Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

Assoc for Scottish Literature

The Academy Awards are almost upon us, & no-one is sure how the Oscars got their name. Bette Davis’s first husband? Margaret Herrick’s uncle? But “Oscar” – a name from ancient Gaelic legend – owes its modern popularity to James Macpherson’s 18th-century “Ossian” poems

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🖼️ from CHATTERBOX (1890)

#Scottish #literature #18thcentury #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Ossian #Oscar #AcademyAwards #Oscars

A somewhat fanciful black-and-white late-Victorian engraving. The caption reads "Ossian finding his own son, Oscar, wounded". Ossian, a long-haired, bearded warrior wearing a conical helmet, is bending down to take the hand of his son Oscar – another long-haired warrior, although beardless – who is lying on the ground, a shield and a short sword beside him. A troop of other warriors stand in the background; one of them carries a banner on a pole.

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

In Macpherson’s “Ossian” – derived in part from songs & legends preserved in Gaelic oral tradition – Oscar was the son of Ossian, & grandson of Fingal. Napoleon was a HUGE Ossian fan, & gave the name to his godson, who became Oscar I of Sweden 🇸🇪

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🖼️ Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden, 1799–1859

#Scottish #literature #18thcentury #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Ossian #Oscar #Napoleon #Bonaparte #Sweden #AcademyAwards #Oscars

Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden, painted by Joseph Karl Stieler. Oil on canvas, no date (early 19th century). Standing against a background of sombre clouds, Crown Prince Oscar is a young man, with dark, bouffant curly hair and a small waxed moustache which turns upwards at the tips. He is wearing a dark, high-collared military dress uniform, the front of which is almost completely covered in gold frogging, tassels, and buttons. Three large cross- and star-shaped decorations are pinned to his left side. A line of dark fur runs over his left shoulder. A pale blue sash of watered silk crosses his chest from right to left.

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

“Oscar” became a popular name, especially in Scandinavia, & eventually became the name of the Academy Award too.

It wasn’t the only popular name to come from Macpherson’s works: “Fiona” is another. People went nuts for Ossian. (Will anyone be naming their daughters “Daenerys” in 250 years?)

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🖼️Title page, THE POEMS OF OSSIAN (1809 edn)

#Scottish #literature #18thcentury #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Ossian #Oscar #AcademyAwards #Oscars

Title page of the 1809 edition of The Poems of Ossian. Test reads:

The Poems of Ossian
translated
by
James Macpherson Esq.
With the Dissertations of Dr Blair
Published by W. Crosby and Co., 1809

The illustration shows a man wearing a helmet, driving a chariot and wielding a spear. He is wearing a fanciful costume – some sort of combination of imagined Highland dress and ancient Greek.

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

Goethe, Jefferson, Diderot, Mendelssohn were all Ossian fans… Grimms’ fairy tales, the Kalevala, European Romanticism, all stem from Macpherson’s work. Much of modern fantasy literature has roots in “Ossian”.

More here! 👇 From all good bookshops, & online via Project MUSE

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https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/companions/ic4/

#Scottish #literature #18thcentury #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Ossian #Oscar #Fantasy

Book cover
The International Companion to
JAMES MACPHERSON AND THE POEMS OF OSSIAN
Edited by Dafydd Moore

Cover image: The woes of Ossian, 1825, by Kysfaludy Karoli (1788–1830). Budapest, Magyar Nemzeti Galeria (Fine Arts Museum).

The ancient poet Ossian sits next to a stream, head bowed, playing his harp. Behind him, giant figures of dead heroes form out of clouds of mist.