Enlightenment

Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books composed by Ossian the son of Fingal (1762)

With this publication the Scottish poet and literary collector James Machperson (1736–1796) promulgated what he claimed was an ‘epic’ based on the works of Ossian (the son of Fingal), a 3rd century character from Irish mythology. Although contemporary critics were divided as to the work's authenticity, it is now believed that Macpherson framed the poems himself, based on old celtic folk tales he had collected. Nevertheless, the work proved hugely popular and influential throughout Europe. Viewed by many as a Celtic equivalent of Homer, Ossian fed the proto-romantic taste for primitivism.

Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books composed by Ossian. Translated from the Gaelic Language, by James MacPherson. 4to. London, 1762
[G.1.31]