William Murdoch, engineer and inventor of coal-gas lighting, amongst other things, was born on the 21st of August, 1754.
William Murdoch has been described as ‘The Scot who lit the world’, but for many years he has been the 18th Century Scot whose contribution to society has remained largely in the shadows. He was a modest man, who introduced numerous innovations, many ahead of their time, and he surely merits much wider recognition than he hitherto has received. What is certain is that his role in the emergence of steam has been obscured, largely due to James Watt taking most of the credit. And, despite being independently known as the inventor of gas lighting, for which he was awarded the Rumford Gold Medal, in 1808, by the Royal Society, he remained an employee of Boulton & Watt for over twenty years. Murdoch was indeed an inventor who ranks with the best and should be seen as a giant of the Industrial Revolution. The list of his inventions in the field of engineering is staggering. Amongst other things, he created a steam-driven tricycle, steam cannon, the steam gun, a worm-driven cylinder boring machine, 'D-slide' valves, underwater paint for ships, and iron cement – and he coined the term ‘gasometer’. He carried out a number of experiments with compressed air and developed the first the pneumatic tube message system. That was developed by the ‘London Pneumatic Dispatch Company’ and became widely used until the 1940s. The technology made a comback more recently, where it is in use in banks and supermarkets as a means of transferring cash from the tills to more secure areas. Murdoch also invented the high-pressure steam engine, without which there would have been no railway locomotives – and he was even dissuaded from persevering with his novel idea of running engines on rails. Murdoch’s innovation of the oscillating 'sun-and-planet' gear allowed steam power to be turned into a truly circular motion, with the piston driving the flywheel directly instead of using a beam. That invention of Murdoch’s led to the steam engine, the invention of fellow Scot, James Watt, becoming the motive power for many different industries.
Murdoch's best known contribution, ignoring steam for the moment, was gas lighting. Murdoch invented gas lighting using gas made from coal, the first new form of lighting since the candle, which remained the primary method of illumination until Edison's electric light bulb, one hundred years later. He not only invented gas lighting, he invented the method of extracting gas from coal, and by 1792, he had put it to practical use lighting his own workshop. By 1798, it was used to provide light at Boulton & Watt's Soho Works in Birmingham, which was notably illuminated to celebrate the Treaty of Amiens in 1803. Boulton & Watt thereafter began selling gas-making equipment and, by 1805, gas lighting systems were being manufactured on a commercial scale and installed in cotton mills and factories, particularly in Manchester. The benefit to cotton mills was immense. That came not only from prolonged working hours and reduced costs, but from a decreased risk of fire (think open candles and cotton). By 1813, Westminster Bridge in London was lit up and municipal gas supply systems quickly followed, such as Glasgow, in 1817. Many of these were developed by others, but they all relied on Murdoch's original work. Decent urban lighting had a dramatic effect of society as, for the first time, it became relatively safe to go out after dark. Murdoch never patented gas lighting, although he did present a paper to the Royal Society and I guess we should say, the world was never the same again.
William Murdoch was born at Bello Mill Farm, by the village of Lugar, in the Parish of Auchinleck, near Cumnock in Ayrshire, on the 21st of August, 1754. He learned much from his father, who had been a master gunner with the army and was a very capable millwright as well as a talented engineer and inventor. John Murdoch invented cast iron pinion gearing and, in 1763, the world’s first tricycle; his famous ‘wooden horse’ driven by hand cranks. William, therefore, had a good pedigree and naturally developed an excellent grasp of mechanics. He went to Cumnock School, where he excelled in mathematics, but he honed his practical engineering skills helping his father. William’s father leased Bello Mill from the local laird, James Boswell, and it is likely that Boswell was responsible for Murdoch’s pilgrimage to Birmingham to ask James Watt for a job, because Boswell knew them both. In 1777, at the age of twenty-three, Murdoch walked all the way from his home town to the Soho steam engine foundry of James Watt, and his business partner, Matthew Boulton. Today, that’s a journey of just over two hundred and seventy miles; probably a little more by 18th Century roads. Murdoch’s biographer, Samuel Smiles, related how Murdoch was spotted nervously fiddling with his hat when interviewed by Boulton. The hat was made of wood and Murdoch claimed to have had made it himself on a home-made lathe. Whether or not the story is true, Boulton, who later described Murdoch as the finest engine erector he had ever seen, offered him a job.
Murdoch 's ingenuity and ability was quickly recognised by James Watt and, in 1779, he appointed him to supervise the erection, maintenance and repair of the Boulton & Watt steam engines used in Cornish tin mines for pumping water. Steam engines were operated and maintained by the manufacturers, who were paid through a complex formula calculated on the basis of the engines’ performance. So Murdoch's skill in keeping them running efficiently helped to ensure Boulton & Watts’ profits. Murdoch remained loyal to Boulton and Watt, despite their having persuaded him not to patent his own research into high pressure engines and Watt’s ‘surreptitious appropriation’ of some of his ideas. Watt said of Murdoch’s idea, “I did not like [the fact that] a scheme I had revolved round in my mind for years... should be wrested from me.” Whether or not that was just envy, the idea did appear (or reappear?) in one of Watt’s patents. The sad thing is that Watt kept it under wraps, effectively holding up the progress of the Industrial Revolution for ten years, until 1801, when the Cornish engineer, Richard Trevithick, built a competing design. Whatever the motives of Watt, Murdoch was well rewarded and, in 1810, became a partner and director of the Company. From 1817, Murdoch took a leading role in successful efforts to apply the Company’s expertise to marine engineering.
William Murdoch was also the inventor of the first, successful steam road vehicle or locomotive in Britain, which he designed, built and ran, in Redruth, around 1784. Murdoch died in Birmingham on the 15th of November, 1839, where he was buried beside his partners, James Watt and Mathew Boulton. In 1830, James Nasmyth, the inventor of the steam hammer, wrote the most apt epitaph. He described Murdoch as “that incomparable mechanic ... a man of indomitable energy, and Watt's right-hand man in the highest practical sense ... whose memory ought to be held in the highest regard by all true engineers and mechanics.”
Friday, 20 August 2010
Thursday, 19 August 2010
William Miller
William Miller, the poet, died on the 20th of August, 1872.
William Miller was known as ‘the laureate of the nursery’ because he wrote mainly children's verse. He is best remembered for the classic nursery rhyme, ‘Wee Willie Winkie’, which is recited all over the world. It has been translated into many different languages – including English as it was written mainly in Scots. Miller began writing poetry and rhymes for children in his native language, and a lot of his output was originally published in the ‘Whistle-binkie’ books. Whilst his night-time poem brought Miller a degree of fame at the time, it did not make his fortune. He worked as a cabinet maker for most of his life and died, penniless, in Glasgow's East End. However, he is remembered through a monument in Glasgow's Necropolis, which was paid for by public subscription. And, on the 2nd of September, 2009, Glasgow’s then Lord Provost unveiled a bronze plaque to commemorate the life of the ‘nursery poet’. It is placed on the wall of the Tennents Brewery in Dennistoun, which sits on the site of Miller’s former house.
William Miller was born in Glasgow in August, 1810, and lived most of his life at No. 4 Ark Lane in Dennistoun, a suburb to the east of the City Centre in what is now the City's Parkhead area. Miller suffered from ill health and, because of that, was unable to fulfil his ambition of becoming a surgeon. Instead, he was apprenticed as a wood turner. He subsequently became a skilled craftsman with a particular talent for cabinet-making; a trade at which he continued to work for most of the rest of his life. In 1871, Miller’s leg became ulcerated and he had to retire. Despite his earlier fame, he had never managed to make a career as a poet and at the time of his retirement he was effectively penniless. Within the year, Miller was dead. His leg became infected and he suffered from complications. William Miller died of spinal paralysis on the 20th of August, 1872, at No. 21 Windsor Street in Glasgow. He was buried in an unmarked grave near the main entrance of Tollcross Cemetery.
William Miller began writing poetry early in his life and became an accomplished poet and songwriter. His poems were published in various magazines of the day and reappeared in later collections of nursery rhymes and poems. His famous rhyme ‘Willie Winkie’ first appeared in an 1841 edition of ‘Whistle-binkie’ entitled ‘Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside’. It later became ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ due to its popularity and from the poem’s first line. It was later reprinted after Miller’s death, in an 1873 edition called ‘Whistle-Binkie; a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle’. The titular figure of ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ has become synonymous the world over as ‘the Sandman’ and such was the popularity of the character that it has become one of several bedtime entities such as Scandinavia’s ‘Ole Lukøje' and the ‘Dormette’ of France. William Miller’s other poems include 'A Wonderful Wean', 'Gree, Bairnies Gree', 'The Sleepy Laddie' and 'John Frost'.
The songs contained in ‘Whistle-binkie’ were published in distinct series throughout a period of fifteen years, with the first appearing in 1832. In the preface to ‘Whistle-binkie: A Collection of Songs for the Social Circle’, published in Glasgow by David Robertson, and referring to its content, it is stated that “the songs are of different degrees of merit – a few exhibiting more marked felicities than others”. It also suggests that “it will be found that most of [the poems/songs] express some feeling or sentiment which the heart delights to cherish.” It goes on to say that, the work, taken altogether “presents a remarkable instance of the universality of that peculiar talent for Song writing for which Scotland has always been distinguished, and that it will be considered a favourable specimen of the national genius in that pleasing department of literature.” We can rest assured that Miller’s contributions were in the ‘marked felicities’ category.
