| Reference Number | 247 |
| Title | The Campbell Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings |
| Author | Campbell, Duncan M. |
| Editor | Meek, Donald E. |
| Date Of Edition | 1978 |
| Date Of Language | late 19c |
| Date Of Language Ed | 1850-1899 |
| DateMacro | Late 19th c. |
| Date Of Language Notes | |
| Publisher | The Gaelic Society of Inverness |
| Place Published | Inverness |
| Volume | N/A |
| Location | National, academic, and local libraries |
| Geographical Origins | Various |
| Geographical Origins Ed | Highlands and Islands |
| GeoMacro | Various |
| GeoX | |
| GeoY | |
| Geographical Origins Notes | |
| Register | Prose, Folklore |
| Register Ed | Literature, Prose (Proverbial) |
| Genre | Information |
| Medium | Prose |
| Rating | B (TBC)
A substantial collection of Gaelic proverbs and sayings, mainly culled from Argyll, Uist and Perthshire.
The proverbs provide an insight into the people’s attitudes and beliefs about life.
A number of proverbs contain interesting terminology, synonyms, and opposites.
Various Gaelic dialects may be reflected from the areas in which they were collected.
This previously unpublished text complements other collections, such as those collated by Sheriff Alexander Nicolson and Donald Macintosh. |
| Alternative Author Name | N/A |
| Manuscript Or Edition | Ed. |
| Size And Condition | 19.2cm x 13.1cm |
| Short Title | Campbell Proverbs |
| Reference Details | NLS: HP1.78.3471 |
| Number Of Pages | xxxix, 207 |
| Gaelic Text By | N/A |
| Illustrator | N/A |
| Social Context | As the editor points out in his introduction, the Rev. Dr Duncan MacGregor Campbell is probably one of the least prominent Gaelic folkore collectors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His main interests were not merely confined to the collection of proverbs, as he had a general interest in Gaelic folklore and gathered, in oral narratives, unusual words as well as place-name material (pp. xvi-xvii). Campbell also assisted Lord Archibald Campbell during the compliation of Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradtion (see Text 207). Campbell was very much part of the widespread movement in the Highlands (as well as elsewhere), particularly active during the closing decades of the nineteenth century, when greater (and succesful) efforts were being made to collect and thus preserve oral traditions, and other material besides, from the onslaught of modernity.
The Rev. Dr Duncan MacGregor Campbell (1854-1938) was born 16 January 1854 to Donald Campbell (Am Maighstir Ruadh), a schoolmaster, and Mary Campbell. He had at least two siblings, Gillespie, who became a Church of Scotland minister, and a sister with whom Campbell stayed during the latter part of his life. After being schooled locally, Campbell entered the University of Edinburgh and graduated M.A. He then studied Divinity in 1883 and also attended a Celtic class at Edinburgh. He attended further Divinity classes at the University of Aberdeen in 1885-86. On completing his course in Aberdeen, Campbell became a missionary at Kyleakin for a short time. He later became an assistant, around 1888, at St Columba’s Parish Church, Glasgow. Campbell then returned to his native country and was attached to the Presbytery of Lorn. On 1 May 1889, Campbell, styled a preacher, was inducted to the charge of Cumlodden, Lochfyneside, where he remained until he resigned from the ministry on 13 November 1901. He married, on 22 January 1890, Margaret Douglas, eldest daughter of Dugald MacKechnie, Campbeltown, and Flora MacCuig, with issue—Florence Mary (b. 1896) and Alastair Douglas (b. 1900). Thereafter Campbell decided to pursue academia and went to Germany to study for the higher degree of PhD, after which, in 1905, he is found in Grimsay, North Uist, where he followed the profession of a schoolteacher. By 1908, he appears in Mallaig and then, by 1911, living in Bunachton, Dores, but it seems that he was not a teacher by then. He then seems to have taken up residence with his sister at Mill House, Bught, Inverness. Campbell passed away in 1938. |
| Contents | After the title-page appears the contents (p. v), then a short preface by Donald E. Meek (pp. vii-viii), which is then followed by a list of abbreviations and works referred to (pp. ix-xii), and an extensive introduction (pp. xiii-xxxix), after which the bulk of the text appears (pp. 1-172) – a list of Gaelic proverbs arranged alphabetically. The proverbs are followed by a translation into English and as often as not an explanatory note appends each proverb. Appendix A, covering variants, then appears (pp. 173-83), followed by a glossary (pp. 184-94) and indexes (arranged alphabetically) of persons (pp. 195-96), places (pp. 196-98), and themes and subjects (pp. 199-207). A whole range of subjects are covered such as work, weather, supernatural, fate, religion and so forth. |
| Sources | The volume is based upon the manuscript collection of proverbs collected by the Rev. Dr Duncan MacGregor Campbell, which was bequeathed to the Gaelic Society of Inverness on 1 April 1927. For more details see editor’s introduction (pp. xx-xxvii). No indication is given in the editorial material whether the orthography has been modernised or not. |
| Language | The proverbs are presented as pithy and laconic phrases, usually imbued with wit and wisdom, which cover a plethora of subjects and themes. Spellings of note, for example sa (p. 1), stigh (p. 1), mò (p. 2), do’n (p. 14), mu’n (p. 39), ’san (p. 40), dhéidh (p. 41), maduinn (p. 12), solus (p. 12), dhachaidh (p. 43), duit (p. 45), dubhairt (p. 49), tarsuinn (p. 51), tigh (p. 52), doruis (p. 55), co (p. 70), tharruing (p. 74), loguidean (p. 76), sud (p. 79), so (p. 79), solus (p. 96), iarunn (p. 116), dhuit (p. 116), comunn (p. 136), a-stigh (p. 138), ’sam bith (p. 145), dara (p. 156), craicionn (p. 156). Dative plural occasionally makes an appearance, e.g beathaichibh (p. 70) and canaibh (p. 70). The use of d rather than t to indicate possession, for example, d’aran (p. 77). Slightly inconsistent use of the personal pronoun, e.g, ’na reodhadh (p. 2), ’nar déidh (p. 13), ’na bheul (p. 40), am (p. 60). Fairly frequent contractions of agus to ’s (p. 39). There are very few typographical errors to detract from comprehending the text, e.g., liònmhor (p. 159). The glossary (pp. 184-94) provides explanations for unusual words and rare expressions.
The language reflects the areas in which these various proverbs and proverbial sayings were collected, mainly in Argyll, Perthshire and Uist. |
| Orthography | The spelling conforms generally to the orthography of the late-twentieth century. Acute and grave accents are retained. No accents appear on capital letters. |
| Edition | First edition. |
| Other Sources | |
| Further Reading | Campbell, Rev. Duncan, ‘Gaelic Proverbs’, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. XLV (1967-68), 1-32.
Kirk, James, ‘Donald Meek: An Appreciation’, Scottish Gaelic Studies [=Caindel Alban: Fèill-Sgrìobhainn do Dhòmhnall E. Meek], vol. XXIV (2008), 1-14.
Scott, Hew, Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation, vol. IV (Edinburgh, 1923: Oliver and Boyd), 5. |
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| NumWords | 49793 |
