Robert Burns was not a Jacobite

Robert Burns is Scotland’s national poet. Because of this, there is a temptation for Scots of every political persuasion to claim him as one of their own. This often leads to serious misunderstandings of Burns, his historical context, and his work.

In this episode, Murdo and James explore a selection of Burns’s poems and songs to examine what his political ideas actually were. In particular, they discuss Burns’s use of Jacobite material, arguing that it reflects a romantic and cultural fascination with a lost cause rather than genuine political support for Jacobitism.

By placing Burns in his own time, rather than ours, the episode challenges modern attempts to turn him into a spokesman for contemporary political causes.