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ORIGIN OF THE CELT. 7
Celtic tongue spoken in Scotland is more agreeable to
its mother language and more abounding with primitives
than the Irish dialect. In further proof of this he says —
"A Scotsman tolerably conversant in his own language
understands an Irish composition from that derivative
analogy which it has to the Gaelic of North Britain.
An Irishman on the other hand, without the aid of study,
can never understand a composition in the Gaelic
tongue."
The Gaelic language is strong proof of an Eastern
origin. Like the languages of Asia, it contains no
present tense, which is supplied by circumlocutionary
words: the adjective follows the noun as in Latin. The
Irish acknowledge the great antiquity of the Scottish
Gaelic. They call it a chaelic, or the Caledonian tongue,
whereas they call their own language Gaelic Eirinarch,
or Caledonian Irish.
The Scots are first mentioned by Porphirius towards
the end of the third century, at which time they
inhabited Dalriada. As the Gaelic name given to this
people is Scuit (wanderers), it is very probable that this
descriptive title had been extended to cover not only the
Irish Scots but the Highlanders in general.
There was nothing to distinguish the Picts from the
Scots, allowing the difference created through place and
time. They (the Picts) occupied the parts of the country
that were capable of cultivation. From this they were
called Cruithnich by the Scots of their time ; a Gaelic
name meaning "Wheat or corn eaters." There is some
doubt about their having been called Picts by the Romans
because they painted their bodies (pictus, painted).
There have been two main theories as to the disappear-
ance of the Picts. Till recently, our historians, copying
the fables of Fordun and Bcece, would make us believe
that a small body of Scots from Ireland settled in
Celtic tongue spoken in Scotland is more agreeable to
its mother language and more abounding with primitives
than the Irish dialect. In further proof of this he says —
"A Scotsman tolerably conversant in his own language
understands an Irish composition from that derivative
analogy which it has to the Gaelic of North Britain.
An Irishman on the other hand, without the aid of study,
can never understand a composition in the Gaelic
tongue."
The Gaelic language is strong proof of an Eastern
origin. Like the languages of Asia, it contains no
present tense, which is supplied by circumlocutionary
words: the adjective follows the noun as in Latin. The
Irish acknowledge the great antiquity of the Scottish
Gaelic. They call it a chaelic, or the Caledonian tongue,
whereas they call their own language Gaelic Eirinarch,
or Caledonian Irish.
The Scots are first mentioned by Porphirius towards
the end of the third century, at which time they
inhabited Dalriada. As the Gaelic name given to this
people is Scuit (wanderers), it is very probable that this
descriptive title had been extended to cover not only the
Irish Scots but the Highlanders in general.
There was nothing to distinguish the Picts from the
Scots, allowing the difference created through place and
time. They (the Picts) occupied the parts of the country
that were capable of cultivation. From this they were
called Cruithnich by the Scots of their time ; a Gaelic
name meaning "Wheat or corn eaters." There is some
doubt about their having been called Picts by the Romans
because they painted their bodies (pictus, painted).
There have been two main theories as to the disappear-
ance of the Picts. Till recently, our historians, copying
the fables of Fordun and Bcece, would make us believe
that a small body of Scots from Ireland settled in
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Early Gaelic Book Collections > Ossian Collection > Romance of the Highlands > (33) |
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Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/81816021 |
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Description | Selected books from the Ossian Collection of 327 volumes, originally assembled by J. Norman Methven of Perth. Different editions and translations of James MacPherson's epic poem 'Ossian', some with a map of the 'Kingdom of Connor'. Also secondary material relating to Ossianic poetry and the Ossian controversy. |
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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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