Màiri nighean Alasdair Ruaidh (c.1615–c.1707), also known as Mary Macleod, was a

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 ...

poet.

Life

Born at Rowdil,

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle o ...

, she was a daughter of Red Alasdair, and through him connected with the chiefs of the Macleods. In one of her poems, she claims to have nursed five

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

s of the Macleods and two lairds of Applecross. Most of her life was spent at

Dunvegan Dunvegan ( gd, Dùn Bheagain) is a village on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is famous for Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chief of Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan is within the parish of Duirinish, and Duirinish Parish Church is at Dunvegan. In 2011 it ...

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 b ...

, in the Macleod of Macleod household, although tradition mentions she once lived in

Eriskay Eriskay ( gd, Èirisgeigh), from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland with a population of 143, as of the 2011 census. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is ...

. At one time, however, she was exiled by her chief to

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides **Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica *Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...

for being too profuse in her praise of his relative, Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera. She was afterwards recalled to Dunvegan and died there in 1674.

Works

Only a few of her poems, mostly laudations of the Macleods, have been preserved. Macleod is widely regarded as one of the stalwarts of the new school of poetry that was emerging in the 17th century, which eventually replaced the classical

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 ...

bards. The 1893 Encyclopædia Britannica states: "Macleod’s poetry is celebrated for its simple, natural rhythms. Her poems were full of the imagery that was customary in the verse of the bardic poets. Macleod's poems were mostly exalted tales of the heroic deeds of the Macleod family, woven with her strong love for her family... A handful of her poems remains today. Of those that survive, the

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

are the best, poignant yet fresh in their style."

Folklore

MacLeod is also referenced in

Scottish folklore Scottish folklore (Scottish Gaelic: ''Beul-aithris na h-Alba'') encompasses the folklore of the Scottish people from their earliest records until today. Folklorists, both academic and amateur, have published a variety of works focused specifically ...

as composing her poetry neither indoors nor outdoors and that she would croon from the threshold.

Citations

References

Primary Sources

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Mary Scottish women poets 17th-century Scottish writers 17th-century Scottish women writers 17th-century writers Year of birth uncertain 17th-century Scottish Gaelic poets 17th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish people People from Harris, Outer Hebrides Clan Macleod