The Glenriddell Manuscripts of Robert Burns: "Determined to write myself out"

The Glenriddell Manuscripts are one of the most significant collections of original Robert Burns material to be found anywhere in the world. They are rightly considered to be one of the greatest treasures among the millions of items held by the National Library of Scotland. The manuscripts are not merely important for their link to Burns and their contents, although this is undoubtedly a major part of their appeal. They are also intrinsically linked to the foundation and establishment of the Library itself and are here, in part, because there was a national library in Scotland in which to hold them.

What are the Glenriddell Manuscripts?

The Glenriddell Manuscripts are two volumes compiled between 1789 and 1793. They are listed as a volume of poetry and song and a volume of letters. The spines of the volumes would indicate this is the case, with one bearing the title 'Burns's Poems' and the other 'Burns's letters'. However, the reality is not as clear cut.

His volume of poetry contains the longest letter that Burns ever wrote, the 'history of myself' letter that he sent to Dr John Moore. It also contains versions of 38 poems and epigrams and 9 songs and ballads, which have almost no reworking and as such are fair copies as opposed to working drafts. The second volume contains selections of his letters. They include those that Burns considered to be his best efforts and for which he had retained drafts of the originals before a fair copy was sent to his correspondent.

We know something of this process from a December 1793 letter that Burns sent to one of his early patrons, Mrs Frances Dunlop. Burns related, "I have lately collected, for a Friend's perusal, all my letters; I mean, those which I first sketched in a rough draught, & afterwards wrote out fair. – On looking over some old musty papers, which, from time to time, I had parcelled by, as trash that were scarce worth preserving & which yet at the same time, I did not care to destroy I discovered many of these rude sketches, & have written & am writing them out, in a bound M.S.S., for my Friend's Library".

Why "Glenriddell"?

Why are they called the Glenriddell Manuscripts, and not the Burns Manuscripts? They were named after the people to whom they were presented, Robert Riddell of Glenriddell and his wife Elizabeth. This was a token of friendship to acknowledge their hospitality and patronage.

Burns's original intent was that, once completed, they would form a part of the library at Friar's Carse, the home of the Riddell family in Dumfriesshire, but that ambition was never realised. Indeed, the two volumes were considered to be the property of Riddell as they bore his family's coat of arms on the front and back covers.

Burns made all the selections of material to comprise the volumes himself, but he did not enter everything in his own hand. The evidence of the text indicates that at least three different amanuenses (or scribes) were employed to copy out Burns's writings, primarily in volume one. We do not know who any of them were as neither Burns nor Riddell makes any reference to them, with one notable exception.

The transcription of the letter to Moore was undertaken by a clergyman. We know this because Burns was less than impressed with the transcriber accusing him of false spelling and injudicious punctuation, and worse, of mangling the proper name and principal title of a personage of the very first distinction, finally adding that "considering the Transcriber was one of the Clergy, an order that owe the very bread they eat to the said Personage's exertions, the affair was absolutely unpardonable".

The importance of the manuscripts

The Glenriddell manuscripts are important for several reasons, not least because they are the largest single group of Burns's manuscripts in existence. At the time of composition, many of the works included in this set were unpublished. In several instances as originals were destroyed or became lost or untraced they are often the only surviving manuscript version that we have.

Furthermore, Burns's own comments on his poetry and prose offer a unique record of his earlier work with insights into the poet's thought process for their composition and execution. Burns provides insights into the letters too as he often wrote a covering headnote with further details about their contents or why he decided to include them in the volume.

Highlights of the Glenriddell manuscripts

One of the most significant pieces included in the volume of poetry is a version of 'Holy Willie's Prayer', which is Burns's most famous attack on religious hypocrisy. It was originally written in 1785, but it was not published until 1789 when it first appeared as an anonymous pamphlet. However, it had clearly been circulating among the Ayrshire community in between these years and came to the attention of the Church. The background as to why the poem was written would have been well known to the community in Ayrshire and as such no explanation was necessary.

