#scottish legends

[basementofthebizarre]

Unveiling Nessie: Delving into the Depths of Loch Ness

The Loch Ness Monster, often affectionately referred to as “Nessie,” has long captivated the imagination of people around the world. This enigmatic creature, reportedly dwelling in the depths of Scotland’s Loch Ness, has sparked numerous debates, investigations, and folklore tales throughout history. But where did this legendary creature originate, and how has its myth endured through the…

[nickachunicki]

Some Scottish folklore

[beyondmistland]

My first audio commission!

Composed and arranged by Sam Yung. Artwork by Dracona_Arts.

Feel free to leave a like or comment if you want but please do not repost! All rights reserved.

@warsofasoiaf @cynicalclassicist

To read the first draft of Scotland’s Heir for free, click here.

To buy the final draft of Scotland’s Heir and more, click here.

P.S. Reposting is NOT the same thing as reblogging!

[emletish-fish]

One thing I LOVED about Good Boy was the Scottish folklore and mythology and how you wove all that into the Miyagi-verse, and I wondered if you had a list of sources you used, and if so could you please link them because it was so fascinating and I'd love to read more about it myself!!

I am so sorry for the delay in answering this thoughtful question.

I don't get much time with my laptop now that I have created another small human, but lil guy is sleeping at the moment so I have a sec.

Another reason for the delay is that I have been googling, trying to find a good source to recommend for you because unfortunately the real answer to your question might not be much help. Sadly, I can find a lot of single stories, but these are normally for tourism purposes and are centred around locations that can be visited. As a result, you need to know the story you are looking for and the location it is set when google searching. I had no luck finding any kind of centralised database for you.

Most Scottish landmarks will have a legend attached to them, so there is A Lot.

I have scottish ancestry and most of the stories that worked their way into Good Boy are re-mashed versions of fairytales told to me by my great aunt when I was a kid. We are one of the thousands of offshoots from the scottish disapora. So I know her versions quite well.

(but she took a lot of liberties with her versions, as all good storytellers should.)

So in compensation, here is a scottish fairytale that nearly made it into Good Boy. I tried to hard to finagle it in, but it wouldn't quite fit. however, it is one of my favourites.

Here is the link to a backpacker site's version if you want to read an official one.

And here is how it was told to me:

The Tale of Sligachan Bridge -

Once upon a time, Sgathaich was the most famous warrior in all of Scotland. Her fame grew and spread across the world. This made Cú Chulainn jealous, and he believed that HE was meant to be the best warrior ever.

And, indeed, he was considered the best warrior in all of Ireland.

He sailed to Skye to challenge Sgathaich to a fight to the death. Sgathaich found his impudence and arrogance supremely irritating and agreed.

The fighting was fearsome and brutal. The two warriors clashed again and again and the sound of their battle echoed across the Cuillins.

Sgathaich's daughter, a renowed beauty who spent her days fending of suitors with a stick, became sick of the fighting and wanted it to end, so she ran down to the river - which was known to be a fairy place.

She sobbed and cried and begged the fairies to help her stop the fighting.

"I can give you what you wish for - the ability to stop any squabble." A fairy stepped out of the waters. "But it will cost you."

"What is the price?" Asked the daughter, because there is always a price with fairies.

"Your beauty. Dip your face in the water and it will wash away everything that makes you so lovely to look upon, and in return I will give you the gift of being able to bring peace anywhere.

Sgathaich's daughter considered this a fair trade and agreed.

She dipped her face in the water and then leapt to her feet.

She knew exactly what to do!

She ran back to the castle and started throwing herbs and spices and all sorts of lovely things into a pan. (My aunt always said bacon, but vegetarians and vegans please imagine whatever deliciousness you wish). The Daughter opened all the windows and a breeze wafted the smell into the mountains where two famous warriors were still doing battle.

Sgathaich and Cú Chulainn both realised how hungry they were and agreed to a truce while the had breakfast. They followed the scent back to Sgathaich's castle.

Cú Chulainn was so enraptured with the delicious smell that he sat right down and started gobbling up the bowl that Sgathaich's daughter put before him.

Because of the highland tradition of guests rights, now that Cú Chulainn had eaten in Sgathaich's home, he could do no harm to her whilst he was on her land.

The two warriors supped and talked, and realised their squabble was silly. They agreed to respect each other's skills as warriors, lay down their arms and would fight no more.

So peace returned to Skye because of a very very very good breakfast.

