Norman MacLeod, known in
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 ...
as ''Caraid nan Gàidheal'' ("friend of the
Gael
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
"), was 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, poet, and writer. He was Chaplain 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 ...
and
Dean of the Chapel Royal
The Dean of the Chapel Royal, in any kingdom, can be the title of an official charged with oversight of that kingdom's chapel royal, the ecclesiastical establishment which is part of the royal household and ministers to it.
England
In England, ...
in Scotland.
Life
He was the son of the Rev. Norman Macleod, D.D. (1745 – 1824), and father of the Rev.
Norman Macleod (1812 – 1872).
MacLeod was a distinguished minister of the Scottish Church, and studied at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of
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 ...
in 1806. He became one of the most distinguished ministers, and most popular preachers of his Church, becoming
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...
in 1836. He was Dean of the
Chapel Royal
The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...
and a trusted friend of
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 ...
. He preached to Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert during their second visit to Scotland in 1844.
He was an enormously influential writer of
Gaelic prose, founding and editing two of the earliest Gaelic periodicals, ''An Teachdaire Gaelach'' (''The Highland Messenger'') (1829–32) and ''Cuairtear nan Gleann'' (''The Traveller of the Glens'') (1840–43), as well as later contributing to ''Fear-Tathaich nam Beann'' (''The Mountaineer'')(1848) edited by his son in law, the Rev. Archibald Clerk. He was an enthusiastic proponent of Gaelic education and the welfare of
Highlanders. As a smooth operator in church politics he secured the support of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for a Highland education scheme in 1824, with the purpose of teaching the people of the Highlands and Islands to read the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
,
catechism
A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
and other material in their native Gaelic. Within a few years these schools had an attendance in excess of 22,000, while other Gaelic Schools Societies and the
SSPCK were similarly bringing literacy in Gaelic to many more.
MacLeod published a 'reader' for the General Assembly Schools in 1828. This, the periodicals, and a further collection of writings published in 1834 as ''Leabhar nan Cnoc'' (''The Book of the Hills'' subtitled 'things old and new for the education and improvement of the Gael') covered a very wide range of material, from discussion of
Chartists
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...
,
Luddite
The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver s ...
s and electoral reform to volcanoes and the natural world, encompassing subjects as diverse as politics, religion, current affairs, popular science,
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
,
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
, technological developments and city life. Much of it was humorous, and written in the form of
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
-like sketches and letters 'home'.
He conducted a preaching tour in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the 1830s - not in English, but to
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
-speaking districts using his own Gaelic. In conjunction with Ppresbyterians in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
he made a translation into Irish of the
metrical psalms
A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a verse translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or harmonisatio ...
, although it has to be said the text is an odd hybrid 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 ...
and Irish.
Along with the Rev Prof
Daniel Dewar Daniel Dewar (1788–1867) was a Church of Scotland minister who served as principal of Marischal College in Aberdeen from 1832 to 1860. He was a major contributor to the first Gaelic dictionary. He was father-in-law to James Clerk Maxwell.
Lif ...
he produced a Gaelic-English/English-Gaelic
dictionary
A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...
in 1831, reprinted 13 times between then and 1910.
Shortly after his death, a collection of his Gaelic prose writings was edited by his son in law,
Archibald Clerk
Archibald Clerk (1813–1887) was a minister of the established Church of Scotland and one of the leading Gaelic scholars of the Victorian era.
Biography
Archibald Clerk was the elder son of Duncan Clerk, a farmer on the Argyll island of Lismor ...
, with a biographical sketch by Norman MacLeod jnr., first published as ''Caraid nan Gaidheal'' in 1867, reprinted in 1899 and 1910. A second collection was issued in 1901. Other writings include two Gaelic sermons, one on the outbreak of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
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 ...
in 1832.
MacLeod used his influence to secure Government aid for the Gaels during the
potato famines of 1836-37 and 1847, earning the soubriquet, 'Caraid nan Gàidheal' (Friend of the Gael). A speech delivered in the Egyptian Room of the
Mansion House, London
Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. It is a Grade I listed building. Designed by George Dance in the Palladian style, it was built primarily in the 1740s.
The Mansion House is used for some of the City of Lo ...
, resulted in
John Dunmore Lang
John Dunmore Lang (25 August 1799 – 8 August 1878) was a Scottish-born Australian Presbyterian minister, writer, historian, politician and activist. He was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian re ...
, a Presbyterian minister in Australia, putting in place opportunities for Gaels to emigrate to Australia.
Family
He married
Agnes Maxwell of Aros; they had five sons and six daughters.
The two elder sons,
Norman Macleod (1812–1872)
Norman Macleod (3 June 1812 – 16 June 1872) was a Scottish clergyman and author who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1869/70.
Early life
Norman Macleod was born in Kirk Street, Campbeltown, to Norm ...
and Donald became ministers of the Church of Scotland.
Their third son, Sir
George Husband Baird MacLeod
Sir George Husband Baird MacLeod (1828-1892) was Regius Professor of Surgery at Glasgow University. He was Surgeon in Ordinary to Queen Victoria when in Scotland and was knighted by her in 1887.
Life
He was born in the manse at Campsie, Stirlin ...
was a surgeon.
MacLeod is sometimes confused with his son, also Rev. Dr. Norman MacLeod, 1812–72, also a Moderator of the General Assembly (in 1869), and author of Morvern, a Highland Parish (first published 1867) and of the song "Farewell to Fiunary".
A statue was erected to Norman jnr.
Cathedral Square, Glasgow showing him in the court dress of
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...
, over which he wears the
Geneva gown
The Geneva Gown, also called a pulpit gown, pulpit robe, or preaching robe, is an ecclesiastical garment customarily worn by Ordained Ministers and Accredited Lay Preachers in the Christian Churches that arose out of the historic Protestant ...
of a Minister of that Church, with the hood of a
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
. He sports the badge of
Dean of the Thistle
The Dean of the Thistle is an office of the Order of the Thistle, re-established in 1687. The office is normally held by a minister of the Church of Scotland, and forms part of the Royal Household in Scotland.
In 1886 the office of Dean of ...
. He is brandishing a Bible and raising his hand in preaching. He can also be seen, this time greeting
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 ...
, in a relief on her statue in
George Square
George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Sq ...
on the occasion of her visit to the
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
. The location is significant as it is next to the old Barony Church, of which his son, also Norman was minister from 1851. His greatest renown is for his tireless work on behalf of the huge population of what was then perhaps the poorest slum parish in the city, promoting education and welfare schemes, building schools and mission churches, a penny savings bank, and temperance refreshment rooms.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Caraid nan Gàidhealon
archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Norman
1783 births
1862 deaths
19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland
19th-century Scottish writers
Calvinist and Reformed poets
Christian poets
Deans of the Thistle
Scottish Gaelic poets
Scottish Gaelic writers
Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland