Blind Ossian's Fingal: Fragments and Controversy - Hardcover

MacPherson, James; Burnett, Allan; Burnett, Linda Andersson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1906817553 ISBN 13: 9781906817558

Publisher: Luath Pr, 2011

Synopsis

Ossian is a collection of epic poems that bring out the figure of the hero, Fingal, which name comes from Scots Gaelic Fionnghall, meaning 'White Stranger'. The poems where originally written in Gaelic and translated by James MacPherson into English, although there is a long lasting debate about the authenticity of the poems, since some historians believe MacPherson wrote them himself, whilst Irish historians hold that Ossian has its roots in Irish myths, not Scottish. Despite the debate, The Poems of Ossian achieved international success and have been compared with Homer's Iliad, inspiring many later writers such as Walter Scott and Goethe.

About this title

About the Author:

James MacPherson (1736-1796) was born in Badenoch, Inverness-shire. He studied in Aberdeen and Edinburgh and translated many poems from Gaelic which were allegedly found in different places of the Scottish Highlands, some of them published in 1760 as Fragments of Ancient Poetry Collected in the Highlands of Scotland. Very soon he had detractors who did not believe of the authenticity of the poems but also supporters, among whom Hugh Blair, who helped MacPherson in carrying out his research. Writer, politician and historian, he died in his native Inverness-shire.

About this edition

• Publisher: Luath Pr
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1906817553
• ISBN 13: 9781906817558
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192