The Highlands

by Calum I. Maclean, Sorley Maclean (Foreword)

In a new edition of this classic book, introduced by the world-renowned Gaelic poet Sorley Maclean, the late Calum I. Maclean, a Gaelic-speaking Highlander, interprets the traditional background, culture and ways of life of his native country. Calum's formal training in folk culture and the depth of his local knowledge make this book truly outstanding - it is written by a Highlander from the inside.

Many books on the Highlands have been penned by outsiders with an uncritical appreciation of the scenery and only the most superficial knowledge of the Gaelic language and culture. By contrast, Maclean brought informed attitudes and sympathetic opinions. He was concerned not so much with places, beauty spots and scenery as with the Highlanders in their own self-created environment. He writes in terms of individuals and suggests reasons why Highland culture is unique in the world - it is something that, if lost, can never be recovered or recreated.

Genres: Scotland

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Calum Iain Maclean was a Scottish folklorist, collector, ethnographer and author. He was a son of Malcolm MacLean (1880 - 1951), tailor, and his wife, Christina (1886 - 1974). One of his brothers was the Gaelic poet and scholar, Sorley MacLean (1911 - 1996).

Maclean received his early education at Raasay Primary School and then Portree High School (1929 - 1935), Skye. Maclean then went to the University of Edinburgh (1935 - 1939) where he took a first in Celtic Studies under the tutelage of two famous Gaelic scholars, Professor William J. Watson (1865 - 1948), and his son Professor James Carmichael Watson (1910 - 1942). He won the McCaig and Macpherson scholarships which enabled him to enrol at University College Dublin where he undertook further study in Early Irish under Professor Osborn Bergin (1872 - 1950) and in Medieval and Modern Welsh under Professor J. Lloyd-Jones (1885 - 1965).

In December 1945, the Irish Folklore Commission sent Maclean to the Hebrides with an ediphone recording device to capture the folklore and song of the islands before the last Gaelic storytellers and folk-singers to have escaped the net of the 1872 Education Act passed away. On New Year's Day 1951, Maclean formally began to work for the newly founded School of Scottish Studies based at the University of Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of highly localized commentary, experiences, history, and conversations from a native Gaelic-speaking Scottish Highlander to the residents of various regions of mainland Scotland, this book would have been worth reading even if it weren't for the wonderful introduction, where a series of tradition-bearers write tributes, poems, and elegies to the life's work of a folklore collector, linguist, and poet. I would have happily bought this book for the introduction alone. The book describes a culture and a way of life, the introduction embodies it. There were places where I lack context for the history -- I definitely need to read a couple books on the Clearances, the Jacobites, Culloden, and its aftermath, and then come back and read this book again. But I'd rather a book with depth and complexity that assumes you know something about history (lots of Irish books do this too) than yet another 101 book. Best read with a map by your side, to understand where the places being discussed are.