James Hogg: From Shepherd’s Crook to Literary Great

Scotland has produced its fair share of literary icons, but none is quite as surprising, or as unexpectedly delightful, as James Hogg, the “Ettrick Shepherd.” Born in 1770 in the remote Scottish Borders, Hogg spent the first years of his life as a simple shepherd with not much more than sheep for company. Yet somehow, this rugged shepherd managed to climb from the windy hills of Ettrick to the heights of Scottish literary fame. And he did it all without ever really letting go of his humble roots or his humour.

Hogg’s story is nothing if not improbable. Picture a young boy born into a tenant farming family, living in a small stone cottage in the hills. Education? Not much of it. In fact, Hogg didn’t learn to read until he was a teenager. Yes, you read that right. He’d spent his youth working with sheep and cattle, which, while useful for rural life, didn’t exactly prepare him for a career in the literary salons of Edinburgh.

Yet Hogg had something special: an ear for a good story, a love for traditional Scottish ballads, and a dogged determination to make something of himself. He taught himself to read, as if through sheer willpower alone. When you’re a teenager in rural Scotland in the 1780s, self-taught literacy isn’t exactly easy, but Hogg was determined. It’s said that he would carve verses into the bark of trees while watching over his flock to remember them a rather poetic start to a literary career, you might say.

When he wasn’t with his sheep, Hogg began jotting down his own verses on whatever scraps of paper he could find. These poems and songs weren’t the highbrow verses of Edinburgh’s elite; they were rooted in the rough landscape of the Borders and in the folklore he’d grown up hearing from local shepherds and farmers. Hogg’s early writings were filled with the kind of earthy humour and ghostly tales that were commonplace in Scottish oral tradition, and they stood out for their raw, unpolished charm.

Then, in a twist of fate, Hogg’s path crossed with that of Sir Walter Scott yes, the Sir Walter Scott. Scott was working on his collection of Scottish ballads, The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, and he needed people who knew the old folk tales and songs of Scotland by heart. Enter James Hogg, the shepherd-poet who knew more about Borders folklore than you could shake a stick (or a shepherd’s crook) at. Hogg shared his knowledge with Scott, and Scott, recognising Hogg’s talent, encouraged him to publish his own work.

Now, one might think that Hogg would be eternally grateful to Scott and remain his quiet, humble protégé. But Hogg was no one’s protégé. He saw himself as Scott’s equal and, sometimes, as his superior. The Ettrick Shepherd may have started as Scott’s informant on folklore, but he quickly became a critic of his “friend” and had no problem publicly poking fun at Scott’s more pompous tendencies. There’s something deeply satisfying about imagining the grand Sir Walter Scott trying to impress an audience while James Hogg, shepherd’s hat on and all, sits there chuckling.

It wasn’t long before Hogg made a name for himself in Edinburgh’s literary circles. With Scott’s encouragement, he published a variety of works, including The Queen’s Wake in 1813, a series of poems that was widely celebrated and introduced Hogg to a national audience. But his real masterpiece was The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, a dark and complex novel that’s now hailed as one of Scotland’s greatest literary achievements. The book tells the twisted tale of religious obsession and psychological horror, a Gothic masterpiece long before “psychological thrillers” became a thing. It was odd, funny, disturbing, and utterly original much like Hogg himself.

But Hogg was never one to let literary fame go to his head. Even at the height of his success, he stayed true to his roots, often spending time back in Ettrick, where he was most comfortable. He wrote about life in the Borders, celebrating the beauty and grit of rural Scotland in a way few writers did. Hogg’s writing is full of Scottish humour, often poking fun at the Edinburgh elite, and filled with love for the rugged landscapes he called home. He remained known as the “Ettrick Shepherd,” embracing his identity as both a poet and a working-class man of the land.

In fact, his outsider status sometimes got him into trouble with Edinburgh’s literati. Hogg was often seen as a bit of an oddball, a rustic among the city’s refined writers. But he leaned into that image, making him both endearing and occasionally exasperating to his peers. While others wore formal suits to literary events, Hogg would show up in traditional shepherd’s attire, as if to say, “I’m here on my terms.” And when the critics tried to box him in or dismiss him, he wrote back, sometimes with biting satire, reminding them that the Ettrick Shepherd was a voice not easily ignored.

James Hogg’s legacy lives on as a symbol of the Scottish spirit. He’s remembered for his extraordinary literary contributions, but also for his tenacity, his humour, and his loyalty to his rural roots. Hogg showed that a love for one’s culture, a stubborn determination, and a touch of irreverence could open doors thought closed to those without formal education or connections.