ABSTRACT
While the fortunes of the Highland harpers were on the wane from the mid 17th century onwards, one harper stands out in song, story and folk-memory. This is Ruaidhri Dall MacMhuirich — Rory or Roderick Morison, the Blind Harper of Dunvegan. That his fame should so persist is due no doubt to the fact that he was one of the last professional harpers, and that he was an outstanding performer who combined musical and poetic talents. In the past several historians have made the error of confusing or combining the identities of Ruairi Dall O’Cathain and Ruaidhri Dall Morison. Far more information has survived on the life of the Scottish harper, however, and Rev. William Matheson’s learned, fascinating and exhaustive study of Morison’s life and background has clearly traced the pattern of his career from his birth, around 1656, to his death in 1713 or 1714.
