Sir Walter Scott and King George IV 's Visit Scotland, 1822

in august of 1822 king george iv did something that no british monarch had done in 140 years he went to scotland and rest assured this was a watershed moment for scottish history it's easy to write it off as frivolous pomp but in fact it marked a moment when scottish pride and patriotism reached a height not seen in 200 years and it cemented the image of scotland's national character that we still have today so how did it happen and why king george the fourth trip to scotland was exceptional it was the first by a reigning monarch since charles ii now to be clear the trip was certainly politically motivated for the english in 1820 scotland was in the grips of an economic recession and seething with resentment this erupted into the scottish insurrection also called the radical war of 1820 so parliament wanted george to go as a show of good faith right on the heels of his coronation george wasn't convinced at first but one man was able to inspire him sir walter scott george had met scott earlier and the two had something of a friendship it was george who had allowed scott to undertake the recovery of the crown jewels of scotland which had been presumed lost or stolen so getting scott to motivate the king and orchestrate the royal pageant was a genius move he was already the most powerful force for scottish culture in the world scott's novels waverly published in 1814 and rob roy published in 1818 while not exactly historically accurate were rollicking yarns that were enormously popular he also wrote another eight scottish novels as well as epic poetry the man who was driven in his writings scott transformed political differences between england and scotland into cultural ones he personalized history using it as a backdrop to tell an intimate story of adventure he basically humanized the image of the scottish highlander and highland values scott posited that while england was a force for rationalism and progress she lacked soul and that conversely the highlands though not as technically advanced had real heart and humanity he tried to imply that the two cultures could complement each other we're quite familiar with this approach today for instance in waverly the protagonist is a young englishman who encounters a highland clan the mackivers and their chief fergus maciver fergus is the ultimate highlander and young waverly eventually follows him into battle as a jacobite if this sounds familiar it's probably because you've seen movies like dances with wolves the last samurai or even avatar well scott did it first you see scott was part of a dedicated group of scotsmen who desperately wanted their homeland to have a legitimate sense of identity they wanted respect from the world and they wanted scotsman to stop trying to be quite so english scott's works were an attempt to make the rest of britain see his homeland as a great and noble nation more so as a distinctly moral culture founded on natural laws and personal honor what's not to like about that scotland had ceased to be a threat to the british crown a long time ago so it was permissible and then slowly even fashionable to romanticize the highlander as a noble chivalric sort of free man untainted by the corruption of urban life of money and slowly creeping industrialization this romantic vision and the passion for anything scottish that resulted has since been labeled highlandism by historians the sad irony of course is that highlandism was growing as a cultural force at the very same time that the real highlands were suffering severe poverty the clearances where landlords forced tenants off of their land to make way for english sheep were well underway it's one reason for that pesky radical war business we mentioned earlier many highlanders were facing stark choices like join the military emigrate overseas or starve to death scott himself said he wrote waverly and his other works in an attempt to preserve some image of a way of life that he saw on the verge of extinction as scott was growing up tourism to the highlands was starting to become a thing people went north seeking a trip back in time to see primitive ways of life amid sublime and picturesque scenery so scott was catching a growing trend and then ratcheting it up into a true craze he as well as his friends in the various celtic societies wanted to use highlandism as a way to actually help scotland as a nation scotland's pride was at a low ebb highlandism was helping to change that adopting highland dress gave lowland scots a way of distinguishing themselves from their neighbors in england at a time when the country had really never been more anglicized scott and his associates realized that some sort of royal patronage of the art of being scottish if you will would go a long way towards fulfilling their goals and so when the idea of the king going north came about they jumped on it this is the perfect excuse for scots to show off and say to england and to the world we're here we matter we're great people regardless of whatever you or anyone else has done to us now were they playing to the king's ego absolutely george was well not the most impressive of monarchs as prince regent he had been largely resented and ridiculed as a playboy and this certainly did not stop when he gained the throne and as thrilled as most scots were at the idea of an official royal visit there were plenty of people in both scotland and england who saw all of this as a farce and just another example of the king's childish self-indulgence actually though george threw himself into the roll when scott argued that he was a legitimate heir of the old stuart line of kingship he was quite ready to believe it george even shelled out for his own lavish highland garb that included a kilt in bright red tartan later to be known as royal stewart as well as a dirk broadsword and murdock pistols all told the outfit cost about 1 354 pounds that's about 120 000 pounds in today's money like a great many people from all walks of life george wanted to see himself as a highlander even as a jacobite and though many people mocked him the people of scotland or at the very least the people of edinburgh loved him for it because george validated them you could say that sir walter and georgie porgie really kick-started the modern scottish tourism industry they also engendered our modern concept of clans and of clan tartan as a thing but more on that later to put simply they made scotland and being scottish cool okay so as to the