Dugald Buchanan
Dugald Buchanan (Dùghall Bochanan in Gaelic) (Ardoch Farm,
Background
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Kinloch_Rannoch_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1504649.jpg/350px-Kinloch_Rannoch_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1504649.jpg)
When the reprisals ceased, the warriors returned. However, without crops or cattle, there seemed no alternative open to them but thieving, and sheer hunger drove them to commit savage deeds. A Captain Patton of Guise's Regiment said 'the people of this country (Rannoch) are the greatest thieves in Scotland and were all in the late rebellion, except for a few. They have a great number of arms but they keep them concealed from us.'
Though traumatised by the violent history of the times in which he lived, his passions ultimately turned to the spiritual and the poetic, as L. Macbean commented: 'Though Buchanan himself had not espoused the Jacobite cause, this cold-bloodcd massacre of his friends roused the old Highlander in him, and for a time not even his new-found religion could banish wild thoughts of revenge from his mind. However, after a mental conflict that continued for years, the genius of Christianity at last prevailed, and he learned to forgive.' (L. Macbean, "Sketch of the Author's Life" in Dugald Buchanan's Spiritual Songs, Edinburgh, 1884).
Life
Dugald Buchanan was a teacher and an evangelist, preaching at large open air meetings, which upwards of 500 people attended. He showed great courage as he persuaded the 'wild men' of Rannoch to give up their lawlessness and savage ways. He and his wife taught them new trades and crafts. They worked with James Small, formerly an Ensign in Lord Loudoun's Regiment, who had been appointed by the Commissioners for the Forfeited Estates to run the Rannoch estates which had been seized from the clan chieftains who had supported the Jacobites. The tiny hamlet at the east end of Loch Rannoch, now known as Kinloch Rannoch, was enlarged and settled, mainly by soldiers being discharged from the army, but also by displaced crofters.
A wide range of agricultural and other improvement works were undertaken across the estates, including drainage, road making and bridge building. Slowly peace and prosperity were brought to Rannoch. Flax and potatoes were introduced, mills built and spinning and weaving taught; a mason, joiner and wheelwright passed on their skills; a shoemaker and a tailor set up business.
Dugald Buchanan is buried in the Little Leny, Buchanan Burial Enclosure and Burial Ground near Callander, Stirling, Scotland, at the confluence of the Eas Gobhain and Garbh Uisge rivers.[3]
Work
Buchanan was a highly regarded religious poet who, strongly influenced by his reading of English Puritan writings, composed his celebrated Spiritual Hymns in a Scots Gaelic of a high quality that to some extent reflected the language of the classical Gaelic common to the bards of both Ireland and Scotland.
Buchanan and minister
Buchanan also translated some English Puritan literature into Gaelic.
Buchanan was considerably impressed by
Memorial
Buchanan is commemorated by a monument erected in The Square at Kinloch Rannoch and by the first church built at the Braes of Rannoch, or Georgetown as it was known at the time, named after King George. This latter name was swiftly changed again after the kings' soldiers' withdrawal from the area.[6][7]
References
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ "Monumental inscriptions at Little Leny, Callander". Scotland. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ Carmina Gadelica, Alexander Carmichael, printed by T. & A. Constable, Edinburgh, 1900.
- ^ Tales from Highland Perthshire, collected by Lady Evelyn Stewart Murray, translated and edited by Sylvia Robertson and Tony Dilworth, Scottish Gaelic Texts Society, Volume 20, 2009.
- ^ A History of Rannoch, A.D. Cunningham
- ^ Buchanan article and photo of the monument
Further reading
- Reminiscences of the Life and Labours of Dugald Buchanan with his Spiritual Songs, by the Rev. A. Sinclair, A.M., Kenmore, Machlachlan & Stewart, Edinburgh, 22nd Edition, 1885. Available from Archive.org.
- Laoidhean Spioradail Dhùghaill Bhochanan ("The Spiritual Hymns of Dugald Buchanan"), Editor: Donald Meek. Scottish Gaelic Texts Society, Volume 23, Glasgow, 2015.
- Murdoch, Adrian (ed.), Dugald Buchanan: The Bard of Rannoch, Rott Publishing, 2012. Kindle Edition. ASIN: B0080XRY94.
- interwiki see also gd:Bìoball article "Bible" on Scottish Gaelic Wikipedia
- 'The Skull' in Gaelic Bards and Original Poems, Thomas Pattison (ed.) Second edition. Glasgow: Archibald Sinclair, 1890. Available from the National Library of Scotland.