The Cultural History of the Bagpipe in Britain, 1680-1840. Phd Thesis

Williams, Vivien Estelle (2013) The cultural history of the bagpipe in Britain, 1680-1840. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5085/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten:Theses http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The Cultural History of the Bagpipe in Britain, 1680-1840 Vivien Estelle Williams Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy Subject area: English Literature School of Critical Studies College of Arts University of Glasgow September 2013 Abstract In this thesis I seek to trace the cultural history of one of the most representative icons of Scottishness – the bagpipe – within the wider context of Great Britain in the period spanning from the advent of Jacobitism to late Romanticism. In developing my analysis I take into consideration a variety of literary, artistic and musical sources. By investigating the role and symbolism of the bagpipe in the various contexts, I endeavour to illustrate how the construction of the icon changed through time, according to the political and social situation. I argue that during the course of the eighteenth century a radical change in perspective took place; a transformation which is closely linked to Jacobitism and its effect on British politics. In this sense, the bagpipe underwent the same fate as tartan. Their stereotyping in literature and art in strictly Scottish terms acquires greater force especially with the advent of Jacobitism. In the various contexts they are portrayed in they always represent more than themselves. Recent studies about Scotland’s national fabric show how tartan, once the mark of disloyalty towards the British government, was gradually rehabilitated after the last Jacobite Rising into a garment of fashion, which we can see today worn by members of the Royal Family. Quite the same kind of study has not yet been undertaken about the bagpipe – and it is what I propose to do in the present thesis. The bagpipe in fact experienced a similar transition to tartan. What was once the instrument played by warring Jacobites and uncouth Scots in general progressively turned into a Romantic emblem, bearing the memory of a long-lost, virtuously martial past, rendering the bagpipe a more accessible and acceptable icon within a wider British frame. 2 Table of contents Abstract 2 Table of contents 3 Acknowledgements 5 Abbreviations 7 Author’s declaration 8 Introduction 9 Theoretical framework Literature review The present thesis Chapter 1: The bagpipe: history, legends and legacy 23 Introduction Early history Piping in the Middle Ages Chaucer’s Miller and his “baggepipe” Renaissance bagpipes The break in Gaelic society: consequences on piping The eighteenth century The nineteenth-century: military piping and Highland Societies The bagpipe today Chapter 2: Bagpipes in the Jacobite world 64 The Scot and stereotype Perceptions of the Jacobite The Jacobites and their pipes: external reception The dark side of the pipes: the bagpipe in print Rehabilitating the Gael The Scots and Jacobites and their pipes: internal perspective 3 Chapter 3: Military pipers 121 Creating a notion of a British Army Scotland and her soldiers Being Scottish in a British Army The piper at war The Highlander as an icon Pipers as heroes Piping competitions The Britishness of military pipers Chapter 4: The bagpipe in the Romantic Era 164 The shaping of Romantic Scotland A national instrument: the Scottish point of view Sir Walter Scott The bagpipe: an instrument of ‘northernness’ Robert Burns Further configurations of the bagpipe in literature and art Realism and the bagpipe William Wordsworth Chapter 5: The bagpipe in Romantic music, art and performance 224 Scotland and its music Felix Mendelssohn: the Scottish fascination Competitions, the Highland Societies, and the performing world Travel books and the tourist’s perception of the bagpipe The bagpipe in art Bibliography 262 4 Acknowledgements My first thanks for this thesis go to my supervisors, Professor Murray Pittock and Dr David McGuinness. I could not have worked with a better team; not for a second have I ever felt lost or insecure. The certainty of their support, their encouragement and unintruding guidance have given me the possibility to work at the best of my capabilities. I would also like to thank John Purser, who has acted almost as a ‘third supervisor’ throughout my Ph.D. – from reading through entire chapters, to advice on cucumber sandwiches. Likewise, Dr Hugh Cheape has favoured me with his constant assistance in clarifying every doubt and question, and in providing me with precious additions, advice and guidance. It has been important to be able to rely on their help and friendship. I would not have been