Engraving from 'Poems of Ossian - Volume I'

This image is the frontispiece of the 1807 London edition of 'The Poems of Ossian'. These poems were published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in 1762 and recount the epic tales of the hero Fingal, father of the titular narrator-author Ossian. The engraving was made by Cosmo Armstrong, an English line-graver, after a painting by Henry Singleton who was an English painter and miniaturist.

It refers to a scene in the poem ‘Croma’. On the right, we can see Crothar, the king of Croma (a country in Ireland), and next to him is the young Ossian. Old and blind, Crothar is no longer able to fight; yet his son is too young to fight in his place. Seeing Crothar in a position of weakness, his rival Rothmar decides to invade his lands. Fingal sends Ossian to help Crothar, but when Ossian arrives the son of Crothar is already dead.

This is the scene depicted in this image, where we see Crothar in mourning for his son. The text below the image reads 'Crothar rose, stretched his aged hand, and blessed the son of Fingal'. ('Croma', Vol I., pg 267)

[Shelfmark Oss.84]