Yesterday, 14 May, the Centre was pleased to welcome Katherine Forsyth and Adrián Maldonado who discussed, ‘A magnum monasterium in SW Scotland? New work on Kirkmadrine and its stones’. Below is this listener's brief summary of the lecture.
Adrian began by contextualising the landscape and surroundings of Kirkmadrine. Kirkmadrine is in Galloway, south-west Scotland, situated in an area known as The Rhinns. Generally, Kirkmadrine has been vastly overshadowed by its neighbour, Whithorn, yet much of this talk was aimed at redressing this imbalance and ensuring Kirkmadrine is recognised as a hugely significant site for early medieval sculpture.
The current churchyard at Kirkmadrine dates to the 1840s, built as a burial-ground for the MacTaggart family. The early-medieval stones of Kirkmadrine were eventually found in 1870 but they had been used as gate-posts for the church. As a result, two of the stones have holes drilled into them! Another stone wasn't found until 1917 as it was also being used as a gatepost elsewhere. An excavation was conducted in 1889 by William Galloway but it was relatively brief and no work has been done in Kirkmadrine since. Kirkmadrine was first mapped by Blaeu's Atlas in 1654 and later by Roy's Military Map in 1755, the latter of which clearly displays the boggy surroundings of the area. The first edition of the OS Map in 1848 shows the church at the centre of a number of natural springs, which may indicate a cultic association with the site. In general, Adrian argued that Kirkmadrine is situated within a pre-historic ceremonial landscape.
Katherine then began assessing the evidence from the stones themselves. Kirkmadrine (1) has a Latin inscription that translates: 'Here lie the holy and outstanding sacredotes (priests/bishops), that is to say Viventius and Movorious.' Viventius is a Roman name and Movorious is derived from Magurix and is Celtic. The stone is dated to the sixth century and it can be seen here: http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/details/1324016/. The next stone she discussed was inscribed slightly later and notes the burial of two people named Florentius. The third in the sequence features a quotation from scripture, 'The beginning and the end', which references Christ. Katherine argued that these three stones were made over the course of a few generations, or fifty or so years. They can be dated to the mid-sixth century-beginning of the seventh.
Katherine argued the inscription of the first stone, Kirkmadrine (1), demonstrates clear knowledge of scribal practice, redolent of a learned environment. Whithorn features a stone, 'Latinus', from the fifth-century but it is not explicitly ecclesiastical. Kirkmadrine's ecclesiastical stones are therefore earlier than Whithorn's. The 'Peter' stone from Whithorn dates to the seventh-century and recalls the earlier Kirkmadrine stones. Later in the talk, Katherine even suggested that this was originally made in Kirkmadrine as the stone comes from deposits local to the area.
Katherine demonstrated that while Whithorn became the major ecclesiastical site in the tenth and eleventh century, Kirkmadrine was ascendant in the sixth century. It was likely the 'mangnum monasterium' of the talk's title, 'Great Monastery', that had a connection to Finnian and Nennio (Ninnian). At this time, Whithorn was a burial ground for the secular elite and a major feasting/royal site. It became more important in the Anglian period and eventually developed into the famous ecclesiastical site that we are familiar with. In the tenth century, Kirkmadrine was revived, causing a resurgence of local sculpture.
After the talk, there was considerable discussion about this puzzling stone, Kirkmadrine (7): http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/details/1324004/. Some argued it may represent the springs surrounding Kirkmadrine, while another audience member suggested it could depict a crucified human figure.
You can see the rest of the Kirkmadrine stones, photos taken within the month, here: http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/60441/digital_images/kirkmadrine+church+and+burial+ground/?&z=0
The Centre's seminar series continues continues on 21 May with Brian Taylor's ‘The referendum of 1997: the settled will of the Scottish people?’, as the final part of the Vox Populi series. This will be held in Room 611 of the Boyd Orr building at 5.30pm.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Vox Populi: 'Remembering 1979'
Yesterday, the Centre was pleased to welcome Professor Christopher Harvie, who discussed 'Remembering 1979' as part of our on-going Vox Populi seminar series. Below is this listener's brief summary of the lecture.
On the run up to the 1979 devolution referendum, Scottish public opinion was around sixty per cent in favour, twenty against. So what changed in the meantime, that resulted in Scotland waiting until 1997 for devolution? (Interestingly, the turnout for 1979 was three per cent higher than in 1997!).
Professor Harvie indicated several factors which may have caused the change. Put simply, the atrocious, depressing winter could not have helped matters, with snow still falling when the polls opened. Furthermore, there was a general lack of enthusiasm for devolution within the Labour party. In some cases, it was riven by division on the issue, with the prominent, respected Robin Cook pushing for the 'No' campaign against the general will of the party. Exacerbating the issue was the sheer strength of rhetoric from the 'No' campaign.
Professor Harvie indicated the lack of devolution allow Margaret Thatcher to destroy much of Scotland's manufacturing industry. While devolution may not have halted her plans, a stronger defence would have been mustered against her destructive economic policy. Thatcher effectively destroyed 20 per cent of the oil industry at a time when oil prices were booming. According to one contemporary, 'She blew it on the dole'. In 1979 Scotland had around thirty per cent of its GDP in manufacturing but this has since shrunk to only twelve per cent today.
For Professor Harvie, re-industrialisation of Scotland is still desperately needed. Scotland should link up with Norway and/or Germany, in order to promote internal spending and external investment in the renewable energy industry. However, it may be a high mountain to climb as Professor Harvie noted that in his home-town of Motherwell there are only five lecturers in electrical engineering, compared with one-hundred and seventy in 1990. Yet perhaps following the Finnish example in the 1960s, Scotland can rapidly re-modernise the industrial sector.
The Vox Populi series continues on 21 May with Brian Taylor's ‘The referendum of 1997: the settled will of the Scottish people?’. This will be held in Room 611 of the Boyd Orr Building at 5.30pm.
Next Tuesday the Centre seminar series continues with Katherine Forsyth and Adrián Maldonado, ‘A magnum monasterium in SW Scotland? New work on Kirkmadrine and its stones’. This will be held in Room 202 of 3 University Gardens at 5.30pm. All welcome to both.
