To mark the 300th anniversary of the 1715 Jacobite uprising and the events leading to it, an innovative video celebrating one of Sir Walter Scott’s lesser-known works has been released and will be unveiled on Friday, February 13, at the National Library of Scotland.
Scott’s On the Massacre of Glencoe poem commemorates the massacre which saw more than 70 Highlanders killed for alleged treason. The atrocity is widely regarded by historians as playing an important role in mobilising popular support across the Highlands for the Jacobite cause, leading to the 1715 uprising which sought to put James Edward Stuart, son of James VII, on the throne.
Now, more than 300 years later, and coinciding with a new exhibition at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh-based company Double Take Projections has created a video showing the words of Sir Walter Scott’s poem being beamed, on location, on to the Glencoe scenery, including Buachaille Etive Beag which will be screened as part of the library’s Game of Crowns exhibition which tells the story of this bloody period in Scotland’s history through original letters, manuscripts, books, maps and portraits from the time.
Robert Betteridge, rare books curator, said: “The massacre of Glencoe is still seen today as one of the most shameful moments in Scottish history. This video is a unique way to commemorate an event which is known to people all round the world.”
Game of Crowns: The 1715 Jacobite Rising runs until Sunday, May 10, at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Entry is free.