And the daughter?

She was no longer beautiful, but she was the best cook in all of Skye and knew the secret to calming any squabble - a hearty breakfast and good conversation.

She found that she was fending off even more suitors that before after the gentleman tried her shortbread.

Her incredibly beauty is still floating along the waters under the Sligachan Bridge, (For truthfully, the fairy had no need of it. She just needed a price to be paid). They say that if you dip your face in the waters, you may emerge a little better looking that you were before.

So now, if you go to skye and go past the sligurachan bridge, you will see people dunking their face in the water.

The End

[the-evil-clergyman]

King Arthur's Tomb, from William Morris' The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems by Jessie M. King (1904)

[thefugitivesaint]

John Duncan (1866-1945), ''Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth & Legend'' by Donald A. Mackenzie, 1917 Source

[bestiarium]

Am Fear Liath Mór, or the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui [Scottish cryptid]

The high passes of Ben MacDhui – the second largest mountain in Scotland – are haunted by tales of a mysterious creature that supposedly stalks hikers. Usually it is described as an impossibly tall, grey spectre, thereby earning it the name ‘Am Fear Liath Mór’, meaning ‘the big grey man’.

The story starts in 1891 with professor Norman Collie of the Royal Geographic Society, who happened to be a passionate hiker as well. The professor had just climbed the cairn on the summit of Ben MacDhui when he heard something that vaguely sounded like footsteps. I should mention that this area is notoriously misty, so you can imagine how easy it is for a lone hiker to get anxious when hearing strange noises.

The footsteps continued, but they were oddly spaced: for every ‘step’ the professor heard, he himself took three or four. It was as if this mysterious spectre was taking giant leaps or had huge legs. Eventually the professor was overtaken by panic and fled. Much later, in 1925, he recounted his tale and shared it with the newspapers, who were eager to publish and often exaggerate the story of a supposed monster or cryptid living in the Scottish mountains. At the time, the mystery creature was dubbed ‘the Ben MacDhui Ghost’ in the media.

Afterwards, multiple people came forward with claims about the mountain ghost, some of which were believable (hearing unidentified sounds) and some were more fantastic (Richard Frere and Peter Densham claimed to have had a conversation with an invisible, psychic creature).

Richard Frere would later claim that while he was hiking on the top of the Ben MacDhui, he had an unshakeable feeling that someone else was there with him, and he would hear a strange high-pitched noise that seemed to come from the soil beneath his feet.

Frere also gave a physical description of a creature he claimed to have seen (but it is difficult to verify whether this is the oldest actual ‘sighting’ of the supposed ghost): a large, brown creature was seen swaggering down the mountainside. It stood about 20 feet (6m) tall, was covered with short brown fur and had a disproportionally large head supported by a thick, muscular neck. It had broad shoulders but walked upright and did not resemble an ape.

Interestingly, only a single sighting happened on a nearby mountain, rather than on the Ben MacDhui itself: in the 1920’s, Tom Crowley, the president of the local Moray Mountaineering Club, claimed to have seen an apparition while descending from Braeriach to the Glen Eanaich. It was a very tall, misty grey figure with a humanoid shape, albeit with long legs that ended in strange talons (described as resembling fingers more than toes) and a head with pointy ears.

Dr. A. M. Kellas, himself a famed mountaineer, also claimed that a giant grey humanoid creature haunted the mountain. Among the many supposed sightings, I am uncertain which one is actually the oldest description of the ‘Grey Man’ as a tall, grey spectre, but it is certainly the most popular one. The grey apparition had cemented itself as a local cryptid and urban legend and many more supposed sightings followed.

Though it is often claimed that the creature is connected to ancient Scottish or Celtic mythology, this is most likely false. Gray Affleck, the author of ‘The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui’, attempted to research this link but could not find a single connection with actual Highland mythology.

In 1958, the June edition of ‘Scots Magazine’ told the story of Alexander Tewnion’s 1943 expedition to the mountain. While he was descending the mountain, a giant grey shape suddenly loomed over him. Having none of this bullshit, Mr. Tewnion immediately pulled out his revolver and fired three bullets at the thing. The mysterious apparition seemed not to notice, however, and kept walking towards him, upon which Tewnion fled.