On the run up to the 1979 devolution referendum, Scottish public opinion was around sixty per cent in favour, twenty against. So what changed in the meantime, that resulted in Scotland waiting until 1997 for devolution? (Interestingly, the turnout for 1979 was three per cent higher than in 1997!).
Professor Harvie indicated several factors which may have caused the change. Put simply, the atrocious, depressing winter could not have helped matters, with snow still falling when the polls opened. Furthermore, there was a general lack of enthusiasm for devolution within the Labour party. In some cases, it was riven by division on the issue, with the prominent, respected Robin Cook pushing for the 'No' campaign against the general will of the party. Exacerbating the issue was the sheer strength of rhetoric from the 'No' campaign.
Professor Harvie indicated the lack of devolution allow Margaret Thatcher to destroy much of Scotland's manufacturing industry. While devolution may not have halted her plans, a stronger defence would have been mustered against her destructive economic policy. Thatcher effectively destroyed 20 per cent of the oil industry at a time when oil prices were booming. According to one contemporary, 'She blew it on the dole'. In 1979 Scotland had around thirty per cent of its GDP in manufacturing but this has since shrunk to only twelve per cent today.
For Professor Harvie, re-industrialisation of Scotland is still desperately needed. Scotland should link up with Norway and/or Germany, in order to promote internal spending and external investment in the renewable energy industry. However, it may be a high mountain to climb as Professor Harvie noted that in his home-town of Motherwell there are only five lecturers in electrical engineering, compared with one-hundred and seventy in 1990. Yet perhaps following the Finnish example in the 1960s, Scotland can rapidly re-modernise the industrial sector.
The Vox Populi series continues on 21 May with Brian Taylor's ‘The referendum of 1997: the settled will of the Scottish people?’. This will be held in Room 611 of the Boyd Orr Building at 5.30pm.
Next Tuesday the Centre seminar series continues with Katherine Forsyth and Adrián Maldonado, ‘A magnum monasterium in SW Scotland? New work on Kirkmadrine and its stones’. This will be held in Room 202 of 3 University Gardens at 5.30pm. All welcome to both.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
‘The ‘Interpenetration of Motifs’ and the Pictish contribution to Insular Art’
Yesterday, 30 April, the Centre was pleased to welcome Cynthia Thickpenny who discussed ‘The ‘Interpenetration of Motifs’ and the Pictish contribution to Insular Art’. Below is this listener's brief summary of the lecture.
Cynthia described 'interpenetration of motifs' in Pictish art as the interweaving of two distinct geometric or abstract designs. The strands link seamlessly, either large or small scale. This means they can appear on only one arm of a high cross, or across the entirety of the sculpture. In insular art, motifs are generally separate and this interpenetration is rare. Cynthia noted the influence of work by Isabel Henderson and Françoise Henry, the latter of whom coined this term, 'interpenetration'.
Cynthia convincingly argued that the probable origin of this technique is Pictland. She looked at 230 Pictish stones or fragments, 22-26 of which featured interpenetration. They were scattered evenly across the geographic landscape, with obvious clusters at ecclesiastical sites. The St Andrews sarcophagus from southern Pictland features fret-pattern which interpenetrates into interlace. The famous cross at Nigg features spirals that interpenetrate into fret-pattern, back into spirals and then into interlace.
Cynthia noted this technique was not a 'flash in the pan' but lasted for at least 100 years. It was 'full blown' in the late eighth century. Attempting to find examples of external influence, Cynthia investigated sculpture from Anglo-Saxon Britain, 'Cumbric' Britain (Isle of Man and Wales), Ireland and Dalriada. The results were very interesting. After looking at around 1000 (!) examples from Anglo-Saxon Britain, only 2 were found to have interpenetration. From 'Cumbric' Britain, there were no examples from Wales and only 1 from the Isle of Man. From Ireland, where expectation of interpenetration was high, due to similarity in motifs with Pictland, only 3 examples were found from 230 stones. Many of these were significantly later than the Pictish examples. And out of 100 examples from Dalriada, only 3 were found with interpenetration, none of which came from Iona, surprisingly.
This all points to the likelihood that this technique of interpenetration radiates outward from Pictland. Cynthia looked at examples of interpenetration in insular manuscripts and found only 2 examples: one in the Book of Kells and the other in a little known manuscript known as 'The Maeseyk Gospel Fragment'. The rarity of interpenetration in manuscripts is somewhat surprising yet Cynthia argued it still suggests a wide awareness of Pictish art. Furthermore, the instance of interpenetration in the Book of Kells may indicate a Pictish author was responsible for at least part of this famous work! Cynthia suggested the Book of Kells was 'a bit of everyone', with lots of influences and possibly lots of different authors, which lends weight to this conclusion.
The Centre seminar series continues next Tuesday 7 May with Christopher Harvie's 'Remembering 1979' as part of the on-going Vox Populi series. This will be held in Room 611 of the Boyd Orr building at 5.30pm. All welcome!
Information about the Vox Populi series is available here: http://www.gla.ac.uk/events/?range=keyword&keyword=vox+pop
Cynthia described 'interpenetration of motifs' in Pictish art as the interweaving of two distinct geometric or abstract designs. The strands link seamlessly, either large or small scale. This means they can appear on only one arm of a high cross, or across the entirety of the sculpture. In insular art, motifs are generally separate and this interpenetration is rare. Cynthia noted the influence of work by Isabel Henderson and Françoise Henry, the latter of whom coined this term, 'interpenetration'.
Cynthia convincingly argued that the probable origin of this technique is Pictland. She looked at 230 Pictish stones or fragments, 22-26 of which featured interpenetration. They were scattered evenly across the geographic landscape, with obvious clusters at ecclesiastical sites. The St Andrews sarcophagus from southern Pictland features fret-pattern which interpenetrates into interlace. The famous cross at Nigg features spirals that interpenetrate into fret-pattern, back into spirals and then into interlace.
