Not many people are aware of the fact, but Napoleon Bonaparte was a serious fan of Fionn mac Cumhaill and it was often claimed that he slept with a copy of the Fhiannaíocht tales beneath his pillow at night [but that’s pretty unlikely].
Sadly, much of Napoleon’s interest stemmed from a fondness for a work known as ‘Ossian’ – (a Gàidhlig spelling of ‘Oisín’). This was a controversial work published in 1761 by John McPherson, a Scottish writer and politician) and which McPherson claimed to be a translation of a lost saga he’d discovered among the Gaelic-speakers of the Scottish highlands.
From its initial publication, scholars questioned the authenticity of McPherson’s work and the fact that he was never able to produce the original manuscript or any material on which he’d worked to make the translation.
Despite McPherson’s poem being rejected outright by Gaelic speakers and academics, his influence and connections meant it caught on with famous figures of the day outside of the British Isles, figures such as Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson and Voltaire.
Napoleon apparently liked the book so much, he commissioned an official painting called “Ossian receiving the Ghosts of French Heroes”. He also designated ‘Oscar’ (the name of Fionn’s grandson) as a regal name.
One wonders what he could have done with the genuine article.