Sources: Barrie, A., 2005, Sutton Companion to the Folklore, Myths and Customs of Britain, The History Press, 480 pp. Gray, A., 2013, The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui, Birlinn, 183 pp. (reviewed edition, first edition published in 1970) (image source 1 : Attila Nagy on Artstation) (image source 2: ManthosLappas on Deviantart, ©Fear Liath)

[lionofchaeronea]

Piety: The Knights of the Round Table about to Depart in Quest of the Holy Grail, William Dyce, 1849

[momokat]

Inktober 2024 Day 13 "Horizon"

"How ya doing, dearies?"

[viktuurishipper96]

Douglas as princess Zelda

In honor of The Legend of Zelda 38th anniversary and the release of The Legend of Zelda: Echos of Wisdom, I decided to do Douglas but he’s cosplaying as princess Zelda in smash Ultimate design. He has navi by his side as he smiles with the background of the triforce. Hope you’ll like it.

here’s the ref I’ve used here

[artthoufruity]

Americans can come up with the most idiotic and outright disrespectful things imaginable so effortlessly. I saw a post about an American "witch" claiming that she saw a "Celtic fae" in her back garden (in TEXAS) "picking flowers and eating berries" and the next day her husband told her she was "speaking gaelic in her sleep" (her words) first things first the Irish language is called Gaeilge NOT gaelic, gaelic is an adjective essentially we use it in things like gaelic football etc, secondly I can guarantee she did not see a fae in Texas??? Like that should be common sense??

Thirdly faes and fairies are VERY different things, if you're going to pretend to be knowledgeable on Celtic legends and lore at least know the bare minimum, faes are not friends, they are not a force to be reckoned with, if you somehow meet and annoy a fae it can and most probably will harm you and everything you love both physically and mentally.

And I know I can't be nitpicky but if you are going to use Irish words in your vocabulary please for the love of life at least try and pronounce it right, wtf is belt-tane (bhealtain) and Fawm-hair (fomhair)

Our language and culture is not you magical, fairy, witch aesthetic or lifestyle, it is genuinely disrespectful. We have such a rich, beautiful history and it's so easy to learn and talk about it in a respectful way, infact I think everyone should learn actually Irish/Scottish/Welsh history because it helped shape many things in our world e.g religion and fairytales.

If anyone who sees this wants to know more about Ireland or Celtic history/folklore or lore please ask me I'd love to share

[scotianostra]

On December 25th 1950 four young Scots liberated the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey.

Here is a report from The newspaper The Guardian of the story that was enfolding.

“Scotland Yard had no further news last night of the Coronation Stone, the Stone of Scone, or the Stone of Destiny as it is variously called. There is "absolutely no trace” of it, but the police are still busy all over the country - especially on northward routes - looking for it. The stone was stolen in the early hours of Christmas Day from Westminster Abbey.

One theory is that the thieves - or from the point of view of certain Scotsmen, “liberator” - hid in a chapel overnight in readiness for their coup. They had first to prise the stone out of its housing under the Coronation Chair, which is behind the high altar. Then the stone - which weighs four hundredweight and measures roughly 26 inches by 16 inches by 11 inches - had to be carried round to the Poet’s Corner door where, presumably, it was loaded into a car. The police are looking for a man and a woman in a Ford Anglia car which was seen near the abbey in the small hours of the morning.

Descriptions of them have been circulated, and the police say they speak with Scottish accents. It is taken for granted that the stone has been stolen by Scottish Nationalists. The stone, which is rectangular and is of yellowish sandstone, has two rings let into it and normally lies behind a grille under the Coronation Chair. In 1940 it was buried in the abbey and the secret position marked on the chart which was sent to Canada for safety.

It is believed to have left the abbey only once, when it was taken across to Westminster Hall and used for the installation of Cromwell as Lord Protector in 1657. It has been “attacked” before and was once slightly damaged (in 1914), when a bomb was placed under the Coronation Chair during the woman suffrage agitation. Twenty-five years ago, Mr David Kirkwood was given permission to bring a bill for the removal of the stone to Holyrood Palace, but the bill went no farther.

The Coronation Chair is the oldest piece of furniture in the abbey, and has been used for 27 coronations. It was damaged by the removal of the stone; part of it was broken and a strip of wood from the grille was found lying on the floor. Scotland Yard sent a number of CID men, including fingerprint experts, to the abbey and have circulated a description of the stone.