Cynthia noted this technique was not a 'flash in the pan' but lasted for at least 100 years. It was 'full blown' in the late eighth century. Attempting to find examples of external influence, Cynthia investigated sculpture from Anglo-Saxon Britain, 'Cumbric' Britain (Isle of Man and Wales), Ireland and Dalriada. The results were very interesting. After looking at around 1000 (!) examples from Anglo-Saxon Britain, only 2 were found to have interpenetration. From 'Cumbric' Britain, there were no examples from Wales and only 1 from the Isle of Man. From Ireland, where expectation of interpenetration was high, due to similarity in motifs with Pictland, only 3 examples were found from 230 stones. Many of these were significantly later than the Pictish examples. And out of 100 examples from Dalriada, only 3 were found with interpenetration, none of which came from Iona, surprisingly.
This all points to the likelihood that this technique of interpenetration radiates outward from Pictland. Cynthia looked at examples of interpenetration in insular manuscripts and found only 2 examples: one in the Book of Kells and the other in a little known manuscript known as 'The Maeseyk Gospel Fragment'. The rarity of interpenetration in manuscripts is somewhat surprising yet Cynthia argued it still suggests a wide awareness of Pictish art. Furthermore, the instance of interpenetration in the Book of Kells may indicate a Pictish author was responsible for at least part of this famous work! Cynthia suggested the Book of Kells was 'a bit of everyone', with lots of influences and possibly lots of different authors, which lends weight to this conclusion.
The Centre seminar series continues next Tuesday 7 May with Christopher Harvie's 'Remembering 1979' as part of the on-going Vox Populi series. This will be held in Room 611 of the Boyd Orr building at 5.30pm. All welcome!
Information about the Vox Populi series is available here: http://www.gla.ac.uk/events/?range=keyword&keyword=vox+pop
Friday, 26 April 2013
Centenary Lecture Series: 'The Roots that Clutch; John Buchan, Glasgow and Scottish Fiction'
Yesterday, as part of the continuing Centenary Lecture Series, Professor Douglas Gifford discussed, 'The Roots that Clutch; John Buchan, Glasgow and Scottish Fiction'. Below is this listener's brief summary of the lecture.
John Buchan is perhaps equally famous for his popular thriller novels, like The Thirty-Nine Steps, and for his term as Governor-General of Canada between 1935-30. Yet Professor Gifford's lecture focused on his neglected historical fiction novels set in Scotland. These continued a great tradition of historical novels by Scottish authors, such as Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Professor Gifford noted these works, especially Scott's, have been misrepresented as cloying and romantic. In fact, a deep cynicism pervades the subtext of many of these books. For example, Scott was critical of wider Scottish society, corrupted by internecine religious wars and heavy-handed government policy. Stevenson's popular Kidnapped ends with a disenchanted David Balfour utterly rejecting serious political engagement.
This approach was followed by Buchan. His first novel, Sir Quixote of the Moors (1895), written while he was still at Glasgow University, echoed this sub-textual analysis of Scotland's 'nasty side'. Despite the growing excitement within Glasgow about the Scottish Renaissance, spearheaded by Mackintosh, Buchan was seemingly uninterested in participating or indeed, staying in Scotland. He left Glasgow for Brasenose College, Oxford and seems to have had little desire to return to his homeland. Professor Gifford summed up Buchan's approach to his personal identity by drawing attention to his title when he became Governor-General in 1935: Lord Tweedsmuir of Elsfield. Tweedsmuir indicated his childhood in the Scottish Borders but Elsfield (a village near Oxford) referenced the place he thought 'the most wonderful place on earth'.
A Lost Lady of Old Years (1899) takes the model, followed by Stevenson and Scott, of paring polar opposites: two characters with diametrically opposed viewpoints in order to point out the shortcomings of Scottish society. Almost all of his historical novels featured young and unsure male protagonists, who were essentially 'lost boys'. Their disenchantment with society reflects what has 'gone wrong'. He also utilises the supernatural to show that even the tellers of these stories can be unreliable, evoking Burn's, Tam O'Shanter.
Even though Buchan himself did not get directly involved in the Scottish Renaissance, he was part of a wider trend of writers who were responding the 'false romance' of what had gone before. Much of the writing around this period attempted to 'exorcise the ghosts of Scottish history', allowing the forward-looking gaze of the Renaissance. In 1919, he left Scotland for good and like other Scottish writers such as J.M. Barrie, became an 'exile'. Professor Gifford felt Buchan ultimately saw himself as a potential future Prime Minister but unfortunately, he 'worked himself to death' in Canada.
The Centre's Centenary lecture series continues on 16 May with Dr Sheila Kidd's, ‘Glasgow and the nineteenth-century Gaelic periodical press’. This will again be held in the Jeffrey Room of the Mitchell Library at 6pm.
And to find out more about the Chair of Scottish History and Literature: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_of_Scottish_History_and_Literature
For a full programme, follow this link: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_246995_en.pdf
John Buchan is perhaps equally famous for his popular thriller novels, like The Thirty-Nine Steps, and for his term as Governor-General of Canada between 1935-30. Yet Professor Gifford's lecture focused on his neglected historical fiction novels set in Scotland. These continued a great tradition of historical novels by Scottish authors, such as Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Professor Gifford noted these works, especially Scott's, have been misrepresented as cloying and romantic. In fact, a deep cynicism pervades the subtext of many of these books. For example, Scott was critical of wider Scottish society, corrupted by internecine religious wars and heavy-handed government policy. Stevenson's popular Kidnapped ends with a disenchanted David Balfour utterly rejecting serious political engagement.
This approach was followed by Buchan. His first novel, Sir Quixote of the Moors (1895), written while he was still at Glasgow University, echoed this sub-textual analysis of Scotland's 'nasty side'. Despite the growing excitement within Glasgow about the Scottish Renaissance, spearheaded by Mackintosh, Buchan was seemingly uninterested in participating or indeed, staying in Scotland. He left Glasgow for Brasenose College, Oxford and seems to have had little desire to return to his homeland. Professor Gifford summed up Buchan's approach to his personal identity by drawing attention to his title when he became Governor-General in 1935: Lord Tweedsmuir of Elsfield. Tweedsmuir indicated his childhood in the Scottish Borders but Elsfield (a village near Oxford) referenced the place he thought 'the most wonderful place on earth'.
