Liberating Scottish language and national identity: Robert Burns (born January 25, 1759)

“A Scottish Bard, proud of the name, and whose highest ambition is to sing in his country’s service, where shall he so properly look for patronage as to the illustrious names of his native land: those who bear the honours and inherit the virtues of their ancestors? The poetic genius of my country found me, as the prophetic bard Elijah did Elisha—at the plough, and threw her inspiring mantle over me. She bade me sing the loves, the joys, the rural scenes and rural pleasures of my native soil, in my native tongue; I tuned my wild, artless notes as she inspired.” --ROBERT BURNS, Edinburgh, April 4, 1787.


Per Scriptum E. Wesley - Mackinac Center Intern

During the early 17th century, when King James VI ascended to the English thrown, the Scottish Parliament and Old Scottish Court used "Scots" as their official language. The mark of Scotland seemed enduring and profound. However, after the union of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707, England began imposing its language through the Scottish educational system on the Scottish Lowlanders. Scottish nobles began recasting their speech in English in order to identify with society in London, and Scottish Enlightenment philosophers took on the mantle of their English conquers. England was imposing a universal standard that threatened Scotland's national identity of independence and bravery: "for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule." Robert Burns took the stage during the most critical moment and revived Scotland's heritage of liberty for all time.

Jennifer R. McDermott's treatment of Burns is the finest I have yet seen (read here). It is a "must read" for all liberty lovers!


Sources:
Image of Ben Nevis south face from Wikipedia
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/courses/eng6365-mcdermott.htm
http://www.online-literature.com/robert-burns/
http://www.constitution.org/scot/arbroath.pdf