Scope and Contents Marked 'Mackinnon A5' and noted thus in previous historical records. This appears to be a draft paper, written by Mackinnon himself, discussing a Gaelic version of the Latin epic poem, 'Pharsalia'. Mackinnon refers to a few scholars and their role in previous understandings of Pharslia, but these names are difficult to source in the historical record, e.g. Dr Donald Smith.There appears to be no Gaelic whatsoever in this text, and it is not clear to which version of Pharsalia he...

Scope and Contents

Marked 'Mackinnon A6' and noted thus in previous historical records. This appears to be a draft paper, written by Mackinnon himself, discussing Gaelic versions of the classical epic poems. However, the appears to be no Gaelic whatsoever in this notebook.

Contents MS 180 contains a part of the Alexandreis, an epic poem by twelfth-century author, Walter of Châtillon. Walter's epic of Alexander the Great is written in hexameter verse and became a popular text in the Middle Ages. Written in the 1180s after Walter returned to France following his degree in law at the university of Bologna, the Alexandreis was requested by William, Archbishop of Rheims. This connection is explicit in the...

Contents The Aeneid is the third of Virgil's major works, and generally regarded as his masterpiece, and a cornerstone of Latin literature. The epic poem tells the story of the journey of Aeneas, from Troy to Italy, where he ultimately founded Rome. Virgil's work took the existing, fragmentary character of Aeneas and fashioned a compelling foundation myth for the Romans, tying them to the mythical city of Troy.The 'Aeneid' contains twelve books, which can...