able to fully understand the issue about St Jerome’s letter De diversis generibus musicorum, and I would not have an exhaustive idea of the papers of the Highland Societies without the Stephen Copley Postgraduate Research award which I received in 2012. The travels I have been able to undertake thanks to the award have been a real privilege for me, and I am grateful to the British Association for Romantic Studies for the opportunity. The question of bagpipes in connection with organs has brought me in contact with Dr Daniel Trocme-Latter, Professor Gerald Hobbs, Professor Ian Hazlett, Professor Gordon Munro, Dr Graham Wells, Professor Diarmaid Macculloch, Dr David Skinner, Professor Richard Rex, Mr Robert Cakebread, Dr Isabelle Graesslé. I wish to thank them all for helping me try and grasp this matter. I am also grateful to Dr William Donaldson for the attention he has put in reading through my chapter – I am sure his character-building words and meticulousness were meant to extract the best out of my work. I have also had the privilege of communicating with Professor Nigel Leask, Dr Kirsteen McCue, Professor Alan Riach, Professor John Butt, Dr Anita Quye, Professor Carla Sassi: they have all dedicated their time to me and my project, and for their inspiring contributions I am truly grateful. A special thanks also to Mr Clive Matthews, Mr Barrie Cook (Curator of Medieval and Early Modern Coinage, British Museum), Mr Pete Stewart, Dr Joshua Dickson, Dr Anthony Lewis, Mr Barnaby Brown, Mr Julian Goodacre, Mr Keith Sanger, Mr Roderick Cannon, Professor Colm O Boyle, Professor Robaird O Maolalaig, Dr Andrew Mackillop, Miss Fiona Dunn, and Miss Elizabeth Ford for their help and suggestions through various stages of my Ph.D. I have also received precious assistance from the staff of the Royal Maritime Museum of Greenwich, and Rupert Legge of the Dartmouth Heirloom 5 Trust for Dirk Stoop’s painting of the ‘Destruction of the Mole at Tangier’; and also from Peter White from the British Periodicals Online database. My warmest thanks for the image concessions and permissions go to the Tate Gallery, who gave my request so much consideration that they went as far as revising their policies; also to the British Library, the British Museum, Sir Robert Clerk of Penicuik, the Bodleian Library, Graham Stewart (National Library of Scotland), Katherine Marshll (Sotheby’s), the National Museums of Scotland, Brigham Young University, Marcin Klimek (National Trust for Scotland), Richard Shuttleworth (Chairman of the Pipers' Gathering Inc.), the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Mary Robertson (Huntington Library), the British Periodicals Online database, Adrian Fletcher, David Britton (Adam’s Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers), Dr. Colum Hourihane (Princeton University), Elisabeth Vidal-Naquet (Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence), StageGB Corporations for their concessions and photographs. Finally, but by far not less importantly, a big thank you to Luca, who has helped me whenever my bad IT karma had the better of me, and who during the completion of my thesis has soothed my moods and tempers with the greatest kindness and patience. None of this, of course, would have been possible without the love and support of my parents, who I’m sure never thought they would end up with a bagpipe-obsessed daughter. The knowledge of their presence in my life lies at the very basis of everything I do. 6 Abbreviations - BL British Library - BM British Museum - NGI National Gallery of Ireland - NGS National Galleries of Scotland - NLS National Museums of Scotland - O.E.D. Oxford English Dictionary - NPG National Portrait Gallery (of Scotland) 7 Author’s declaration I hereby declare that the present dissertation is the result of my own personal work and research, and that any reference to the work of others has been acknowledged and referenced. This thesis has not been submitted for any other degree at the University of Glasgow or indeed at any other institution. Vivien Estelle Williams 8 Introduction Theoretical framework The present thesis is a study of the cultural history and representation of the bagpipe in Britain through its presence in literature, art, satire and performance. My focus is on Britain as a whole, as I will not favour the analysis of one type of bagpipe over another. Nevertheless, it will be noted throughout my dissertation that the majority of the works I will draw upon speak in one way or another to Scotland, and particularly Highland Scotland. This is itself indicative of the process of identification the bagpipe has undergone, and which results today in the common definition of the bagpipe as Scotland’s national instrument.

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