Haldane Burgess
Encyclopedia
James John Haldane Burgess (1862 - 1927) is a figure in Shetland's cultural history, being a poet, novelist, violinist, and linguist, as well as a socialist. His published works include Rasmie's Büddie, Some Shetland Folk, Tang, The Treasure of Don Andreas, Rasmie's Kit, Rasmie's Smaa Murr, and The Viking Path, the latter being translated into German
. He was one of the Shetlanders who gave assistance to Jakob Jakobsen
, in his researches into the Norn language
in Shetland.
, whose grandfather had left Dunrossness
as a soldier during the Napoleonic period and lived in Edinburgh
for a time before settling in 'da toon' as a shopkeeper.
Haldane Burgess won first place in the Glasgow Bursary Competition. He spent four years as a teacher in Bressay
in order to pay for his university education. He studied Divinity
at Edinburgh University, but found himself in disagreement with certain doctrines. He lost his sight in his last year of study, took his final exams orally and returned to Lerwick. Later his promotion of socialist ideas made him a popular and radical figure.
. He developed a lifelong interest in Norse culture and taught himself Norwegian
, later contributing articles to journals in Norway
. In his lifetime he was best known for a novel entitled The Viking Path – A Tale of The White Christ (1894), set in Shetland and Norway at the coming of Christianity. The best-known of his work now is probably his verse in dialect, as published in Rasmie's Büddie: poems in the Shetlandic (1891), which was republished in 1913, and later in 1979 with illustrations by Frank Walterson. The poem 'Scranna' is one of the acknowledged classics of Shetlandic literature.
Laurence I. Graham
, in his essay Shetland Literature and the idea of community in Shetland’s Northern Links: Language and History, (1996) writes that his novel Tang “ … was written in the closing years of the last century. It tells the story of a young girl, Inga, and her divided love for two men: one, her devoted admirer, a steady, hard working fisherman, and the other, a newly arrived minister, young, idealistic, unsure of himself and very susceptible to feminine charm and persuasion. It also presents a picture of a small community of crofter-fishermen, their women-folk, the merchant, the teacher, the minister and the laird. Burgess brings out the darker side of this community, the hypocrisy and occasional dishonesty, the servility of some crofters towards the gentry, the malicious gossip, the petty jealousies and spitefulness within the congregation and the damage done by itinerant hot-gospellers and their infernal, illegitimate-producing revival meetings' as Hakki, the agnostic schoolmaster, calls them. The novel certainly gives an unflattering picture of what passed for religious life at this period … The arguments between Hakki, the outspoken agnostic, and the minister and laird are among the highlights of the book and it is obvious where the author's sympathies lie. It is certainly an unusual novel for its time when the Scottish Kailyard school
of writing was still at its height …”
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. He was one of the Shetlanders who gave assistance to Jakob Jakobsen
Jakob Jakobsen
Dr. phil. Jakob Jakobsen, , was a Faroese linguist as well as a scholar of literature. He was the first Faroese person to earn a doctoral degree...
, in his researches into the Norn language
Norn language
Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken in Shetland and Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland, and in Caithness. After the islands were pledged to Scotland by Norway in the 15th century, it was gradually replaced by Scots and on the mainland by Scottish...
in Shetland.
Early life
Burgess was born on May the 28th, 1862. He was a son of LerwickLerwick
Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
, whose grandfather had left Dunrossness
Dunrossness
Dunrossness, . It is the southernmost parish of Shetland, and includes, Levenwick, Bigton, Scousburgh, Quendale, Virkie, Fair Isle....
as a soldier during the Napoleonic period and lived in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
for a time before settling in 'da toon' as a shopkeeper.
Haldane Burgess won first place in the Glasgow Bursary Competition. He spent four years as a teacher in Bressay
Bressay
-Geography and geology:Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of Noss, and north of Mousa. At , it is the fifth largest island in Shetland. The population is around 400 people, concentrated in the middle of the west coast, around Glebe, Fullaburn and Maryfield....
in order to pay for his university education. He studied Divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
at Edinburgh University, but found himself in disagreement with certain doctrines. He lost his sight in his last year of study, took his final exams orally and returned to Lerwick. Later his promotion of socialist ideas made him a popular and radical figure.
Writings
He was a linguist and a champion of EsperantoEsperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
. He developed a lifelong interest in Norse culture and taught himself Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, later contributing articles to journals in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. In his lifetime he was best known for a novel entitled The Viking Path – A Tale of The White Christ (1894), set in Shetland and Norway at the coming of Christianity. The best-known of his work now is probably his verse in dialect, as published in Rasmie's Büddie: poems in the Shetlandic (1891), which was republished in 1913, and later in 1979 with illustrations by Frank Walterson. The poem 'Scranna' is one of the acknowledged classics of Shetlandic literature.
Laurence I. Graham
Laurence I. Graham
Laurence I. Graham , better known as Lollie Graham, is a well known Shetland poet and author, born in Stromfirth in 1924. The family moved to one of the new croft holdings at Veensgarth, Tingwall and he has lived there ever since...
, in his essay Shetland Literature and the idea of community in Shetland’s Northern Links: Language and History, (1996) writes that his novel Tang “ … was written in the closing years of the last century. It tells the story of a young girl, Inga, and her divided love for two men: one, her devoted admirer, a steady, hard working fisherman, and the other, a newly arrived minister, young, idealistic, unsure of himself and very susceptible to feminine charm and persuasion. It also presents a picture of a small community of crofter-fishermen, their women-folk, the merchant, the teacher, the minister and the laird. Burgess brings out the darker side of this community, the hypocrisy and occasional dishonesty, the servility of some crofters towards the gentry, the malicious gossip, the petty jealousies and spitefulness within the congregation and the damage done by itinerant hot-gospellers and their infernal, illegitimate-producing revival meetings' as Hakki, the agnostic schoolmaster, calls them. The novel certainly gives an unflattering picture of what passed for religious life at this period … The arguments between Hakki, the outspoken agnostic, and the minister and laird are among the highlights of the book and it is obvious where the author's sympathies lie. It is certainly an unusual novel for its time when the Scottish Kailyard school
Kailyard school
The Kailyard school of Scottish fiction was developed about the 1890s as a reaction against what was seen as increasingly coarse writing representing Scottish life complete with all its blemishes. It has been considered as being an overly sentimental representation of rural life, cleansed of real...
of writing was still at its height …”