George Hogg: Vicky Davidson - The Ettrick Shepherd

At last week’s meeting, Vicky Davidson, who is involved with The James Hogg exhibition at the former Ettrick School, gave a talk to our club members on the life of Hogg.

James Hogg also known as the “Ettrick Shepherd” was a Scottish writer and poet (born 9^th December 1770, died 21^st November 1835) and lived most of his life in Ettrick Valley. Vicky talked about how Hogg had experienced a far from easy life as he received little in the way of education having to work with his father on the farm from an early age, to help support the family. Hogg, as he grew older, developed an appreciation for listening to people reciting Scottish ballads and poetry of the time, and this encouraged him to learn to read and write, which he did mainly by self-teaching. Apparently, Hogg while learning to write, was often seen with a small bottle of ink hanging from his neck which he used to practice his writing while tending his sheep, (such was his determination to learn).

Vicky also talked about his climb in popularity which started with an earlier work of his written around 1803, a song by the title of “Donald Macdonald” a celebrated Scottish patriotic song, serving as a defiant response to Napoleon Bonaparte's ambitions to invade Britain.As his popularity increased, he was invited to join various literary societies, mainly in Edinburgh, however Hogg little used to high society usually attended these events wearing his shepherd’s garb, including his shepherd’s plaid which he was very proud of. As Hogg’s popularity increased through songs and poetry published in various journals and magazines of the time, his wealth did not. This was probably due to a combination of bad luck and ill-advised business decisions, nearing bankruptcy at times, however his popularity had increased so much that he was offered a knighthood but his wife thought the money needed to purchase his knighthood regalia could be better spent elsewhere, so he decided to turn the offer down. Hogg and Walter Scott also had a common interest in collecting and preserving old Scottish ballads with Hogg helping Scott with his collection. This is the time when they reputedly became friends.

Towards the end of her talk Vicky mentioned Hogg’s book “The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner” which was first published around 1824. However, at the time of publication this book was not well received because the content touched on such themes as religious fanaticism, the nature of evil, identity, and the conflict between predestination and free will. However, the book was very much ahead of its time and is now considered a masterpiece in the academic world of Scottish literature.

Vicky’s talk proved very interesting and informative and was well received by our club members.