During
the early period of COVID-19 containment, many of us
discovered a new way to explore interests by taking
courses in the comfort of your own home. Something tells
me this may be a positive legacy of COVID. Disease was
nothing new to Sir Walter Scott, the writer
and master of Abbotsford, who experienced loss of five
siblings in infancy and a sixth died at the age of five
month. Walter’s own challenges with health issues
necessitated him being removed from his urban home to
recuperate and live with relatives in the countryside
when his bout of childhood polio left him lame. Having
to deal with his health issues we now know allowed him
to experience a part of Scotland unfamiliar to most
children living in Edinburgh and triggered a lifelong
interest in collecting, countryside exploration,
storytelling and history. The molding of the man was
clearly in his boyhood which led to his great legacy in
historical novels, which continue to cultivate
international interest in all things Scottish.
I
am currently taking an online course through the
University of Aberdeen and FutureLearn called Walter Scott: The
Man Behind the Monument taught by Professor Ali
Lumsden and Kirsty Archer-Thompson.
Ali
is the director of the University of Aberdeen’s Walter
Scott Research Centre and Honorary Librarian at
Abbotsford while Kirsty is responsible for the
collections, interiors and built heritage of Abbotsford.
The
course literature indicates that it is a four-week short
course and is delivered entirely online via FutureLearn.
“You can study anywhere in the world and manage your
study hours to suit you. You’ll learn with academics
from the University of Aberdeen, the Walter Scott
Research Centre, and experts at Abbotsford, Scott’s home
in the Scottish Borders.
The
course features a range of online resources, including:
videos, articles, audio clips, novel extracts,
discussions, and quizzes. You’ll spend around two hours
per week on this course.”
They
indicate that it was originally a free Massive Open
Online Course (MOOC) produced by the University of
Aberdeen and Abbotsford. “However, in response to the
Covid-19 crisis and the increased demand for armchair
learning opportunities, it has been decided to keep this
popular course open and free for people to drop into
until August. The course will be mentored once a week by
tutors during this time, before the launch of a
fully-mentored version to celebrate Scott’s birthday in
August.
The
course has specifically been designed for beginners and
there is no prior knowledge of the subject required. It
requires no more than two hours of work each week and
will provide a comprehensive overview of Scott’s work
and legacy, while challenging common misconceptions.”
I
have read several biographies of Scott over the years
and Abbotsford is a Mecca for me but I continue to learn
new things about the character and mind of the great
bard. Not only did he have a great mind for detail and a
prolific writing ability but he had a direct connection
to the land in his exploration as a countryside rambler
and collector. Walking the trails he created in his
woods at Abbotsford is a great way to commune with his
love of the land.
Currently
I am still taking the course and we are examining the
early years that prepared Scott for the life of the
writer. The course materials tell us that:
“He
collected historical artefacts. He later read relevant
historical documents in Register House, and had friends
transcribe relevant manuscripts in the British
Museum. Scott's greatness as
scholar and writer comes from his imaginative ability to
synthesize these different kinds of historical evidence
to create narratives in which detail is used to reveal
the way in which people in the past construed their
world and invested it with meaning.”
The
course covers the work and legacy of
Walter Scott under topics like:
·
Scott as a collector
·
Relationship between
Scott’s home at Abbotsford and storytelling
·
Connections between
Scott’s work and landscape, history and nationhood
·
Curating Scott’s legacy
The website address is
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/walter-scott
