Tag Archives: scotland

Lost Causes

24 Sunday Jan 2010

Posted by in America, Books, General, Scotland

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When I’m not reading history essays and biographies, I like a good mystery (I also like a good historical romance, but that’s a story for another time).  Today’s read is by an author who I’ve read before, Sharyn McCrumb, but a series I have not, starring one Elizabeth MacPherson. I’m reading the first in the series, Sick of Shadows (first published 1984).

There is a point fairly early in the book (page 47 in my copy), where Elizabeth is teased by her cousins for  knowing so much about the history of the MacPhearson clan and their participation in the ’45, fighting with “Bonnie Prince Charlie.” Her cousin Geoffrey comments:

“I congratulate you on your originality,” purred Geoffrey. “It seems you have been unable to escape the Southern weakness for lost causes, but at least you managed to avoid the conventional one. I would rather hear you go on about the Scottish Alamo than to hear about the Confederacy.”

This comment, made though it was by a fictional Southern cynic, gave me pause. I am a Southerner, in case I’ve not mentioned that before (North Carolina, in case you were wondering), and yet I have no great fondness for lost causes. Underdogs, certainly, but that can be put down to the influence of Robin Hood and being a geeky child in general. I confess that I don’t view the Confederate cause as a great Romantic story; but then, I also find Lord Byron rather trying and suspect I would be likely to tread on his foot if I’d ever met him at a party.  Likewise, I see nothing ‘bonnie’ about Charles Edward Stuart’s character, although he certainly was handsome and charismatic when campaigning with the elite of Edinburgh.

The men who fought in both armies interest me, and the women who traveled with them. Both armies contained people who had been disenfranchised, and I wonder what they hoped the future would bring if they won. How the wars affected the lives of ordinary people, the long-term impact, interests me far more than the movements of units or the personalities of the figureheads.

Sometimes my lack of passionate interest in the Civil War and the cause of Bonnie Charlie makes me wonder just what kind of Southerner and Scottish-descended-American I am. Perhaps a new generation, one with a different romantic outlook than the past. Or perhaps the kind who has always preferred Robin Hood and Little John to King Richard and his Crusaders. Or simply one who also happens to be a social historian.

Tartan societies

19 Sunday Apr 2009

Posted by in America, organizations, Scotland, Social

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Today I attended the Washington DC St Andrews Society’s Kirkin of the Tartans. As the page from the Tartan Museum points out, it’s a very Scottish-American (and 20th century) tradition. I went with my father, who is a member of the DC St Andrew’s Society as well as Clan Scott USA.

I have to admit, as much as I love going out with my family to these events to watch people celebrate their heritage(s), but as a historian of (among other things) Scottish history, it’s a little difficult as well. The notion of “clans” and “tartans” which are discussed and celebrated at these events are generally a-historical. Tartans as we know them today (and as they are actively marketed in every major tourist town in Scotland) as “clan” identifier are an invention of the early 19th century. Plaids and tartans were worn, but not regimented in the way they are now. Every time I go to one of these gatherings, I think of the Sobieski Stuarts,a pair of English men who claimed to be related to Charles Edward Stuart and marketed the “Vestiarium Scoticum” a ‘reproduction’ of an ‘ancient text of clan tartans’ (it was all a con).  Not to mention the fact that half the “clans” are for Lowland and Borders families, whose ancestors would not have worn a kilt or had a clan in the highland sense.

I was sitting today in the gorgeous National Cathedral, thinking about all of this while we waited for the event to begin, and my mind wandered to the recent discussion of fraternaties at Historiann.com. The St Andrews Society of Washington, DC, is a charitable organization open only to men. It began in the 19th century, and incoporates the St Andrews Society of Alexandria, which was founded in the 1790s. I suddenly realized that this isn’t so much about History and Heritage (although the play a role) as much as it is about people’s continual need to make social groups of some kind. The St A’s Soc is a survivor of a sort of group which used to exist much more commonly – the (relatively) exclusive charitable organization. Clan Societies are a way of sharing an interest in Heritage, but perhaps also about constructing family groups in a time when so many genetic families are scattered.

I’m sure I’ve missed some facts or relevant comparisons – social clubs in america are not something I’ve ever conciously studied. On the other hand, with this insight, I’m now ready to face a Highland Games festival with a lighter heart.