University of Dundee DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Patrick Geddes and the Celtic Renascence of the 1890s Ferguson, Megan Award date: 2011 Awarding institution: University of Dundee Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 16. Jun. 2016 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Patrick Geddes and the Celtic Renascence of the 1890s Megan Ferguson 2011 University of Dundee Conditions for Use and Duplication Copyright of this work belongs to the author unless otherwise identified in the body of the thesis. It is permitted to use and duplicate this work only for personal and non-commercial research, study or criticism/review. You must obtain prior written consent from the author for any other use. Any quotation from this thesis must be acknowledged using the normal academic conventions. It is not permitted to supply the whole or part of this thesis to any other person or to post the same on any website or other online location without the prior written consent of the author. Contact the Discovery team ([email protected]) with any queries about the use or acknowledgement of this work. Patrick Geddes and the Celtic Renascence of the 1890s Megan C. Ferguson Thesis for Doctorate of Philosophy in History University of Dundee January 2011 Table of Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................1 The Fin de Siècle , The Celtic Renascence, the Celtic Revival Chapter 1: The European Context...................................................................................9 The Idea of National Cultural Revival Science and Religion in the Fin de Siècle Art and Cultural Nationalism The Arts and Crafts Movement Art Nouveau Chapter 2: Scottish Context............................................................................................41 The Echoes of the Highland Clearances The Literature of the Kailyard The Glasgow Boys Francis “Fra” Newbery and the Glasgow School of Art The Arts and Crafts Movement Patrick Geddes and the Edinburgh Social Union The Edinburgh Summer School (Summer Meetings) The University Extension Movement and Geddes‟s University Hall Ramsay Garden Chapter 3: Patrick Geddes 1892-1894………………………...………………………72 Patrick Geddes Breaks Ties with the Edinburgh Social Union Ramsay Garden The Old Edinburgh School of Art The New Evergreen Chapter 4: Celtic Renascence………………………………………………………….85 Ramsay Garden University Hall and Edinburgh Social Union Ramsay Garden Murals Additional Ramsay Garden Murals The Old Edinburgh School of Art Patrick Geddes and Colleagues Publishing Company The Evergreen: A Northern Seasonal Within the Celtic Renascence After The Evergreen: John Duncan and Patrick Geddes Chapter 5: Celtic and Gaelic, Symbolism and Authenticity………………………. 148 James Macpherson‟s The Poems of Ossian The Poems of Ossian published by Patrick Geddes and Colleagues Lyra Celtica published by Patrick Geddes and Colleagues The idea of Celtic according to Patrick Geddes William Sharp and Fiona Macleod The idea of Celtic according to Fiona Macleod Neil Munro and the Real Gael The Irish Celtic Revival Ireland‟s Celtic Revival, William Sharp and Fiona Macleod Language and Cultural Nationalism Chapter 6: Analysis……………………………………………………………...……190 The Celtic Renascence and the nature of revival The Celtic Renascence and Spirituality The Alternative University of Patrick Geddes Scottish Connections and Divisions Patrick Geddes and the Arts and Crafts Movement Conclusion……………………………….…………………………………………….228 Bibliography…………………………………………………………...………………230 Appendices…………………………………………………..…………………………244 Appendix A The New Evergreen Appendix B The Evergreen: A Northern Seasonal Appendix C Images Images Table 1, Nationalities of Contributors to The Evergreen Table 2, Content of The Evergreen Table 3, Content of The New Evergreen Figure 1, Ramsay Garden, Castle Esplanade, Edinburgh. Figures 2,3,4, Ramsay Garden ornamental cavings Figure 5, Well Court, Dean Village, Edinburgh, architect Sydney Mitchell Figure 6, Well Court, Dean Village, Edinburgh, architect Sydney Mitchell Figure 7, Catholic Apostolic Church at Mansfield Place, mural work by Phoebe Anna Traquair Figure 8, Catholic Apostolic Church at Mansfield Place, mural work by Phoebe Anna Traquair Figure 9, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, mural of Michael Scot by John Duncan Figure 10, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, mural, Celtic Ornament Figure 11, Anima Celtica by John Duncan, The Evergreen: A Northern Seasonal, Spring 1895. Figure 12, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, mural The Awakening of Cuchullin by John Duncan Figure 13, Out-faring by John Duncan, from The Evergreen, Spring 1895 Figure 14, Natura Naturans by Robert Burns, The Evergreen, Spring 1895 Figure 15, The Pipes of Arcady by John Duncan, The Evergreen, Spring 1895 Figure 16, Ramsay Garden from National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh. Figures 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, murals, Celtic Ornament Figures 22 and 23, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, murals, Celtic Ornament Figure 24, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, The Combat of Fionn by John Duncan. Figure 25, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, The Taking of Excalibur by John Duncan Figure 26, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, The Journey of St. Mungo by John Duncan. Figure 27, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, The Admirable Crichton by John Duncan Figure 28, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, Lord Lister by John Duncan Figure 29, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, James Watt by John Duncan Figure 30, Ramsay Garden, Common Room, Charles Darwin by John Duncan Figures 31 and 32, The Isle of Staffa and Fingal‟s Cave. Figure 33, The Druids Bringing Home the Mistletoe (1890) by George Henry and E.A. Hornel. Figure 34, Dragon, Wardrop‟s Court, Edinburgh Acknowledgements There are many people I have to thank for their priceless help with this thesis. First among them is my advisor, Professor Charles McKean. Without Charles there would be no thesis, and so I owe him more thanks than I can ever express. My biggest cheerleader was my sister, Erin Ferguson, without whom I would have given up long ago. To my parents, Jeanne and Mike Higgs, I owe a huge debt, not only a financial one, but also for their steadfast belief. To the rest of my family: The Fergusons- Marcy and Frank (my Grandma and Neenu), Brian, Clare and Mary Jane, the Higgs family, particularly my Omi and Opi, my grandparents John and Violet Richardson (Moe and Bopa), Catherine and Bear McMenaman and family, the Gribbin family and the Baker family, particularly Anne Baker, to all of you: your love and support has been immeasurable. To Andrew Forrester, who is like the best kind of family, the kind you choose for yourself. To Mary Tills, who provided me a home, as did Ross Thompson, Sean Kiddie and Graeme Smillie, there is not enough thanks. My friends helped me over numerous hurdles: Andrew Forde, Michael Gillespie, and the Forde, Gillespie and Lord families of Bangor, Northern Ireland, Caroline Hamilton and David Lardner, Jane Young McCormack and family, Sir Charles Kirksey and family, Laura Easson, Kim Broadbent, Andrew Hudson, Derek Galbraith, James Pickett, Russel McLean, Annie Lippert Lechak, Sean and Jennifer McVeigh, Beth and Don Klees, the Kinoshita family and Kate Falchek, Keith Lavey, Mandy Riffe Berridge, Alicia Ince, Margarita Khegay and Louis Cassorla. The History Department at the University of Dundee, particularly Helen Carmichael, Sara Reid, Murdo Macdonald, Elizabeth Foyster, Pam Hutton, Tony Parker, Zoe Colley, Lesley Lindsay, Karen Cullen and David Anderson, all are deserving of thanks for so many kindnesses. For assistance with my research I must thank Michael Shea, Angela Seenan from Strathclyde University Archives, the University of Dundee Archives, the Mansfield Traquair Trust, Lesley Lendrum, David Walker and Janice Helland. For getting me back on my feet my heartfelt thanks go out to Wendy Strathern, Elizabeth Finlayson, Irene Donaldson and Dr. John Vernon. The city of Dundee provided me with two homes away from home, Waterstone‟s Booksellers and the Dundee Central Library, and for that I am grateful, and I am grateful to the people I know through these institutions. Lastly I must thank my dear and stalwart friend Midge, and my dad, Francis Joseph Ferguson III. 1 Introduction “our Scottish, our Celtic Renascence” Patrick Geddes, “The Scots Renascence” in The Evergreen: A Northern Seasonal, Spring 1895. The purpose of this thesis is to examine Patrick Geddes‟s Celtic Renascence in 1890s Edinburgh, to judge its place within the context of Scotland and within the wider context of the fin de siècle world, to examine its purpose, participants, and output, and to analyse the end result. The Celtic Renascence was a small cultural movement based in 1890s Edinburgh and led by the charismatic polymath,