| Reference Number | 209 |
| Title | MS. VII, Ian Deoir: Earran I, Blar Traigh Ghruinneaird |
| Author | Deoir, Ian |
| Editor | Ian Og Ile [Iain Òg Ìle; John Francis Campbell of Islay] |
| Date Of Edition | 1950 |
| Date Of Language | late 19c |
| Date Of Language Ed | 19th c. |
| DateMacro | Late 19th c. |
| Date Of Language Notes | |
| Publisher | John Grant |
| Place Published | Edinburgh |
| Volume | Earrann 1: Blar Traigh Ghruinneard |
| Location | National, academic, and local libraries |
| Geographical Origins | Islay, Argyll |
| Geographical Origins Ed | Islay |
| GeoMacro | Islay, Jura, Kintyre and Arran |
| GeoX | -6.5527 |
| GeoY | 55.7584 |
| Geographical Origins Notes | |
| Register | Literature, Prose and Verse (Oral) |
| Register Ed | Literature, Prose and Verse |
| Genre | Literature |
| Medium | Prose & Verse |
| Rating | B (TBC)
A traditional story about the Battle of Gruinart, Rhinns of Islay, as collected by John Francis Campbell of Islay.
A good example of storytelling and traditional lore.
Contains a number of Gaelic idioms and reflects the Gaelic dialect of Islay. |
| Alternative Author Name | John Dewar; Iain Mac an Deòir |
| Manuscript Or Edition | Ed. |
| Size And Condition | 21cm x 14.7cm |
| Short Title | Blar Traigh Ghruinneaird |
| Reference Details | NLS: 1974.195 |
| Number Of Pages | vi, 22 |
| Gaelic Text By | N/A |
| Illustrator | N/A |
| Social Context | Described on his death certificate as “Collector of Traditions” John Dewar (1802-1872) was born in Glen-na-Callanach, near Tarbert, Loch Lomond. Dewar had been a shopkeeper in Paisley before taking up employment as a woodman for the 8th Duke of Argyll. Due to an injury sustained during work, Dewar left Glendaruel and went to live at Rosneath, and thus in his semi-retirement had enough spare time when his soon-to-be mentor John Francis Campbell of Islay (1821-1885) was looking for contributors towards collecting oral materials which later appear to great acclaim as Popular Tales of the West Highlands (1860-62).
Although Dewar collected material for Campbell, some of which was utilised in Popular Tales, he insisted upon more collecting even when Campbell’s attention had been turned elsewhere. Campbell encouraged this and Dewar received a small stipend from the Duke of Argyll to support him whilst he undertook collecting, mainly historical legends and clan sagas, throughout a good portion of Argyll. Campbell described Dewar as “a precise accurate old man with a wonderful memory and small imagination. A popular tale in his hands becomes more like fact than fiction, and poetry turns to prose.” Campbell further neatly summed up the Dewar Manuscripts as “a personal minute picturesque description of a life in the Highlands as understood by the grandsons of the persons described, this beats any novel or trial that I ever read.”
After a protracted illness, Dewar died in 1872 at his brother’s home in Dumbarton. His brother (a minister) forwarded all his papers and books to Lord Lorne, who in turn sent them to Campbell, who then had the manuscripts bound and annotated, returning the fair copies and keeping duplicates and ‘foul copies’ for himself. When overseeing the binding of the Dewar Manuscripts, Campbell would often made comments about particular stories, or events in stories, that caught his eye as he received each instalment—he would invariably record his thoughts and many of these appear as unfoliated pages throughout. The Dewar Manuscripts, bound in seven volumes (of which six and seven are notebooks), are now housed in Inveraray Castle, whilst the remainder (many of which are copies) form part of Campbell of Islays’ collections in the Advocates’ Manuscripts, National Library of Scotland.
Hector MacLean (1818-1892), a fellow Islayman and Campbell of Islay’s former tutor as well as Gaelic consultant, translated in two years the whole of the Dewar’s Manuscripts into English—a Herculean task which produced some 19 volumes from the original 7 volumes. They have recently been rediscovered in Inveraray Castle.
The only edition of the Dewar MSS to appear thus far in print was published by the Rev. John Mackechnie (1897-1977), The Dewar Manuscripts Vol. 1: Scottish West Highland Folk Tales (Glasgow: W. MacLellan, 1964). Unfortunately, the editing is rather idiosyncratic and only English translations (by Hector MacLean) are presented.
