Allan Ramsay (15 October 16867 January 1758) was a Scottish poet (or ''

makar A makar () is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as a royal court poet. Since the 19th century, the term ''The Makars'' has been specifically used to refer to a number of poets of fifteenth and sixteenth cen ...

''), playwright, publisher, librarian and impresario of early

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

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 ...

. Ramsay's influence extended to England, foreshadowing the reaction that followed the publication of ''

Percy's Reliques The ''Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'' (sometimes known as ''Reliques of Ancient Poetry'' or simply Percy's ''Reliques'') is a collection of ballads and popular songs collected by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765. Sources The basis ...

''. He was on close terms with the leading men of letters in Scotland and England. He corresponded with William Hamilton of Bangour,

William Somervile William Somervile or Somerville (2 September 167517 July 1742) was an English poet who wrote in many genres and is especially remembered for "The Chace", in which he pioneered an early English georgic. Life Somervile, the eldest son of a long e ...

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peach ...

and

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

. He began writing poetry as a member of the Easy Club and in 1715 became Club Laureate. Ramsay published verses and turned bookseller in 1718, selling poetry collections like ''Wealth and the Woody'', a satire on the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

. In 1720, he collected and published his poems, establishing a

circulating library A circulating library (also known as lending libraries and rental libraries) lent books to subscribers, and was first and foremost a business venture. The intention was to profit from lending books to the public for a fee. Overview Circulating li ...

in 1726. Ramsay edited ''The Tea-Table Miscellany'' and ''The Ever Green'' and is considered as a pastoral writer and editor who revived interest in

vernacular literature Vernacular literature is literature written in the vernacular—the speech of the "common people". In the European tradition, this effectively means literature not written in Latin or Koine Greek. In this context, vernacular literature appeared ...

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

sees Allan as a major contributor to the early naturalistic literary reaction of the 18th century. His '' The Gentle Shepherd'', showed an appreciation of country life and anticipates the attitude of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

with a neo-classical tradition. He is viewed as the connecting-link between the greater "

Makar A makar () is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as a royal court poet. Since the 19th century, the term ''The Makars'' has been specifically used to refer to a number of poets of fifteenth and sixteenth cen ...

s" of the 15th and 16th centuries and later Scottish writers like

Robert Fergusson Robert Fergusson (5 September 1750 – 17 October 1774) was a Scottish poet. After formal education at the University of St Andrews, Fergusson led a Bohemianism, bohemian life in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, then at the height of intel ...

and

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 ...

Life and career

Allan Ramsay as depicted on the Scott Monument

Allan Ramsay was born at

Leadhills Leadhills, originally settled for the accommodation of miners, is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, WSW of Elvanfoot. The population in 1901 was 835. It was originally known as Waterhead. It is the second highest village in Scotland, ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

, to Robert Ramsay (1663-1687), Manager of

Lord Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, (25 September 1860 – 29 February 1908) was a British aristocrat and statesman who served as the first governor-general of Australia, in office from 1900 to 1902. He wa ...

's lead mines at Leadhills, and his wife, Alice Bower, whose father, Alan Bower, was a native of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

who had come to Leadhills as an instructor to the miners. Allan Ramsay and his elder brother Robert attended the parish school at

Crawfordjohn Crawfordjohn is a small village and civil parish of 117 residents located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland. 1854. VOL.I (AAN-GORDON) by Rev. John Marius Wilson. p.315 https://archive.org/stream/imperialgazettee ...

. In 1701, the year after his mother died, Allan's stepfather apprenticed him to a

wig A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair, or a synthetic imitation thereof. The word is short for "periwig". Wigs may be worn to disguise baldness, to alter the wearer's appearance, or as part of certain professional uniforms. H ...

-maker in Edinburgh and received his indentures back by 1709. He married Christian Ross in 1712; a few years after he had established himself as a wig-maker (not as a barber, as has been often said) in the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

, and soon found himself in comfortable circumstances. They had six children. His eldest child was

Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to: *Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet *Allan Ramsay (artist) Allan Ramsay (13 October 171310 August 1784) was a Scottish portrait Painting, painter. Life and career Ramsay w ...

