Key People
Alexander Geddes (1737-1802)
Born in Rathven in Aberdeenshire, Alexander Geddes was a Biblical scholar and Roman Catholic priest.
He had a great interest in language and was a skilled philologist. Philology is the historical and comparative science of language. Geddes was an outspoken supporter of the Scots language.
Scots language in historical context
In 1792, the Scottish Society of Antiquaries published his long essay ‘Three Scottish poems with a previous dissertation on the Scoto-Saxon dialect’. In this work Geddes analysed the Scots language in its historical context. He also produced translations of ancient poems into Scots.