The curious title of ‘Whistle-binkie’ was a term originally used to identify someone who attends a ‘penny wedding’, but without paying anything and who, therefore, has no right to participate in the entertainment; being left as it were, as a mere spectator. It later came to be applied to entertainers whose intellectual powers were either devoted to whistling, singing or story telling, or any other source of amusement that caught the fancy and received the encouragement of their fellow men.
Here’s a taste of ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ to remind you:
“Wee Willie Winkie rins through the toon,
Up stairs an' doon stairs in his nicht-gown,
Tirlin' at the window, crying at the lock,
"Are the weans in their bed, for it's now ten o'clock?"
"Hey, Willie Winkie, are ye comin' ben?
The cat's singin grey thrums to the sleepin hen,
The dog's speldert on the floor and disna gie a cheep,
But here's a waukrife laddie, that wunna fa' asleep.”
Email me if you want a translation.
William Miller was known as ‘the laureate of the nursery’ because he wrote mainly children's verse. He is best remembered for the classic nursery rhyme, ‘Wee Willie Winkie’, which is recited all over the world. It has been translated into many different languages – including English as it was written mainly in Scots. Miller began writing poetry and rhymes for children in his native language, and a lot of his output was originally published in the ‘Whistle-binkie’ books. Whilst his night-time poem brought Miller a degree of fame at the time, it did not make his fortune. He worked as a cabinet maker for most of his life and died, penniless, in Glasgow's East End. However, he is remembered through a monument in Glasgow's Necropolis, which was paid for by public subscription. And, on the 2nd of September, 2009, Glasgow’s then Lord Provost unveiled a bronze plaque to commemorate the life of the ‘nursery poet’. It is placed on the wall of the Tennents Brewery in Dennistoun, which sits on the site of Miller’s former house.
William Miller was born in Glasgow in August, 1810, and lived most of his life at No. 4 Ark Lane in Dennistoun, a suburb to the east of the City Centre in what is now the City's Parkhead area. Miller suffered from ill health and, because of that, was unable to fulfil his ambition of becoming a surgeon. Instead, he was apprenticed as a wood turner. He subsequently became a skilled craftsman with a particular talent for cabinet-making; a trade at which he continued to work for most of the rest of his life. In 1871, Miller’s leg became ulcerated and he had to retire. Despite his earlier fame, he had never managed to make a career as a poet and at the time of his retirement he was effectively penniless. Within the year, Miller was dead. His leg became infected and he suffered from complications. William Miller died of spinal paralysis on the 20th of August, 1872, at No. 21 Windsor Street in Glasgow. He was buried in an unmarked grave near the main entrance of Tollcross Cemetery.
William Miller began writing poetry early in his life and became an accomplished poet and songwriter. His poems were published in various magazines of the day and reappeared in later collections of nursery rhymes and poems. His famous rhyme ‘Willie Winkie’ first appeared in an 1841 edition of ‘Whistle-binkie’ entitled ‘Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside’. It later became ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ due to its popularity and from the poem’s first line. It was later reprinted after Miller’s death, in an 1873 edition called ‘Whistle-Binkie; a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle’. The titular figure of ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ has become synonymous the world over as ‘the Sandman’ and such was the popularity of the character that it has become one of several bedtime entities such as Scandinavia’s ‘Ole Lukøje' and the ‘Dormette’ of France. William Miller’s other poems include 'A Wonderful Wean', 'Gree, Bairnies Gree', 'The Sleepy Laddie' and 'John Frost'.
The songs contained in ‘Whistle-binkie’ were published in distinct series throughout a period of fifteen years, with the first appearing in 1832. In the preface to ‘Whistle-binkie: A Collection of Songs for the Social Circle’, published in Glasgow by David Robertson, and referring to its content, it is stated that “the songs are of different degrees of merit – a few exhibiting more marked felicities than others”. It also suggests that “it will be found that most of [the poems/songs] express some feeling or sentiment which the heart delights to cherish.” It goes on to say that, the work, taken altogether “presents a remarkable instance of the universality of that peculiar talent for Song writing for which Scotland has always been distinguished, and that it will be considered a favourable specimen of the national genius in that pleasing department of literature.” We can rest assured that Miller’s contributions were in the ‘marked felicities’ category.
The curious title of ‘Whistle-binkie’ was a term originally used to identify someone who attends a ‘penny wedding’, but without paying anything and who, therefore, has no right to participate in the entertainment; being left as it were, as a mere spectator. It later came to be applied to entertainers whose intellectual powers were either devoted to whistling, singing or story telling, or any other source of amusement that caught the fancy and received the encouragement of their fellow men.
Here’s a taste of ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ to remind you:
“Wee Willie Winkie rins through the toon,
Up stairs an' doon stairs in his nicht-gown,
Tirlin' at the window, crying at the lock,
"Are the weans in their bed, for it's now ten o'clock?"
"Hey, Willie Winkie, are ye comin' ben?
The cat's singin grey thrums to the sleepin hen,
The dog's speldert on the floor and disna gie a cheep,
But here's a waukrife laddie, that wunna fa' asleep.”
Email me if you want a translation.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
The Admirable James Crichton
James Crichton, the Scottish soldier, scholar, poet, etcetera, was born on the 19th of August, 1560.
James Crichton was the original ‘Admirable Crichton’ and reputed to be one of the most gifted individuals of the 16th Century. He achieved the major portion of his fame through his extraordinary accomplishments in languages, the arts, and sciences, primarily in Italy, but some of his exploits are likely to be more legendary than true. Nevertheless, if half be true; a star he was. He had a good start in life, being the son of the Lord Advocate of Scotland and a descendant of the Royal line of Stewart. He was undoubtedly an unusually gifted prodigy and was noted for his mental prowess. Crichton was said to have had the gift of perfect recall and to have displayed amazing erudition and powers of memory in public disputations. Of course, like any legendary figure, he had amazing physical capabilities and admirable good looks. Well, good looks are relative; let’s say his contemporaries so thought – and he was better looking than most Stewarts, particularly James VI with whom he shared a tutor.
It is said that by the age of twenty, Crichton could speak ten or twelve languages in each of which he was not only fluent, but could also hold forth in verse and prose. Those social graces meant he was considered the very model of a cultured gentleman. The list of his accomplishments is a long one and includes: adventurer; athlete; debater; fencer; horseman; linguist; man of letters; musician; orator; poet; singer; soldier; scholar; and swordsman – although his admirers probably exaggerated. His languages are listed as: Hebrew; Syriac; Arabic; Greek; Latin; Spanish; French; English; Italian; Dutch; and Flemish or Selavonic; to which we must add at least a Scottish dialect.
James Crichton was born at Eliock House in Dumfries on the 19th of August, 1560 or James Crichton was born in Nithsdale or James Crichton was born in Clunie Castle, Perthshire – take your pick; the sources differ. His family, who was from Nithsdale, moved into Clunie Castle in 1562, so that suggests to me that it’s most likely James was born in Nithsdale. He certainly spent his boyhood at Clunie. Although he apparently went to a school in Dunkeld and had some schooling in Perth, what is certain is that he was educated at St Salvators College, in St Andrews, by the noted poet and scholar, George Buchanan, tutor to King James VI. Remarkably, Crichton took his B. A. in 1574 and his M. A. in 1575, at the ages of just thirteen and fourteen respectively.
After University, he left Scotland for the Continent and spent two years in the army of Henry III of France. By 1579, he had pitched up in Italy, where he went on to achieve fame. He initially attracted attention by his scholarly accomplishments, fluency in classical and modern languages, and his undoubted, personal charm, despite having arrived in Genoa in a destitute condition. Orator and polymath that he was, in 1579 he delivered an elaborate Latin oration before the Senate in Genoa. The following year, he went to Venice, where he introduced himself to Aldus Manutius, and challenged all scholars to ‘learned disputations’ – that means to test his knowledge. Then famously in Padua, in 1581, he is said to have overcome the scholars there in a similar debate of three days duration, which took place in the Church of St. John and St. Paul.
He appears to have been something like a vastly conceited Mastermind winner who travelled around Italy, earning his board and lodgings by challenging all comers in tests of knowledge. However extraordinary his achievements sound, there is evidence concerning Crichton's taunt to the learned men of Italy. Crichton's oration before the scholars of Genoa is evidenced by a Latin address to the Doge and Senate entitled ‘Oratio J. Critonii Scoti pro Moderatorum Genuensis Reipubl electione coram Senatu habita’ and printed there in 1579. In addition, two copies of the hand-bill describing Crichton's marvelous knowledge, printed at the Guerra press of the brothers Domenico in Venice, in 1580, can be seen in the British Museum. The hand-bill sports a short biography and an extravagant eulogy of Crichton’s powers. It states that Crichton speaks ten languages and has a command of philosophy, theology, and mathematics. It goes on to say that “[Crichton] improvises Latin verses in all metres and on all subjects [and] has all Aristotle and his commentators at his fingers' ends.” A final flourish avows that “he is of most beautiful appearance; a soldier from top to toe.” This tribute is attributed to Crichton’s friend Aldus Manutius, as it was reprinted several times under Aldus’s name as ‘Relatione della qualità di... Crettone’. However, the skeptical might say that the text was nothing other than 16th Century ‘spin’ by Crichton’s mate and publicist in order to attract an audience for his challenge.