, the portrait painter. Ramsay's first efforts in verse-making were inspired by the meetings of the Easy Club (founded in 1712) of which he was an original member, and in 1715, he became the Club Laureate. In the society of the members he assumed the name of Isaac Bickerstaff, and later of Gawin Douglas, the latter partly in memory of his maternal grandfather Douglas of Muthill (

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

), and partly to give point to his boast that he was a "poet sprung from a Douglas loin". The choice of the two names has some significance, when we consider his later literary life as the associate of the Queen Anne poets and as a collector of old Lowland Scots poetry. By 1718 he had made some reputation as a writer of

occasional verse Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage. Term As a term of literary criticism, "occasional poetry" describes the wor ...

, which he published in broadsheets, and then (or a year earlier) he turned bookseller in the premises where he had hitherto plied his craft of wig-making. In 1716 he had published a rough transcript of " Christ's Kirk on the Green" from the

Bannatyne Manuscript The Bannatyne Manuscript is an anthology of literature compiled in Scotland in the sixteenth century. It is an important source for the Scots poetry of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The manuscript contains texts of the poems of the gr ...

, with some additions of his own. In 1718 he republished the piece with more supplementary verses. In the following year he printed a collection of ''Scots Songs''. He published ''Wealth and the Woody'' in 1720, a satire on the

, describing its fortunes as shifting sands. The success of these ventures prompted him to collect his poems in 1720 and publish a volume in 1721. The volume was issued by subscription, and brought in the sum of four hundred guineas. Four years later he removed to another shop, in the neighbouring

Luckenbooths The Luckenbooths were a range of tenements which formerly stood immediately to the north of St Giles' Cathedral, St. Giles' Kirk in the Royal Mile#High Street, High Street of Edinburgh from the reign of James II of Scotland, King James II in the ...

, where he opened a

and extended his business as a bookseller. Ramsay is considered to have created the first

in Britain when he rented books from his shop in 1726. Between the publication of the collected edition of his poems and his settling down in the Luckenbooths, he had published a few shorter poems and had issued the first instalments of ''The Tea-Table Miscellany'' (1723–37) and ''The Ever Green'' (1724). ''The Tea-Table Miscellany'' is "A Collection of Choice Songs Scots and English", containing some of Ramsay's own, some by his friends, several well-known ballads and songs, and some Caroline verse. Its title was suggested by the programme of

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

: as Addison had sought for his speculations the hour set apart "for tea and bread and butter", so Ramsay laid claim to that place for his songs "e'en while the tea's fill'd reeking round". In ''The Ever Green: being a Collection of Scots Poems wrote by the Ingenious before 1600'', Ramsay had another purpose, to reawaken an interest in the older national literature. Nearly all the pieces were taken from the Bannatyne manuscript, though they are by no means verbatim copies. They included his version of "Christ's Kirk" and a remarkable pastiche by the editor entitled "The Vision". While engaged on these two series, he produced, in 1725, his dramatic pastoral ''The Gentle Shepherd''. In the volume of poems published in 1721 Ramsay had shown his bent to this genre, especially in "Patie and Roger", which supplies two of the dramatis personae to his greater work. The success of the drama was remarkable. It passed through several editions, and was performed at the theatre in Edinburgh; its title is still known in every corner of Scotland, even if it be no longer read. In 1726 he published anonymously ''Poems in English and Latin, on the Archers and Royal Company of Archers, by several Hands'' for the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

