Sir Walter Scott was a towering influence on the Royal Celtic Society’s early years and we have been privileged to take part in a year-long programme of activity to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his birth, at the invitation of the Abbotsford Trust.
That activity culminated in a magnificent National Service of Thanksgiving for his life, organised by Sir Angus Grossart and held in St Giles Cathedral on Saturday 30 October. It was an event whose ceremonial would have delighted Sir Walter. Four representatives of the society were invited to take part in the procession from Parliament Hall into the cathedral, led by the Lord Lyon and Officers of Arms. The Royal Company of Archers provided a guard of honour, and the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were on duty in Parliament Square.
The procession included representatives of no fewer than 25 surviving organisations, including ourselves, with which Sir Walter was associated. Members of the society were present in many capacities, representing bodies as diverse as the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scott’s masonic lodge, the Writers to the Signet, the Clan Scott Society and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, as well as the Abbotsford Trust, whose involvement was central to the event. The broadsword the Celtic Society presented to Sir Walter in 1822, which he described as ‘the finest broadsword I have ever seen,’ was brought to the cathedral from Abbotsford for the occasion.
The service was led by the Minister of St Giles, the Rev Calum MacLeod. It began with Berlioz’s Rob Roy Overture and included musical contributions from works such as Rossini’s La Donna del lago, the first opera based on Scott’s work, in this case, The Lady of the Lake, which also provided the inspiration for Shubert’s Ave Maria, sung by the cathedral choir. The Duke of Buccleuch, Chief of the Name and Arms of Scott, read from The Lay of the Last Minstrel, that passage that finishes with the stirring words: “O Caledonia, stern and wild/Meet nurse for a poetic child!/Land of brown heath ad shaggy wood/Land of the mountain and the flood/Land of my sires! What mortal hand/Can e’er untie that filial band/that knits me to thy rugged strand?”
Professor David Purdie, dressed in the garb of his forebear, Scott’s gamekeeper Tom Purdie, introduced Bonnie Dundee, which was then sung by the congregation. Sir Angus Grossart read from Scott’s journal and Lady Dorrian, the Lord Justice Clerk, read Jeanie Deans’s speech to Queen Caroline from The Heart of Midlothian. A prayer of thanksgiving for Sir Walter’s life and work was given by the Very Rev Professor Iain Torrance.
Following the service, the procession re-formed and moved down The Mound to the Scott Monument, where further tributes were paid, including an address by Councillor Frank Ross, the Rt Hon the Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
This was the first time society members had had the opportunity to meet as a group in more than 18 months. In all, around 50 members of the Royal Celtic Society were present, in a wide variety of capacities. It was good to be together once again, and those present who were able to stay retired after the ceremonies were complete to the New Club for an impromptu and very convivial lunch.