The Jacobite Legacy
Relic of Charles Edward Stuart’s kilt ABDUA:63392
The acceptance of defeat and the death of those who lived through the Jacobite Risings did not lead to the death of Jacobite imagery.
The landmark publication of Walter Scott’s Waverley in 1814, and its powerful cultural influence, shaped Scottish identity both at home and abroad with a constructed vision of a mythical Highland past.
The Jacobite cause has also been remembered by the collecting of Jacobite memorabilia, from battlefield relics to paintings of an imagined Scotland.
Writers, composers, collectors and artists have created romantic memorials to a dream and for many, Scotland has become associated with the Highlands, exile and loss.
Loch Awe by Horatio McCulloch ABDUA:31084
Horatio McCulloch was the leading Scottish Romantic landscape painter of the 19th Century, whose paintings created a romantic Highland image of the country. By the time this work was painted in the mid-19th century, the image of Scotland was synonymous with the Highlands.
Now that there was little possibility of a Jacobite rising threatening an increasingly modern, industrial Scotland, the Jacobites were considered suitable characters for a romanticised history.
This was strongly encouraged by the poetry and fiction of Walter Scott which leant Scotland a tragic and heroic history. Stories were often played out in archetypal Highland landscapes, such as Loch Awe, and featured iconic figures such as William Wallace, Robert Bruce and Charles Edward Stuart. Desolate landscapes, ruined castles and dramatic skies captured for Victorians a romantic, idealised Scotland.
Sir Walter Scott and ‘Waverley’
Walter Scott’s first novel ‘Waverley’, published in 1814, tells the story of a young Englishman who travels to Scotland and inadvertently becomes involved in the 1745 Rising. Scott incorporates elements of Highland culture and superstition into his work, such as the appearance of the Bodach Glas, depicted here in a cheap, unauthorised chapbook version of the novel.
Scott’s legacy remains controversial. For some, his Jacobite novels tie this defeated cause to a romantic version of both the Highlands and Scotland. Others argue that his fiction helps keep alive a representation of Jacobitism that is crucial to modern Scottish national identity. The Rob Roy comic book demonstrates that his work remained hugely popular into the 20th century and was transformed into many different media. However he is interpreted, Scott played a significant part in the artistic construction of Jacobitism and his work has had a lasting legacy on how Jacobitism is perceived both in Scotland and worldwide.
18th century quaich ABDUA:18083
This quaich is recorded as having been rescued during the 1745 Rising. The base is inscribed, “Am fear nach cuir ri charaid no ri namhaid” (‘May he never turn his back on friend or foe’), while the three lugs are inscribed “Graidh agus commun” (‘Love and friendship’), “Slainte ʼn fearnach treig a Choumpanach” (‘Prosperity to the man who never deserts his companion’) and “Ma’ng’ Cuirt é”(‘Put it round’).
The Jacobite movement was diverse and included Scots and English, Catholics and Protestants, and speakers of Gaelic, English and Scots. Charles Edward Stuart was not a Gaelic speaker, however Gaelic-speaking leaders and soldiers were an important part of the Jacobite army, and the Rising can be seen as having begun and ended in the Gàidhealtachd. The identification of Gaelic culture with the Jacobites was also seen in the prohibition of many aspects of Gaelic culture, such as the wearing of tartan, following the 1745 Rising. The growth of a romantic Highlandism in the 19th century has, however, led to a simplistic equation of Jacobitism and Gaelic language that downplays both the sophistication of Gaelic culture and the importance of non-Gaelic speakers.
Gallery
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Pin cushion
Made in the aftermath of the 1745 Rising, this satin pin cushion has been printed with the names of those who died. Inscribed around a Jacobite rose is the phrase 'MART FOR K & COU: 1746' - martyred for King and Country. This would have been a small, private souvenir, from a time when more public displays of Jacobitism would have been considered treasonous.
Relic of Charles Edward Stuart’s kilt
This fragment of a kilt was supposedly worn by Charles Edward Stuart three days before the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Stuarts made use of the value of relics and the loyalty that they encouraged. The notes accompanying this fragment of tartan say that Charles “usually presented the plaid he wore to the Lady of the house who gave him a return one made by herself”. The authenticity of the relic is emphasised by the story of its provenance, “presented to the Lady Macintosh of Moy Hall, who gave it to Miss Gordon of Balbithan from whom it descended to her Grand Niece, Mrs Urquhart of Meldrum”.
Jacobite buttons
Many mementos and Jacobite insignia were kept after the defeats of the risings by descendents of those involved. These buttons are part of a set with the Jacobite rose clearly shown on the front, suggesting that they probably date to a time when it was safe to make such an overt display of Jacobite identity.
Snuff mulls The lid of the dark wood and silver snuff shows two entwined hearts with the motto 'Rob Gib's Contract', which was a Jacobite password. Rob Gib was James V's Master of Horse and when asked what contract he served under replied, “I serve for nae penny fee but for stark loving kindness”. The silver snuff mull’s lid is inscribed with a Jacobite rose surrounded by the owner's name, 'William Forbes of Blacktoun'. On the front is the coat of arms of the Forbes family with the three boar heads and the words 'EUIR ESCO' (Scotland Forever).
Although the dates the snuff mulls were made are unknown, they were preserved as supposed relics of the Jacobite Risings.