. He wrote the words to the Archer's March, ''Sound, sound the music, sound it,''
''Let hills and dales rebound it,''
''Let hills and dales rebound it''
''In praise of Archery.''
''Used as a Game it pleases,''
''The mind to joy it raises,''
''And throws off all diseases''
''Of lazy luxury.'' ''Now, now our care beguiling,''
''When all the year looks smiling,''
''When all the year looks smiling''
''With healthful harmony.''
''The sun in glory glowing,''
''With morning dew bestowing''
''Sweet fragrance, life, and growing''
''To flowers and every tree.'' ''Tis now the archers royal,''
''An hearty band and loyal,''
''An hearty band and loyal,''
''That in just thought agree,''
''Appear in ancient bravery,''
''Despising all base knavery,''
''Which tends to bring in slavery,''
''Souls worthy to live free.'' ''Sound, sound the music, sound it,''
''Fill up the glass and round wi't,''
''Fill up the glass and round wi't,''
''Health and Prosperity''
''To our great chief and officers,''
''To our president and counsellors,''
''To all who like their brave forbears''
''Delight in Archery.''
Another volume of his poems appeared in 1728. Ramsay wrote little afterwards, though he published a few shorter poems, and new editions of his earlier work. A complete edition of his ''Poems'' appeared in London in 1731 and in Dublin in 1733. With a touch of vanity he expressed the fear lest "the coolness of fancy that attends advanced years should make me risk the reputation I had acquired". He was already on terms of intimacy with the leading men of letters in Scotland and England. He corresponded with William Hamilton of Bangour,

and

. Gay probably visited him in Edinburgh, and Pope praised his pastoral, compliments that were undoubtedly responsible for some of Ramsay's unhappy poetic ventures beyond his Scots

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 ...

. The poet had for many years been a warm supporter of the stage. Some of his prologues and epilogues were written for the London theatres. In 1736 he set about the erection of a new theatre, "at vast expense", in Carrubber's Close, Edinburgh; but the opposition was too strong, and the new house was closed in 1737. In 1755 he retired from his combined house and shop, between Halkerstons Wynd and Carrubbers Close on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

, to the house on the slope of the Castle Rock, still known as Ramsay Lodge. This house was called by his friends "the goose-pie" because of its octagonal shape. He is buried at

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

, Edinburgh. The grave itself is unmarked but a monument was erected to his memory on the south wall of

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Kirk () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edinburgh, f ...

in the mid-19th century.

Family

His eldest daughter, Christian Ramsay, lived on New Street, off the Canongate. She was an amiable person and also wrote poetry. She never married but lived with many cats. Despite being run over by a hackney coach at the age of 73, which broke her leg, she lived to be 88. His eldest son,

was born in

, and was a prominent Scottish portrait-

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. From the age of twenty he studied in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

under the Swedish painter Hans Hysing, and at the St. Martin's Lane Academy; leaving in 1736 for

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, where he worked for three years under

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian Baroque painter, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of Avellino. H ...

and Imperiali ( Francesco Fernandi).

Work

Ramsay's importance in literary history is twofold. As a pastoral writer ("in some respects the best in the world", according to

James Henry Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded ''The Examiner (1808–86), The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical prin ...

), he contributed, at an early stage, to the naturalistic reaction of the 18th century. His ''Gentle Shepherd'', by its directness of impression and its appreciation of country life, anticipates the attitude of

, the school which broke with neo-classical tradition. It has the "mixed" faults which make the greater poem of his Scots successor, Thomson, a "transitional" document, but these give it an historical, if not an individual, interest. His chief place is, however, as an editor. He is the connecting-link between the greater "

s" of the 15th and 16th centuries, and

and

. Ramsay also knew the Scottish bookseller

Andrew Millar Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century. Biography In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered be ...

since the latter's arrival in Edinburgh in 1720 as the thirteen-year-old apprentice of Ramsay's friend James McEuen. From 1713 Ramsay ran a wigmaker's and printseller's shop in Niddrie's Wynd, close to McEuen's

premises. He joined the bookselling trade in 1720, and in 1722 relocated to the east side of the Luckenbooths, next to McEuen and facing the Market Cross. He also owned a shop directly opposite McEuen, on the south side of the Cross. McEuen was the first to advertise copies of Ramsay's ''Poems'' (1723), in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Ramsay revived the interest in

