By Ronald Black (Raghnall MacilleDhuibh)
In the course of his long poem An Áirce, 'The Ark', the Jacobite poet Alexander MacDonald shows the Campbells being subjected to trial by water for the part they played in defeating Prince Charles Edward Stuart's army in 1745-46. Some will be drowned outright, he says, some just given a good ducking - and some will be honourably treated. He names thirty-nine individuals; Ronald Black puts their lives and deeds under the microscope to see how far they deserved their allotted fate. The result is a well-balanced portrait of the leading men of Argyll in the eighteenth century and a refreshingly new perspective on one of the most colourful episodes in Scottish history: the rising of the '45 as seen through the eyes of Highlanders who helped to crush it.
"The Campbells of the Ark" includes a detailed study of the sixty-three locally based companies of the Argyllshire Militia of 1745-46, covering every corner of this fascinating county, from Kintyre to Ardnamurchan, from Islay to Glenorchy.
Volume 1 (‘The Inner Circle’) introduces the poet, the song, and the Clan Campbell, followed by the biographies of the thirty-one Campbells mentioned in the song, analysing the poet's verdicts. The star of the show is the elder Mamore, the most underestimated of all the Dukes of Argyll. Had he, not Cumberland, been commander-in-chief of Government forces in Scotland, a very different sort of accommodation would have been reached and, to use his own phrase, 'poor Scotland had not bled'. The chapter on Colin Campbell of Glenure, victim of the Appin Murder, identifies his assassins.
Paperback: 689 pages
Publisher: John Donald (March 20, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1906566895
ISBN-13: 978-1906566890
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.6 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
Volume 2 ('The Outer Circle') presents the eight Campbells of the Ark whose surname was not Campbell, followed by chapters pursuing the identity of the Campbells mentioned in other Gaelic poems by MacDonald, (a.k.a. Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, 1695 - 1770), especially a mysterious 'Black Campbell' who turns out to have been a zealous Catholic priest. The main emphasis is on a detailed study of the sixty-three locally based companies of the Argyllshire Militia of 1745-46, covering every corner of this fascinating county, from Kintyre to Ardnamurchan, from Islay to Glenorchy.
Paperback: 679 pages
Publisher: John Donald (March 20, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1910900060
ISBN-13: 978-1910900062
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.7 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
About the Author:
Ronald Black (Raghnall MacilleDhuibh) is a retired Senior Lecturer in Celtic Studies at the University of Edinburgh and Gaelic Editor of the Scotsman. He is a regular broadcaster and contributes to a wide variety of newspapers and journals. He lives in Peebles, Scotland.
Ronald Black and Democratic Intellectualism - Raghnall MacilleDhuibh - an Appreciation
Published in the West Highland Free Press under the heading, Offering up a feast of the fruits of his refined scholarly skill, 21 October 2005, p. 19.
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