillies and horny Highlanders: Scottish Gaelic writing has a filthy past
by Peter MacKay, University of St. Andrews, ''The Conversation'', 24 October 2017.
According to John Lorne Campbell, two of the poems in ''Ais-Eridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich'', ''Òran air Sean aois'' ("A Song on Old Age") and ''Comh-radh, Mar go b' ann eider caraid agus namhaid an Uisgebheatha'' ("A Dialogue between a Friend and a Foe of Whisky"), were actually composed by Alasdair's close friend, the North Uist bard Iain Mac Fhearchair.Campbell (1971), ''Highland Songs of the Forty-Five'', p. 247. The same collection also includes the poem ''Guidhe no Ùrnaigh an Ùghdair don Cheòlraidh'' ("The Author's Petition or Prayer to the Muses"), which the Bard addresses to the Muses, Nine Muses and which, "reflects ruefully upon his own poetic powers." Another poem, ''Tineas na h-Urchaid'' ("The Venereal Disease") mocks the rotting flesh and the other symptoms of gonorrhea. It was composed during an outbreak of venereal disease among the population of Ardnamurchan and the Western Highlands.Derek S. Thomson (1983), ''The Companion to Gaelic Scotland'', page 185. According to John Lorne Campbell, these diseases were most likely introduced to Ardnamurchan by Englishmen who arrived in the 1720s to work as hired labourers for Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk and Sir George Wade in the lead mines at Strontian. According to John Lorne Campbell, "The invective he heaped on the reigning House and its supporters gained him the enthusiastic approval of friends and the severe displeasure of the Government. MacDonald himself escaped prosecution, but the unsold copies of the book were seized and burned by the public Executioner, hangman in Mercat Cross, Edinburgh, Edinburgh market-place in 1752." 21st-century
Celticist Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history ...
Robert Dunbar, however, has called Alasdair mac Mhaighstir, "the greatest poet of the eighteenth century Golden Age of Gaelic poets", and adds that the 1751 publication of ''Ais-eridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich'' inspired the publication of, "an increasing number of important collections of Gaelic poetry." In a 2020 article, Scottish nationalist Hamish MacPherson expressed the belief that Alasdair's authorship of, "the world's first printed collection of Gaelic poetry... alone should make him worth revering, not least because its visceral criticism of the Hanoverian dynasty and the satire he employed to berate them are works of genius."


