MACLEOD, MARY

Gaelic Miri Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh born 1569, Rowdil, Harris, Inverness, Scot. died 1674, Dunvegan, Skye Scottish-Gaelic poet who is a major representative of the emergent 17th-century poetical school, which gradually supplanted the classical Gaelic bards. Macleod's poetry is written in simple, natural rhythms and incorporates much of the imagery of the bardic poets. It mainly deals with the heroic exploits of the Macleod family and expresses her deep emotional attachment to the family. She spent most of her life at the Macleod household of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, acting as nurse to successive generations of chieftains. Only a few of her poems survive; among these, her tender and nostalgic elegies for the dead Macleods are notable for their fresh style and sincerity of feeling.