Jacobite Relics of Scotland was published in two volumes by William Blackwood in Edinburgh (the first volume in 1819, the second in 1821), and it represents Hogg’s most significant contribution to Scottish cultural history. The collection gathers songs associated with the Jacobite cause — the Stuart claim to the British throne and the risings of 1715 and 1745 — from oral sources, printed broadsides, and manuscript collections, supplemented by Hogg’s own compositions in the Jacobite style.
Hogg’s relationship to the material was complex. He was born in 1770 — within living memory of Culloden (1746) — and the Borders region where he grew up retained Jacobite sympathies and songs in oral circulation. His mother and grandfather were sources for some of the material in the collection. But Hogg was also a creative artist, and the line between collecting and composing was deliberately blurred: some “traditional” songs in the collection are Hogg’s own work, written in a style indistinguishable from the originals.
The collection includes songs from both sides of the conflict — loyal Hanoverian songs as well as Jacobite ones — and Hogg’s introductory essays provide historical context for each song. The musical settings are included, making the collection valuable for musicologists as well as literary scholars.
Collecting Jacobite Relics of Scotland
First edition (William Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1819–1821): Two volumes, boards.
Market values:
- Complete two-volume set: $300–$800
- Volume one alone: $100–$250
- Volume two alone: $100–$250