Later life

According to John Lorne Campbell, "Although the tradition of his sojourn is very strong on Canna, no building or ruin or piece of land is pointed out now as having been occupied by him. Just how long Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair remained as Baillie of Canna is unknown. In fact for a person who is well known as the leading Gaelic poet of the Highlands and as the former officer in the Jacobite Army who was an important informant for Bishop Forbes, extraordinarily little is known about his life after 1751. After he left Canna he was for a time tenant of Eigneig in
Moidart Moidart ( ; ) is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the ...
."John Lorne Campbell, "Canna; Story of a Hebridean Island," p. 105. Soon after the publication, the Captain of Clanranald's estate Factor (Scotland), Factor evicted the Bard and his family from Eigneig. The main reason for this was that Father William Harrison (Scottish priest), William Harrison, the local Roman Catholic priest, had objected to the Bard's composition of erotic poetry.MacDonald (2011), pp. 130–131.John Lorne Campbell, "Canna; Story of a Hebridean Island," p. 102. According to Father Charles MacDonald, however, the dispute between the Bard and Father Harrison was not only moral but also political. At the beginning of the Uprising, Father Harrison had appeared before the Sheriff of Argyllshire at Inverary () and had sworn under oath that he took no part in politics, was as loyal to the
House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...
, "as a good Patriot should be", and that he, " regretted that any of his co-religionists should have allowed himself to be involved in an enterprise so foolhardy," as the
Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
. In response, the Sheriff had given Father Harrison a pass which was shown to any militia officers who encountered him. Father Harrison's pass made him, according to Father Charles MacDonald, the only Roman Catholic priest in the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
who was never imprisoned or even harassed during the 1745 rising or its aftermath. To the Bard, however, Father Harrison's loyalty to the Hanoverians was nothing short of treasonous and had marked him out as (), or ("the Priest for the Whigs"). The Bard responded to his eviction at Father Harrison's urging by reviling Eignaig in satirical poetry. He moved again to Inverie () in Knoydart (), to Morar (). While in Morar, the Bard composed a poem in praise of both the place and of Bishop Hugh MacDonald, the Roman Catholic priest, priests, and students at the illegal Lismore Seminary#Preceding seminaries, Buorblach seminary, who were less critical of his poetry and politics than Father Harrison had been.MacDonald (2011), p. 131. The Bard is believed to have composed his poem ''Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill'', which is about the troubled voyage of a Birlinn, Highland War Galley from the ghost town of Loch Eynort in
South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...
across the Irish Sea to Carrickfergus, in what is now Northern Ireland, and which remained unpublished until after his death, during the 1750s. John Lorne Campbell has written about Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill and the ''Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill'', "There is a strong local tradition that at least part of his famous epic... was composed in Canna, while he was lying under an upturned boat at the head of Canna Harbour near the spot known as ''Lag nam Boitean''. The same tradition exists in South Uist about Loch Eynort." According to Derick S. Thomson, however, "His major poem, ''Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill'' (The Galley of Clan Ranald) is... a striking ''tour de force'' of dramatic description, precisely constructed but accommodating Magical realism, elements of the fantastic and with echoes of the 'Oral-formulaic composition, runs' from the saga ''Battle of Ventry, Cath Fionntràgha'', a version of which is in the poets own hand (Nat. Lib. MS 72.2.11)."Derek S. Thomson (1983), ''The Companion to Gaelic Scotland'', page 184-185. Although Gaelic poetry was once assumed to be isolated from the literature of other languages, Alan Riach argues, "With Duncan Ban MacIntyre, you have someone who is illiterate but fluent in Gaelic, and composes his poetry to be sung, to be performed, as music; with Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair and ''The Birlinn of Clanranald'' you have an extremely sophisticated poet who reads fluently in a number of languages. So he's familiar with Homer and Virgil and the great Epic poetry, epics of classical literature. He's familiar with poetry being written in English at the time. He's familiar with poetry written in Scots. His own writing in Gaelic is part of that continuum, part of that context."The Scottish Poetry Library interviews Alan Riach
June 2016.
The Captain and Chief of Clanranald then granted him land at Camas an t-Salainn and then Sandaig in Arisaig. He frequently travelled to North Uist, where he had a close friend in Iain Mac Fhearchair (John MacCodrum), the famed bard to Sir James MacDonald of Sleat.


Death

In his 1889 book ''Moidart: Among the Clanranalds'', Father Charles MacDonald recorded the Bard's last moments in 1770 from the
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
of
Moidart Moidart ( ; ) is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the ...
, "In his last illness he was carefully nursed by his Arisaig friends, two of whom on the night of his decease, finding the hours rather monotonous, and thinking that he was asleep, began to recite in an undertone some verses of their own composition. To their astonishment, however, the bard raised himself up, and, smiling at their inexperienced efforts, pointed out how the ideas might be improved and the verses made to run in another and smoother form, at the same time giving an illustration in a few original measures of his own. He then sank back on the pillow and immediately expired." According to Dom Odo Blundell of Fort Augustus Abbey, the outlawed Roman Catholic "heather priest" assigned to Arisaig in 1770 was Fr. Alexander MacDonald (d.1797), a graduate of the Scots College in Rome who was later described as, "a man who loved fatigue". As Fr MacDonald was not sent an assistant until 1777, it was almost certainly he who administered the Last Rites and offered a Tridentine Mass, Tridentine Requiem Mass following the death of the Clanranald Bard. According to Fr. Charles MacDonald, "It was proposed at first to carry his remains to ''Eilean Fhionnain'' – Island Finnan, but the project, owing to a severe gale then raging along the coast, had to be abandoned. The Arisaig people thereupon got their own way, and Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair was buried in the cemetery of Kilmorie, close to the present Catholic church of Arisaig." According to John Lorne Campbell, "There is a strong aura of a man whose career had gone wrong about him, such as might attach to a spoilt priest or minister. A bitter quarrel with his parents is hinted at in the poem on the flyting between himself and the Mull ploughman. But we know no details. Alasdair was certainly a remarkably well-educated man, who left a very strong mark upon Highland history and Scottish Gaelic literature. We may well wish we knew more." Although the exact location of the Bard's grave is no longer known, a wall plaque was erected in 1927 in St. Máel Ruba, Maelrubha's Roman Catholic cemetery in Arisaig, which reads, "In this graveyard in a now forgotten spot lies Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair (Alexander MacDonald) The Clanranald Bard, born probably at Dalilea House, Loch Shiel, 1700, died at Sannaig, Arisaig, 1780. This bronze is erected to his memory (1927) by a few Jacobite admirers in New Zealand and some fellow clansmen at home in recognition of his greatness as a Gaelic poet. R.I.P."


