The Thane of Fife
James Hogg 1770 -1835
The Piper's Stone , a boulder upon which a mortally wounded Jacobite piper was said to have played the bagpipes during the Battle of Cromdale The Haughs Of Cromdale. This ballad, the original author unknown, was collected and edited by James Hogg and concerns the Battle of Cromdale in Scotland, fought on April 30 and May 1, 1690 between supporters of James VII, called Jacobites, and the supporters of William III. The Jacobites would be defeated in two engagements near Cromdale village, Strathspey. The ballad describes details of the battle and the participants, but although a defeat by the Jacobites the unknown author turns it into a victory by adding details of the Battle of Auldearn , which was fought by Royalists led by the Marquis of Montrose years before on May 9, 1645, and wrongly mixes up the opponents who were Scottish Covenanters with Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads. It is possible that elements of the little known Battle of Tul...
William Tennent (1784-1848) is a forgotten figure in Scottish literary history. A teacher, scholar and linguist, who in his spare time composed poems, plays, and several works of interest. 'Anster Fair' (1812) was written in the Italian ottava rima style, and well received by critics. His second poem 'The Thane of Fife' (1822) was his second published work, written in the Italian canto form, where a long narrative poem is divided into cantos for the purpose of being sung by a minstrel. The work would be republished several times and whilst a entertaining and exciting tale of dark-age warfare and the supernatural it did not become as popular as his first work. Tennent would go on to write plays which were not well received, covering subjects such as 'John Balliol' and 'Cardinal Beaton'.
ReplyDeleteThe Thane of Fife is a poem about a battle in 9th century Fife, between Constantine, King of the Scots and the invading Vikings aided by the Picts. The story not only involves heroic characters and bloody conflicts, there are also supernatural and mythological references as Norse Gods and Celtic magic compete with early Scottish Christianity. The work is both entertaining and imaginative, and shows Tennent to have been a artist who possibly should be better remembered for his contribution to Scottish literature.
The Thane of Fife: A Poem by William Tennent (1822) https://amzn.eu/d/6Rf58W8
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