Engraving from 'Poems of Ossian'

This image is an engraving by George Corbould, after a drawing by his brother Henry Corbould, in the 1819 edition of 'The Poems of Ossian'. This collection of poems was originally published in 1762 by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, who claimed to have gathered the heroic tales from early manuscripts and a Scottish Gaelic oral tradition before translating them into English. While there are still questions and controversy surrounding the authencity of Macpherson's work, the 'Ossian' cycle remains a hugely important cultural artefact.

This scene takes place in the poem ‘Oithona’. We see Oithona, daughter of the king Nuäth, and Gaul, son of Morni. In the poem, Gaul is deeply in love with Oithona. However, when he must leave for an expedition into the country of the Britons, he returns to find that she has disappeared.

Oithona appears in a dream to announce that she was kidnapped by Dunrommath, lord of the Uthal, and hidden in a cave. Gaul leaves to rescue her.

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