Nevertheless, Joseph Justus Scaliger, the famous Continental scholar, described Crichton in ‘Prima Scaligerana’ as a youth of “very wonderful genius”, but qualified his statement by adding that he was “more worthy of admiration than esteem.” Scaliger was very astute. He once came to England and confessed that he did not like the people, but curiously, he drew a distinction between the English and the Scots, viewing the latter more favourably and according hearty praise to Scottish ballads.
Crichton’s death occurred in a rather more uncouth manner than the course of his life as it is generally believed that he died at the age of twenty-one in a street brawl in Mantua on the 3rd of July, 1582. One of his own pupils, the son of the Duke of Mantua, was either directly or indirectly responsible for the ‘assassination’. Whether or not he or the son or both were drunk, the unfortunate outcome hasn’t seemed to have damaged his reputation. Crichton’s status comes largely from an enthusiastic account of his life and exploits, which was written by his 17th Century biographer, Sir Thomas Urquhart. Published in 1652, that book was called ‘The Discoveryie of a Most Exquisite Jewel’. However, it was in John Johnston's ‘Heroes Scoti’ of 1603, that Crichton was first given the epithet ‘the Admirable Crichton’. His fame is also due to the extravagant praise given him by Aldus Manutius. Needless to say, such a man is also the subject of several novels, not least J. M. Barrie’s 1902 novel about the perfect butler.
James Crichton was the original ‘Admirable Crichton’ and reputed to be one of the most gifted individuals of the 16th Century. He achieved the major portion of his fame through his extraordinary accomplishments in languages, the arts, and sciences, primarily in Italy, but some of his exploits are likely to be more legendary than true. Nevertheless, if half be true; a star he was. He had a good start in life, being the son of the Lord Advocate of Scotland and a descendant of the Royal line of Stewart. He was undoubtedly an unusually gifted prodigy and was noted for his mental prowess. Crichton was said to have had the gift of perfect recall and to have displayed amazing erudition and powers of memory in public disputations. Of course, like any legendary figure, he had amazing physical capabilities and admirable good looks. Well, good looks are relative; let’s say his contemporaries so thought – and he was better looking than most Stewarts, particularly James VI with whom he shared a tutor.
It is said that by the age of twenty, Crichton could speak ten or twelve languages in each of which he was not only fluent, but could also hold forth in verse and prose. Those social graces meant he was considered the very model of a cultured gentleman. The list of his accomplishments is a long one and includes: adventurer; athlete; debater; fencer; horseman; linguist; man of letters; musician; orator; poet; singer; soldier; scholar; and swordsman – although his admirers probably exaggerated. His languages are listed as: Hebrew; Syriac; Arabic; Greek; Latin; Spanish; French; English; Italian; Dutch; and Flemish or Selavonic; to which we must add at least a Scottish dialect.
James Crichton was born at Eliock House in Dumfries on the 19th of August, 1560 or James Crichton was born in Nithsdale or James Crichton was born in Clunie Castle, Perthshire – take your pick; the sources differ. His family, who was from Nithsdale, moved into Clunie Castle in 1562, so that suggests to me that it’s most likely James was born in Nithsdale. He certainly spent his boyhood at Clunie. Although he apparently went to a school in Dunkeld and had some schooling in Perth, what is certain is that he was educated at St Salvators College, in St Andrews, by the noted poet and scholar, George Buchanan, tutor to King James VI. Remarkably, Crichton took his B. A. in 1574 and his M. A. in 1575, at the ages of just thirteen and fourteen respectively.
After University, he left Scotland for the Continent and spent two years in the army of Henry III of France. By 1579, he had pitched up in Italy, where he went on to achieve fame. He initially attracted attention by his scholarly accomplishments, fluency in classical and modern languages, and his undoubted, personal charm, despite having arrived in Genoa in a destitute condition. Orator and polymath that he was, in 1579 he delivered an elaborate Latin oration before the Senate in Genoa. The following year, he went to Venice, where he introduced himself to Aldus Manutius, and challenged all scholars to ‘learned disputations’ – that means to test his knowledge. Then famously in Padua, in 1581, he is said to have overcome the scholars there in a similar debate of three days duration, which took place in the Church of St. John and St. Paul.
He appears to have been something like a vastly conceited Mastermind winner who travelled around Italy, earning his board and lodgings by challenging all comers in tests of knowledge. However extraordinary his achievements sound, there is evidence concerning Crichton's taunt to the learned men of Italy. Crichton's oration before the scholars of Genoa is evidenced by a Latin address to the Doge and Senate entitled ‘Oratio J. Critonii Scoti pro Moderatorum Genuensis Reipubl electione coram Senatu habita’ and printed there in 1579. In addition, two copies of the hand-bill describing Crichton's marvelous knowledge, printed at the Guerra press of the brothers Domenico in Venice, in 1580, can be seen in the British Museum. The hand-bill sports a short biography and an extravagant eulogy of Crichton’s powers. It states that Crichton speaks ten languages and has a command of philosophy, theology, and mathematics. It goes on to say that “[Crichton] improvises Latin verses in all metres and on all subjects [and] has all Aristotle and his commentators at his fingers' ends.” A final flourish avows that “he is of most beautiful appearance; a soldier from top to toe.” This tribute is attributed to Crichton’s friend Aldus Manutius, as it was reprinted several times under Aldus’s name as ‘Relatione della qualità di... Crettone’. However, the skeptical might say that the text was nothing other than 16th Century ‘spin’ by Crichton’s mate and publicist in order to attract an audience for his challenge.
Nevertheless, Joseph Justus Scaliger, the famous Continental scholar, described Crichton in ‘Prima Scaligerana’ as a youth of “very wonderful genius”, but qualified his statement by adding that he was “more worthy of admiration than esteem.” Scaliger was very astute. He once came to England and confessed that he did not like the people, but curiously, he drew a distinction between the English and the Scots, viewing the latter more favourably and according hearty praise to Scottish ballads.
Crichton’s death occurred in a rather more uncouth manner than the course of his life as it is generally believed that he died at the age of twenty-one in a street brawl in Mantua on the 3rd of July, 1582. One of his own pupils, the son of the Duke of Mantua, was either directly or indirectly responsible for the ‘assassination’. Whether or not he or the son or both were drunk, the unfortunate outcome hasn’t seemed to have damaged his reputation. Crichton’s status comes largely from an enthusiastic account of his life and exploits, which was written by his 17th Century biographer, Sir Thomas Urquhart. Published in 1652, that book was called ‘The Discoveryie of a Most Exquisite Jewel’. However, it was in John Johnston's ‘Heroes Scoti’ of 1603, that Crichton was first given the epithet ‘the Admirable Crichton’. His fame is also due to the extravagant praise given him by Aldus Manutius. Needless to say, such a man is also the subject of several novels, not least J. M. Barrie’s 1902 novel about the perfect butler.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
James Beattie
James Beattie, Scottish poet, scholar, writer, essayist, philosopher, moralist and theologian, died on the 18th of August, 1803.
James Beattie dabbled in poetry and philosophy and achieved high marks from his contemporaries in both disciplines. He was considered to be an important poetic and philosophical contributor, however, he has been neglected by modern scholarship to some large extent. His poetic career culminated in ‘The Minstrel; Or, the Progress of Genius’, which was an epic poem that influenced the early ‘Romantic’ poets. That was published in two books between 1771 and 1774 and won him the praise of Samuel Johnson; praise indeed, for it contains a lot of wonderfuly descriptive writing, albeit very old fashioned to modern lugs. Our man Beattie was more than just a Rhymer; he was also Professor of Moral Philosophy at Marischal College, in Aberdeen, and was one of David Hume's most persistent and virulent critics. Hume called him “that silly, bigoted fellow Beattie.” Beattie was part of the ‘common sense’ school centred on Aberdeen and whose most distinguished member was Thomas Reid. At the age of twenty-five, he published ‘Original Poems and Translations’, but his principle philosophical work was his ‘Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, in Opposition to Sophistry and Scepticism’, which was a vigorous defence of orthodoxy against the rationalism of Hume. Beattie was also prominent advocate of the abolition of slavery and criticised Hume for his derogatory description of Africans as an inferior people who had been enslaved because they lacked civilisation and ingenuity. His ‘Essay’ made Beattie a famous man and the subject of a flattering portrait – defeating the ‘enemies of Truth’ – by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
James Beattie was born in Laurencekirk, in the Mearns, on the 25th of October, 1735. He was the youngest child of a local shopkeeper or a farmer, depending on which biographies you read. What chance the historican. The fact is that his father ran a small shop in Laurencekirk and rented a wee bit farm up the road. After attending the local Parish School, Beattie won a bursary to Marischal College, in Aberdeen, when he was fourteen – there you go; the source of his muse. Actually, he gained a liking for versification from Ogilvy’s ‘Virgil’ and other works he got access to from the local Minister’s library before going on to Aberdeen and at school, he was already known as ‘the Poet’. In Aberdeen, he studied philosophy and divinity and was destined for the Kirk, but after graduating, he became instead a schoolmaster in the Parish of Fordoun. He was able to continue studying, practicing his hand at a bit poetry in the by goin’ and, in 1758, he got a job as Usher at Aberdeen Grammar School. That brought him into contact with some literary and professional characters and, in 1760, he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy at Marischal College. He got the post through a chance conversation and good fortune, but it enabled his talents to flourish and he remained there for the rest of his life.