Literary and cultural legacy

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair may be said to rank first among all the bards of the Scottish Gaels, perhaps with only Sorley MacLean, of more recent fame, as an exception. He "owed little or nothing either to his predecessors or his contemporaries" in the field of poetry and many of his poems are available in anthologies of Scottish poetry. According to Alan Riach, Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's high level of education, his ability to read and write in his own language, and his
multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
understanding of the Western canon from Classical literature to the time of the French Enlightenment, French and Scottish Enlightenments, is what sets him apart from the other truly great Gaelic poets of the era. According to Derrick S. Thomson, "He was a man of strong views and violent emotions but with a hard intellectual cast of mind also; he was learned in the Gaelic tradition and open to influence from his other reading; he was an innovator and a conservative; and his poetry is full of the stimulating contradictions that proceed from these diversities." According to Charles MacDonald, who considered Alasdair to share, "with Duncan Ban MacIntyre, Duncan Bàn M'Intyre the foremost place in the ranks of Celtic poets", also commented, "MacDonald was undoubtedly a person of high poetical genius, and although critics may differ as to the exact merits of some of his productions, no one will deny that there are certain poems - for instance, the ''Galley of Clanranald'' - which will be read and relished as long as the Gaelic language lives." Charles II of England, King Charles II named Gaelic Cavalier poet Iain Lom as his Poet Laureate during the Stuart Restoration, and Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair was also appointed Poet Laureate by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the de jure Prince Regent, during the
Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
. But as the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
was Glorious Revolution, unseated in 1688, and the subsequent Jacobite risings failed to permanently restore the Stuarts, the Whig single party state's Whig history, historical apologists, like Lord Macaulay, wrote both poets out of what was long considered the unquestioned official history of
British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
. The stature of both poets was further diminished by the fact that they composed in Scottish Gaelic, at a time when all
minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...
s were linguistic imperialism, under attack by the central government and the Established Church. Even so, long before legendary Canadian Gaelic poet Iain mac Ailein, the former Bard to the 15th Chief of Clan Maclean of Coll, emigrated with his family from Tiree to Nova Scotia in 1819, Iain mac Ailein was only one of many Gaelic-speaking ''Seanchaidhe'' who could recite the entirety of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's ''immram'' poem ''Birlinn Chloinne Raghnaill'' ("The Birlinn of Clanranald"), from memory. Furthermore, Iain mac Ailein also carried with him when he emigrated an extremely rare first edition copy of the Clanranald Bard's ''Ais-eridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich''. In 1915, MacLean's grandson, Presbyterian minister Rev. Alexander MacLean Sinclair, donated his grandfather's copy of the book to St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In a letter to the university's Rector, Rev. Hugh P. MacPherson, Rev. Sinclair apologized for having razored out everything between pages 152 and 161, which he called, "abominably filthy". These pages had contained two of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's most famous works of erotic poetry; ''Moladh air Deagh Bhod'' ("In Praise of a Good Penis") and ''Tineas na h-Urchaid'' ("The Venereal Disease"). Including the copy that was censored by Rev. Sinclair, only twelve copies of the original edition of ''Ais-eridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich'' are now known to exist. The same book, in heavily bowdlerization, bowdlerized editions by puritanical censors, continued to appear repeatedly during the 18th and 19th centuries. According to John Lorne Campbell, however, "...no satisfactory text of MacDonald's poems has yet been produced. Apart from the peculiarities of his own spelling – which represents nearly the first attempt to adapt the Irish orthography, orthography of the old Early Modern Irish, literary language common to Scotland and Ireland to the Scottish Gaelic, vernacular of the Highlands – he uses forms which are not now employed in modern speech, and which have been consequently removed by all his editors from MacPherson onwards, presumably as a concession to readers unwilling to acquaint themselves with obsolete forms of the language." Even so, The Clanranald Bard's influence over Scottish culture continues. During the 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh, which brought Scottish traditional music to a large public stage for the first time and is now considered to be one of the beginnings of the
British folk revival The British folk revival incorporates a number of movements for the collection, preservation and performance of folk music in the United Kingdom and related territories and countries, which had origins as early as the 18th century. It is particu ...
. The concert took place inside
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
's Oddfellows Hall and continued long afterwards at St Columba's-by-the-Castle, St. Columba's Church Hall on Friday 26 August 1951. The Scottish Gàidhealtachd was represented by Flora MacNeil, fellow Barra native Calum Johnston (singer), Calum Johnston, and John Burgess (bagpiper), John Burgess. The music was recorded live at the scene by American musicologist Alan Lomax. During the Ceilidh, two Scottish Gaelic songs about the
Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