There is no official confirmation of a rumour that a wristwatch was found near the Coronation Chair, but it has been stated that freshly carved initials “JFS” have been found in the gilding on the front of the chair. It seemed evident that the intruders were amateurs, for they made little attempt to hide their tracks. Whether or not they will make straight for Scotland with the stone is doubtful, though one Scottish paper said this morning that the stone might already have crossed the border.

It should not prove a difficult object to hide once it can be taken out of the car which is carrying it, and the police of the two countries are likely to find themselves with a difficult job - not so much in finding the culprits but in finding the stone. If anybody is brought to court either on a charge of stealing or of sacrilege, the case should produce some fine legal and historical points.“

In addition to numerous road blocks, a special watch was kept at docks and airports, while hundreds of CID officers checked hotels and B&Bs in the North of England. Following the delivery of an anonymous petition promising the “return” of the Stone – on condition that it would remain in Scotland – to a Glasgow newspaper, Special Branch officers soon started making enquiries about student political bodies at Glasgow University.

The liberators were indeed Scots, four students from The University of Glasgow, from the University of Glasgow (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart, travelled to London, entered the Abbey in the small hours of Christmas Day and nabbed the Stone from beneath the coronation throne. They dropped it by accident and it broke in two. They loaded the Stone into their car boot and brought it back to Scotland – despite roadblocks and police searches.

The four became notorious for the daring heist and in Scotland they achieved nigh-on hero status, while in contrast the English were somewhat bewildered. All four of the group were interviewed and all later confessed to their involvement with the exception of Ian Hamilton. The authorities decided not to prosecute as the potential for the event to become politicised was far too great.

At the time, the leader of Scottish Covenant Association, Nigel Tranter commented

“This venture may appear foolish and childish on the surface, but it will have the effect down South of focusing attention on Scotland’s complaints. It takes a lot to get any news of Scotland’s national existence into the English Press, and this sort of thing is the only type of Home Rule story that gets a break in the English newspapers.”

Mungo Murray, 7th Earl of Mansfield and Lord of Scone, the spiritual home of the stone waded in with how he would be “extremely reluctant” to hand the Stone “to the English authorities,” assuming it should be returned to his property at Scone Palace. “In view of the fact that the Stone undoubtedly pertains to the line of Scottish kings, it belongs to the King as King of Scotland, not as King of England,” he said. “In the future the Stone should be kept at Scone or Holyrood instead of Westminster.”

Despite their best efforts, the authorities on both sides of the Border were unable to trace the Stone, at least until April 1951 when – draped in the Scottish Saltire – it was ceremonially deposited at the site of the high altar within the ruins of Arbroath Abbey. The Stone was accompanied by two unsigned letters, one addressed to the King, the other to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, described as “successor to the Abbots of Scone” and therefore the Stone’s “natural guardians”.

It would be a further 43 years before a UK Government agreed that the Stone. when not required for use in such ceremonies, I covered this in depth on St Andrews Day.

Church-bells across Scotland didn’t ring out in celebration – as portrayed in the 2008 film, The Stone of Destiny – yet Ian Hamilton and his friends nevertheless showed how what had seemed permanent and immutable could be changed.

The Stone of Destiny will again be on the move and will be the centrepiece of a new £26.5m museum, in Perth. Construction work on the new museum at Perth City Hall is due to start in February, with it scheduled to open in 2024. The third pic shows an artist impression of how it might look.

[nickachunicki]

Scottish folklore, mythology and legends

My Scottish folklore, mythology and legends page on WordPress

[replicafatale]

ik they're pushing alter/mary obvs but ash/alter is soooo good to think about...

[briefbestiary]

A 2ft (0.6m) industrious brownie, but one not to be angered.

Her most famous tale involves the death of her son, for when the two lived at Fincastle Mill they protected it from would-be trespassers. However, once upon a night, a girl made her way in to get flour for a cake. Brownie-Clod went to drive her away, but was tricked upon asking for her name, for she said she was "Mi fein" which means herself. When he came close, she threw an entire pot of boiling water she'd made while she worked upon the poor dobie. He ran to his mother, but she could do nothing to save him. When Maggy asked who had done the deed, he repeated "Mi fein" from which Maggy could only believe he had caused the fatal wounds himself.

It would be some time before Maggy would, while merely passing by a window, overhear the girl gloating to friends about how she had outwitted a brownie. Maggy was filled with such righteous fury that she picked up a stool. The stool was thrown with such force that the girl died immediately upon contact.

[the-evil-clergyman]

Illustrations from Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur by William Russell Flint (1911)