Beattie’s ‘Essay on Truth’ appeared after it occurred to him that there was a need for an aggressively written work in opposition to Hume, who was seen as a bit of a ‘Prince of Darkness’ by the religious fraternity. Beattie provided a powerful defence of religion in responding to Hume with counter-argument and ridicule, but the ‘Essay’ may never have seen the light of day for it found no willing publisher. In the end, his friends put up the money in order to get the unfashionable viewpoint published. It appeared in 1770 and was met with immediate success. In its day, it was received as a complete and triumphant refutation of all that had been advanced by the other side – in the opinion of its ‘side’. His defence of religion earned him an honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Oxford and a pension of £200 pounds a year from King George III. However, when it was suggested to the King that Beattie be given a position in the English Church, Geordie is reputed to have suggested that as Scotland abounds most in infidels, “it would be best for the general interests of religion that he [Beattie] should be kept there.”
In terms of his poetry; as early as 1756, Beattie had sent the odd poetical contribution to the ‘Scots Magazine’ and some of those were published in London, in 1760, as ‘Original Poems and Translations’. Those efforts received favourable attention and he was encouraged to write his ‘Essay on Poetry’ in 1762 and, in 1765, ‘The Judgment of Paris’. That latter piece “threatened to be as fatal to his poetical career as its subject had been to the Trojan state” – it was a bit too metaphysical for the public of the day. Some time in 1766, Beattie commenced his poetical masterpiece, which was to be a poem after the style of Spenser. Its subject was suggested to him by a dissertation on the old minstrels, but it took him until 1771 before the first part of ‘The Minstrel’ was published. Its success led to a second part, which appeared in 1774, but it was never completed. Maybe it’s the longest unfinished poem in the world, but it was the first of any length, in pure English, that had been published by a Scottish writer in his own country. Of it, his biographer, Forbes, wrote, “Of all [Beattie’s] poetical works, ‘the Minstrel’ is, beyond all question, the best… The language is extremely elegant, the versification harmonious, it exhibits the richest poetic imagery with a delightful flow of the most sublime, delicate, and pathetic sentiment. …In a word, it is at once highly conceived and admirably finished.”
Here’s a taster from ‘The Minstrel’ by James Beattie:
“How forth The Minstrel far'd in days of yore,
Right glad of heart, though homely in array;
His waving locks and beard all hoary grey:
And, from his bending shoulder, decent hung
His harp, the sole companion of his way,
Which to the whistling wind responsive rung:
And ever as he went some merry lay he sung.”
Professor James Beattie died in Aberdeen on the 18th of August, 1803, after lingering for almost a year after a stroke of palsy. He was buried close to his two sons in the ancient cemetery of St Nicholas.
James Beattie dabbled in poetry and philosophy and achieved high marks from his contemporaries in both disciplines. He was considered to be an important poetic and philosophical contributor, however, he has been neglected by modern scholarship to some large extent. His poetic career culminated in ‘The Minstrel; Or, the Progress of Genius’, which was an epic poem that influenced the early ‘Romantic’ poets. That was published in two books between 1771 and 1774 and won him the praise of Samuel Johnson; praise indeed, for it contains a lot of wonderfuly descriptive writing, albeit very old fashioned to modern lugs. Our man Beattie was more than just a Rhymer; he was also Professor of Moral Philosophy at Marischal College, in Aberdeen, and was one of David Hume's most persistent and virulent critics. Hume called him “that silly, bigoted fellow Beattie.” Beattie was part of the ‘common sense’ school centred on Aberdeen and whose most distinguished member was Thomas Reid. At the age of twenty-five, he published ‘Original Poems and Translations’, but his principle philosophical work was his ‘Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, in Opposition to Sophistry and Scepticism’, which was a vigorous defence of orthodoxy against the rationalism of Hume. Beattie was also prominent advocate of the abolition of slavery and criticised Hume for his derogatory description of Africans as an inferior people who had been enslaved because they lacked civilisation and ingenuity. His ‘Essay’ made Beattie a famous man and the subject of a flattering portrait – defeating the ‘enemies of Truth’ – by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
James Beattie was born in Laurencekirk, in the Mearns, on the 25th of October, 1735. He was the youngest child of a local shopkeeper or a farmer, depending on which biographies you read. What chance the historican. The fact is that his father ran a small shop in Laurencekirk and rented a wee bit farm up the road. After attending the local Parish School, Beattie won a bursary to Marischal College, in Aberdeen, when he was fourteen – there you go; the source of his muse. Actually, he gained a liking for versification from Ogilvy’s ‘Virgil’ and other works he got access to from the local Minister’s library before going on to Aberdeen and at school, he was already known as ‘the Poet’. In Aberdeen, he studied philosophy and divinity and was destined for the Kirk, but after graduating, he became instead a schoolmaster in the Parish of Fordoun. He was able to continue studying, practicing his hand at a bit poetry in the by goin’ and, in 1758, he got a job as Usher at Aberdeen Grammar School. That brought him into contact with some literary and professional characters and, in 1760, he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy at Marischal College. He got the post through a chance conversation and good fortune, but it enabled his talents to flourish and he remained there for the rest of his life.
Beattie’s ‘Essay on Truth’ appeared after it occurred to him that there was a need for an aggressively written work in opposition to Hume, who was seen as a bit of a ‘Prince of Darkness’ by the religious fraternity. Beattie provided a powerful defence of religion in responding to Hume with counter-argument and ridicule, but the ‘Essay’ may never have seen the light of day for it found no willing publisher. In the end, his friends put up the money in order to get the unfashionable viewpoint published. It appeared in 1770 and was met with immediate success. In its day, it was received as a complete and triumphant refutation of all that had been advanced by the other side – in the opinion of its ‘side’. His defence of religion earned him an honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Oxford and a pension of £200 pounds a year from King George III. However, when it was suggested to the King that Beattie be given a position in the English Church, Geordie is reputed to have suggested that as Scotland abounds most in infidels, “it would be best for the general interests of religion that he [Beattie] should be kept there.”
In terms of his poetry; as early as 1756, Beattie had sent the odd poetical contribution to the ‘Scots Magazine’ and some of those were published in London, in 1760, as ‘Original Poems and Translations’. Those efforts received favourable attention and he was encouraged to write his ‘Essay on Poetry’ in 1762 and, in 1765, ‘The Judgment of Paris’. That latter piece “threatened to be as fatal to his poetical career as its subject had been to the Trojan state” – it was a bit too metaphysical for the public of the day. Some time in 1766, Beattie commenced his poetical masterpiece, which was to be a poem after the style of Spenser. Its subject was suggested to him by a dissertation on the old minstrels, but it took him until 1771 before the first part of ‘The Minstrel’ was published. Its success led to a second part, which appeared in 1774, but it was never completed. Maybe it’s the longest unfinished poem in the world, but it was the first of any length, in pure English, that had been published by a Scottish writer in his own country. Of it, his biographer, Forbes, wrote, “Of all [Beattie’s] poetical works, ‘the Minstrel’ is, beyond all question, the best… The language is extremely elegant, the versification harmonious, it exhibits the richest poetic imagery with a delightful flow of the most sublime, delicate, and pathetic sentiment. …In a word, it is at once highly conceived and admirably finished.”
Here’s a taster from ‘The Minstrel’ by James Beattie:
“How forth The Minstrel far'd in days of yore,
Right glad of heart, though homely in array;
His waving locks and beard all hoary grey:
And, from his bending shoulder, decent hung
His harp, the sole companion of his way,
Which to the whistling wind responsive rung:
And ever as he went some merry lay he sung.”
Professor James Beattie died in Aberdeen on the 18th of August, 1803, after lingering for almost a year after a stroke of palsy. He was buried close to his two sons in the ancient cemetery of St Nicholas.
Proclamation of Pardon for the Jacobite Clans
A Proclamation of Pardon for the Highland Jacobite Clans was given by King William I (William of Orange) on the 17th of August, 1691.
In 1688 there began the ‘Jacobite Wars’, which were to last all of fifty-seven years before coming to a last dramatic end at Culloden. Some call them ‘Jacobite Rebellions’; patriots, the ‘Jacobite Risings’. What’s in a name. The victors get to proclaim the triumph. When you look back at those events, ye maun ask, who was rebelling against whom? When King James VII & II fought for his Kingdom against the aggressor that sought to depose him and lost, he escaped to France for sanctuary. His adversaries back home in his own country, supposed loyal subjects, played it very cute. They said, "You’re our King, you should be here. How come you’re not here? Ah yes, we´ll say you’ve abdicated, right, that’s what you’ve done. Oh well, we’d better appoint yon William of Orange in your place. You cannae complain, you’ve buggered off for a holiday in Paris." One side cries "Foul!" The other side calls it ‘The Glorious Revolution’. Thereafter, there occurred several ‘Jacobite Wars’.