were performed onstage. Beforehand, master of ceremonies Hamish Henderson announced, "One of the great movements two hundred years ago was the Jacobitism, Jacobite movement, the Jacobite rising of 1745, last great Stuart rebellion, and in the West of Scotland it brought out many fine songs. The song that you're going to hear now from Calum Johnston is one of the songs of Alexander MacDonald, the Clanranald Bard, Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair. And the song he's going to sing is one called 'A New Song for the Prince'. The words mean, 'Early in the morning as I wakened, great my joy, for I hear that he comes to the land of Clanranald."Edited by Eberhard Bort (2011), Tis Sixty Years Since: The 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh and the Scottish Folk Revival'', page 206. Calum Johnston, who was "keen to show his own admiration for [the] poet and for the Scottish clan, Highlanders who fought for Charles Edward Stuart, Charlie", then delivered a passionate rendition of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's ''Òran Eile don Phrionnsa'' ("Another Song to the Prince"). Flora MacNeil then performed, ''Mo rùn geal òg'', Catriona Nic Fhearghais's lament for her husband, Uilleam Siseal (William Chisholm of Strathglass), who fell bearing the standard of Clan Chisholm for the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
during the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
in 1746. During the 21st century Ballachulish-based poet and musician Griogair Labhruidh also performed Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's ''Ã’ran Eile don Phrionnsa'' ("Another Song to
the Prince ''The Prince'' ( ; ) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and Political philosophy, political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new Prince#Prince as gener ...
"), titled by its first line ''Moch sa Mhadainn 's Mi a' Dùsgadh'', as part of the Soundtrack for the 2nd and 4th Seasons of the TV series '' Outlander''. In 1995, a memorial cairn was erected at the sandy beach upon Eriskay known as ''Coilleag a' Phrionnsa'' ("The Cockel Strand of the Prince") where Prince Charles Edward Stuart first set foot on Scottish soil. The inscription it bears is also the first stanza of ''Òran Eile don Phrionnsa'':Bilingual Inscription on Cairn
taken 15 years ago, near to Coilleag, Eriskay an Easgann & na Brugannan, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scotland.
:"Moch sa mhadainn 's mi dùsgadh :'S mòr mo shunnd 's mo cheòl-gàire :On a chuala mi 'm Prionnsa :Thighinn do dhùthaich Chlann Raghnaill." :"Early in the morning as I wakened, :great [is] my joy, :for I hear that [the Prince] comes :to the land of Clanranald." A further sign of the Bard's popularity is how many times that same song has been emulated by other great Bards in Scottish Gaelic literature. For example, North Uist
war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...
Ruairidh MacAoidh (1872-1949) adapted Alasdair's song-poem to the outbreak of the First World War. Instead of a Jacobite anthem and an attack against the Whig political party, however, MacAoidh transformed the song into a jingoism, jingoistic anthem anti-German sentiment, preaching hatred against Wilhelm II of Germany, the last Kaiser, the German people, and the Second Reich. In a deeply ironic contrast, anti-
war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...
Dòmhnall Iain Dhonnchaidh (1919–1986) somewhat facetiously rewrote the same poem in 1946. In Dòmhnall Iain Dhonnchaidh's version, however, he instead speaks of his joy at waking up on board a ship that was about to return him to the peacetime and civilian life on
South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...
which had once bored him terribly, after the horrors of combat during the 1940 Fall of France followed by six years of backbreaking manual labor as a POW in Nazi Germany during World War II. Due to the recent rise of Scottish nationalism, the progressing Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolution of Great Britain, the passing of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, and the resulting campaign to bring the Gaelic language back from the brink of extinction through Scottish Gaelic-medium education, immersion schools funded by the Scottish Parliament, interest in Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair has grown. In 2012, at the request of the National Trust for Scotland, Scottish artist Ronald Elliot painted Prince Charles Edward Stuart and the Clanranald Bard having breakfast together beside the captured cannons while both looking extremely haunted, immediately following the Jacobite Army victory at the Battle of Prestonpans. In 2020, ''Aiseirigh: Òrain le Alastair Mac Mhaighstir Alastair'', the first ever complete and uncensored collection of the Clanranald Bard's verse, was edited by Sgàire Uallas and published by ''An Clò Glas'', a Canadian Gaelic publishing house based in
West Montrose, Ontario West Montrose is an unincorporated rural community in Woolwich, Ontario, Woolwich Township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. As of the 2016 census, the population of the community was 257. The settlement of West Montro ...
. In May 2023, Taylor Strickland's translations of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's Gaelic poetry were published by Broken Sleep Books, under the title ''Dastram / Delirium''. The book was a Poetry Book Society Translation Choice, and won The Scottish Poetry Book of the Year award in 2023. Ironically, despite his own personal Monarchism, the Clanranald Bard is also having a growing influence upon activists for Scottish independence and even Scottish republicanism, republicanism. In a 2020 article, Scottish nationalist Hamish MacPherson praised
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
and Alasdair MacDhòmhnuill as the two greatest Scottish poets in any language and called it, "a national disgrace that there is no national monument" anywhere in Scotland to the Clanranald Bard. MacPherson then wrote, "I believe Alasdair is a poet whose personal journey is an example to all of us who have joined the Scottish independence, cause of independence and all those who are still to be converted. For Alasdair was a linguistic innovator who was a scholar of the Classics but became the champion of Gaelic and the culture of the Gael, a Protestant teacher who converted to Catholicism, and a man of peace who fought for Prince Charles Edward Stuart in the 1745 Jacobite Rising. In other words, someone who found his true beliefs and fought for them with words as his chief weapons – shouldn't that be all of us Scots?"


Descendants

His son, Raonuill Dubh MacDhòmhnuill (lit. "Black Ranald", officially Ranald MacDonald, 1st of Laig) (c.1715-c.1805), was also a famous Gaelic poet who published ''Comh-chruinneachidh Orannaigh Gaidhealach'', which is also called "The
Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
Collection", at Edinburgh in 1776. Raonuill Dubh is believed to have drawn heavily upon oral poetry collected and written down by his father and also upon the similar collection made by Hector Maclean of Grulin. This theory is further strengthened by Alasdair MacDhòmhnuill's own statements to Bishop Robert Forbes, about how he hoped to collect and edit a volume of Scottish Gaelic literature by other authors for publication. Several Gaelic poetry manuscripts in Alasdair MacDhòmhnuill's hand were among those lent by Raonuill Dubh's heirs to Ewen MacLachlan in 1814 and acquired by the Highland Society of Scotland after MacLachlan's death in 1822. The Clanranald Bard's surviving manuscripts are now part of the collections of the National Library of Scotland. According to a 1964 oral history interview with
Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
''seanchaidh'' Donald Archie MacDonald, both Raonuill Dubh MacDhòmhnuill and his son, Aonghas Lathair MacDhòmhnuill (lit. "Strong Angus", officially Angus MacDonald, 2nd of Laig), were hereditary tacksmen of Laig in
Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
from around 1775. During the Highland Clearances of the mid-1820s, Aonghas Lathair MacDhòmhnuill gained local notoriety by beginning the planned eviction of the whole village of Cleadale. As estate Factor (Scotland), Factor, Aonghas Lathair was acting under orders from Ranald George Macdonald, 19th Chief of Clanranald, who intended, like many other Anglo-Scottish landlords of the era, to replace the Crofting, Crofters of Cleadale with much more profitable herds of Cheviot sheep, Cheviot and Scottish Blackface, black faced sheep. Despite being permitted by Scots property law, the eviction went against ', the cultural principle that
Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...
had an inalienable right to rent land in their clan's territory and that the land was never the personal property of the Chief or the landlord. Aonghas Lathair however, planned to assign the management of the sheep farm upon the cleared village of Cleadale to his brother-in-law, but severe hardships then fell upon Aonghas Lathair and his family, which ultimately resulted in the tacksman committing suicide. According to the local
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
, the old people of Eigg blamed the MacDonald family's misfortune on a curse that was said to have been put on them by the women whom Aonghas Lathair had evicted from Cleadale. In 1827, the 19th Chief of Clanranald sold Eigg, after 800 years of ancestral ownership, to Dr. Hugh MacPherson and further evictions from Cleadale were cancelled. Angus R. McDonald (1832–1879), the son of Raonuill Dubh's son Allan and ultimately Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair's last direct descendant, at first carried on with the family's rented farm on
Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
after the death of his father and then emigrated to the United States with his motherMacDonald (2011), p. 136–137. and brother Allan, with whom he became one of the first settlers of Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In Mazomanie, the MacDonald brothers built the town's first hotel, which they later donated to St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church to be used as a Catholic school.Christopher C. Wehner (2008), ''The 11th Wisconsin in the Civil War: A Regimental History'', McFarland. Page 163. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Angus R. McDonald enlisted in Company A of the 11th Wisconsin Regiment at Mazomanie on 2 September 1861.Christopher C. Wehner (2008), ''The 11th Wisconsin in the Civil War: A Regimental History'', McFarland. Page 171. Following United States Army Basic Training, basic training at Camp Randall, McDonald served under the command of Colonel Charles L. Harris (general), Charles L. Harris and repeatedly, "distinguished himself by his gallantry during the operations of the Union Army, Federal Army in Alabama and Mississippi." Angus McDonald was later described as, "a very large and powerful man, and brave almost to the point of temerity."Christopher C. Wehner (2008), ''The 11th Wisconsin in the Civil War: A Regimental History'', McFarland. Page 158. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on 14 July 1864. During the Battle of Fort Blakeley, which was part of the Mobile campaign (1865), Siege of Mobile, on 9 April 1865, Lieut. McDonald was leading an advanced skirmish party in the storming of a Confederate earthwork fortification, when a Confederate States Army officer and twelve enlisted men launched a counterattack while crying, "No quarter to the damned Yankees!" As the Confederate attackers opened fire and indiscriminately shot down both Yankees and surrendered Rebels alike, Lt. McDonald fell with a bullet through his thigh. He was then repeatedly bayoneted by a Confederate soldier until Sgt. Daniel B. Moore of Company E picked up a fallen Rebel soldier's musket and shot Lt. McDonald's attacker dead. For this feat, Sgt. Moore was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. After a 15-minute long engagement, the regimental standard of the 11th Wisconsin Regiment was planted atop the captured Fort. Lt. McDonald survived his wounds and was later known as, "The Hero of Fort Blakeley". After being promoted to Captain, Angus R. McDonald was mustered out of the United States Army on 15 May 1865. He returned to Wisconsin and eventually settled into a shop keeping career and a position at the Wisconsin State Capitol as paid caretaker to Old Abe, the tame bald eagle who had famously served as the battlefield mascot for the 8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. Captain McDonald never married and died without issue in Milwaukee on 14 April 1879. His body was returned to Mazomanie, where, following a Tridentine Mass, Tridentine Requiem Mass at St. Barnabas Church, he was buried in the parish cemetery with Military funerals in the United States, full military honors and in the presence of his fellow veterans, and the direct line of the Clanranald Bard became extinct. Mazomanie's Grand Army of the Republic Post was named in honor of Captain Angus R. McDonald and an engraving of him is held by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.


Folklore

* According to John Lorne Campbell, Ghost story, ghost stories about sightings of the undead spectre of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair or of his brother Lachlan on
South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...
and other islands are very commonly told in Hebridean mythology and folklore.John Lorne Campbell (1992), ''Tales from Barra: Told by The Coddy'', Birlinn. Pages 137–138.John Lorne Campbell, "Canna; Story of a Hebridean Island," p. 105. * The following story was recorded on the isle of Canna from "Aonghus Eachainn" by Dr. Calum Maclean (folklorist), Calum Maclean of the Irish Folklore Commission. The translation is by John Lorne Campbell, "Alexander MacDonald was for a time living in Canna. He was bailie for one of the Clan Ranald, Clanranalds when they had Canna. One fine day he was going over to South Uist, Uist in a rowing boat, and some old men of the island were down at the place called ''Gob a' Rubha'', the point past the pier. When Alexander was going past, one of the old men who was fishing for Cuddy (fish), cuddies said to him: 'Won't you give your opinion of us now, Alasdair?' 'I will do that,' he said; and he said to them:


Gaelic naming conventions

* The poet's Gaelic name means "Alasdair, son of the Reverend Alasdair". His father, also named Alasdair, was known as ''Maighstir Alasdair'' ("Master Alexander") which was then the way of referring to a clergyman in Scottish Gaelic. In English, ''Maighstir Alasdair'' was known as the "Reverend Alexander MacDonald".


