Macpherson, James

Macpherson, James

▪ Scottish poet
born October 27, 1736, Ruthven, Inverness, Scotland
died February 17, 1796, Belville, Inverness

      Scottish poet whose initiation of the Ossianic controversy has obscured his genuine contributions to Gaelic studies.

      Macpherson's first book of poems, The Highlander (1758), was undistinguished; but after collecting Gaelic manuscripts and having orally transmitted Gaelic poems transcribed with the encouragement of the poet John Home (Home, John) and the financial support of the rhetorician Hugh Blair, he published Fragments of Ancient Poetry…Translated from the Gallic or Erse Language (1760), Fingal (1762), and Temora (1763), claiming that much of their content was based on a 3rd-century Gaelic poet, Ossian. No Gaelic manuscripts date back beyond the 10th century. The authenticity of Ossian was supported by Blair, looked on with skepticism by the Scottish philosopher David Hume (Hume, David), admired with doubt by the English poet Thomas Gray (Gray, Thomas), and denied by the panjandrum of English letters, Samuel Johnson (Johnson, Samuel). None of the critics knew Gaelic. Macpherson often injected a good deal of Romantic mood into the originals, sometimes closely followed them, and other times did not. His language was strongly influenced by the Authorized Version of the Bible. The originals were published only after Macpherson's death.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Macpherson, James — (1736 1796)    Scottish poet who was born into a poor family from Ruthven, Inverness shire. He collected Gaelic manuscripts and transcribed orally transmitted Gaelic poems, published as Fragments of Ancient Poetry ... Translated from the Gallic… …   British and Irish poets

  • Macpherson,James — Mac·pher·son (mək fûrʹsən), James. 1736 1796. Scottish poet who claimed to have translated the works of Ossian, a third century Gaelic poet and warrior. Although based on unauthenticated original texts, the translations influenced many writers. * …   Universalium

  • Macpherson, James — ► (1736 96) Poeta y escritor escocés. Autor de Fingal (1762) y Temora (1763), poemas épicos presentados como una traducción de los poemas de un supuesto poeta celta de los ss. II III llamado Ossian, cuando en realidad era obra suya …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • MACPHERSON, JAMES —    a Gaelic scholar, born in Ruthven, Inverness shire; identified with the publication of the poems of Ossian, the originals of which he professed to have discovered in the course of a tour through the Highlands, and about the authenticity of… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • MacPherson, James — (1736? 1796)    Alleged translator of the Ossianic poems, s. of a small farmer at Ruthven, Inverness shire, studied for the Church at Aberdeen and Edin., became teacher of the school in his native parish, and afterwards tutor in a gentleman s… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Macpherson — Macpherson, James …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • James Macpherson — James Macpherson, né le 27 octobre 1736 à Ruthven, mort le 17 février 1796 à Belleville House, est un poète écossais, connu comme le « traducteur » du cycle de poèmes d’Ossian …   Wikipédia en Français

  • James Macpherson — (* 27. Oktober 1736 in Ruthven, Highland; † 17. Februar 1796) war ein schottischer Schriftsteller und Politiker. Leben Macpherson studierte ab 1753 am …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • MACPHERSON (J.) — MACPHERSON JAMES (1736 1796) Né dans les Highlands d’Écosse, à Ruthven, James Macpherson fit d’abord ses études à King’s College à Aberdeen, puis partit en 1755 dans l’intention de se préparer aux études pastorales: il y renonça peu après et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Macpherson — (James) (1736 1796) écrivain écossais. Il publia des poèmes épiques, Fingal (1762) et Temora (1763), qu il donnait comme des traductions des poèmes gaéliques d Ossian, barde écossais du IIIe s …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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