The Jacobite Wars began in Scotland with the raising of the standard of James VII & II at Dundee Law by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, on the 16th of April, 1689. There followed the battles of Killiecrankie, on the 27th of July, Dunkeld, on the 21st of August, 1689, and the Haughs of Cromdale, on the 1st of May, 1690. Meanwhile, in Ireland James’ own army was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne, on the 12th of July, 1690, and the Irish Jacobites were finally defeated after the Battle of Aughrim, in October, 1691. The Jacobite Wars were to be continued, to some greater or lesser extent, in the years of 1708, 1709, 1715, 1719 and 1745/6. But, back in 1691, William of Orange was a forgiving soul; he could afford to be or maybe he just had a guilty conscience, married as he was to the daughter of the man he’d just usurped. Such behaviour was par for the course in those days, of course, so we mustn’t be too judgemental.
Following Killiecrankie, in 1689, the Government tried to get the Clans ‘on side’ with an offer of peace, which was at the urging of John Campbell, the 1st Earl of Breadalbane. However, on the 17th of August, 1689, the Highland Chiefs sent a letter to General Hugh MacKay, scornfully rejecting the overtures of peace. The following March, William of Orange commissioned Lord Tarbat to offer a bribe to the major Clans. As much as £2,000 and any title less than an Earldom was to be offered to Glengarry, Clanranald, Sleate, Duart, Lochiel or the uncle of Seaforth, if they would ‘come in’. To back up the bribe and show what the alternative would be, General MacKay restored a fort at Inverlochy and christened it in honour of his King – hence Fort William. MacKay declared it was strong enough to withstand any attack by the Clans, but they weren’t intimidated.
The following year, after Cromdale, the Crown issued an order requiring an Oath of Allegiance from the Chiefs of the Clans and their principal tenants. Breadalbane took a deceitful hand and called a meeting of all the major Chieftains at which, instead of offering the intended Government incentives, instead offered only threats and airy-fairy promises, ‘playing both ends against the middle’ as the phrase goes. That meeting took place at Achallader on the 30th of June, 1691 and when MacKay was informed of Breadalbane’s deceits, he described his (very accurately) as "one of the chiefest and cunningest fomentors of the trouble of that kingdom not for the love of King James, but to make himself necessary to the government . . . as cunning as a fox, wise as a serpent, slippery as an eel . . . He knows neither honour nor religion but where they are mixed with interest . . . always on the side he can get most by, and will get all he can by both." Sir John Dalrymple, Master of Stair and Secretary of State for Scotland, spoke up for the Campbell, but the fact remains that the bribes were not paid, nor was the money returned to the Treasury. If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll probably like to know that another Campbell, the Duke of Argyll, was a Lord of the Treasury and a close companion of King Willie.
The Clan Chiefs had been asked to swear an Oath, but trusting neither Campbell nor MacKay, they refused to submit until their ‘ex-King’ absolved them of their vows of loyalty. But before that could happen, a new Royal Proclamation was issued on the 17th of August, 1691, which offered all Highland Clans a ‘pardon’ for their part in the Jacobite ‘Uprising’. That new decree laid down fresh terms of compliance and promised ‘the utmost extremity of the law’ against all who should not have taken the Oath of Allegiance to King William III by the 1st of January, 1692. Wee Wullie had run out of patience. The Proclamation required that "[the Clans] should plead and take benefit of this our gracious indemnity, shall swear and sign the oath of allegiance to us by themselves, or a sheriff clerk subscribing for such as cannot write, and that before famous witnesses, betwixt and the first day of January next to come, in the presence of the Lords of our Privy Council, or the sheriffs, or their deputies, of the respective shires where any of the said persons live."
They Highland Chiefs promptly sent word to James VII & I in France, asking for his permission to take the oath. It appears James was a bit thrawn and took his time replying as it was mid-December before his authorisation to take the oath arrived. Despite difficult winter conditions, a good many took the oath in time. Government reports show that Locheil, Appin Keppoch, and Clanranald (by proxy) took the oath. Glengarry did not meet the required date, but did so on the 4th of February, 1691. Another man who failed to meet the deadline was Alastair MacIain, 12th Chief of Glencoe. He eventually swore his allegiance before the Campbell Sheriff of Argyll, on the 6th of January. However, he wasn’t treated as leniently as Glengarry, as history infamously records. He crossed the dead line, whilst still half asleep and being hauled from his bed in the village of Glencoe on the 13th of February, 1692. He died along with thirty-eight MacDonald men and another forty women and children of the Clan died of exposure after their homes were burned. That was the brutality of the Massacre of Glencoe. By the Spring of 1692, all of the Jacobite Chiefs had sworn allegiance to King William.
In 1688 there began the ‘Jacobite Wars’, which were to last all of fifty-seven years before coming to a last dramatic end at Culloden. Some call them ‘Jacobite Rebellions’; patriots, the ‘Jacobite Risings’. What’s in a name. The victors get to proclaim the triumph. When you look back at those events, ye maun ask, who was rebelling against whom? When King James VII & II fought for his Kingdom against the aggressor that sought to depose him and lost, he escaped to France for sanctuary. His adversaries back home in his own country, supposed loyal subjects, played it very cute. They said, "You’re our King, you should be here. How come you’re not here? Ah yes, we´ll say you’ve abdicated, right, that’s what you’ve done. Oh well, we’d better appoint yon William of Orange in your place. You cannae complain, you’ve buggered off for a holiday in Paris." One side cries "Foul!" The other side calls it ‘The Glorious Revolution’. Thereafter, there occurred several ‘Jacobite Wars’.
The Jacobite Wars began in Scotland with the raising of the standard of James VII & II at Dundee Law by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, on the 16th of April, 1689. There followed the battles of Killiecrankie, on the 27th of July, Dunkeld, on the 21st of August, 1689, and the Haughs of Cromdale, on the 1st of May, 1690. Meanwhile, in Ireland James’ own army was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne, on the 12th of July, 1690, and the Irish Jacobites were finally defeated after the Battle of Aughrim, in October, 1691. The Jacobite Wars were to be continued, to some greater or lesser extent, in the years of 1708, 1709, 1715, 1719 and 1745/6. But, back in 1691, William of Orange was a forgiving soul; he could afford to be or maybe he just had a guilty conscience, married as he was to the daughter of the man he’d just usurped. Such behaviour was par for the course in those days, of course, so we mustn’t be too judgemental.
Following Killiecrankie, in 1689, the Government tried to get the Clans ‘on side’ with an offer of peace, which was at the urging of John Campbell, the 1st Earl of Breadalbane. However, on the 17th of August, 1689, the Highland Chiefs sent a letter to General Hugh MacKay, scornfully rejecting the overtures of peace. The following March, William of Orange commissioned Lord Tarbat to offer a bribe to the major Clans. As much as £2,000 and any title less than an Earldom was to be offered to Glengarry, Clanranald, Sleate, Duart, Lochiel or the uncle of Seaforth, if they would ‘come in’. To back up the bribe and show what the alternative would be, General MacKay restored a fort at Inverlochy and christened it in honour of his King – hence Fort William. MacKay declared it was strong enough to withstand any attack by the Clans, but they weren’t intimidated.
The following year, after Cromdale, the Crown issued an order requiring an Oath of Allegiance from the Chiefs of the Clans and their principal tenants. Breadalbane took a deceitful hand and called a meeting of all the major Chieftains at which, instead of offering the intended Government incentives, instead offered only threats and airy-fairy promises, ‘playing both ends against the middle’ as the phrase goes. That meeting took place at Achallader on the 30th of June, 1691 and when MacKay was informed of Breadalbane’s deceits, he described his (very accurately) as "one of the chiefest and cunningest fomentors of the trouble of that kingdom not for the love of King James, but to make himself necessary to the government . . . as cunning as a fox, wise as a serpent, slippery as an eel . . . He knows neither honour nor religion but where they are mixed with interest . . . always on the side he can get most by, and will get all he can by both." Sir John Dalrymple, Master of Stair and Secretary of State for Scotland, spoke up for the Campbell, but the fact remains that the bribes were not paid, nor was the money returned to the Treasury. If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll probably like to know that another Campbell, the Duke of Argyll, was a Lord of the Treasury and a close companion of King Willie.
The Clan Chiefs had been asked to swear an Oath, but trusting neither Campbell nor MacKay, they refused to submit until their ‘ex-King’ absolved them of their vows of loyalty. But before that could happen, a new Royal Proclamation was issued on the 17th of August, 1691, which offered all Highland Clans a ‘pardon’ for their part in the Jacobite ‘Uprising’. That new decree laid down fresh terms of compliance and promised ‘the utmost extremity of the law’ against all who should not have taken the Oath of Allegiance to King William III by the 1st of January, 1692. Wee Wullie had run out of patience. The Proclamation required that "[the Clans] should plead and take benefit of this our gracious indemnity, shall swear and sign the oath of allegiance to us by themselves, or a sheriff clerk subscribing for such as cannot write, and that before famous witnesses, betwixt and the first day of January next to come, in the presence of the Lords of our Privy Council, or the sheriffs, or their deputies, of the respective shires where any of the said persons live."