A Lost Lady of Old Years (1899) takes the model, followed by Stevenson and Scott, of paring polar opposites: two characters with diametrically opposed viewpoints in order to point out the shortcomings of Scottish society. Almost all of his historical novels featured young and unsure male protagonists, who were essentially 'lost boys'. Their disenchantment with society reflects what has 'gone wrong'. He also utilises the supernatural to show that even the tellers of these stories can be unreliable, evoking Burn's, Tam O'Shanter.
Even though Buchan himself did not get directly involved in the Scottish Renaissance, he was part of a wider trend of writers who were responding the 'false romance' of what had gone before. Much of the writing around this period attempted to 'exorcise the ghosts of Scottish history', allowing the forward-looking gaze of the Renaissance. In 1919, he left Scotland for good and like other Scottish writers such as J.M. Barrie, became an 'exile'. Professor Gifford felt Buchan ultimately saw himself as a potential future Prime Minister but unfortunately, he 'worked himself to death' in Canada.
The Centre's Centenary lecture series continues on 16 May with Dr Sheila Kidd's, ‘Glasgow and the nineteenth-century Gaelic periodical press’. This will again be held in the Jeffrey Room of the Mitchell Library at 6pm.
And to find out more about the Chair of Scottish History and Literature: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_of_Scottish_History_and_Literature
For a full programme, follow this link: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_246995_en.pdf
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Vox Populi: ‘The Voice of the 'Wee Society': the referenda experience in Scottish local government since 1868’
Yesterday, as part of the on-going Vox Populi series, the Centre was pleased to welcome Irene Maver, who discussed ‘The Voice of the 'Wee Society': the referenda experience in Scottish local government since 1868’. Below is this listener's brief summary of the lecture.
Dr Maver framed her lecture with a discussion of the key focus of David Cameron's election manifesto in 2010, the 'big society'. This was a direct response to Margaret Thatcher's (in)famous claim, 'there is no such thing as society' and at this stage, he was attempting to distance himself from Thatcher's legacy. The basic idea of 'big society' was the encouragement of direct participation in local politics by the wider populace. Yet in many ways, Cameron was merely re-branding Tony Blair's concept of the 'stakeholder society', which championed similar ideals such as social fairness. Ultimately, Cameron's 'big society' failed to capture the public imagination. Perhaps because in Scotland at least, engagement in local politics was nothing new.
Dr Maver outlined the long history of the royal burghs in Scotland, whose history stretches back to the twelfth century. They were safeguarded through the Act of Union in 1707 but their strength was finally undermined in the twentieth century. In the 1800s, most of the royal burghs were inviolable, with little financial accountability as shown in the spectacular bankruptcy of Edinburgh in 1833. Glasgow was an exception to this as she was headed by the burgeoning merchant class. Annual local burgh elections took place and before 1975, one-third of representatives were elected on a rotational basis, ensuring some measure of public representation.
In the face of widespread fear of a cholera outbreak, Glasgow took considerable pride in the 1859 Loch Katrine scheme, which provided fresh water for the city. This signalised Glasgow as a leading provider of municipal services. To the local Glaswegians, they were following in the footsteps of progressive cities like Venice. Around this time in the east, Edinburgh underwent a volatile local debate on this issue, finally deciding on the Moorfoot water scheme in a plebiscite (referendum) in 1873.
Glasgow may have been a leading-light in the supply of clean water to her inhabitants, yet she was shamefaced for a long time due to local resistance to free city libraries. Lagging behind other cities and smaller burghs like Airdre, the Glasgow rate-payers (those eligible to vote) were suspicious of the cities civic leaders, fearing they intended to monumentalise their own personal achievements. In 1877, a referendum was held on the issue and the scheme for free libraries was voted down, two-to-one against. The working class also feared the liberal middle-class were attempting to reshape their leisure habits, subliminally instilling liberal values. In 1881, the enfranchisement of female householders allowed women to vote on these issues (though they were prevented from attending public debates for fear of excessive 'jostling'). An army of female activists shored up support for the 'yes' vote on this library issue in 1888, yet the 'no' campaign was successful once again. Eventually in 1898, the local leaders found a back-door solution and pushed through the scheme under parliamentary sanction.
Leaping ahead into the twentieth-century, the issue of water privatisation during John Major's term as Prime Minister evoked incredible resistance from the people of Glasgow. In 1993 a referendum was held on this issue, which managed a record 71.5% turnout, with 97% of votes against privatisation of the hitherto publicly owned water supplies. This was interpreted as a displaced vote for home rule, as calls of devolution were growing. The Victorian origins of Glasgow's public water supply was romanticised by the anti-privatisation campaign and was utilised as an instrument of 'political purity'. The Conservatives' privatisation attempts were regarded as anti-democratic.
Dr Maver's concluded that these experiences of local government referenda show the evolution of democracy goes back a long way. These referendums could be intensely political and often divisive, even seemingly innocuous plans like free libraries. The results of these referendums reflect an opinion 'frozen in time' and do not take into consideration changing habits.
After the lecture, Dr Maver took questions and comments. One speaker alluded to the 'sham' consultation of the regeneration of George Square, with the local council offering a range of options yet ignoring the generally negative public opinion on them. Dr Maver agreed a referendum would be a suitable way of settling the issue and 'injecting a sense of purpose' into the project.
The Vox Populi series continues on 9 May with Dr. Christopher Harvie's discussion of 'Remembering 1979'. This will be held in Room 611 of the Boyd Orr Building at 5.30pm.
Dr Maver framed her lecture with a discussion of the key focus of David Cameron's election manifesto in 2010, the 'big society'. This was a direct response to Margaret Thatcher's (in)famous claim, 'there is no such thing as society' and at this stage, he was attempting to distance himself from Thatcher's legacy. The basic idea of 'big society' was the encouragement of direct participation in local politics by the wider populace. Yet in many ways, Cameron was merely re-branding Tony Blair's concept of the 'stakeholder society', which championed similar ideals such as social fairness. Ultimately, Cameron's 'big society' failed to capture the public imagination. Perhaps because in Scotland at least, engagement in local politics was nothing new.
