THE ISLANDS 300 YEARS AGO – MARTIN MARTIN - Na h-Eileanan bho chionn trì cheud bliadhna

What were the islands like centuries ago? We are fortunate in having a number of early accounts, by far the most detailed of which was ‘A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland’ by Martin Martin, first published in 1703. This is a veritable gold-mine of fascinating information about a world which was then ‘but little known, or considered, not only by Strangers, but even by those under the same Government and climate’.

What is remarkable is the attention to detail in Martin’s observations on the people of the islands, their customs and religion, diseases and cures, antiquities and monuments, and the natural world in which they lived. Martin, a native Gaelic speaker born in Skye, was in a unique position to describe the island from the inside. This contrasts with many of the accounts which followed as the Hebrides were ‘discovered’ and often romanticised by the outside world.

But Martin’s remarkable book influenced almost all future travellers. We know that Samuel Johnson carried a copy of Martin on his famous visit with James Boswell to the Hebrides in 1773, and that this was an important factor in his decision to see the islands.

Martin had his own agenda linked to the emerging world of scientific enquiry and economic improvement which saw the many ‘pagan and Papist superstitions’ of the islands as an obstacle to progress. But whether you want information on sacrifices to the sea god Shony in Ness in northern Lewis, an early description of the ‘Classerniss Stones’, the longevity of the natives of Jura, or some of the first references to the solan goose, fulmar, and corncrake, Martin is an indispensable source.

A new edition of Martin Martin’s classic book, containing a facsimile of the rare first edition text, together with photographs, a new introduction, and extensive notes on places mentioned in the text, was published by The Islands Book Trust in 2003 to mark the tercentenary of the original edition. This edition is entitled ‘Curiosities of Art and Nature’ and can be obtained through booksellers or direct from the Trust at 10 Callicvol, Port of Ness, Lewis (tel 01851 810681).