visit itself it was simply breathtaking this was the ultimate in real pageantry with trumpeting heralds flashy uniforms and costumes banquets a gathering of the clans for the king's benefit and acres upon acres of tartan in fact people were desperate to get some for example a grand ball was hosted by the peers of scotland sir walter publicized that this was a highland ball and that therefore no gentleman is to be allowed to appear in anything but the ancient highland costume suddenly the elites of the lowlands were desperate to know if they had even one drop of highland ancestry and tailors across edinburgh were mobbed with orders for kilts and highland dress or anything that could even be imagined to be highland dress this was the birth of the so-called revival suit and it's where most of our modern kilt fashion really got its start meanwhile every actual highland chief and laird wanted to strut his stuff despite the fact that many had kicked off their tenants in favor of sheep they attended the proceedings with as many retainers as they could possibly muster and they were all uniformly kilted naturally many clan tartans were locked into place in 1822 more so if you had to point to one moment when the national dress of scotland was born this is it this was rather ironic since the urbanized lowlanders were adopting the dress and trappings of a rural people whom they had formerly despised but thanks to sir walter every scott could now if he chose be a highlander at least in his imagination it would take a huge hollywood budget to even come close to visualizing how this day looked but luckily we have a first-hand account to help us imagine the spectacle comes from robert moody's historical account of his majesty's visit to scotland edinburgh 1822 the entire pamphlet is available to read online but here are a few excerpts at an early hour on thursday the 22nd of august the city presented a scene of extraordinary bustle in consequence of the arrangements which had been agreed upon for his majesty's procession to the castle the windows and balconies of the high street as far as the eye could reach were all covered with green red or scarlet cloth and thronged to excess the sky was overcast with heavy clouds and showers threatened the postponement of the royal pageant notwithstanding the state of the weather immense crowds flocked in from the surrounding country to witness a spectacle so interesting to the feelings of scotsman an accumulating multitude occupied its streets the city was enlivened by the appearance of the different trades marching with their banners displayed to the sound of martial music the society of glassblowers was particularly conspicuous the officer at their head wore a glass hat with a glass sword and targe and each member carried a long glass rod at about one o'clock the different public bodies had taken up the ground assigned to them reaching from the precinct of the abbey to the castle hill they were in lines too deep and in many places three to a man they were well dressed and had crosses on their breasts with heather or thistles in their hats we observed sir walter scott dressed in the windsor uniform walking up the center of the street along with two other gentlemen when the king arrived at the barrier gate he elited from his carriage on a raised platform covered with crimson cloth where the lord high constable and the lord cathart were stationed to receive him the keys of the castle were then tendered to his majesty by lieutenant general sir alexander hope besides a numerous body of officers his majesty walked with a firm step along the drawbridge till coming to the inner gate he stepped into another carriage which stood waiting the grenadier company of the 66 regiment forming his guard of honor the carriage was surrounded by the principal nobility and gentry the lord high constable walking alone by the king's right hand the procession moved slowly through the winding passages of the castle till it came to the half moon battery the king ascended to a high platform and presented himself to the view of his admiring subjects at this moment a royal salute was fired from the guns of the ramparts the bands played god save the king and the soldiers on the different batteries presented arms the king remained on this elevated situation a considerable time cheered by the amazing multitude who occupied the castle hill one of his attendants expressed an apprehension that the king would get wet oh never mind replied his majesty with great animation i must cheer the people and taking off his hat he waved it repeatedly and gave three chairs which were heard at some distance the people whose enthusiasm was now wound up to the highest pitch again made the air resound with their loudest acclimations the thick fog that brooded over the landscape deprived his majesty of the full enjoyment of a prospect unequaled perhaps in variety and magnificence but the same circumstances cast an air of solemnity the broken outlines of crags and cliffs and stupendous buildings peered out from amidst the gloom with a wild and most romantic effect the king surveyed this singular prospect with the most marked interest and turning to his attendance exclaimed this is wonderful what a sight that's just a small bit i don't know about you but as soon as they invent the time machine this is one party i plan to attend now in closing i'd like to make one other small point in favor of king george one of the many delights he sampled during his visit was scottish whiskey which was still technically illegal but george was happy to throw his support behind the excise act of 1823 as a result the scottish whiskey industry flourished you're welcome so what do you think was the royal visit just so much pomp and circumstance or was it a legitimate honoring of scottish culture and values did sir walter scott invent scotland as some historians suggest or would the rebirth of scottish identity have happened without him without highlandism let us know in the comments and if you liked this video be sure to give us a like and a subscribe and ring that bell so you're aware of new content when we bring it out take care

Channel: USA Kilts & Celtic Traditions

Views: 5,787

Keywords: Sir Walter Scott, Highlandism, the radical war, King George IV, Prince Regent, Gathering of the clans, Scottish history, British history, highland dress, kilts, scotland, edinburgh, history, scottish, tartan

Id: vIPyRTGLWPI

Length: 13min 12sec (792 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 10 2020