, and directly inspired the genius of his greater successors. The preface to his ''Ever Green'' is a protest against "imported trimming" and "foreign embroidery in our writings" and a plea for a return to simple Scottish tradition. He had no scholarly interest in the past, and he never hesitated to transform the texts when he could give contemporary "point" to a poem; but his instinct was good, and he did much to stimulate an ignorant public to fresh enjoyment. In this respect, too, he anticipates the reaction in England which followed securely on the publication of ''

''. ''The Tea-Table Miscellany'' was reprinted in 1871 (2 vols., Glasgow; John Crum); ''The Ever Green'' in 1875 (2 vols., Glasgow; Robert Forrester); ''The Poems of Allan Ramsay'' in 1877 (2 vols., Paisley; Alex. Gardner). These volumes are uniform in size and binding, though issued by different publishers. A selection of the ''Poems'' appeared in 1887 (1 vol. 16mo, London; Walter Scott). This volume includes a biographical sketch written by J. Logie Robertson. There are many popular reprints of his most popular work, ''The Gentle Shepherd'', which is set in Carlops and nearby Newhall Estate. Bradshaws Handbook incorrectly states the location as

Currie Currie is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It is situated be ...

. Since 2015, a Collected Works of Allan Ramsay (general editor Murray Pittock) has been in preparation from Edinburgh University Press: the first volume, the Gentle Shepherd, is expected in 2022.

Memorials

Monument_to_Allan_Ramsay_on_the_south_side_of_Greyfriars_Kirk

In 1846 Ramsay was depicted as one of sixteen Scottish poets and writers on the lower section of the

Scott Monument The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second-largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opp ...

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

in Edinburgh. Ramsay's statue was erected in 1850 at the corner of

Princes Street Gardens Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, ...

and

The Mound The Mound is an artificial slope and road in central Edinburgh, Scotland, which connects Edinburgh's New and Old Towns. It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations of the New Town into Nor Loc ...

in the centre of Edinburgh. There is a hotel located in

Carlops Carlops () is a small village in the Pentland Hills, within the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, close to the boundary with Midlothian. It lies between West Linton and Penicuik. The village was founded in 1784 and developed cotton weaving, co ...

named after him. The hotel hosted a festival in his and his son's honour in 2016 on the 330th anniversary of the poet's birth. Further festivals have been held there on Ramsay's birthday from 2017. A bust of Ramsay is in the Hall of Heroes of the

National Wallace Monument The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) is a tower on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig, a hilltop overlooking Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero. ...

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. The Ramsay Obelisk at Ravensneuk on the Penicuik Estate was built in 1759 by Ramsay's friend, Sir James Clerk.

Bibliography

* ''Poems.'' Edinburgh, 1720
Google
* ''Wealth and the Woody'', 1720 * ''The Tea-Table Miscellany.'' Edinburgh 1724, 128 pages
Google
** ''The Tea-Table Miscellany. A Collection of Choice Songs, Scots and English.'' 18th ed., Glasgow, 1782
Google
* ''The Ever Green'', 1724 * '' The Gentle Shepherd'' (1725) * ''The Poems of Allan Ramsay'', reprinted 1877

Notes

References

* Burns Martin, ''Allan Ramsay: A Study of his Life and Works'' * Oliphant Smeaton, ''Allan Ramsay'', Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, 1896, in the "Famous Scots Series". * * *

External links

Allan Ramsay
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
* * * More information, including full text, on Ramsay'

at the University of North Texas Music Library's Virtual Rare Book Room
The Gentle Shepherd (Full text - 16 MB)

''Ramsay, Allan (1686–1758)'', article in The Burns Encyclopedia

[email protected].

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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Allan 1686 births 1758 deaths Scots Makars People from South Lanarkshire Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard People of the Scottish Enlightenment Scottish publishers (people) Theatre in Scotland 18th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish librarians 18th-century Scottish male writers 18th-century Scottish poets Scots-language poets Scottish opera librettists Scottish folk-song collectors Occasional poets Scottish satirists Scottish satirical poets