Dr Maver outlined the long history of the royal burghs in Scotland, whose history stretches back to the twelfth century. They were safeguarded through the Act of Union in 1707 but their strength was finally undermined in the twentieth century. In the 1800s, most of the royal burghs were inviolable, with little financial accountability as shown in the spectacular bankruptcy of Edinburgh in 1833. Glasgow was an exception to this as she was headed by the burgeoning merchant class. Annual local burgh elections took place and before 1975, one-third of representatives were elected on a rotational basis, ensuring some measure of public representation.
In the face of widespread fear of a cholera outbreak, Glasgow took considerable pride in the 1859 Loch Katrine scheme, which provided fresh water for the city. This signalised Glasgow as a leading provider of municipal services. To the local Glaswegians, they were following in the footsteps of progressive cities like Venice. Around this time in the east, Edinburgh underwent a volatile local debate on this issue, finally deciding on the Moorfoot water scheme in a plebiscite (referendum) in 1873.
Glasgow may have been a leading-light in the supply of clean water to her inhabitants, yet she was shamefaced for a long time due to local resistance to free city libraries. Lagging behind other cities and smaller burghs like Airdre, the Glasgow rate-payers (those eligible to vote) were suspicious of the cities civic leaders, fearing they intended to monumentalise their own personal achievements. In 1877, a referendum was held on the issue and the scheme for free libraries was voted down, two-to-one against. The working class also feared the liberal middle-class were attempting to reshape their leisure habits, subliminally instilling liberal values. In 1881, the enfranchisement of female householders allowed women to vote on these issues (though they were prevented from attending public debates for fear of excessive 'jostling'). An army of female activists shored up support for the 'yes' vote on this library issue in 1888, yet the 'no' campaign was successful once again. Eventually in 1898, the local leaders found a back-door solution and pushed through the scheme under parliamentary sanction.
Leaping ahead into the twentieth-century, the issue of water privatisation during John Major's term as Prime Minister evoked incredible resistance from the people of Glasgow. In 1993 a referendum was held on this issue, which managed a record 71.5% turnout, with 97% of votes against privatisation of the hitherto publicly owned water supplies. This was interpreted as a displaced vote for home rule, as calls of devolution were growing. The Victorian origins of Glasgow's public water supply was romanticised by the anti-privatisation campaign and was utilised as an instrument of 'political purity'. The Conservatives' privatisation attempts were regarded as anti-democratic.
Dr Maver's concluded that these experiences of local government referenda show the evolution of democracy goes back a long way. These referendums could be intensely political and often divisive, even seemingly innocuous plans like free libraries. The results of these referendums reflect an opinion 'frozen in time' and do not take into consideration changing habits.
After the lecture, Dr Maver took questions and comments. One speaker alluded to the 'sham' consultation of the regeneration of George Square, with the local council offering a range of options yet ignoring the generally negative public opinion on them. Dr Maver agreed a referendum would be a suitable way of settling the issue and 'injecting a sense of purpose' into the project.
The Vox Populi series continues on 9 May with Dr. Christopher Harvie's discussion of 'Remembering 1979'. This will be held in Room 611 of the Boyd Orr Building at 5.30pm.
Friday, 29 March 2013
Centenary Lecture Series: 'Glasgow Poets and Modern Scotland'
Yesterday, 28 March, the Centre, as part of the on-going series of lectures celebrating the Centenary of Scottish History and Literature at the University of Glasgow, welcomed Professor Alan Riach who discussed, 'Glasgow Poets and Modern Scotland'. Below is this listener's brief summary of the lecture.
The Chair of Scottish History and Literature at the University of Glasgow was created thanks to endowments by Glasgow's populace in 1913. Currently, two esteemed academics serve in tandem in this role: Professor Dauvit Broun represents Scottish History while Professor Riach represents the Scottish Literature.
Professor Riach's lecture was focused squarely at Glasgow and the kaleidoscope of experiences and perspectives that the city holds. The medium of poetry was the lens through which these experiences were viewed.
The sometimes unsteady balancing act between literalism and metaphor is a trait often found in poetry about Glasgow. Many poets reference the magical or mythical, while others emphasise the minutiae of daily life. Some poets could effortlessly alternate between both within the same work.
The multiplicity of experiences is key to understanding the heart of Glasgow life. In the 18th and 19th centuries, poets would observe the growing industrialisation of Glasgow with very different outlooks. For example, John Mayne, writing in 1783 presents a homely, even fun, interpretation of the human exploitation of the tobacco trade:
'Look through the toon! The hooses here
Like noble palaces appear;
Aw things the face o gladness weer-
The market's thrang,
Business is brisk, & aw's asteer
The streets alang...
Hence Commerce spreeds her sails to aw
The Indies & Americaw:
Whatever maks ae penny twa,
By wind or tide
Is wafter to the Broomielaw
On bonnie Clyde...'
Likewise, John Wilson, writing in 1764, extols the virtue of the expanding British Empire:
'LET GLASGOW FLOURISH! still in grandeur rise,
Still rear her stately fabrics to the skies;
In trade & riches rise, by swift degrees,
To rival London, empress of the seas...'
Yet other poets, such as Thomas Campbell writing in 1826, viewed the growth of industry and empire with great cynicism:
'And call they this improvement? - to have changed,
My native Clyde, thy once romantic shore,
Where Nature's face is banished & estranged,
And heaven reflected in thy wave no more;
Whose banks, that sweetened May-day's breath before,
Lie sere & leafless now in summer's beam,
With sooty exhalations covered o'er,
And for the daisied greensward, down thy stream
Unsightly brick-lanes smoke & clanking engines gleam'.
Alexander Rodger, writing in 1818, venomously attacked the concentrated wealth of the few with a recognisably modern approach:
'What right hae ye to wear braw claes,
And strut aboot on holidays
Alang Clyde side, up Cathkin braes,
Or through the Green,
As thochtless as the brutes that graze
Before your een?...'
