Carmina Gadelica - Ortha Nan Gaidheal

Carmina Gadelica - Oran Nan Gaidheal was first published in 1900 in a limited edition of 300 copies, in an elaborate book design, including decorative initials based on Celtic manuscript traditions

 

Extracts from the Author's Introduction:

This work consists of old lore collected during the last forty-four years. It forms a small part of a large mass of oral literature written down from the recital of men and women throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, from Arran to Caithness, from Perth to St Kilda.

 

The greater portion of the collection has been made in the Western Isles, variously called 'Eileana Bride,' Hebrid Isles, Outer Hebrides, Outer Isles, 'Eilean Fada,' 'Innis Fada,' Long Island, and anciently 'Iniscead,' 'Innis Cat.' Isle of the Cat, Isle of the Catey. Probably the Catey were the people who gave the name 'Cataibh,' Cat Country, to Sutherland, and 'Caitnis,' Cat Ness, to Caithness.

 

In a crofting townland there are several story-tellers who recite the oral literature of their predecessors. The story-tellers of the Highlands are as varied in their subjects as are literary men and women elsewhere. One is a historian narrating events simply and concisely; another is a historian with a bias, colouring his narrative according to his leanings. One is an inventor, building fiction upon fact, mingling his materials, and investing the whole with the charm of novelty and the halo of romance. Another is a reciter of heroic poems and ballads, bringing the different characters before the mind as clearly as the sculptor brings the figure before the eye. One gives the songs of the chief poets, with interesting accounts of their authors, while another, generally a woman, sings, to weird airs, beautiful old songs, some of them Arthurian. There are various other narrators, singers, and speakers, but I have never heard aught that should not be said nor sung.

 

Gaelic oral literature has been disappearing during the last three centuries. It is now becoming meagre in quantity, inferior in quality, and greatly isolated.

Alexander Carmichael (1832–1912)
Scottish folklorist, Gaelic scholar and collector of Highland traditions

 

Alexander Carmichael was a Scottish folklorist, antiquarian and Gaelic scholar whose lifelong dedication to recording the oral traditions of the Highlands and Islands produced one of the most important collections of Scottish Gaelic folklore ever published.

 

Born on 1 December 1832 at Taylochan, near Lismore in Argyll, Carmichael grew up in a Gaelic-speaking environment steeped in traditional customs, storytelling and religious observance. His early interest in Highland culture developed into a remarkable career of collecting and preserving material that might otherwise have disappeared.

 

In 1864, Carmichael joined the Inland Revenue as an exciseman, a position that took him throughout the Hebrides, particularly the islands of Uist, Barra and neighbouring communities. His official duties provided opportunities to meet Gaelic speakers, crofters, fishermen and storytellers, from whom he carefully recorded prayers, hymns, charms, songs, legends and traditional beliefs.

Carmichael's greatest achievement was Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations, first published in two volumes in Edinburgh in 1900. This extraordinary collection brought together Gaelic religious poetry, blessings, invocations and traditional practices, accompanied by English translations and extensive commentary. It revealed the remarkable interweaving of Christianity and older folk beliefs within Highland society.

 

Although Carmichael's editorial methods have subsequently attracted scholarly scrutiny, particularly his tendency to combine or embellish collected material, his contribution to preserving Gaelic oral culture remains immense.

 

He married Mary Frances Macbean in 1868, and their daughter Ella Carmichael Watson subsequently helped preserve and promote his literary legacy.

 

Carmichael died in Edinburgh on 6 June 1912. His extensive manuscripts, notebooks and correspondence remain invaluable resources for understanding nineteenth-century Highland life. Today, he is remembered as a pioneering figure in Scottish folklore studies whose work helped safeguard a rich and increasingly threatened cultural inheritance.

This is a scarce copy of the second edition often offered without the original dustcovers. These fine 2 volumes are in perfect condition apart from the dustcovers which as can be seen from the images provided are in a relatively poor state on the spine and with some additional fraying and loss around the edges. However they still remain an integral part of this edition and are sold with.

Inside the pages are clean and tidy throughout with gilt edging to along the top pages and rough cut edges. The frontis has a tissue guard.

 

Please check the images associated with this Book to gain a clear insight into the book's condition and if you require further details please send an email enquiry. Please remember the book you are seeing in the image is the copy you are purchasing.