Ossian

Ossian

Ossian or Oisin , legendary Gaelic poet, supposedly the son of Finn mac Cumhail , hero of a cycle of tales and poems that place his deeds of valor in the 3d cent. AD These traditional tales were preserved in Ireland and in the Scottish Highlands, with Ossian as the bard who sang of the exploits of Finn and his Fenian cohorts. A later cycle of Ossianic poetry centered on Cuchulain, another traditional hero. Ossian is generally represented as an old, blind man who had outlived both his father and his son. The name is remembered by most people in connection with James Macpherson , who published translations of two poems that he said had been written by Ossian; scholars subsequently proved that they were actually a combination of traditional Gaelic poems and original verses by Macpherson himself.

Bibliography: See J. Macpherson, The Poems of Ossian (1805, repr. 1974).

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"Ossian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Ossian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ossian.html

"Ossian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ossian.html

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Ossian

Ossian, son of Fingal, father of Oscar, whose death—so James MacPherson claimed—marked the end of Celtic civilization in Scotland. MacPherson asserted Ossian's Scottish ancestry in spite of stiff and compelling counter-claims by the Irish and in spite of the fact that many thought that his translations of Ossian's ‘poems’ (1762–5) were forgeries. Nevertheless, the poems caused a literary sensation. They were translated into most European languages and even into Gaelic. In the event they turned out to be a mixture of genuine verses handed down by oral tradition and imaginative translation and pastiche by their editor. However, the Scottish tourist industry has every reason to be grateful for them.

Nicholas Phillipson

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JOHN CANNON. "Ossian." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Ossian." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Ossian.html

JOHN CANNON. "Ossian." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Ossian.html

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Ossian

Ossian. Nominal narrator of James Macpherson's Poems of Ossian (1760–3), based on the character of Oisín as found in Scottish Gaelic ballad tradition; in the late 19th century the name Ossian displaced that of Oisín in popular retellings of Fenian stories. Son of Fingal and Roscranna, husband of Everallin, he was the father of Oscar (3), whose mistress Malvina was also his companion in old age.

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "Ossian." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES MacKILLOP. "Ossian." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Ossian.html

JAMES MacKILLOP. "Ossian." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Ossian.html

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Ossian

Ossian, son of Fingal, father of Oscar, whose death—so James MacPherson claimed—marked the end of Celtic civilization in Scotland. MacPherson's translations of Ossian's ‘poems’ (1762–5) caused a literary sensation. In the event they turned out to be a mixture of genuine verses handed down by oral tradition and imaginative translation and pastiche by their editor.

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JOHN CANNON. "Ossian." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Ossian." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Ossian.html

JOHN CANNON. "Ossian." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Ossian.html

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Ossian

Ossian (Scottish) Anglicized form of Irish Oisín, Scottish Gaelic Oisein, originally a byname representing a diminutive of os ‘stag’. It was coined by James Macpherson, author of the ‘Ossianic’ poems. See also Oisín and Osian.

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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ossian." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ossian." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ossian.html

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ossian." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ossian.html

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Ossian

Ossian a legendary Irish warrior and bard, whose name became well known in 1760–3 when the Scottish poet James Macpherson (1736–96) published his own verse as an alleged translation of 3rd-century Gaelic tales. The Irish version of his name is Oisin.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ossian." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ossian." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ossian.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ossian." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ossian.html

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Ossian

Ossian, the name commonly given to Oisin, a legendary Gaelic warrior and bard. See Macpherson and Fingal.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Ossian." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Ossian." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Ossian.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Ossian." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Ossian.html

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Ossian

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"Ossian." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Ossian." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Ossian.html

"Ossian." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Ossian.html

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