2010 marks the 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's poem Lady of the Lake. To a modern audience, the poem may seem of limited interest. But Lady of the Lake was probably responsible for completely changing how the public viewed the landscapes of the Highlands and created our first tourism boom.


At the beginning of the 19th century, the Romantic movement was sweeping across Europe and the search was on for places of dramatic, unspoiled beauty. Scott passionately promoted Scotland as a country of wild, untouched landscapes rich in history and myth. Wild landscapes had previously been seen as terrifying and barbaric places to be avoided. But Scott persuaded people to view them instead as awe-inspiring areas to explore. And the success of Lady of the Lake was so far-reaching that it triggered the first surge of tourists to the Trossachs and Scotland. To celebrate the anniversary of this hugely influential poem, a programme of events is set to take place around the Trossachs from May to September. The events for local communities and visitors will celebrate the poem and promote awareness of the wonderful natural and cultural landscapes of the area.


Background


Lady of the Lake marked the peak of Scott’s popularity as a poet. With 25,000 copies sold in eight months, it broke all records and made Scott and his publisher a fortune. Scott’s fame even spread beyond Britain to the United States. By way of comparison, the leading Romantic poet Wordsworth sold only 3,000 copies of his best- selling book of poems in his lifetime. Scott set the 80-page epic poem Lady of the Lake in 1530, at the time of King James V. The poem was written in six parts, with each part representing a day, and was about the struggle


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between James and the powerful clan Douglas. It opens with James disguised as a wandering knight and hunting a stag in the hills of the Trossachs. He’s given shelter for the night on an island in Loch Katrine by Roderick Dhu, a wild highland chieftain. The king falls in love with Ellen, the beautiful daughter of Black Douglas. The poem ends with the king making peace and releasing Black Douglas after Ellen arrives with a ring given to her by James when she provided him with shelter.


Influence


The poem is filled with dramatic, descriptive passages that bring alive the history and landscape of the Trossachs:


The summer dawn’s reflected hue To purple changed Loch Katrine blue; Mildly and soft the western breeze Just kissed the lake, just stirred the trees


Lines like these caught the imagination of readers and broke all previous records for the sale of poetry. The poem brought a flood of tourists to view the landscapes that Scott described so vividly. Following publication, the number of carriages passing Loch Katrine shot up from 48 in one year to 279 the next! There were literally coach traffic jams! The poem also helped to establish the notion of the romantic Highlands, with Scott going on to stage manage George IV’s visit to Edinburgh in 1822. He dressed the king in tartan and revived interest in the wearing of highland dress, which had previously been banned following the Jacobite rebellion in 1745. The poem went on to inspire musicians and artists across the globe.


– The three ‘Ellen songs’ from Scott’s poem were set to music by Franz Schubert. His music to the third song was later to become far more fa mously known as Ave Maria.


– Verses from the poem, including Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances!, were set to music. The Hail to the Chief march became a


The Nature of Scotland 3


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