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| Culloden the Aftermath by Brian Wood (GL)
This is my personal interpretation of the events immediately following the Battle of Culloden. There is no intention to depict either the shores of LochNam-Uarnh, the Highlands, glens or castles with geographic accuracy. Instead I have tried to portray the scenes following the first 3 days of the battle, the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the destruction and brutality wreaked upon the Highlands and the real sufferers, women and the innocent. 1 . The battlefield scene represents the time from plundering and butchering the wounded to when the ordinary people were allowed on to collect their dead. In the main central figure I have tried to impart a feeling of stoic dignity in the face of an uncertain future 2. The top section represents the form of Prince Charles. Despite the flames and carnage of Culloden, he is firmly supported in the hand of his Jacobite faithful to his safe exile aboard a French warship. Being mindfull that Clan tartans were not in common usage as uniforms of war at the time, only one tartan has been represented as such, that of the Royal Stewart, and that only to signify Charles claim to the thrones of England and Scotland. With his leaving, the sett fades as does he and his ambition. The burning, smouldering tartans signify the proscription of tartans, kilts, plaids etc by Westminster to discourage further rebellion. 3. With the Clans and their regiments broken, neither the natural barrier of the Highlands nor the great chiefs castles would prevent the poison of Culloden seeping into every glen or the fury of Cumberlands dragoons plundering at will. This is represented in the lower section. Armed with sword, manacles and the noose, these, Cumberlands most pitiless embarked on an orgy of murder, rape and pillage. The abyss of prison or exile awaited those suspected of Jacobite sympathies, the gallows for more serious resistance. Battles are fought and won, or lost, as all battles are, but Cullodens aftermath changed Scottish Highland society forever, ushering in a long period of suffering. This painting is my humble attempt to interpret that tragic period. |