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Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Brief biography. 1771 Born to a prominent lawyer, heir to an established Borders family 1772 Contracts polio – sent to family farm in the Borders where he grows up immersed in oral tradition

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Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

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  1. Sir Walter Scott(1771-1832)

  2. Brief biography 1771Born to a prominent lawyer, heir to an established Borders family 1772Contracts polio – sent to family farm in the Borders where he grows up immersed in oral tradition 1779Well enough to start school in Edinburgh; learns Latin; reads classics 1784-6 Studies law at Edinburgh University; then begins practising as a lawyer 1799-1814Recognised as a major ballad editor and narrative poet: egMinstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Lay of the Last Minstrel, Lady of the Lake, Marmion…

  3. The birth of Scott the novelist • 1814 Anonymous publication of Waverley, or ‘Tis 60 years Since • Historical backdrop • 1745 Jacobite Uprising: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Highland Clans versus England (and much of Lowland Scotland) • Personal narrative • Story of Edward Waverley, a romantic English soldier, stationed in Scotland in 1745; He is attracted by the doomed Jacobite cause (embodied by beautiful Flora MacIvor) but ultimately settles sensible Unionism, symbolised by the lovely Rose Bradwardine.

  4. Scotland /England / United Kingdom • 1603: James VI of Scotland is crowned James I of England • 1649-1660: the Interregnum (military and parliamentary rule by Oliver Cromwell). The Execution of Charles I in 1649. Scotland is under English control. • Restoration of Charles II in 1660 and the return of Scottish independence. • 1685: Charles II dies and his brother, a Roman Catholic, succeeds him as James VII of Scotland and James II of England. He is in favour of religious toleration (Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters) • 1688: James II (Stuart) is removed from the throne by Parliament and flees into exile on the Continent • 1689: William III (William of Orange) assumes throne within a limited monarchy (the “Glorious Revolution”). Many Catholics, Episcopalians and royalists still supported James as the legitimate monarch.

  5. Next… • Jacobitism: political movement dedicated to the restoration of Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland. (Jacobus  Latin for James [II and VII] • 1707: the Act of Union creates the “United Kingdom”: Cross of St. Andrew + St. George = “the Union Jack” • 1715: James Stuart (son of James II) joins the rebellion led from the Highlands • 1745: Charles Edward Stuart (grandson of James II) leads the last rebellion in England to get back onto the throne. He will be defeated by the Hanoverian army of King George II. • 1746: The English victory in the Battle of Culloden leads to the suppression of the Highland Clans. Charles hid in Scotland with the aid of Highlanders. He then escaped back to France with the help of Flora Macdonald.

  6. 1745-1800: flourishing trade and learning leads to Scottish Enlightenment & the Romantic appreciation of ‘folk culture’ • 1814: Walter Scott publishes Waverley - Waverley is a young aristocrat whose grand-father was a Stuart follower, though his father is a supporter of George II. • But after meeting Prince charles (Bonnie Prince Charlie), he is gradually drawn to the rebellion and makes friend with a Jacobite chieftain – Fergus Mac-Ivor, whose sister – Flora – he is much attracted to.

  7. The Division of Scotland between High and Low Highlands and Lowlands Topographical map

  8. The Romance of the Highlander: the Battle of CULLODEN

  9. Scott’s Legacy • Invention of the historical novel: space for the exploration of the personal and the political. • Exploitation of Scotland’s history and cultureas material for fictions of doomed romanticism. • Waverley as an act of recuperation: the Scottish and especially the Highland rebellion might have lost in 1745, but its legends, songs and history are part of Great Britain.

  10. Waverley as a ‘historical novel’ • The Jacobites vs. Hanoverians Rebellion, 1745-46 – an uprising led by (the Catholic) Charles Edward Stuart (the ‘Young Pretender’), ends with the Battle of Culloden (1746) • Scottish civil war – Highlands (romance) vs. Lowlands (realism) • Romantic old Scotland defeated by its ‘modernizing’, pragmatic counterpart

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