The original transcription could be indentified with one entitled ‘Cath Traigh Ghruineart’ which was collected by John Dewar from an unknown source and appears in vol. 5 of the Dewar Manuscripts ff. 354-59. I have been unable to identify a source for the text in vol. 7 of the Dewar Manuscripts as indicated from the preface (p. iii). |
| Contents | The text contains a preface (p. iii) and the main text is divided into three sections: ‘Mac Gillean ’s Mac Dhomhnuill Muile ’s Ile (pp. 1-5); ‘Blar Traigh Ghruinneaird’ (pp. 6-20); ‘RAONULL ARRUNACH ’S SEUMAS MACDHOMHNUILL’ (pp. 21-22). From the perspective of an oral account, the text describes the background to the Battle of Gruinart, Rhinns of Islay, which took place on 5 August 1598, and was fought between the MacDonalds and the MacLeans in which the latter clan was defeated. The main protagonists are named as Sir Lachlann Mòr MacLean (Lachunn Dhubhart), the 14th Chief of Duart, and his nephew Sir James MacDonald of Islay (Seamus og Ile). The main thrust of the text describes the battle which was fought over possession of the Rhinns in Islay which Lachlann Mòr claimed was the dowry given to his wife in 1566 by her brother Angus MacDonald, chief of Clan Donald South, and the most powerful branch of Clan Donald. Later, MacDonald gave the land of the Rhinns to Brian Vicar MacKay, lieutenant to the MacDonalds, and for many years afterwards MacLean demanded the return of the Rhinns to his wife. |
| Sources | |
| Language | The text begins with a Roimh-ràdh (p. iii) in which the editor explains that he has more or less reproduced the transcript verbatim with the minimum of editorial interventions to the text as taken down by Dewar from the recitation of Neil Macantagart, a native of Islay, then resident in Glasgow (p. 19); and the short last section which contains two anecdotes from D. Gilleasbie, Culabas (Islay) and from Dugall MacNivean, Carnbuie (Islay) (p. 22).
The language is descriptive and expressive of an informal story-telling register where important incidents are represented in direct speech and occasionally are expressed in verse. The text reflects the recitation of historical narratives told in the language of traditional storytelling, and is a good an example of many others to be found in the Dewar Manuscripts. The narrative is at times richly ornamented in places, e.g., ‘Bha a’ mhaduinn air bhi ciùin gu sin, ach aig an am sin sheid gaoth laidir o’n Iar, is bha uisge trom leatha, a ’s striobh an dà fheachd cò dhiubh gheibheadh mu’n cuairt an uisg an toiseach gu a’ ghaoth fhaghinn air cùl’ (p. 11).
The text also contains a few examples of formulaic expressions favoured in the storytelling register for example the following idioms: tha aogasg air an oidhche so bhi doinionn, na m bu bhuachaille mi, bhithinn am fagus do ’m threud (p. 3), Tha mar a ta clab Lachuinn Mhoir a’ crathadh tra thèid spàg a’ chùirn thar torrain a ’s anns na h-easgaidh (p. 17).
Occasionally spellings are inconsistent, for example, posta (p. 1), posda (p. 6), leith (p. 1), leth (p. 2), thabhairt (p. 3), thoirt (p. 3), which may or may not be a reflection of the original transcript.
The use of grave and acute is inconsistent: moran (p. 1), radh (p. 1), cheile (p. 1).
Some of the spellings may be described as rather idiosyncratic, possibly a reflection of Dewar being an auto-dictact: Roinn-Ileich (p. 1), Earraghael (p. 1). Other examples are de ’n (p. 1), cathaibh (p. 1), gu’n (p. 1), do’n (p. 1), dhachaidh (p. 1), bidhidh (p. 2), bhraighdgill (p. 2), Tamall na dheigh sin (p. 2), re tamall (p. 2), thaghal (p. 2), a’ sàr-chuireadh (p. 3), Tra (p. 3), e fein (p. 3), dhoibh (p. 3), tagh-te (p. 3), an deigh an dinneir (p. 3), fhaotuinn (p. 7), “Ciod e sin?” (p. 7), deiseal (p. 8), air an aghart (p. 8), suidhich (p. 8), chamb (p. 9), gu m (p. 9), r’ a (p. 9), imfhios (p. 12), b’ urrainn da (p. 14), tuille (p. 14), dlù (p. 14), bu shloinne (p. 16), naoi (p. 17), gu e bhi (p. 18), am fagus (p. 19), bainne nùs (p. 19), Mac a Phritheir (p. 21).
