ABSTRACT

Thischapterconsidershowcurrentunderstandingofquestionsofsource andcompositioninromanceoffersawayofaccountingfortherelationship betweenThePoemsofOssiananditsGaelicsourcematerial.The relationshipbetweenromanceandsource,andthebusinessofidentifying thepreoccupationsofaromanceanditsauthorarebest,indeed,asweshall see,mustnecessarilybeconsideredtogether.Howeverthepreoccupations oftheOssianicromance,discussedwithinawidereighteenth-century culturalcontext,isthesubjectofthesecondhalfofthisbook,andIleave mydetailedconsiderationofthemtothattime.Myaimhereistoestablish their,andOssian's,Gaelicpointsofreference.