In the Glenriddell Manuscripts Burns provides information on the characters involved and his reason for composing it. It was an attack on the kirk elder Willie Fisher who Burns thought was going out of his way to persecute his friend, Gavin Hamilton. This explanation would have been necessary for Robert Riddell who could quite easily have been in the dark about whom Holy Willie was. At this stage the poem was mostly circulating in manuscript, with a very limited print run, and had certainly not appeared in his major publications of the Kilmarnock and Edinburgh editions of his poetry.

Volume one also contains a version of one of the most famous poems in all of Scottish and English literature, 'Tam O'Shanter'. It is most appropriate for inclusion in the Glenriddell Manuscripts as its genesis and ultimate creation is a result of Burns's friendship with Robert Riddell. It was at Riddell's house that Burns met the antiquarian Francis Grose for the first time in 1789 when Grose was staying at Friar's Carse to collect materials for his publication 'The Antiquities of Scotland'.

The two had an instant rapport and Burns was keen for Grose to include something on the ruined Alloway kirk. Not to miss an opportunity, Grose said he would do this provided that Burns give him an accompanying work to go with his drawing. The result was 'Tam O'Shanter'.

Unfortunately, this particular version of the poem is not one that Burns added in his own hand but is instead copied out by one of the amanuenses. It can certainly be counted as an official version of the text though, as we know that Burns would have seen it and had a chance to cast his critical eye over it.

Burns also included manuscript versions of poems composed in unusual media and containing potentially dangerous political opinions. A prime example of this unusual media was created while Burns was on his highland tour. He scratched a pro-Jacobite poem onto the window of an inn at Stirling using a diamond-tipped stylus. However, the anti-Hanoverian sentiments in the work would be detrimental to someone hoping to obtain a job in the Excise (a government official responsible for enforcing laws and collecting excise duties) as Burns did, and so he put his elbow through the window on his return to remove the evidence. However, in the Glenriddell Manuscripts he acknowledges his authorship of the work. His additional comments demonstrate his awareness that the lines were spreading and that he also kept an eye on how they had been received by wider society.

Among the selection of Burns's letters is a copy of a letter to William Nicol, originally sent in June 1787, with whom Burns embarked on his highland tour. The letter is of great significance as it is his only surviving letter that is composed mostly in Scots. While Burns is famous for the celebration and inclusion of the Scots language in his poetry and song, he wrote to his correspondents almost exclusively in English, with this notable exception. Written while he was at Carlisle, Burns recounts his long ride and the condition of his horse as a result of his journey.

Fall out with the Riddells

Although both volumes were to be presented to Robert Riddell, only the first volume was gifted. The reason for this was that the friendship between Burns and the Riddells ended abruptly in late December 1793 following an incident at Friar's Carse. Although the details are still surrounded in a certain amount of mystery it is most probably the case that Burns was ejected from the house after manhandling Maria Riddell (the sister-in-law of Robert) in public. It has been suggested that Burns was set up by other male members of the company who were resentful of what they saw as a low-born poet's friendly relationship with a high-born married woman.

While this may or may not be true, what is indisputable is that Burns behaved inappropriately and clearly felt guilty enough himself to pen a grovelling letter of apology the following day which is known as 'the letter from hell'. He wrote it to Elizabeth Riddell rather than Maria, leading to some suggestions that it was her whom he manhandled. Again, we do not know for certain. Burns definitely acknowledges guilt for his behaviour the previous night writing in variously flowery ways that he has been tormented by his actions.

He pleaded for the possibility of reconciliation, but there would be none. He made two further attempts to engage with Maria, but was rebuffed, although they would rekindle their friendship not long before Burns's death. However, there would be no thawing of the relationship with Robert as he died in April 1794. Burns was concerned that the first volume remained with the Riddells and wrote to them to request its return. Ultimately, it returned and the two volumes stayed with the Burns family until his widow, Jean, loaned them to Burns's first biographer, James Currie, so that he could produce his edition of 'The Works of Robert Burns'.