The use of the hyphen may also be noted: dh-eirich (p. 3), fa-chomhair (p. 4), na h-aird niar-thuath (p. 6), ni-eiginn (p. 10), and especially in place-names and personal names, e.g., Torr-nam-Muileach (p. 13), Port-na-h-abhuinn (p. 13), Loch-an-dàla (p. 13), Baile-nan-carn (p. 13), Donachadh-nan-cuaran (p. 13); also its lack in some instances for example Earadheas (p. 6), fir Chinntire (p. 14).
Some unusual forms appear which may reflect the Islay dialect: Sgireach (p. 6), chunnadar (p. 8), “C’ ainm a ta air an aite so?” (p. 8), Dhruid na Domhnullaich (p. 16), aghasdar (p. 18), Phill (p. 18), stog (p. 18).
Occasional use of a’s (p. 10) is used as a contraction for agus.
Very occasional use of dative plural endings may also be noted, e.g., cathaibh (p. 1), birlinnibh (p. 13), casaibh (p. 18).
The occasional use of passive voice may also be noted: abairear (p. 6), theirte (p. 10), ris an abaitreadh (p. 10), nach marbhtadh iad (p. 16), bathaite (p. 16).
Also of interest is the use of subject pronouns with initial s-, e.g., mharbh siad iad (p. 13), lean se e (p. 15), s mharbh se (p. 15), Thug se dachaidh e (p. 17), marbh si e (p. 18).
Occasionally the genitive seem not to have been realised, e.g., larach a’ bhlar (p. 3).
There appear to be a few typographical errors (rather than ones made during the process of transcription) but which do not affect the understanding of the text, e.g., ghios nam bàtaichean (p. 14), Lachum (p. 18), Chaid (p. 20).
Lack of apostrophe throughout the text to indicate the possessive determiner, e.g., na bhogha (p. 15), saighead na dheigh (p. 16), bogha na làimh (p. 21).
The transcribed text from oral recitation may reflect the Gaelic dialect of Islay. |
| Orthography | In general the orthography conforms to that of the mid-nineteenth century whereby the grave and acute are retained. No accents are shown on capital letters. |
| Edition | First edition. |
| Other Sources | |
| Further Reading | Dewar, John, The Dewar Manuscripts Vol. 1: Scottish West Highland Folk Tales, ed. John Mackechnie (Glasgow, 1964: William MacLellan & Co.,).
Dorson, Richard M., The British Folklorists: A History (London, 1968: Routledge).
Dorson, Richard M., ‘Sources for the Traditional History of the Scottish Highlands and Western Islands’, Journal of the Folklore Institute, vol. 8 (1971), 147-84.
Evans, D. Wyn, John Francis Campbell, of Islay, 1822-1885, and Norway ([n.p.], 1963: [n.pub.]).
Maciver, Iain F. Lamplighter and Story-teller: John Francis Campbell of Islay 1821-1885 (Edinburgh, 1985, National Library of Scotland).
MacThomais, Frang, ‘The Fairy Egg—And What Came Out Of It’, For A Celtic Future: A Tribute to Allan Heusaff (Dublin, 1983: The Celtic League), 27-40.
Matheson, Angus, ‘A Traditional Account of the Appin Murder’, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. XXXV (1929-30), 343-404.
Matheson, Angus, ‘Traditions of Alasdair Mac Colla’, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Glasgow, vol. V (1958), 9-93.
Thompson, Frank G., ‘John Francis Campbell’, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. LIV (1984-86), 1-57.
Thompson, Frank G., ‘John Francis Campbell’, Folklore, vol. 101 (1990i), 88-96.
Wiseman, Andrew E. M., ‘The Dewar Manuscripts: an overview’ in Michel Byrne, Thomas O. Clancy & Sheila M. Kidd (eds.), Litreachas & Eachdraidh: Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 2: Papers from the Second Conference of Scottish Gaelic Studies, Glasgow 2002 (Glasgow, 2005: University of Glasgow, Dept. of Celtic), 161-82. |
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| NumWords | 5704 |
