J. F. Campbell Collection > Report of the Committee of the Highland Society of Scotland, appointed to inquire into the nature and authenticity of the poems of Ossian
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902 ACCOUNT OP
The test which such an agreement affords, at a distance
of almost 300 years, of the fidelity of tradition, cannot but
seem curious to such as have not had an opportunity of ob-
serving the strength which memory can attain, when unas-
sisted by writing, and prompted to exertion by the love of
poetry and song. With this view the following instances
are given :
1. A poem by Conal son of Edirskeol (p. 205 of our MS.)
nearly agrees vidth one in Kennedy's Collection, p. 69. Some
of the names are different, and the sentences are not all in the
same order. The four last stanzas but one of Kennedy's co-
py, are entirely wanting in this. They are superior to the
general tenor of the poem, which exhibits a singular mixture
of barbarous revenge and generous sentiment.
The same poem appears with a few lines more or less,
and a slight variation of words and arrangement in the last
of the Kilbride MSS. (Fol. 83.) above noticed, and in two
several editions communicated to the Society, the one by
Robert Campbell Esq. advocate, from the recital of an old
man in Ila, and the other by Mr. Malcolm M'Donald,
Tarbert, from the recitation of Donald Mac Callum in
Kilcalmonell of Kintire.
2. A poem by Ossian (p. 220.) on the failure and fall
of Dayro borb, son of the King of Sora, differs very little
from Kennedy's and other oral editions in the possession of
the Society, in which the hero's designation, however, is
Mayro borb.
The four concluding verses which are given by our MS.
as a separate reading,- are omitted in some of the oral edi-
tions, and retained in others. Kennedy's edition has twelve
lines (being the 3d and 4th stanzas of his 24th page, and
the 3d stanza of his 25th) which are not in the Dean's, and
seem to have originally belonged to a different poem.
3. A poem by Ossiau (p. 63.) descriptive of a chace,
the most successful that Fingal was ever engaged in, corre-
The test which such an agreement affords, at a distance
of almost 300 years, of the fidelity of tradition, cannot but
seem curious to such as have not had an opportunity of ob-
serving the strength which memory can attain, when unas-
sisted by writing, and prompted to exertion by the love of
poetry and song. With this view the following instances
are given :
1. A poem by Conal son of Edirskeol (p. 205 of our MS.)
nearly agrees vidth one in Kennedy's Collection, p. 69. Some
of the names are different, and the sentences are not all in the
same order. The four last stanzas but one of Kennedy's co-
py, are entirely wanting in this. They are superior to the
general tenor of the poem, which exhibits a singular mixture
of barbarous revenge and generous sentiment.
The same poem appears with a few lines more or less,
and a slight variation of words and arrangement in the last
of the Kilbride MSS. (Fol. 83.) above noticed, and in two
several editions communicated to the Society, the one by
Robert Campbell Esq. advocate, from the recital of an old
man in Ila, and the other by Mr. Malcolm M'Donald,
Tarbert, from the recitation of Donald Mac Callum in
Kilcalmonell of Kintire.
2. A poem by Ossian (p. 220.) on the failure and fall
of Dayro borb, son of the King of Sora, differs very little
from Kennedy's and other oral editions in the possession of
the Society, in which the hero's designation, however, is
Mayro borb.
The four concluding verses which are given by our MS.
as a separate reading,- are omitted in some of the oral edi-
tions, and retained in others. Kennedy's edition has twelve
lines (being the 3d and 4th stanzas of his 24th page, and
the 3d stanza of his 25th) which are not in the Dean's, and
seem to have originally belonged to a different poem.
3. A poem by Ossiau (p. 63.) descriptive of a chace,
the most successful that Fingal was ever engaged in, corre-
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/81748085 |
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| Description | Drawn up, according to the directions of the Committee, by Henry Mackenzie ... ; with a copious appendix, containing some of the principal documents on which the report is founded. |
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| Shelfmark | Cam.1.d.31 |
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| Description | Volumes from a collection of 610 books rich in Highland folklore, Ossianic literature and other Celtic subjects. Many of the books annotated by John Francis Campbell of Islay, who assembled the collection. |
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| Description | Selected items from five 'Special and Named Printed Collections'. Includes books in Gaelic and other Celtic languages, works about the Gaels, their languages, literature, culture and history. |
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