Sophia Morrison
Encyclopedia
Sophia Morrison was a Manx
cultural activist, folklore
collector and author. The secretary to the Manx Language Society, "Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh" (see Manx language
), from 1901 until her death, Morrison was one of the key players in the period of nation-building at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. She was active in the pan-Celtic movement
.
Born in Peel, Isle of Man
, Morrison worked for the promotion of Manx Gaelic music, folklore and literature, editing Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh's journal Mannin, which appeared between 1913 and 1917 in nine volumes. Her role as secretary of the Society brought her into contact with all the important names of the period - both within and without the Isle of Man. She corresponded regularly with Manx scholars Arthur William Moore
, J J Kneen, W H Gill and William Cubbon, for example, as well as with leading language activists in the other Celtic countries.
A collector of folklore, Morrison becoming internationally-renowned as an authority on Manx fairylore
. She contributed Manx sections to W. Y. Evans-Wentz's Fairy Faith in the Celtic Countries and to Rhŷs Phillips’ Celtic Nations & their Literary Activities, for example. Her own Manx Fairy Tales (1911) represented stories collected from informants and friends such as J R Moore and William Cashen.
Morrison was also important in the development of a new literary code, a new literary language – Anglo-Manx writing. Together with Arthur William Moore
and Edmund Goodwin, she was responsible for A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect, a glossary of dialect words and phrases. The Isle of Man
's small but important theatre company, the Peel Players, was under her direction – members carried her coffin at her funeral in 1917.
Manx people
The Manx are an ethnic group coming from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea in northern Europe. They are often described as a Celtic people, though they have had a mixed background including Norse and English influences....
cultural activist, folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
collector and author. The secretary to the Manx Language Society, "Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh" (see Manx language
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
), from 1901 until her death, Morrison was one of the key players in the period of nation-building at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. She was active in the pan-Celtic movement
Pan-Celticism
Pan-Celticism is the name given to various political and cultural movements and organisations that promote greater contact between the Celtic nations.-Types of Pan-Celticism:Pan-Celticism can operate on one or all of the following levels listed below:...
.
Born in Peel, Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, Morrison worked for the promotion of Manx Gaelic music, folklore and literature, editing Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh's journal Mannin, which appeared between 1913 and 1917 in nine volumes. Her role as secretary of the Society brought her into contact with all the important names of the period - both within and without the Isle of Man. She corresponded regularly with Manx scholars Arthur William Moore
Arthur William Moore
Arthur William Moore CVO SHK JP MA was a Manx antiquarian, historian, linguist, folklorist, and former Speaker of the House of Keys in the Isle of Man. He published under the sobriquet A. W. Moore.-Life:...
, J J Kneen, W H Gill and William Cubbon, for example, as well as with leading language activists in the other Celtic countries.
A collector of folklore, Morrison becoming internationally-renowned as an authority on Manx fairylore
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
. She contributed Manx sections to W. Y. Evans-Wentz's Fairy Faith in the Celtic Countries and to Rhŷs Phillips’ Celtic Nations & their Literary Activities, for example. Her own Manx Fairy Tales (1911) represented stories collected from informants and friends such as J R Moore and William Cashen.
Morrison was also important in the development of a new literary code, a new literary language – Anglo-Manx writing. Together with Arthur William Moore
Arthur William Moore
Arthur William Moore CVO SHK JP MA was a Manx antiquarian, historian, linguist, folklorist, and former Speaker of the House of Keys in the Isle of Man. He published under the sobriquet A. W. Moore.-Life:...
and Edmund Goodwin, she was responsible for A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect, a glossary of dialect words and phrases. The Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
's small but important theatre company, the Peel Players, was under her direction – members carried her coffin at her funeral in 1917.
External links
- Breesha Maddrell, Morrison, Sophia (1859–1917), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography