Robert Burns | Autograph manuscript poem, "Hae ye heard o' the Witch o' Dundrum"

Robert Burns.

Autograph manuscript poem, beginning "Hae ye heard o' the Witch o' Dundrum", 13 lines, signed at the end ("Robt Burns"), possibly incomplete at the beginning, on a large fragment of a folio leaf (160 x 295mm) laid down on a larger sheet (160 x 340mm), soiled, fold tears

A SONG IN THE HAND OF ROBERT BURNS. The 'Witch of Dundrum' may be an original composition but is more probably one of the many traditional ballads collected by Burns, although it was not published in The Scots Musical Museum. The song celebrates the benefits that have followed the Witch's of Dundrum's arrival in Scotland from Ireland, an event that is "Ireland's lament | And Scotland's content". The tone is likely to be ironic—witches were rarely benevolent in the 18th century—but it is hard to be certain as the poem's meaning remains elusive. Dundrum is a coastal village in Co. Down, although there was also a village of the same name close to Dublin. The song is dated to "the tale [sic] of the year" so it is likely to be rooted in a specific occasion, but the identity of the powerful woman at its centre remains to be identified.

PROVENANCE

Auction sale, Stanley Gibbons, 14 October 1982, lot 55