A Collection of Loyal Songs: Songs as Spaces of Memory

In 1750, four years after the Battle of Culloden, Edinburgh printer Robert Fleming distributed the Jacobite songbook A Collection of Loyal Songs, Poems, &c. Jacobitism was, for the most part, expressed in culture, making its cultural markers crucial resources for investigating Jacobite identity, beliefs, and cultural memory. Loyal Songs was part of Jacobite material culture, a concept that extends beyond tangible expressions of Jacobitism and involves the values, mentalities, and views communicated through these artefacts. As such, Loyal Songs—and Jacobite material culture more broadly—can be understood both as a means of communication and as a depository of shared memory. Despite these valuable qualities, the songbook has received little scholarly attention.This article presents the song collection as a space of memory and argues that its songs should be regarded as archival spaces that document cultural memory. As vessels of attitudes and emotions, songs give us access to a group’s culture, identity, and collective memory. More specifically, Jacobite songs reveal alternative versions of historical events that stand in stark contrast to how the government or state media have attempted to “remember” them.By considering the political circumstances that led to the production and shaped the contents of Loyal Songs, the first part of this article sheds light on the function of the collection as well as the importance of this specific manifestation of memory. To the Jacobite individuals involved, Loyal Songs was more than just a songbook; it was a symbol of loyalty. Loyalty to the king and the cause formed the foundation of Jacobite identity. Loyal Songs not only promoted this identity but also reaffirmed it.The second part of the article presents an analysis and discussion of two songs from the collection. Through intermedial analysis—that is, considering both text and tune—this article demonstrates how songs can serve as spaces of memory and remembrance, and at the same time, acts of resistance and empowerment. Ultimately, by approaching the songs in A Collection of Loyal Songs and the collection itself as manifestations of memory and as archives, this article contributes to a deeper and more balanced understanding of cultural memory in the 18th century.