George Henderson (18 February 1866 – 26 June 1912) was a scholar of

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

Life and works

Henderson was born on 18 February 1866 in Heughden, Kiltarlity,

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

, in Scotland. He went to Raining's School in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, where he was taught by Alexander MacBain, a lexicographer of Scottish. He then attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, studying English literature, philosophy and Celtic under

Donald MacKinnon Donald Mackinnon (29 September 1859 – 25 April 1932) was an Australian politician. Early life Born at Marida Yallock near Boorcan in Victoria to grazier David Mackinnon and Jane Kinross, both Scottish-born, he was educated at Geelong ...

. He would engage in fieldwork collecting Gaelic lore in South Uist in 1892. He travelled to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1893 earning a doctorate. On his return in 1896, he studied at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

, and obtained a BLitt on Scottish Gaelic dialects. He married Ella, the daughter of

Alexander Carmichael Alexander Carmichael (full name Alexander Archibald Carmichael or Alasdair Gilleasbaig MacGilleMhìcheil in his native Scottish Gaelic; 1 December 1832, Taylochan, Isle of Lismore – 6 June 1912, Barnton, Edinburgh) was a Scottish excise ...

, in

Iffley Iffley is a village in a designated Conservation Area in Oxfordshire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill and Donnington, and in proximity to the River Thames (Isis). A nota ...

near Oxford in May 1901, just before his ordination as 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 in June 1901. He served as a

minister for the parish of Eddrachillis,

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

. Then in 1906, he was appointed lecturer in Celtic at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, on the recommendation of Kuno Meyer. The most notable works during his tenure were ''The Norse Influence on Celtic Scotland'' (1910), and '' Survivals in Belief among the Celts'' (1911). He had in the interim obtained a collection of Gaelic folksongs and tunes from the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

, collected by

Frances Tolmie Frances Tolmie (13 October 1840 – 31 December 1926) was a Scottish folklorist. She was born and died on the Isle of Skye. She collected Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic songs which were published in 1911. Life Tolmie was born on a farm on Duirinish, Sk ...

, and these were published by the Folksong Society in 1911. The "Fionn Saga" series he published in the ''Celtic Review'' (1904–7) included versions he collected orally from Eriskay, with the assistance of

Father Allan MacDonald Father Allan MacDonald (Scottish Gaelic Maighstir Ailein, An t-Athair Ailean Dòmhnallach) (25 October 1859, Fort William, Scotland – 8 October 1905, Eriskay) was a Roman Catholic priest, radically innovative poet in the Scottish Gaelic langu ...

whom he had befriended earlier. He was an admirer of the work of

John Francis Campbell John Francis Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Frangan Caimbeul; Islay, 29 December 1821 – Cannes, 17 February 1885), also known as Young John of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Òg Ìle) was a Scottish author and scholar who specialised i ...

and after Campbells' death in 1885 Henderson started working on Campbells unfinished book ''The Celtic Dragon Myth'', eventually published in 1911.The Celtic Dragon Myth
/ref> Henderson contributed some translation work, provided an extensively detailed introduction, and completed the editing of the manuscript for its eventual publication. He died aged 46 in Rutherglen on 26 June 1912.

List of works

Henderson had a large output of published material, although his work was sometimes inconsistent. His principal works include the following: * (ed.) ''Dain Iain Ghobha'' ("Poems of John Morison"; 1893–96), 2 vols., religious

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

verse by John Morison (1790-1852). * ''Leabhar nan Gleann'' (1898), a compilation of field work in the Highlands. * An edition of ''

Fled Bricrend ''Fled Bricrenn'' (Old Irish "Bricriu's Feast") is a story from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Bricriu, an inveterate troublemaker, invites the nobles of the Ulaid to a feast at his new ''bruiden'' (hostel, banquet hall) at Dún Rudraige ( ...

'' for the Irish Texts Society (1899) * Publications in '' Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'' 4/5 (1903, 1905) on Scottish Gaelic dialects. * "The Fionn Saga" in the ''Celtic Review'' 1/2/3 (1904, 1905–6, 1906–7) * ''The Norse Influence on Celtic Scotland'' (1910) * ''Survivals in Belief among the Celts'' (1911) * ''Arthurian Motifs in Gadhelic Literature'' (1912) He also contributed papers to the ''Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness''.

Explanatory notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, George 1866 births 1912 deaths 19th-century Scottish writers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Academics of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Celtic studies scholars Scottish folk-song collectors Scottish folklorists 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland