'A Jacobite by Name?': Jacobitism in the Life and Work of Robert Burns

Visit Ellisland Museum & Farm and discover Jacobite history from the South of Scotland!This fascinating talk delivered by Patrick Jamieson, PhD scholar at the University of Glasgow, exploring how ideas of identity, naming and political memory shaped Burns’s engagement with Jacobitism throughout his life and writing.Using the theme of “naming” as a guide, the talk examines Burns’s own family history and the changing origins of the Burns name, tracing links to pro-Stuart sympathies stretching back to Aberdeenshire.

It will also explore how Burns used names within his poetry and songs — drawing on historical figures and evocative place names as powerful symbols of patriotism, loyalty and a romanticised Scottish past.The talk will consider the subtle and sometimes risky political landscape Burns navigated, including his strategic use of misnaming and ambiguity to avoid persecution during a period of political sensitivity.

It will also reflect on Burns’s adoption of the title “The Bard” — not simply as a literary persona, but as a deliberate identity that positioned him as Scotland’s national poet and cultural voice.