Born on December 4, 1795, Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, translator, historian, and mathematician before passing on  February 5, 1881.   He was a gifted lecturer who provided many varied insights during the Victorian age.  One of these was the idea that a key role exists in history through the actions of the ‘Great Man’.   Presenting that, “(H)istory is nothing but the biography of the Great Man”, one of his most famous essays and lectures was on Sir Walter Scott.

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, lived between August 15, 1771 through September 21, 1832.  He was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet.  Among his most famous works are Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake and many others.

You may read the essay on Sir Walter Scott by Thomas Carlyle here:

http://www.bartleby.com/25/5/2.html#28

While the essay wasn’t available on youtube, you can check out a Fulbright Lecture on how a case might be made that Sir Walter Scott created the modern image of Scotland here:

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