Ossianic controversy : A lecture delivered to the Greenock Highland Society

In this engaging lecture, the speaker traces the birth of the Ossianic controversy, beginning with a chance encounter between the playwright John Home and the Highland tutor James Macpherson in 1759. He recounts how Macpherson’s modest “Fragments of Ancient Poetry” sparked a surge of interest among Edinburgh’s literary elite, prompting the ambitious translation of the epic “Fingal” and its follow‑up “Temora.” The narrative paints a vivid picture of a vibrant, if uneasy, collaboration between scholars, poets, and Highland informants eager to share their oral traditions with a wider world.

The lecture then moves to the astonishing reception of these works, celebrated across Europe and praised by figures such as Goethe, Schiller, and Hume, only to face fierce backlash from critics who doubted the authenticity of Highland verse. Amidst accolades, the speaker highlights the cultural prejudices that fueled accusations of forgery, revealing how the very identity of the Gaelic poets became a battleground of belief. Listeners are invited to consider how reputation, nationalism, and literary taste shaped a debate that still echoes in discussions of cultural ownership today.