John Galt's - The Battle of Largs

As well as being National Poetry Day, today, 2nd of October 2025, also marks the anniversary of a famous battle - the subject of a poem by John Galt.  On 2 October 1263 a battle was fought at Largs between Scotland and Norway - the Battle of Largs.  Scotland won the battle.  Largs in North Ayrshire sits on the coast between Irvine and Greenock and was well known to John Galt through his travels with his family from his birthplace, Irvine, to Greenock where the Galt family settled when John was ten years old.

Tales of the heroic battle obviously had an effect on the young Galt.  One of his earliest published works was The Battle of Largs – A Gothic Poem a long and almost fantastical tale of events in 1263.

Till spent by an excess of strife,

The wretched Danes, to shelter life,

Back to their boats by vengeance driven,

Like chaff before the storms of heaven

Tumultuous fled.  But now the main,

Urg’d by the winds, retreat made vain;

The white waves, vext to anger, tore

The vessels from the slaughter-shore,

And in fantastic eddies whirl’d,

To wreck the floating refuge hurl’d.

John Galt devotes a whole chapter to his thought on the work in his Literary Life and Miscellanies (volume I, chapter V) stating - 

“The Battle of Largs is a sort of Gothic epic; and I remember very well that it cost me a great deal of research although distinct from the composition.”

It was published anonymously in 1804 in his first year in London, but was not well received although Galt was reasonably proud of it.

Each year Largs has a Viking Festival and there is a visitor attraction Vikingar which tells the stories of the Vikings and their culture and history.