Robert Burns Highland Mary muse disputed

[Still Waters]

Researchers believe that Robert Burns' relationship with Highland Mary, the woman described as his muse, was dramatically exaggerated.

Academics at Glasgow University said the myth was largely constructed to lend cultural significance to the poet himself.

Highland Mary, whose real name was Mary Campbell, died in 1786 only a few weeks after meeting Burns.

The Bard went on to publish works dedicated to her.

The Highland Lassie, O, Highland Mary and To Mary in Heaven are all thought to have been inspired by her.

The songs have been interpreted as revealing Burns' intention to start a new life with Mary in Jamaica after abandoning his wife Jean Armour weeks earlier.

Professor Murray Pittock, director of the Robert Burns - Beyond Text project, said the legend of Mary was largely constructed by Burns' subsequent biographers from objects such as statues and snuff boxes - rather than written documentation.

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