'Poems of Ossian - Volume II' Frontispiece

This image appears in Volume II of a 1803 London edition of 'The Poems of Ossian'. Originally published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in 1762, this cycle of epic poetry is narrated (and supposedly authored) by the titular Ossian. The poems cover many battles and heroics by various characters — including Ossian's father, Fingal.

This scene was originally illustrated by John Augustus Atkinson before it was engraved by William Angus. It takes place in Book V of ‘Fingal’, which is arguably the most famous of all the Ossianic poems. During a battle, Fingal and Swaran, king of Lochlin, find themselves face to face. Swaran is seen here on the ground, overpowered by the mighty Fingal.

The text below the image illustrates the violence of the battle: 'Terrible is the battle of the Kings; dreadful the look of their eyes. Their dark brown shields are cleft in twain. Their steel flies, broken, from their helmets.'

[Shelfmark Oss.56]