Folklore

Eildon Hills

"Another skill that fairies could transmit was prophecy. Thomas the Rhymer or True Thomas – whose real name was Thomas of Ercildoune – was a thirteenth-century poet and seer. It was said that Thomas met the Queen of Fairies on the Eildon Hills near Melrose. Thomas followed the queen after kissing her on the lips, and he had to serve her for seven years. While in the fairy realm, the queen gave Thomas a magical apple, which was the source of his ability to predict the future honestly – hence his second epithet, True Thomas. Although Thomas of Ercildoune is credited with writing "The Romance Of Sir Tristam", he was better known for his prophecies. It is said that Thomas predicted the crowning of Robert The Bruce in 1306 and the defeat at Flodden in 1513. Since many of the prophecies do not appear in print it is, therefore, very difficult to prove their authenticity. It is interesting to note that Andrew Man, in his confessions about his association with the fairies, described meeting both Thomas The Rhymer and James IV, who was killed at Flodden, as ghosts at a fairy meeting. Although he did not say when this meeting occurred, it was presumably in the mid- to late-sixteenth century."

Magical Spirits

Joyce Miller.

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