A new study analysing letters written by Robert Burns has suggested that the bard may have had bipolar disorder.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow studied more than 800 letters and journals to gain an insight into Burns’ mental state.

The project also looked beyond his correspondence to his relationships and day-to-day life in a bid to establish if he had a psychiatric disorder.

Now the Glasgow academics carrying out the four-year project say they have some evidence to suggest that Burns may have been bipolar, with the Bard’s moods cycling between depression and hypomania.

Principal researcher Moira Hansen said: “Blue devilism was the term Burns used to describe periods of depression which he suffered, periods which affected his life and his work – not something you would automatically expect of someone with a worldwide reputation for knowing how to enjoy himself – and something that our project is properly studying for the first time. This project is using modern day methods to track and categorise the bard’s moods and work patterns.

“We have pinpointed evidence which showed bouts of increased energy and hyperactivity, and periods of depression and a withdrawal from day-to-day life.

"Further work to take account of the conventions of letter writing in the 18th century, who Burns was addressing and the different activities he was involved in is still being carried out. But we now believe Burns may have had what we would recognised today as bipolar disorder.

“We will carry out further in-depth analysis to create a mood map of his life t to judge how it impacted his writing.”