References


Further reading

* Ronald Black (2016), ''The Campbells of the Ark: Men of Argyll in 1745. Volume I: The Inner Circle'', Birlinn Limited * Ronald Black (2017), ''The Campbells of the Ark: Men of Argyll in 1745. Volume II: The Outer Circle'', John MacDonald. * Edited by Eberhard Bort (2011), ''Tis Sixty Years Since: The 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh and the Scottish Folk Revival'', Grace Note Publishing * John Lorne Campbell (1984), ''Canna; The Story of a Hebridean Island'', Oxford University Press. * John Lorne Campbell (1979), ''Highland Songs of the Forty-Five'', Arno Press, New York City * Rev. A. MacDonald (1924), ''The Poems of Alexander MacDonald (Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair)'', Northern Counties Newspaper and Print and Pub. Co., Inverness. (Bilingual edition) *Digitised version of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair'
Ais-Eiridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich / The resurrection of the ancient Scottish language
1751 at the National Library of Scotland. Contains a Preface in and literary translations from English, plus original poetry in both Latin language, Latin and Scottish Gaelic. *Digitised version of Alasdair and Raonuill Dubh MacDonald'
Comh-chruinneachidh Orannaigh Gaidhealach/The Eigg Collection
1776, from Archive.org * Charles MacDonald (2011), ''Moidart: Among the Clanranalds'', Birlinn Limited * Peadar Ó Muircheartaigh (2020), '
Bìrlinn Chlann Raghnaill
': Long a fuair foscadh in Éirinn', ''COMHARTaighde'' 6: * Derick S. Thomson (1987), ''The Companion to Gaelic Scotland'', (Blackwell Reference 1987), * Edited by Sgàire Uallas (2020), ''Aiseirigh: Òrain le Alastair Mac Mhaighstir Alastair'', ''An Clò Glas'',
West Montrose, Ontario West Montrose is an unincorporated rural community in Woolwich, Ontario, Woolwich Township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. As of the 2016 census, the population of the community was 257. The settlement of West Montro ...
. (Scottish Gaelic text of the poems only, but unexpurgation, expurgated and published as originally written)


External links


Poetry on Wikisource
(in Scottish Gaelic)
Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair Alexander MacDonald (1695 - 1770)
Scottish Poetry Library
Manuscript containing the poems of Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (Alexander MacDonald), written in Gaelic script
Catalogue of Archives and Manuscripts Collections, National Library of Scotland
As Described by the "Clan Donald Society of Edinburgh"




2009-10-25)
Allt an t-Siùcar
performed by Jenna Chuimeanach, 2020.
Not Burns – Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair!
by Alan Riach, ''The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland'', 11, February 2016.
The Scottish Poetry Library interviews Alan Riach about Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair
June 2016.
Willies, ghillies and horny Highlanders: Scottish Gaelic writing has a filthy past
by Peter MacKay, University of St. Andrews, ''The Conversation'', 24 October 2017.
A great Scot, too aft forgot: Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair
by Hamish MacPherson, ''The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland'', 13 January 2020.
It's time to embrace the legacy of this rebel poet
by Cailean Gallagher, ''The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland'', 11 June 2023. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macmhaighstir Alasdair, Alasdair 1690s births 1770 deaths 18th-century lexicographers 18th-century Scottish Gaelic poets 18th-century Scottish poets 18th-century Scottish diarists 18th-century Scottish educators Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Book burnings Book censorship in the United Kingdom Canna, Scotland Catholic Church and minority language rights Clan Donald, Alasdair Clan MacDonald of Clanranald Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Presbyterianism Erotic poetry Jacobite poets Jacobite propagandists Jacobite military personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 Neo-Latin poets Nobility from Highland (council area) Outlander (franchise) People from Lochaber Scottish-American culture in Wisconsin Scottish-American history Scottish Catholic poets Scottish folklore Scottish ghosts Scottish Jacobites Scottish lexicographers Scottish outlaws Scottish political writers Scottish Roman Catholics Scottish schoolteachers Translators to Scottish Gaelic Scottish satirists Scottish satirical poets