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Libra Esoterica

Fragments of ancient poetry

a reprint of the first edition of 1760 : with a photo-lithographic facsimilie of the original title page

by James Macpherson

  • First published:
  • 18th century
  • Language: English

"Fragments of Ancient Poetry" by James Macpherson is a collection of poems that draws on themes from ancient Scottish culture and mythology, written in the mid-18th century. This work serves as a translation of pieces Macpherson claims are remnants of Gaelic poetry, capturing the essence of early Highland society. The fragments reflect a time when oral tradition and heroic tales were integral to cultural identity and artistic expression. The content of the book reveals a world steeped in epic battles, tragic love stories, and emotive laments. Characters such as Oscian, Shilric, Vinvela, and Connal navigate themes of loss and valor against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands. The narratives often revolve around the death of heroes and the mourning of loved ones, showcasing the interplay between nature and human emotions. Through the measured prose and lyrical dialogue, Macpherson not only aims to preserve the voice of ancient bards but also to evoke the haunting beauty of a landscape entwined with the deeds of its legendary figures. The overall tone of the poems evokes nostalgia and reflects the valor and tragedy of its characters, aiming to resonate with the broader themes of human experience and loss. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Mythology, folklore, and sacred legends.

  • Controlled discovery queries from online-books-page, openlibrary-historical, and project-gutenberg matched “folklore”, “Mythology”, and “mythology”. Retained metadata contains “Mythology” in the description, “Tales” in the description, and “Mythology” in the subject metadata.

    • Mythology· via The Online Books Page
    • Mythology· via Open Library
    • folklore· via Project Gutenberg
    • mythology· via Project Gutenberg
    • Mythology· in description
    • Tales· in description

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Editions

Open Library reports 8 editions; 3 cataloged here.

The Online Books Page curated catalog record

Source listed online copy

a reprint of the first edition of 1760 : with a photo-lithographic facsimilie of the original title page

Open Library record

1917W. BrownEnglishPublic

Project Gutenberg electronic edition

Project Gutenberg metadata does not identify the source print edition.

2005-05-01Project GutenbergEnglishPublic domain (USA)

Subjects

11 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Cataloged from

Cataloging notes

  • Contributors: Dunn, John J
  • Open Library reports 8 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
  • Original print publication date and source edition are absent from Project Gutenberg metadata.
  • Source-listed Library of Congress call number(s): PR3544 .A67
Catalog id
openlibrary-work:OL15923190W
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
Retrieved