MacGregor collection of Gaelic songs from Braemar, Strathdee and Glengairn

Photocopy of the Invercauld Manuscript, a collection of 18th c Gaelic songs entitled Original Gaelic Songs of Braemar, Strathdee and Glengairn collected by the Revd Robert MacGregor, Missionary Minister there, with one composed by himself to 42nd Regt.

The Invercauld MS is the oldest and second largest collection of Gaelic verse from Aberdeenshire. It contains verse largely dating from the eighteenth century (with the exception of 'Oran Molaidh do'n Fhreiceadan Dhubh (which the Rev. MacGregor composed himself) much of which appears to have originated in Glengairn. The collection contains verse covering a wide variety of genres, including laments, love songs, satires, praise poetry and Jacobite verse. The verse is generally of a very high literary standard and is much more serious and professional in style than the verse contained in the Francis Diack manuscripts. (Alison MG Diack, Gaelic Verse from Aberdeenshire (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1999), p. xvi )

Rev. Robert MacGregor was born in Fortingall, Perthshire, in 1767. He served as minister of the parish of Tullich, Glenmuick and Glengairn from 1799 until 1822, then at Kilmuir, Skye, until his death in 1846. Himself an accomplished Gaelic poet, he also edited collections of poetry. His son, Alexander MacGregor, born in the mission house at Dailphuil in Glengairn in 1806, became a renowned Gaelic scholar, highly acclaimed for his contributions to the Gaelic Society of Inverness and to such periodicals as An Gaidheal and The Celtic Magazine.

Single item

Open, subject to signature accepting conditions of use at reader registration sheet

Gifted to the University in Jun 1982, by Dr Adam Watson through Donald MacAulay, Department of Celtic.

Very brief collection level description available on Aberdeen University Library Catalogue, accessible online http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/library/

Another copy of the manuscript was deposited in the library of the Gaelic Society of Inverness by Dr Adam Watson.

Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation.

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of Special Libraries and Archives (e-mail: speclib@abdn.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

This material has been appraised in line with normal procedures

No accruals expected

The University holds a large volume of manuscripts relating to the musical history and traditions of Northeast Scotland. Most closely related to this material is Collection of place-names and related papers, compiled by Francis Diack (GB 123 MS 2771), the main source for Gaelic verse from Aberdeenshire. Very brief collection level descriptions are available on Aberdeen University Library Catalogue, accessible online http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/library/

C.M. Robertson, Gaelic Poems, in Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, 33 (1932), 2-43 C.M. Robertson, Gaelic Poems, in Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, 33 (1932), 2-43 Adam Watson, Old Gaelic Poems from Aberdeenshire, in Scottish Gaelic Studies, 14 (1983), 25-28 Adam Watson, Old Gaelic Poems from Aberdeenshire, in Scottish Gaelic Studies, 14 (1983), 25-28 Ten Sangs o Mar; music by James Reith, Doric owersettings by Sheena Blackhall (Aberdeen: Hammerfield, 1997) Ten Sangs o Mar; music by James Reith, Doric owersettings by Sheena Blackhall (Aberdeen: Hammerfield, 1997) Alison M.G. Diack, Gaelic Verse from Aberdeenshire (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1999)

Original at Invercauld House, Aberdeenshire