They Highland Chiefs promptly sent word to James VII & I in France, asking for his permission to take the oath. It appears James was a bit thrawn and took his time replying as it was mid-December before his authorisation to take the oath arrived. Despite difficult winter conditions, a good many took the oath in time. Government reports show that Locheil, Appin Keppoch, and Clanranald (by proxy) took the oath. Glengarry did not meet the required date, but did so on the 4th of February, 1691. Another man who failed to meet the deadline was Alastair MacIain, 12th Chief of Glencoe. He eventually swore his allegiance before the Campbell Sheriff of Argyll, on the 6th of January. However, he wasn’t treated as leniently as Glengarry, as history infamously records. He crossed the dead line, whilst still half asleep and being hauled from his bed in the village of Glencoe on the 13th of February, 1692. He died along with thirty-eight MacDonald men and another forty women and children of the Clan died of exposure after their homes were burned. That was the brutality of the Massacre of Glencoe. By the Spring of 1692, all of the Jacobite Chiefs had sworn allegiance to King William.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Macbeth, King of Scots
Macbeth, King of Scots, died in the Battle of Lumphanan on the 15th of August, 1057.
Macbeth ruled Scotland following his defeat and killing of Duncan I in a battle at Spynie. Macbeth was seen as a wise and good King of Alba, who ruled his country for seventeen years from his castle at Dunsinane, north of Perth. He is regarded as one of the more successful early Scottish Kings and his rule was marked by efficient government and the imposition of law and order. A verse history, the ‘Prophecy of Berchan’ describes Macbeth as “the generous king of Fortriu” and “the red, tall, golden-haired one”, which gave him the nickname of ‘Rí Deircc’ (the Red King). The near contemporary ‘Duan Albanach’ calls him “Mac Bethad the renowned”. Macbeth ruled equably and encouraged Christianity, which was an important thing in the ‘Dark Ages’. The various ‘Annals’ state that Macbeth travelled to Rome in 1050 and in so doing, he became the only reigning King of Scotland to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Of course, it says a lot for about how secure he felt in his position, that he could leave the country for several months on such a journey, and it is surely a sign of domestic political and economic stability. In ‘Marianus Scotus’, it is said that whilst in Rome he “scattered alms like seed corn”, which Andrew of Wyntoun's metrical poem, ‘Orygynale Cronykil’, confirms with the line “In pilgrimage hither he came, and in almus he sew siller”. Macbeth was also a brave leader and he had to be, for ultimately there were attempts upon his Throne, by the relatives of Duncan I. Whatever peace there was did not last.
Mac Bethad mac Findláich mac Ruaridh was born in Moray, some time between 1000 and 1005. His father was Mormaor of Moray, which was the ancient title of provincial, Celtic sub-Kings (recorded in Latin as ‘comes’ and effectively, an Earl). His mother was Donada (Donalda), who was most likely a daughter, rather than a granddaughter, of Malcolm II, judging by Macbeth’s birth date. If so, Macbeth, like Duncan I, was a grandson of Malcolm II. In Macbeth's time, the Mortuath of Moray that his father ruled extended much further than its present-day borders and included the area around Inverness. Around 1020, his father was killed by Macbeth’s cousin, who became Mormaor. The ‘Annals of Ulster’ and the ‘Annals of Tigernach’ differ on that issue, with the latter suggesting that is was Gille Comgáin, the son of Findláich’s brother, Máel Brigte, who was responsible.
It appears that at some early stage, Macbeth became part of the Royal Court of Malcolm II, where he would have been in close company with his future King, Duncan. Some historians have also identified Macbeth with MaelBaethe, one of two ‘Kings’ who, according to the ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’, accompanied Malcolm II in paying homage to King Cnut (Canute) in 1031. This is very unlikely as Macbeth didn’t succeed to the Mortuath of Moray until the following year and wasn’t seen as being senior to Duncan, for example, who was being lined up for the Regal succession by Malcolm II. It is more likely that MaelBaethe was Malcolm mac Bodhe, a grandson of Kenneth II and brother of Macbeth’s future wife, Gruoch, or the father of those two, Bodhe mac Cináeda (Boede or Boedhe), a son of Kenneth II. In the course of events, Malcolm II was responsible for the deaths of both of those men. Actually, Gruoch’s father could have been a son of either Kenneth II or Kenneth III, both descendants of Kenneth mac Alpin, but in any case, that lineage gave legitimacy to Macbeth’s claim to the Throne.
Macbeth became Mormaor (Rí or sub-King) of Moray in 1032, after his cousin, Gille Comgáin, and fifty of his followers were trapped in a building and burned to death. Those killings were either an act of revenge for his father's death on the part of Macbeth, or the ridding of a rival by Malcolm II. Both suggestions are plausible as is one in which both men were complicit; intimating Malcolm was ultimately responsible, regardless of who gave the order for the fire. Gille Comgáin had been married to Gruoch and in 1034, after his horrible death, she was quite happy to marry Macbeth. Maybe that is significant; it is unlikely to have been true love. Macbeth has also been described in some ‘Annals’ as ‘King’ of Fortriu, but that is really just an earlier name for what was by then Moray. As Mormaor of Moray, Macbeth exerted influence beyond his immediate environs; there is evidence that he owned land elsewhere and was able to grant estates in West Fife.
When Malcolm II died at Glamis, on the 25th of November, 1034, Duncan became King, despite others having equally compelling claims. Malcolm’s will prevailed and Duncan was cute enough to make sure that it did. Whatever Macbeth thought of it all is not recorded, but he bided his time. Duncan was not a successful King and his prestige was dealt a severe blow when he suffered an ignominious defeat during an attempted siege of Durham in 1039. That defeat led to insurrection by the Mormaors, who wanted to “put hyme [Duncan] down” and declared for Macbeth. Duncan marched north to bring a rebellious Macbeth to heel and, while Macbeth was at the River Lossie facing the King of Dublin, Duncan was met by Macbeth’s half-borther, Thorfinn ‘Raven Feeder’, at Torfness (Burghead), on the 14th of August, 1040. Duncan fled that battle, but was then intercepted by Macbeth who killed him during a secondary battle, which took place near Spynie. Within two weeks of the decisive battle, Macbeth had moved to Scone, where he was inaugurated as their ‘Ard Rí’ (High King) in the traditional way on the Moot Hill.
In 1046, Earl Siward of Northumbria, together with Malcolm Canmore, the exiled son of Duncan I, invaded Alba in order to depose Macbeth. That move was sanctioned by Edward the Confessor, King of England. After an initial setback, Macbeth won a second battle and sent Siward packing, but he came back a few years later, in 1054. Malcolm Canmore and Siward defeated Macbeth’s army at the Battle of Dunsinane Hill on the 24th of July and Macbeth was forced to cede the southern part of his Kingdom to Malcolm. He was still notionally the King and remained so for a further three years, but perhaps isolated back in Moray, for Malcolm seems to have taken over Perth and Fife. Then, on the 15th of August, 1057, Macbeth made his last stand when he was defeated and killed by the army of Malcolm Canmore at the Battle of Lumphanan. Seventeen years to the month after he had killed Duncan I, Macbeth was himself killed by Duncan’s son.
Macbeth’s stepson, Lulach, managed to get himself installed as King, but his reign lasted only a few short months, before he too was killed by Malcolm, at Essie, near Strathbogie, in March 1058. Malcolm Canmore restored the House of Dunkeld and ruled as Malcolm III from 1058 until 1093. Like many of his predecessors, Macbeth was buried on Iona.
Macbeth ruled Scotland following his defeat and killing of Duncan I in a battle at Spynie. Macbeth was seen as a wise and good King of Alba, who ruled his country for seventeen years from his castle at Dunsinane, north of Perth. He is regarded as one of the more successful early Scottish Kings and his rule was marked by efficient government and the imposition of law and order. A verse history, the ‘Prophecy of Berchan’ describes Macbeth as “the generous king of Fortriu” and “the red, tall, golden-haired one”, which gave him the nickname of ‘Rí Deircc’ (the Red King). The near contemporary ‘Duan Albanach’ calls him “Mac Bethad the renowned”. Macbeth ruled equably and encouraged Christianity, which was an important thing in the ‘Dark Ages’. The various ‘Annals’ state that Macbeth travelled to Rome in 1050 and in so doing, he became the only reigning King of Scotland to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Of course, it says a lot for about how secure he felt in his position, that he could leave the country for several months on such a journey, and it is surely a sign of domestic political and economic stability. In ‘Marianus Scotus’, it is said that whilst in Rome he “scattered alms like seed corn”, which Andrew of Wyntoun's metrical poem, ‘Orygynale Cronykil’, confirms with the line “In pilgrimage hither he came, and in almus he sew siller”. Macbeth was also a brave leader and he had to be, for ultimately there were attempts upon his Throne, by the relatives of Duncan I. Whatever peace there was did not last.
Mac Bethad mac Findláich mac Ruaridh was born in Moray, some time between 1000 and 1005. His father was Mormaor of Moray, which was the ancient title of provincial, Celtic sub-Kings (recorded in Latin as ‘comes’ and effectively, an Earl). His mother was Donada (Donalda), who was most likely a daughter, rather than a granddaughter, of Malcolm II, judging by Macbeth’s birth date. If so, Macbeth, like Duncan I, was a grandson of Malcolm II. In Macbeth's time, the Mortuath of Moray that his father ruled extended much further than its present-day borders and included the area around Inverness. Around 1020, his father was killed by Macbeth’s cousin, who became Mormaor. The ‘Annals of Ulster’ and the ‘Annals of Tigernach’ differ on that issue, with the latter suggesting that is was Gille Comgáin, the son of Findláich’s brother, Máel Brigte, who was responsible.