Moving on from industrialisation and economics, Marion Bernstein writing in the 1870s presents a less-than content image of domestic life:
'Oh! I have sighed to read
The trials of this season;
Wife-murder seems, indeed,
An everyday transgression.
Too oft the marriage bond
Is one of fear & pain;
Affection true & fond
Should link that sacred chain'
Professor Riach argued that Bernstein was a proto-feminist, a point most clearly evidenced in her poem, 'A Rule to Work Both Ways'. (Incidentally, a new edition of her poetry is forthcoming).
Some years later, Hugh MacDiarmid's 1935 work, 'In the Slums of Glasgow' marriages the exterior industrial world to an intimate domestic environment:
'Now the babel of Glasgow dies away in our ears,
The great heart of Glasgow is sinking to rest,
Na nonanunno nunnono nana nananana nanu
Nunno nunnonanunneno nanena nunnanunnanut
We lie cheek to cheek in quiet trance, the moon itself no more still.
There is no movement but your eyelashes fluttering against me,
And the fading sound of the work-a-day world,
Dadadoduddadaddadi dadadodudadidadoh
Duddadam dadade dudde dadadadadadodadah.'
Later in the century, Tom Leonard's, 'The Good Thief' cut to the heart of sectarianism in sport in Radical Renfrew from 1990:
'heh jimmy
yawright ih
stull wayiz urryi
ih
heh jimmy
ma right insane yirra pape
ma right insane yirwanny uz jimmy
see it nyir eyes
wanny uz
heh
heh jimmy
lookslik wirgonny miss thi gemm
gonny miss thi GEMM jimmy
nearly three a cloke thinoo
dork init
good jobe they've gote thi lights'
For a reading of this poem by the author, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-qpWM__4WA
Clearly Leonard's poem is entirely relevant more than twenty years on and arguably, all of these poems have reverberated down the ages, arriving with issues still tackled today.
Accepting only one single perspective, one single poem, does not fully embody the Glasgow experience. But by acknowledging the corpus of Glasgow poetry as a whole, the fullness, diversity and division of the city may be revealed. Professor Riach argued the attraction of Glasgow may be ambiguous, yet the city had, and still has, intrinsic value as a 'place of consequence'.
Edwin Morgan may have summed this up with:
'Glasgow is the best of plays: you can act in it and watch it at the same time'.
The Centre's Centenary lecture series continues on 25 April with Professor Douglas Gifford, ‘John Buchan and Glasgow'. This will again be held in the Jeffrey Room of the Mitchell Library at 6pm.
For a full programme, follow this link: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_246995_en.pdf
And to find out more about the Chair of Scottish History and Literature: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_of_Scottish_History_and_Literature
The Chair of Scottish History and Literature at the University of Glasgow was created thanks to endowments by Glasgow's populace in 1913. Currently, two esteemed academics serve in tandem in this role: Professor Dauvit Broun represents Scottish History while Professor Riach represents the Scottish Literature.
Professor Riach's lecture was focused squarely at Glasgow and the kaleidoscope of experiences and perspectives that the city holds. The medium of poetry was the lens through which these experiences were viewed.
The sometimes unsteady balancing act between literalism and metaphor is a trait often found in poetry about Glasgow. Many poets reference the magical or mythical, while others emphasise the minutiae of daily life. Some poets could effortlessly alternate between both within the same work.
The multiplicity of experiences is key to understanding the heart of Glasgow life. In the 18th and 19th centuries, poets would observe the growing industrialisation of Glasgow with very different outlooks. For example, John Mayne, writing in 1783 presents a homely, even fun, interpretation of the human exploitation of the tobacco trade:
'Look through the toon! The hooses here
Like noble palaces appear;
Aw things the face o gladness weer-
The market's thrang,
Business is brisk, & aw's asteer
The streets alang...
Hence Commerce spreeds her sails to aw
The Indies & Americaw:
Whatever maks ae penny twa,
By wind or tide
Is wafter to the Broomielaw
On bonnie Clyde...'
Likewise, John Wilson, writing in 1764, extols the virtue of the expanding British Empire:
'LET GLASGOW FLOURISH! still in grandeur rise,
Still rear her stately fabrics to the skies;
In trade & riches rise, by swift degrees,
To rival London, empress of the seas...'
Yet other poets, such as Thomas Campbell writing in 1826, viewed the growth of industry and empire with great cynicism:
'And call they this improvement? - to have changed,
My native Clyde, thy once romantic shore,
Where Nature's face is banished & estranged,
And heaven reflected in thy wave no more;
Whose banks, that sweetened May-day's breath before,
Lie sere & leafless now in summer's beam,
With sooty exhalations covered o'er,
And for the daisied greensward, down thy stream
Unsightly brick-lanes smoke & clanking engines gleam'.
Alexander Rodger, writing in 1818, venomously attacked the concentrated wealth of the few with a recognisably modern approach:
'What right hae ye to wear braw claes,
And strut aboot on holidays
Alang Clyde side, up Cathkin braes,
Or through the Green,
As thochtless as the brutes that graze
Before your een?...'
Moving on from industrialisation and economics, Marion Bernstein writing in the 1870s presents a less-than content image of domestic life:
'Oh! I have sighed to read
The trials of this season;
Wife-murder seems, indeed,
An everyday transgression.
Too oft the marriage bond
Is one of fear & pain;
Affection true & fond
Should link that sacred chain'
Professor Riach argued that Bernstein was a proto-feminist, a point most clearly evidenced in her poem, 'A Rule to Work Both Ways'. (Incidentally, a new edition of her poetry is forthcoming).
Some years later, Hugh MacDiarmid's 1935 work, 'In the Slums of Glasgow' marriages the exterior industrial world to an intimate domestic environment:
'Now the babel of Glasgow dies away in our ears,
The great heart of Glasgow is sinking to rest,
Na nonanunno nunnono nana nananana nanu
Nunno nunnonanunneno nanena nunnanunnanut
We lie cheek to cheek in quiet trance, the moon itself no more still.
There is no movement but your eyelashes fluttering against me,
And the fading sound of the work-a-day world,
Dadadoduddadaddadi dadadodudadidadoh
Duddadam dadade dudde dadadadadadodadah.'