Journey to the National Library of Scotland

Currie ought to have returned the Glenriddell Manuscripts to Jean upon completion of his publication but instead he kept them for himself. They passed through his family until his daughter-in-law, Sarah Currie, presented them to the Liverpool Athenaeum Club in 1853. There they remained until the Club decided to auction them off in 1913, much to the anger of Scottish Burnsians who argued that they had no right to do so. Despite various protests the volumes were sold and transported to the United States where it was feared that they might end up in a private collection and disappear from public access.

This was not to be their fate. John Gribbel of Philadelphia had acquired the volumes, and rather than keep them for himself, he made the most remarkable gesture to give them as a gift to the people of Scotland. He originally intended that they should go to a national library of Scotland. As no such body existed at this point it was decided that they would alternate every five years between the Corporation of Glasgow, where they were to be housed in the Mitchell Library, and the Corporation of Edinburgh, where they were to be housed in the City Chamberlain's Office until such time as one was established.

Following the opening of the National Library of Scotland in October 1925, the manuscripts were formerly handed over to the new institution in June 1926. On learning that they had found their permanent home, Gribbel wrote "If anything were necessary to complete the satisfaction I had in sending the manuscripts to Scotland, the institution of the Library would supply it".

Importance of the Glenriddell Manuscripts to current collecting

The Library continues to collect materials relating to the Glenriddell Manuscripts and the relationship between Burns and the Riddell family. Most significantly, in 2022, the First Commonplace Book of Robert Burns MS.50700, which was the most important manuscript of Burns that still remained in private hands, was saved for the nation as part of the Blavatnik Honresfield acquisition. Jointly owned by the Library and the National Trust for Scotland, but primarily stored at the Library, it has a unique connection to the Glenriddell Manuscripts.

In the second Glenriddell volume Burns copied out a large portion of his Commonplace Book and provided an explanatory note stating that he had found the latter manuscript while rummaging around in some old papers. Part of the reason for their inclusion was that Burns was "determined to write myself out" and he hoped after his death that his thoughts would "fall into the hands of somebody capable of appreciating their value". The acquisition of this manuscript has brought together material that would once have sat side-by-side as Burns copied from one to the other.

Following Gribbel's gift to the people of Scotland a grateful nation responded by presenting him with a specially commissioned album of Scottish artworks depicting the life and works of Burns (MS.23639). In 2023 Gribbel's descendants contacted the Library about the 'Scottish Album' in their possession. Like their ancestor, they generously presented the album so that it could be made accessible to researchers.

In 2025 a letter of Burns to Frances Dunlop came up for sale at a Chicago auction (Acc.14807). The 1788 letter contains two poems that were included in the Glenriddell Manuscripts but which made their first appearance here. The first poem was written in a Hermitage (place of seclusion) at Friar's Carse where Burns could go for quiet contemplation. The second was an early draft of a poem sent to Robert Graham of Fintry to whom Burns appealed for a position as an Excise Officer in Dumfries.

Further poetry of Burns relating to the Riddells has been added to the Library's collections, such as part of a sonnet dedicated to Robert following his death in 1794 (Acc.14170). Burns expressed a genuine regret that they were never able to reconcile. Another poem, Esopus to Maria (Acc.10982), shows Burns in a more spiteful mood, implying that Maria was having an affair with John Brown William (Esopus) who was the director of the Dumfries Theatre Royal. However, by the time of Burns's death in July of 1796, the restoration of their friendship led Maria to provide a heartfelt obituary for the Bard.

In the Glenriddell Manuscripts, Burns appears not just as a poet, but as a self-editor. The two volumes of poems, songs and letters contain his own reflections, revealing how he revised, explained and sometimes reconsidered his writing. These manuscripts also capture the circumstances of how they were made, from friendship and collaboration to the breakdown that interrupted their completion. Together, they offer a uniquely personal way into Burns’s world, inviting readers to explore further and encounter his work as he chose to present it.