Ossian and James Macpherson

Discussion of the Ossianic poetry translated by James Macpherson

James Macpherson & Ossian

This catalog accompanied the exhibit of writings by and about the Scottish poet James Macpherson (1736-1796) which welcomes to Thomas Cooper Library the eighth W. Ormiston Roy Memorial Visiting Research Fellow, Dr. Valentina Bold from the University of Aberdeen. It is not always fully appreciated that, in addition to its outstanding holdings of Robert Burns and Burnsiana, the Roy Collection also encompasses extensive holdings of many other Scottish poets, more particularly from the early 18th century onwards. Each summer the Ormiston Roy Fellowship, endowed by Dr. and Mrs. Roy in memory of Dr. Roy\u27s grandfather, brings to the University a scholar to research some topic appropriate to the collection\u27s strengths. Dr. Bold\u27s research interest in Macpherson provides a good opportunity to showcase the Roy Collection\u27s extraordinary depth of material on a once widely-influential writer who deserves renewed critical attention. What is on exhibit here is only a sampling of the Macpherson material available in Thomas Cooper Library; the Roy Collection has not only many more British editions and reprints, but also many American printings, many examples of contemporary efforts at versifying Ossian, much material on other poets\u27 response to Ossian, and additional items on the debates over authenticity. The exhibit also gives opportunity to include and acknowledge other recent acquisitions: a first edition of James Boswell\u27s Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, donated by Dr. Donald Kay, and Hill Burton\u27s Life and Correspondence of David Hume, from the James Willard Oliver David Hume Collection. Thanks are due to the South Caroliniana Library for loan of Macpherson\u27s late pamphlet on American independence, from the books of Professor Yates Snowden

Ossianic Telegraphy: Bardic Networks and Imperial Relays

Relates James Macpherson\u27s Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1760) and other Ossianic poems to evolving Scottish networks of commerce and communication, especially commercial telegraphy and the postal system, and posits associations also with comments in Adam Smith\u27s Lectures on Jurisprudence and Theory of Moral Sentiments, to suggest that Macpherson\u27s remediation of oral poetry asserted ideas of authorial identity and readership as relays in a new imperial network

Barking Dogs and Deaf Ears: The Mysterious Unheeded Scottish Origin of Tennyson\u27s In Memoriam

This paper records two specific sources for Tennyson\u27s poems Tears, idle tears and In Memoriam, both in James Macpherson\u27s Ossian, identifies the edition of Ossian that Tennyson used, and discusses the significance of Ossian for Tennyson in late 1833 in the immediate aftermath of Arthur Hallam\u27s death. The discussion of Tennyson is framed to fit the theme, The Mysteries at Our Own Doors, at the 43rd Victorians Institute, Charlotte, NC, October 24, 2014

„Már akár igazi akár ál”: Az Osszián és a naiv eposz problémái

A tanulmány Arany János Naiv eposzunk című írásának kapcsolatát vizsgálja az ossziáni hagyománnyal. James Macpherson művét a kortárs skót historiográfia és irodalomértés, majd a modern fordításelmélet kontextusába helyezve mutatja be. Ezután a magyar hatástörténet Aranyra vonatkozó részleteit tárgyalja alaposabban

Tolkien and the Age of Forgery: Improving Antiquarian Practices in Arda

This article situates J.R.R. Tolkien\u27s legendarium as a literary descendent of the antiquarian projects from the \u27Age of Forgery\u27 in the 1760s. It argues that Tolkien\u27s motivation to create a national mythology echoed those of James Macpherson and Thomas Chatterton. Drawing on previously unpublished folios from Tolkien\u27s undergraduate notebooks, it showcases his familiarity with the two forgers, their feigned literary heritages, and British antiquarian practices in the eighteenth century. It further argues that Tolkien improved on Macpherson\u27s and Chatterton\u27s antiquarian methodologies by marrying the oral tradition with the written word in The Book of Lost Tales, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings

Principle and Imagination in Judging: A Conversation with Mr. Justice James MacPherson

In the fall of 2005, Mr. Justice James MacPherson of the Ontario Court of Appeal began his visiting term at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Law. During his visit, Justice MacPherson spoke with two students about several issues that have engaged him during his career as a lawyer, academic and judge. The conversation raised a number of questions about Canada’s changing legal landscape, and how the judiciary has attempted to balance the role of legal principle and judicial imagination in law-making. How, for example, has the public’s sceptical perception of our evolving justice system subjected judges to a higher degree of scrutiny? The result has often been an apparent trade-off between principle and perception. What are the new dilemmas in our administration of justice? More than ever before, an applicant’s right to a principled and fair hearing has been compromised by systemic problems preventing access to the courts. Consequently, courts are being pressed to be more imaginative. To what extent, then, should judges articulate the intuitive (and sometimes personal) premise that often lies at the heart of their judgement? The weight of all these issues has placed judges in a position to re-consider their role in the justice system, and how they can balance principle and imagination to better adapt to the needs of society. Justice MacPherson brings his unique perspective to these issues from his vast experience in the legal system. He was counsel for the Government of Saskatchewan in many early landmark constitutional decisions, he served as an officer in the Dickson Court, and was later involved as a judge in several high profile decisions, such as the recent Ontario same-sex marriage appeal, Halpern. v. Canada. A graduate of Dalhousie Law School in 1976, Justice MacPherson has had a remarkable legal career. He began as a law professor at the University of Victoria, spent time as Director of the Constitutional Branch of Saskatchewan, and later was Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was the Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School until his appointment as a judge of the Ontario Superior Court, and later the Ontario Court of Appeal

Principle and Imagination in Judging: A Conversation with Mr. Justice James MacPherson

In the fall of 2005, Mr. Justice James MacPherson of the Ontario Court of Appeal began his visiting term at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Law. During his visit, Justice MacPherson spoke with two students about several issues that have engaged him during his career as a lawyer, academic and judge. The conversation raised a number of questions about Canada’s changing legal landscape, and how the judiciary has attempted to balance the role of legal principle and judicial imagination in law-making. How, for example, has the public’s sceptical perception of our evolving justice system subjected judges to a higher degree of scrutiny? The result has often been an apparent trade-off between principle and perception. What are the new dilemmas in our administration of justice? More than ever before, an applicant’s right to a principled and fair hearing has been compromised by systemic problems preventing access to the courts. Consequently, courts are being pressed to be more imaginative. To what extent, then, should judges articulate the intuitive (and sometimes personal) premise that often lies at the heart of their judgement? The weight of all these issues has placed judges in a position to re-consider their role in the justice system, and how they can balance principle and imagination to better adapt to the needs of society. Justice MacPherson brings his unique perspective to these issues from his vast experience in the legal system. He was counsel for the Government of Saskatchewan in many early landmark constitutional decisions, he served as an officer in the Dickson Court, and was later involved as a judge in several high profile decisions, such as the recent Ontario same-sex marriage appeal, Halpern. v. Canada. A graduate of Dalhousie Law School in 1976, Justice MacPherson has had a remarkable legal career. He began as a law professor at the University of Victoria, spent time as Director of the Constitutional Branch of Saskatchewan, and later was Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was the Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School until his appointment as a judge of the Ontario Superior Court, and later the Ontario Court of Appeal