Later in the century, Tom Leonard's, 'The Good Thief' cut to the heart of sectarianism in sport in Radical Renfrew from 1990:
'heh jimmy
yawright ih
stull wayiz urryi
ih
heh jimmy
ma right insane yirra pape
ma right insane yirwanny uz jimmy
see it nyir eyes
wanny uz
heh
heh jimmy
lookslik wirgonny miss thi gemm
gonny miss thi GEMM jimmy
nearly three a cloke thinoo
dork init
good jobe they've gote thi lights'
For a reading of this poem by the author, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-qpWM__4WA
Clearly Leonard's poem is entirely relevant more than twenty years on and arguably, all of these poems have reverberated down the ages, arriving with issues still tackled today.
Accepting only one single perspective, one single poem, does not fully embody the Glasgow experience. But by acknowledging the corpus of Glasgow poetry as a whole, the fullness, diversity and division of the city may be revealed. Professor Riach argued the attraction of Glasgow may be ambiguous, yet the city had, and still has, intrinsic value as a 'place of consequence'.
Edwin Morgan may have summed this up with:
'Glasgow is the best of plays: you can act in it and watch it at the same time'.
The Centre's Centenary lecture series continues on 25 April with Professor Douglas Gifford, ‘John Buchan and Glasgow'. This will again be held in the Jeffrey Room of the Mitchell Library at 6pm.
For a full programme, follow this link: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_246995_en.pdf
And to find out more about the Chair of Scottish History and Literature: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_of_Scottish_History_and_Literature
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
'The Tourist Gaze on Gaelic Scotland'
Yesterday, the Centre was pleased to welcome Coinneach Maclean who discussed 'The Tourist Gaze on Gaelic Scotland'. Below is this listener's brief summary of the lecture.
Coinneach argued that the Scottish Gael is "objectified in an un-modified 'Tourist Gaze'". The Tourist Gaze, a work by John Urry, served as a model for most of Coinneach's lecture. Urry argues the tourist gaze regulates the tourist environment and identifies the 'other' and the 'out-of-the-ordinary'. So while the Scottish Gael embodies Scottish culture from an international outlook, Gaelic culture is near invisible in current Scottish tourism.
Coinneach's perspective is post-colonial, a view-point nearly discredited in the wake of Michael Hechter's Internal Colonialism. However, Coinneach pointed towards revisionist works such as Martin MacGregor and Dauvit Broun's Mìorun Mòr nan Gall, ‘The Great Ill-Will of the Lowlander’? Lowland Perceptions of the Highlands, Medieval and Modern, which has helped to rehabilitate this viewpoint somewhat. Coinneach pin-pointed six key areas of discourse on this topic:
1) The Victorian invention of Scottish cultural icons and Gaelic culture
2) The 'commoditisation' of Gaelic culture in the image of the Highland Warrior
3) The re-naming of landscape features and the invention of new place narratives
4) Historical presence by invitation
5) Elision with Irish culture
6) The mute Gael
Coinneach touched on all of these topics but noted that each discourse could be a thesis in its own right.
Scottish cultural icons (tartan, the kilt, bagpipes, whisky, the Highland Warrior) have a distinctly Gaelic flavour. Extrapolation of these 'cultural icons' to identify Scotland arguably has a high-level of artificiality. Some have argued that these portrayals should be abandoned yet due to the mass international appeal they command, it may well be tantamount to 'tourist suicide'. With the Scottish tourist industry directly employing 140,000 people and constituting 10% of the Scottish economy, this may be a point worth considering.
An influential writer on this topic, the British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, sought to dismiss the 'myths' of Scottish nationalism and highlight the Victorian 'invention' of Scottish culture. Coinneach argued that he feared Scottish devolution and was attempting to debunk the idea of an authentic Scottish culture. He describes the 'forging' of the emblems of a 'despised, disorderly savage', to embody the Scottish people, a prejudice which serves to underline Coinneach's argument.
Thomas Cook initiated mass tourism in the Highland in 1846 but the true instigator of interest in Gaelic culture was the royal family, specifically King George IV and Queen Victoria. King George's visit to Scotland in 1822, and Sir Walter Scott's arrangement of the famous 'tartan parade', has been credited (blamed?) with the invention of 'tartanry'. According to McCrone, tartan only holds 'haphazard significance' in the Highlands, while Tom Devine claimed 1822 led to the creation of 'imagined and false highland traditions'
However, Coinneach argued that Sir Walter Scott has been unfairly blamed as the originator of this 'false' tradition. He was aware of the artificiality of the pageantry and its 'masquerade' of Celtic society. In other instances he was scrupulous about the presentation of Highlanders, noting that Rob Roy should be wearing tartan breeches instead of a kilt on the front cover of his 1817 novel on the Macgregor clansman. The prominence of Highlanders in the parade was merely down to what the king would 'like best to see'.
Despite the presentation of the Highlands as 'essentially Scotland', current Blue Badge tour guides barely mention Gaelic culture directly. The only instance in which the Gaelic language is mentioned is in the humorous account of the The Flyting of Dumbar and Kennedie. At tourist sites like Edinburgh castle, fàilte (welcome) is featured without the grave and almost seems like an afterthought or a 'box to be checked'. At the Burns museum, it is noted that Burns' poetry was translated into many languages, 'even' Gaelic. This is an example of a widely held notion in the tourist industry that Gaelic is a 'difficult' language.
The latent history of many landscape sites featured in the tours is being 'airbrushed' and replaced with invented tradition. For example, the five sisters of Kintail , which refers to five mountains known separately in Gaelic as Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe, Sgùrr na Càrnach, Sgùrr Fhuaran, Sgùrr nan Spàinteach and Sgùrr nan Saighead, now has an invented story featuring five love-lorn princesses and warlocks or witches. Coinneach argued this kind of invention was pernicious and wholly misrepresented the authentic cultural tradition. New place names bestowed upon landscape features seek to emphasise the pristine wilderness of the Highlands, a concept that particularly appeals to the domestic market.
