ULSTER-SCOTS
RESEARCH
CENTRE
What literature is there?
Scots as a whole has a rich literary history dating back to the time of Chaucer. The poetry of the Scottish makars of the middle ages was widely read, but the most notably period was ironically when the language was in a period of decline. The most famous writer was, of course, Robert 'Rabbie' Burns, who only wrote partly in Scots but is considered by many the finest exponent of the Scots tongue who ever lived. Burns had contemporaries, even acquaintances, across the North Channel in east Ulster, such as Samuel Thomson, Hugh Porter and James Orr. They were among the 'Rhyming Weavers' of the period around the 1798 rising, and their writing provides a fascinating insight into thinking at the time. Their work, and the work of some modern Scots writers in Ulster, can be found on this site's bibliography. Much of the poetry is, sadly, as yet unpublished - as more and more of it goes to print in the coming years, details will be added to this site, with updates via the mailing list.