It appears that at some early stage, Macbeth became part of the Royal Court of Malcolm II, where he would have been in close company with his future King, Duncan. Some historians have also identified Macbeth with MaelBaethe, one of two ‘Kings’ who, according to the ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’, accompanied Malcolm II in paying homage to King Cnut (Canute) in 1031. This is very unlikely as Macbeth didn’t succeed to the Mortuath of Moray until the following year and wasn’t seen as being senior to Duncan, for example, who was being lined up for the Regal succession by Malcolm II. It is more likely that MaelBaethe was Malcolm mac Bodhe, a grandson of Kenneth II and brother of Macbeth’s future wife, Gruoch, or the father of those two, Bodhe mac Cináeda (Boede or Boedhe), a son of Kenneth II. In the course of events, Malcolm II was responsible for the deaths of both of those men. Actually, Gruoch’s father could have been a son of either Kenneth II or Kenneth III, both descendants of Kenneth mac Alpin, but in any case, that lineage gave legitimacy to Macbeth’s claim to the Throne.
Macbeth became Mormaor (Rí or sub-King) of Moray in 1032, after his cousin, Gille Comgáin, and fifty of his followers were trapped in a building and burned to death. Those killings were either an act of revenge for his father's death on the part of Macbeth, or the ridding of a rival by Malcolm II. Both suggestions are plausible as is one in which both men were complicit; intimating Malcolm was ultimately responsible, regardless of who gave the order for the fire. Gille Comgáin had been married to Gruoch and in 1034, after his horrible death, she was quite happy to marry Macbeth. Maybe that is significant; it is unlikely to have been true love. Macbeth has also been described in some ‘Annals’ as ‘King’ of Fortriu, but that is really just an earlier name for what was by then Moray. As Mormaor of Moray, Macbeth exerted influence beyond his immediate environs; there is evidence that he owned land elsewhere and was able to grant estates in West Fife.
When Malcolm II died at Glamis, on the 25th of November, 1034, Duncan became King, despite others having equally compelling claims. Malcolm’s will prevailed and Duncan was cute enough to make sure that it did. Whatever Macbeth thought of it all is not recorded, but he bided his time. Duncan was not a successful King and his prestige was dealt a severe blow when he suffered an ignominious defeat during an attempted siege of Durham in 1039. That defeat led to insurrection by the Mormaors, who wanted to “put hyme [Duncan] down” and declared for Macbeth. Duncan marched north to bring a rebellious Macbeth to heel and, while Macbeth was at the River Lossie facing the King of Dublin, Duncan was met by Macbeth’s half-borther, Thorfinn ‘Raven Feeder’, at Torfness (Burghead), on the 14th of August, 1040. Duncan fled that battle, but was then intercepted by Macbeth who killed him during a secondary battle, which took place near Spynie. Within two weeks of the decisive battle, Macbeth had moved to Scone, where he was inaugurated as their ‘Ard Rí’ (High King) in the traditional way on the Moot Hill.
In 1046, Earl Siward of Northumbria, together with Malcolm Canmore, the exiled son of Duncan I, invaded Alba in order to depose Macbeth. That move was sanctioned by Edward the Confessor, King of England. After an initial setback, Macbeth won a second battle and sent Siward packing, but he came back a few years later, in 1054. Malcolm Canmore and Siward defeated Macbeth’s army at the Battle of Dunsinane Hill on the 24th of July and Macbeth was forced to cede the southern part of his Kingdom to Malcolm. He was still notionally the King and remained so for a further three years, but perhaps isolated back in Moray, for Malcolm seems to have taken over Perth and Fife. Then, on the 15th of August, 1057, Macbeth made his last stand when he was defeated and killed by the army of Malcolm Canmore at the Battle of Lumphanan. Seventeen years to the month after he had killed Duncan I, Macbeth was himself killed by Duncan’s son.
Macbeth’s stepson, Lulach, managed to get himself installed as King, but his reign lasted only a few short months, before he too was killed by Malcolm, at Essie, near Strathbogie, in March 1058. Malcolm Canmore restored the House of Dunkeld and ruled as Malcolm III from 1058 until 1093. Like many of his predecessors, Macbeth was buried on Iona.
Friday, 13 August 2010
John Logie Baird
John Logie Baird, inventor of the first demonstrable, working television, was born on the 13th of August, 1888.
John Logie Baird was a Scottish engineer and undoubtedly the inventor of the world´s first, practicable, working television system. He was one of a number of independent inventors of similar technology, but he nevertheless deserves his place in history and the title, the ´Father of Television´, because it was Baird who brought the idea of television to the attention of the world. There were many experiments into television being carried out in the early 1920s, but there is no question that Baird’s electromechanical contraption was the first practical system to be demonstrated to work. Although his apparatus was eventually displaced by purely electronic devices, Baird’s early successes, coupled with his later inventions, earn him a preeminent place in the history of television.
As early as the 26th of July, 1923, Baird had been able to apply for a patent for his invention and in Hastings, in 1924, using his first crude apparatus – the ‘Televisor’ – he transmitted the flickering image of a Maltese cross over a distance of ten feet. After moving to London, he made the first public demonstration of television pictures with clear, half-tones of light and shade, in Selfridge´s store in April, 1925. By October, 1925, he had made improvements sufficient to be able to transmit the thirty-line image of a ventriloquist´s dummy named ‘Stooky Bill’ across the room. He then transmitted the first television image of a human being; the face of office boy, William Taynton. And famously, on the 26th of January, 1926, Baird gave the world´s first demonstration of a viable television system, using mechanical picture scanning equipment with electronic amplification. His original apparatus, used in that demonstration, which was given in his tiny attic laboratory at 22 Frith Street, Soho, to an invited gathering of fifty scientists, all members of the Royal Institution, is now preserved in the Science Museum.
In 1927, he formed the Baird Television Development Company and demonstrated television over 438 miles of telephone line between London and Glasgow. On the 9th of February of the following year, he made the first trans-Atlantic television transmissions, between London and New York. An editorial in the New York Times of the 11th of February, 1928, conveyed the news that "Baird was the first to achieve television at all, over any distance. Now he must be credited with having been the first to disembody the human form optically and electrically flash it piecemeal at incredible speed across the ocean, and then reassemble it for American eyes."
In the view of the NYT, Baird's success was of epochal importance, and the beginnings of a new branch of engineering. The New York Herald-Tribune of the 12th of February was equally complimentary in writing, "If it be appreciated also that Baird is an experimenter of the most classic type, and that he has been struggling along for years with the crudest of equipment, built in the skimpiest shop, his recent stunt is nothing short of marvellous."
That same year of 1928, Baird made the first transmission to a liner, the Berengaria, in mid-Atlantic. The list of Baird ‘firsts’ continued with the transmission of a performance of Pirandello´s play, ‘The Man with a Flower in His Mouth’, which was the first play to be performed on television in Britain – or anywhere in the world, for that matter. That play was broadcast on the 14th of July, 1930, just under a year before another first – the first outside broadcast; the Derby of June, 1931. Baird also gave the first demonstration of sequential-frame colour television, in early December, 1937, to the assembled Press. And, there was his all-electronic ´Telechrome´ colour television system, for which a receiver was first demonstrated to the press on the 16th of August, 1944. However, despite the undoubted brilliance of both the colour and stereoscopic television systems, the technologies were never implemented commercially until much later.
During his career, despite a lack of funds and lacking modern laboratory facilities, the driven, dogged and often poor John Logie Baird created a host of television technologies. His legacy includes: phonovision, a forerunner of the video recorder (which still relies largely on mechanical scanning); noctovision, an infra-red spotting system for ‘seeing’ in the dark; open-air television; a theater-projection system; stereoscopic colour TV; and the first high definition, fully electronic, colour television tube. He was also involved in the development of fibre-optics and radio direction finding. He patented a system that later became known as Radar, although his contribution to the development of radar during the Second World War has never been officially acknowledged and remains ‘classified’. Shortly before he died, in 1946, Baird was still drafting plans for a television with 1,000 lines of resolution and he had earlier patents for television with up to 1,700 lines of resolution, using interlacing technology. The world would not catch up with Baird’s ideas until 1990, when the Japanese introduced a TV with 1125 lines of resolution per frame.
John Logie Baird was born on the 13th of August, 1888, in Helensburgh, and attended Larchfield School. By the age of thirteen, he had designed a remote control for a camera, converted his father’s house to electric light, and constructed a small telephone exchange to connect his bedroom to those of his friends across the street. In 1906, he studied Electrical Engineering at the West of Scotland Technical College, before going on to Glasgow University. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War One and, due to problems with his health, instead of serving in the Forces, he served as Superintendent Engineer at the Clyde Valley Electrical Power Company. After the War, he set himself up in business and his first invention was the ´Baird Undersock´, which was not a success. Next, he emigrated to Trinidad, and tried his hand at jam making, but handicapped again by ill health, he returned to Britain. By late 1922, John Logie Baird had pitched up in Hastings, where he took lodgings. His first interest in television came in 1903, after he read a German book on the photoelectric properties of selenium. He then applied himself to creating a television and in his attic, virtually penniless, he constructed the world´s first television out of ‘odds and ends’. The base of his motor was a washstand stood on a tea-chest, the projection lamp was stuck in a biscuit tin, scanning disks were cut from cardboard, and the lenses were bicycle accessories, purloined at four pence each. The contrivance was held together by darning needles, string and sealing wax. And, wondrous story that it is, his television worked.
