Alexander Geddes

Paul J. deGategno (Penn State University)

Ed. by Daniel Cook, University of Dundee
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of York), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 1737
Died 1802
Activity c. 1760-c. 1800

Places

Active in Scotland

Activities

Primary

Writer / Author

Resources

Geddes' Works

Save to Bookshelf

Alexander Geddes (1737-1802) was born at Arradowl, the parish of Rathven, Aberdeenshire, on 4 September 1737, the son of Alexander Geddes and Janet Mitchel, tenant farmers on the large Gordon estates in the Banffshire district. He is known primarily as a biblical scholar and a Latin, Scots, and English-language poet. His parents were staunch Roman Catholics, and their son was raised to revere both learning and, somewhat surprisingly, the King James Bible. Since only a few books were available in the home, the Bible became a central focus for encouraging a love of language, history, and organized religion. His early schooling began with the sons of local gentry and their tenants who were fortunate in their first teacher, a King’s College, Aberdeen student James Shearer, but due to the…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1310 words

Citation: deGategno, Paul J.. "Alexander Geddes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 October 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13798, accessed 03 December 2024.]