There is also the issue of 'cultural swamping', in which packaged tours between Scotland and Ireland create the perception that the two countries are near synonymous. Coinneach alluded briefly to Donald Meek's railing against the 'Celtification' of Scotland and Ireland. Nevertheless, when concluding, Coinneach sought to emphasise that he was not arguing that Scotland was actually a colony, yet the 'tourist gaze' originates from a colonial perspective fraught by unequal power-relations.
After the lecture, Thomas Clancy commented that Roper's comments may have been a 'collaboration in exorcism', a convenient process that allowed Gaelic Scots to get tartanry 'out of their system'. Martin MacGregor identified community-led organisations in the Western Isles that emphasise the reclamation of the Gaelic language and wider culture, which will hopefully percolate upward and improve a somewhat bleak image presented by Coinneach.
This was the last in our current seminar series. We will be back with a new series in September. In the meantime, 'like' our Facebook page to keep up-to-date with other activities and events from CSCS: www.facebook.com/scottishceltic/
Coinneach argued that the Scottish Gael is "objectified in an un-modified 'Tourist Gaze'". The Tourist Gaze, a work by John Urry, served as a model for most of Coinneach's lecture. Urry argues the tourist gaze regulates the tourist environment and identifies the 'other' and the 'out-of-the-ordinary'. So while the Scottish Gael embodies Scottish culture from an international outlook, Gaelic culture is near invisible in current Scottish tourism.
Coinneach's perspective is post-colonial, a view-point nearly discredited in the wake of Michael Hechter's Internal Colonialism. However, Coinneach pointed towards revisionist works such as Martin MacGregor and Dauvit Broun's Mìorun Mòr nan Gall, ‘The Great Ill-Will of the Lowlander’? Lowland Perceptions of the Highlands, Medieval and Modern, which has helped to rehabilitate this viewpoint somewhat. Coinneach pin-pointed six key areas of discourse on this topic:
1) The Victorian invention of Scottish cultural icons and Gaelic culture
2) The 'commoditisation' of Gaelic culture in the image of the Highland Warrior
3) The re-naming of landscape features and the invention of new place narratives
4) Historical presence by invitation
5) Elision with Irish culture
6) The mute Gael
Coinneach touched on all of these topics but noted that each discourse could be a thesis in its own right.
Scottish cultural icons (tartan, the kilt, bagpipes, whisky, the Highland Warrior) have a distinctly Gaelic flavour. Extrapolation of these 'cultural icons' to identify Scotland arguably has a high-level of artificiality. Some have argued that these portrayals should be abandoned yet due to the mass international appeal they command, it may well be tantamount to 'tourist suicide'. With the Scottish tourist industry directly employing 140,000 people and constituting 10% of the Scottish economy, this may be a point worth considering.
An influential writer on this topic, the British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, sought to dismiss the 'myths' of Scottish nationalism and highlight the Victorian 'invention' of Scottish culture. Coinneach argued that he feared Scottish devolution and was attempting to debunk the idea of an authentic Scottish culture. He describes the 'forging' of the emblems of a 'despised, disorderly savage', to embody the Scottish people, a prejudice which serves to underline Coinneach's argument.
Thomas Cook initiated mass tourism in the Highland in 1846 but the true instigator of interest in Gaelic culture was the royal family, specifically King George IV and Queen Victoria. King George's visit to Scotland in 1822, and Sir Walter Scott's arrangement of the famous 'tartan parade', has been credited (blamed?) with the invention of 'tartanry'. According to McCrone, tartan only holds 'haphazard significance' in the Highlands, while Tom Devine claimed 1822 led to the creation of 'imagined and false highland traditions'
However, Coinneach argued that Sir Walter Scott has been unfairly blamed as the originator of this 'false' tradition. He was aware of the artificiality of the pageantry and its 'masquerade' of Celtic society. In other instances he was scrupulous about the presentation of Highlanders, noting that Rob Roy should be wearing tartan breeches instead of a kilt on the front cover of his 1817 novel on the Macgregor clansman. The prominence of Highlanders in the parade was merely down to what the king would 'like best to see'.
Despite the presentation of the Highlands as 'essentially Scotland', current Blue Badge tour guides barely mention Gaelic culture directly. The only instance in which the Gaelic language is mentioned is in the humorous account of the The Flyting of Dumbar and Kennedie. At tourist sites like Edinburgh castle, fàilte (welcome) is featured without the grave and almost seems like an afterthought or a 'box to be checked'. At the Burns museum, it is noted that Burns' poetry was translated into many languages, 'even' Gaelic. This is an example of a widely held notion in the tourist industry that Gaelic is a 'difficult' language.
The latent history of many landscape sites featured in the tours is being 'airbrushed' and replaced with invented tradition. For example, the five sisters of Kintail , which refers to five mountains known separately in Gaelic as Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe, Sgùrr na Càrnach, Sgùrr Fhuaran, Sgùrr nan Spàinteach and Sgùrr nan Saighead, now has an invented story featuring five love-lorn princesses and warlocks or witches. Coinneach argued this kind of invention was pernicious and wholly misrepresented the authentic cultural tradition. New place names bestowed upon landscape features seek to emphasise the pristine wilderness of the Highlands, a concept that particularly appeals to the domestic market.
There is also the issue of 'cultural swamping', in which packaged tours between Scotland and Ireland create the perception that the two countries are near synonymous. Coinneach alluded briefly to Donald Meek's railing against the 'Celtification' of Scotland and Ireland. Nevertheless, when concluding, Coinneach sought to emphasise that he was not arguing that Scotland was actually a colony, yet the 'tourist gaze' originates from a colonial perspective fraught by unequal power-relations.
After the lecture, Thomas Clancy commented that Roper's comments may have been a 'collaboration in exorcism', a convenient process that allowed Gaelic Scots to get tartanry 'out of their system'. Martin MacGregor identified community-led organisations in the Western Isles that emphasise the reclamation of the Gaelic language and wider culture, which will hopefully percolate upward and improve a somewhat bleak image presented by Coinneach.
This was the last in our current seminar series. We will be back with a new series in September. In the meantime, 'like' our Facebook page to keep up-to-date with other activities and events from CSCS: www.facebook.com/scottishceltic/
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