Of course, Baird was not the only man in the picture frame of television history. A number of scientists had made important discoveries that John Logie Baird would use in his development of the television. Sometime in the 19th Century, Henri Becquerel found that light could be changed into electricity and, importantly, Ferdinand Braun had invented the cathode ray tube. Significantly, in 1884, the German inventor, Paul Nipkow, created the ‘Elektrisches Teleskop’, which was a device for scanning a picture that could be viewed through an eyepiece. Baird’s first electromechanical television was based on the ‘Nipkow disc’. Interestingly, the word ‘television’ was first coined by Constantin Perskyi at the International Electricity Congress in Paris, in 1900. However, in terms of the evolution of television, a number of other scientists must be given great credit. In London in 1908, the idea of using a cathode ray system for displaying the television picture at the receiver was first proposed by a prominent electrical engineer, Alan A. Campbell-Swinton.
In 1923, Vladimir Kosma Zworykin took out a patent on an electronic television camera tube, but it was not demonstrated. Also in 1923, in the United States, Philo Taylor Farnsworth conceived a television system while still in high school, utilising a cathode ray tube. In September, 1927, he demonstrated the transmission of straight line images – or a moving blob of light; take your pick – from his first ‘Image Dissector’. By which time, of course, Baird had formed the Baird Television Development Company and was able to transmit proper images between London and Glasgow. By 1929, Farnsworth was still only able to show silhouettes. Later important contributions were made by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, who invented the revolutionary ‘Iconoscope’ in 1933 whilst working for RCA. Two years later, EMI unveiled the ‘Emitron’ camera tube, which was uncannily similar to Zworykin´s ‘Iconoscope’. Somewhere along the line, an American inventor named Charles Francis Jenkins patented a system with some similarity to Nipkow´s and demonstrated a crude television. AT&T first demonstrated a television system, developed by one of Bell Lab´s scientists, Herbert Ives, and based on Nipkow’s disc. Finally, General Electric also demonstrated a mechanical system, which was developed by Ernst Alexanderson.
John Logie Baird died at his home in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, on the 14th of June, 1946, and was buried in Helensburgh.
John Logie Baird was a Scottish engineer and undoubtedly the inventor of the world´s first, practicable, working television system. He was one of a number of independent inventors of similar technology, but he nevertheless deserves his place in history and the title, the ´Father of Television´, because it was Baird who brought the idea of television to the attention of the world. There were many experiments into television being carried out in the early 1920s, but there is no question that Baird’s electromechanical contraption was the first practical system to be demonstrated to work. Although his apparatus was eventually displaced by purely electronic devices, Baird’s early successes, coupled with his later inventions, earn him a preeminent place in the history of television.
As early as the 26th of July, 1923, Baird had been able to apply for a patent for his invention and in Hastings, in 1924, using his first crude apparatus – the ‘Televisor’ – he transmitted the flickering image of a Maltese cross over a distance of ten feet. After moving to London, he made the first public demonstration of television pictures with clear, half-tones of light and shade, in Selfridge´s store in April, 1925. By October, 1925, he had made improvements sufficient to be able to transmit the thirty-line image of a ventriloquist´s dummy named ‘Stooky Bill’ across the room. He then transmitted the first television image of a human being; the face of office boy, William Taynton. And famously, on the 26th of January, 1926, Baird gave the world´s first demonstration of a viable television system, using mechanical picture scanning equipment with electronic amplification. His original apparatus, used in that demonstration, which was given in his tiny attic laboratory at 22 Frith Street, Soho, to an invited gathering of fifty scientists, all members of the Royal Institution, is now preserved in the Science Museum.
In 1927, he formed the Baird Television Development Company and demonstrated television over 438 miles of telephone line between London and Glasgow. On the 9th of February of the following year, he made the first trans-Atlantic television transmissions, between London and New York. An editorial in the New York Times of the 11th of February, 1928, conveyed the news that "Baird was the first to achieve television at all, over any distance. Now he must be credited with having been the first to disembody the human form optically and electrically flash it piecemeal at incredible speed across the ocean, and then reassemble it for American eyes."
In the view of the NYT, Baird's success was of epochal importance, and the beginnings of a new branch of engineering. The New York Herald-Tribune of the 12th of February was equally complimentary in writing, "If it be appreciated also that Baird is an experimenter of the most classic type, and that he has been struggling along for years with the crudest of equipment, built in the skimpiest shop, his recent stunt is nothing short of marvellous."
That same year of 1928, Baird made the first transmission to a liner, the Berengaria, in mid-Atlantic. The list of Baird ‘firsts’ continued with the transmission of a performance of Pirandello´s play, ‘The Man with a Flower in His Mouth’, which was the first play to be performed on television in Britain – or anywhere in the world, for that matter. That play was broadcast on the 14th of July, 1930, just under a year before another first – the first outside broadcast; the Derby of June, 1931. Baird also gave the first demonstration of sequential-frame colour television, in early December, 1937, to the assembled Press. And, there was his all-electronic ´Telechrome´ colour television system, for which a receiver was first demonstrated to the press on the 16th of August, 1944. However, despite the undoubted brilliance of both the colour and stereoscopic television systems, the technologies were never implemented commercially until much later.
During his career, despite a lack of funds and lacking modern laboratory facilities, the driven, dogged and often poor John Logie Baird created a host of television technologies. His legacy includes: phonovision, a forerunner of the video recorder (which still relies largely on mechanical scanning); noctovision, an infra-red spotting system for ‘seeing’ in the dark; open-air television; a theater-projection system; stereoscopic colour TV; and the first high definition, fully electronic, colour television tube. He was also involved in the development of fibre-optics and radio direction finding. He patented a system that later became known as Radar, although his contribution to the development of radar during the Second World War has never been officially acknowledged and remains ‘classified’. Shortly before he died, in 1946, Baird was still drafting plans for a television with 1,000 lines of resolution and he had earlier patents for television with up to 1,700 lines of resolution, using interlacing technology. The world would not catch up with Baird’s ideas until 1990, when the Japanese introduced a TV with 1125 lines of resolution per frame.
John Logie Baird was born on the 13th of August, 1888, in Helensburgh, and attended Larchfield School. By the age of thirteen, he had designed a remote control for a camera, converted his father’s house to electric light, and constructed a small telephone exchange to connect his bedroom to those of his friends across the street. In 1906, he studied Electrical Engineering at the West of Scotland Technical College, before going on to Glasgow University. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War One and, due to problems with his health, instead of serving in the Forces, he served as Superintendent Engineer at the Clyde Valley Electrical Power Company. After the War, he set himself up in business and his first invention was the ´Baird Undersock´, which was not a success. Next, he emigrated to Trinidad, and tried his hand at jam making, but handicapped again by ill health, he returned to Britain. By late 1922, John Logie Baird had pitched up in Hastings, where he took lodgings. His first interest in television came in 1903, after he read a German book on the photoelectric properties of selenium. He then applied himself to creating a television and in his attic, virtually penniless, he constructed the world´s first television out of ‘odds and ends’. The base of his motor was a washstand stood on a tea-chest, the projection lamp was stuck in a biscuit tin, scanning disks were cut from cardboard, and the lenses were bicycle accessories, purloined at four pence each. The contrivance was held together by darning needles, string and sealing wax. And, wondrous story that it is, his television worked.
Of course, Baird was not the only man in the picture frame of television history. A number of scientists had made important discoveries that John Logie Baird would use in his development of the television. Sometime in the 19th Century, Henri Becquerel found that light could be changed into electricity and, importantly, Ferdinand Braun had invented the cathode ray tube. Significantly, in 1884, the German inventor, Paul Nipkow, created the ‘Elektrisches Teleskop’, which was a device for scanning a picture that could be viewed through an eyepiece. Baird’s first electromechanical television was based on the ‘Nipkow disc’. Interestingly, the word ‘television’ was first coined by Constantin Perskyi at the International Electricity Congress in Paris, in 1900. However, in terms of the evolution of television, a number of other scientists must be given great credit. In London in 1908, the idea of using a cathode ray system for displaying the television picture at the receiver was first proposed by a prominent electrical engineer, Alan A. Campbell-Swinton.
In 1923, Vladimir Kosma Zworykin took out a patent on an electronic television camera tube, but it was not demonstrated. Also in 1923, in the United States, Philo Taylor Farnsworth conceived a television system while still in high school, utilising a cathode ray tube. In September, 1927, he demonstrated the transmission of straight line images – or a moving blob of light; take your pick – from his first ‘Image Dissector’. By which time, of course, Baird had formed the Baird Television Development Company and was able to transmit proper images between London and Glasgow. By 1929, Farnsworth was still only able to show silhouettes. Later important contributions were made by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, who invented the revolutionary ‘Iconoscope’ in 1933 whilst working for RCA. Two years later, EMI unveiled the ‘Emitron’ camera tube, which was uncannily similar to Zworykin´s ‘Iconoscope’. Somewhere along the line, an American inventor named Charles Francis Jenkins patented a system with some similarity to Nipkow´s and demonstrated a crude television. AT&T first demonstrated a television system, developed by one of Bell Lab´s scientists, Herbert Ives, and based on Nipkow’s disc. Finally, General Electric also demonstrated a mechanical system, which was developed by Ernst Alexanderson.
John Logie Baird died at his home in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, on the 14th of June, 1946, and was buried in Helensburgh.
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