The age of ‘Agricolamania’: early modern uses and abuses of Tacitus’ Agricola

The Agricola of Tacitus is the most extensive surviving ancient literary source on Roman Britain, and much of it deals with the Roman general Agricola’s conquest of Caledonia. Apparently providing evidence of the military prowess and civilising intentions of Rome whilst also describing a brave Caledonian hero named Calgacus, the text could be interpreted differently according to the political and patriotic affiliations of its early modern readers. As chapter seven will reveal, the Agricola would become something of an obsession amongst Scotland’s antiquarians, providing historical information on Roman exploits in the north but also lacking key geographical and historical details, encouraging conjecture which sometimes tipped into pure fantasy. As a result, a phenomenon christened ‘Agricolamania’ had already been noted by the end of the eighteenth century.

Conclusion

The Conclusion of Classical Caledonia looks at nineteenth century attitudes towards Roman Scotland, also comparing these to Victorian attitudes towards England’s Roman heritage. It reveals striking differences, with the Roman period being viewed as a pivotal moment in the formation of modern England, but the exploits of the Romans in Scotland largely dismissed as an inconsequential footnote. During the Victorian era, the Scottish fascination with the Romans and the Caledonians would be replaced by more romanticised visions of the nation’s early history. This final section categorises the eighteenth-century obsession with Scotland’s Roman past as a historical and patriotic ‘dead end’ and discusses why it failed to become a lasting element of Scotland’s popular history and national identity.

Imagining a classical Caledonia: Sir Robert Sibbald’s vision of Scotland’s Roman past

The first chapter focuses on the life and work of polymath Sir Robert Sibbald, whose extensive research and numerous publications on the history and heritage of Roman Scotland would have a profound influence on the antiquarian writings of subsequent generations. It reveals how Sibbald’s own fascination with ancient Rome prompted him to propose that much of Scotland had been a virtual Roman province. In examining his sources and his methodology, which included extensive investigation of material remains as well as etymology, this chapter demonstrates how Sibbald constructed his theories, which radically departed from previous interpretations of Scotland’s Roman past. In addition, the chapter highlights Sibbald’s posthumous reputation and the enduring legacy of his antiquarian conjectures.

Introduction

The Introduction summarises the origins of Scotland’s patriotic historiography, highlighting the importance of medieval chronicles and the Renaissance histories of Hector Boece and George Buchanan in laying the foundations of early modern Scottish national identity. In particular, it identifies the long-held belief that Scotland was one of the few places to have successfully resisted Roman conquest. As well as looking at the importance of classical literature and authors such as Cicero and Livy in the development of Scottish scholarship, it also outlines eighteenth-century Scottish attitudes towards ancient Rome, its culture and its imperial ambitions, and explores the importance of the Grand Tour in the formation of early modern interpretations of the classical past.

Walled out of humanity: Sir John Clerk and his circle

This chapter concentrates on the life, work and circle of eminent Scottish antiquarian and self-avowed Romanist Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. It explores Clerk’s own fascination with ancient Rome, which had been inspired by both his education and a Grand Tour to Italy, and examines how this impacted on his own interpretations of Scotland’s heritage. As a key player in the formulation of the 1707 British Union, Clerk’s involvement in modern politics clearly influenced his view of the nation’s past. Also discussed here are Clerk’s important patronage of other antiquarians, particularly Alexander Gordon, whose iconic tome Itinerarium Septentrionale of 1726 would become a key text on Roman Scotland for decades to follow.

‘Beyond the Vallum’: English interpretations of Scottish history

Chapter four examines English attitudes towards Roman Scotland. It introduces the writings of William Stukeley, one of the most influential antiquarians working in England during the first half of the eighteenth century, looking in particular at the content of his 1720 essay An Account of a Roman Temple. While Stukeley was convinced, like Sir Robert Sibbald before him, that the Romans had conquered and civilised much of Scotland, fellow English antiquarian John Horsley took the view that they had in fact decided against colonising such a barren and inhospitable land. Horsley’s posthumously published 1732 work, Britannia Romana, sets out his pragmatic approach to Scotland’s ancient history and reveals an antiquarian who was far less influenced by patriotism and Romanism than many of his contemporaries.

After Ossian: changing interpretations of Roman Scotland

In the wake of the global success of Ossianic poetry, attitudes towards Scotland’s ancient history would change. The growing fashion for Primitivism switched the focus from the classical to the Romantic and sublime. A more whimsical and Romantic interpretation of early history, which was clearly influenced by the poems attributed to Ossian, can be detected at this time. The new approach of key Enlightenment historians such as David Hume saw antiquarianism sidelined, while the antiquarians who studied the remains of Roman Scotland tended to focus more on regional, rather than national history. The debate regarding the influence of Rome in northern Britain continued, but its role in defining Scotland’s national identity faded.

Reconquering the Highlands: Hanoverian interpretations of Roman Scotland

The sixth chapter focuses on the years following the failure of the 1745 Jacobite uprising, a period which would witness dramatic social change, particularly in the Scottish Highlands. The Hanoverian regime’s attempt to subdue the north of Scotland and wipe out Gaelic culture was clearly based on ancient Roman precedents. In addition, a number of the Hanoverian military men who were based in Scotland after the ’45 would become interested in the region’s Roman heritage, leading to many new discoveries and influential publications. Best known among these men are General Robert Melville and Major General William Roy, whose posthumously published Roman Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain would include many maps and plans of Scottish Roman sites.

Forging a nation: the spurious histories of Charles Bertram and James Macpherson

Chapter eight examines two texts which would have a dramatic impact on early modern attitudes towards ancient Scotland. The so-called De Situ Britanniae, ‘discovered’ by Englishman Charles Bertram in Copenhagen, purported to be a medieval manuscript copy of an ancient Roman source that radically rewrote the Roman history of Scotland. Widely disseminated and cited in antiquarian circles, it was only in the nineteenth century that the text was identified as an elaborate forgery. The 1760s saw the publication of poetry attributed to an ancient bard named Ossian and ‘translated’ from the Gaelic by James Macpherson. The verses told of the heroic deeds of Fingal and recounted tales of Caledonian battles against the Romans. Immediately denounced as a forgery by many, the poems would nevertheless become a worldwide sensation, reframing the ancient Caledonians as courtly and cultured figures whilst perfectly satisfying the growing taste for the Romantic and sublime.

Resisting the ‘Conquerors of the Universe’: celebrating the Caledonian rejection of Rome

The third chapter discusses the widespread early modern belief that the Roman invasions of Caledonia had failed due to the indomitability of its indigenous inhabitants. In Scottish history, poetry and political tracts, this mythical fight for liberty against Rome was often compared with the fate of England, which had repeatedly fallen to foreign invaders. By the eighteenth century, the notion of a brave Caledonian resistance to Rome was embedded in the Scottish consciousness, and the bravery of their supposed ancestors was often invoked by those opposed to the Union of 1707. Meanwhile, the argument that Rome had not failed to conquer the north, but rather had seen no point in conquering it, was sometimes proposed, particularly by English commentators.