Agnes Maxwell MacLeod (1783–1879) also known as Mrs. Norman MacLeod was a Scottish poet. She is best known as the author of the ballad '' Sound the Pibroch''.

Life

Agnes Maxwell was born on the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...

, in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

. In her early youth, she lived with an uncle and aunt in Drumdrissaig, on the western coast of

Knapdale Knapdale ( gd, Cnapadal, IPA: �kraʰpət̪əɫ̪ forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, ...

. When of age, she went to an Edinburgh

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...

, then returned to Mull. She met Rev. Norman MacLeod, a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister and married him four years later. She spent the next nearly-sixty years as a minister's wife in

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

, Campsie, and at St Columba Church in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. She was the wife of a poet and the mother of poets, and a poet herself. She would go on to write and compile a poetry collection called ''Songs of the North'', that would be edited by her granddaughter Annie Campbell MacLeod Wilson, Harold Boulton, and Malcolm Lawson, and which was dedicated to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. One of the songs it contains is '' Sound the Pibroch'', which is about the

Jacobite Uprising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 ...

, and which has since been recorded by

The Corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...

and many other Scottish folk music bands.

References

1783 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Scottish poets 19th-century Scottish women writers Calvinist and Reformed poets People from the Isle of Mull Scottish women poets Jacobite poets {{Scotland-poet-stub